Since its revolution in 1979, Iran has been viewed as the bastion of radical Islam and a sponsor of terrorism. The focus on its volatile internal politics and its foreign relations has, according to Kamrava, distracted attention from more subtle transformations which have been taking place there in the intervening years. With the death of Ayatollah Khomeini a more relaxed political environment opened up in Iran, which encouraged intellectual and political debate between learned elites and religious reformers. What emerged from these interactions were three competing ideologies which Kamrava categorises as conservative, reformist and secular. As the book aptly demonstrates, these developments, which amount to an intellectual revolution, will have profound and far-reaching consequences for the future of the Islamic republic, its people and very probably for countries beyond its borders. This thought-provoking account of the Iranian intellectual and cultural scene will confound stereotypical views of Iran and its mullahs.

The Constitutional Revolution of 1906 opened the way for enormous change in Persia, heralding the modern era and creating a model for later political and cultural movements in the region. Broad in its scope, this multidisciplinary volume brings together essays from leading scholars in Iranian Studies to explore the significance of this revolution, its origins, and the people who made it happen. As the authors show, this period was one of unprecedented debate within Iran’s burgeoning press. Many different groups fought to shape the course of the Revolution, which opened up seemingly boundless possibilities for the country’s future and affected nearly every segment of its society. Exploring themes such as the role of women, the use of photography, and the uniqueness of the Revolution as an Iranian experience, the authors tell a story of immense transition, as the old order of the Shah subsided and was replaced by new institutions, new forms of expression, and a new social and political order.

A new perspective on Iranian politics and culture in the 1960s-1970s documenting the 'Westoxification' discourses adopted by the Pahlavi State.

Vahdat (comparative religion, Tufts U.), in this revised version of his dissertation (in sociology at Brandeis U.), applies a carefully defined theory of modernity to his discussion of Iran from the mid- 19th century to the present. The theories of modernity advanced by Kant, Hegel, Marx, Weber, Adorno, Foucault, and Habermas are discussed at the outset. Subsequent chapters consider the Iranian use of modernity, the role of intellectuals in adopting modernity, and how political events have moderated both. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In Mapping the Role of Intellectuals in Iranian Modern and Contemporary History, Jahanbegloo and contributors examine the role of Iranian intellectuals in the history of Iranian modernity. They trace the contributions of intellectuals in the construction of national identity and the Iranian democratic debate, analyzing how intellectuals balanced indebtedness to the West with the issue of national identity in Iran. Recognizing how intellectual elites became beholden to political powers, the contributors demonstrate the trend that intellectuals often opted for cultural dissent rather than ideological politics.

"Impressive [and] cogently argued. . . . shows how and why Iran's secular intellectuals gradually changed their generally negative perception of Islam in the three decades prior to the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With convincing evidence, [Nabavi] shows that Islam and mysticism had gained growing popularity among the secular intellectuals in the years preceding the revolution. . . . A must read for anyone interested in the intellectual history of pre-revolutionary Iran."--Mohsen Milani, University of South Florida, author of The Making of Iran's Islamic Revolution: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic In the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, secularist intellectuals became a much-forgotten group. As the new revolutionary elite consolidated, secularists were marginalized, stigmatized, and accused of being "Westoxicated" and of "propagating Western values." And yet, Nabavi shows for the first time, the secularists played an important role in enabling the revolution to take the shape that it did in 1978-79. The revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini into power was as much the revolution of the secularists as it was of Islamist forces. Drawing on Iranian intellectual periodicals and journals and focusing on a wide range of liberal, left-leaning writers and essayists--many of whom have never been translated, let alone written about--Nabavi re-creates the changing mood within secular intellectual circles in the decades that preceded the revolution. She provides an account of the intellectuals' trajectory from the old days of their membership in the Communist Tudeh Party in the early 1940s, when there was a party line, to the days when they became confused and constrained about what they could do and say. She discusses their changing perception of what it was to be an intellectual together with their shifting view of religion and Islam in particular, which came to find increasing expression among secular circles in the 1970s, as one of the most forceful components of the idea of "authentic culture." Intellectuals and the State in Iran will appeal to historians and political scientists with an interest in the cultural and intellectual aspects of social change and the question of the synthesis of religion and politics. Negin Nabavi is assistant professor in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.

In 1978, as the protests against the Shah of Iran reached their zenith, philosopher Michel Foucault was working as a special correspondent for Corriere della Sera and le Nouvel Observateur. During his little-known stint as a journalist, Foucault traveled to Iran, met with leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini, and wrote a series of articles on the revolution. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution is the first book-length analysis of these essays on Iran, the majority of which have never before appeared in English. Accompanying the analysis are annotated translations of the Iran writings in their entirety and the at times blistering responses from such contemporaneous critics as Middle East scholar Maxime Rodinson as well as comments on the revolution by feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. In this important and controversial account, Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson illuminate Foucault's support of the Islamist movement. They also show how Foucault's experiences in Iran contributed to a turning point in his thought, influencing his ideas on the Enlightenment, homosexuality, and his search for political spirituality. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution informs current discussion on the divisions that have reemerged among Western intellectuals over the response to radical Islamism after September 11. Foucault's provocative writings are thus essential for understanding the history and the future of the West's relationship with Iran and, more generally, to political Islam. In their examination of these journalistic pieces, Afary and Anderson offer a surprising glimpse into the mind of a celebrated thinker.