Imperialism And Resistance

This article by Ervand Abrahamian on Iran, is one of the better ones to have appeared in a left publication. But it falls short on several measures, specifically in the area of not comprehending, or misunderstanding the spiritual-social dimension, and nature of Islam.

The fourth reason adduced for both the Islamic Revolution and the durability of the Islamic Republic is Shi’ism. It is true that one cannot analyze the mass demonstrations of 1978 without taking religion into account… But if Shi’ism is the real answer, then we are faced with the question of why Iran — which has been majority-Shi’i since 1500 — did not produce the Islamic Revolution until 1979. For most of these 470 years, Shi’ism had been considered, at best, apolitical and quietist and, at worst, conservative and reactionary. No historian can buy the official explanation that imperialism, monarchism and Zionism had for centuries distorted Shi’ism, and that the world had to await the arrival of Khomeini to unveil the true revolutionary nature of Islam.

The above statement actually suggests that the author is not fully aware of the history of Islam, specifically “Shi’ism” that has, throughout the past centuries, given rise to revolutionary movements. And has been held up as a boogeyman by the monarchist establishments ruling Muslim majority lands, precisely because of its revolutionary potential. It is true that there are branches of “Shi’ism” that are “apolitical and quietist and, at worst, conservative and reactionary” but it has to also be understood that the ideological contribution of Imam Khomeini, Allama Mutahhari, Dr. Ali Shariati and others, were not “innovations” outside of Islam. Rather, their contribution was a (re)clarification, or (re)statement of essential Islamic values. This was not merely an academic exercise, but was done with the purpose of providing the mass Islamic movements with an ideological framework.

If these stock explanations do not suffice, then what does? The real answer lies not in religion, but in economic and social populism.

The above quote is the most clarifying comment that the author makes, that explains his own lack of knowledge, or misunderstanding of Islam. Why is it so difficult for “leftists” to comprehend that religion, Islam, includes within it “economic and social populism?” Islam is a lot more than “populism” of-course, and the Islamic Republic could do a lot more in the area of developing Islamic economic models. However, what the author has done in this article is to first separate (without offering any proof) Islam from economics, and then state that it is all about material gains, and because (according to the author) religion is separate from economics, therefore religion has nothing to do with the “survival” of the Islamic Republic. This is just logical boondoggle at best, and religio-Islamophobia at worst, that refuses to give due credit to the Islamic nature of successful social movements within Muslim majority countries/lands.

The trailblazer was a young intellectual named Ali Shariati, who did not live to see the revolution but whose teachings fueled the revolutionary movement. Inspired by the Algerians, Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh, Shariati spent his short life reinterpreting Shi’ism as a revolutionary ideology and synthesizing it with Marxism.

Why do western authors feel this need to insist that Muslim revolutionaries must have been inspired by something other than Islam? Is the author aware of Ali Shariati’s Marxism and Other Western Fallacies? Shariati did not “reinterpret” nor did he “synthesize” rather, he (sometimes with faults) re-stated Islamic revolutionary principles. If one comprehensively reads the Qur’an, the ahadith of the 14 masoomeen, the lives of the Imams (AS) one can see, understand, and be inspired with the revolutionary potential of Islam. And, yes, it is possible to identify other movements that have similarities with Islam. Because Islam does not seperate itself from human experience, and, in fact, suggests that the human being has an innate, or fitri nature that is drawn to Al-Haqq.

His catch phrases — which had more in common with Third World populism than with conventional Shi’ism –

The phrases of Ali Shariati, and Imam Khomeini resonates with the applied meaning of the ahadith of the 14 masoomeen, of Hazrate Zainab (a.s.) of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings on him and his Family) and Imam Hussein (AS). The actual terminology might (sometimes) be different, but those who are connected with Islam, know how closely tied some of these slogans are to Islam.

The rest of the article is quite good, in that it highlights the socio-economic programs that the Islamic Republic has implemented, including it implementation of a “welfare state” with wide ranging institutions that provide economic and social services to the population. And it is important to note the author’s concern:

If new revenues do not materialize, class politics will threaten to rear its head again. For 30 years, populism has managed to blunt the sharp edge of class politics. It may not do so in the future.

Islamic oriented economists need to pay attention to developing models, otherwise they will be left with having to work with the same models that have shown to be seriously flawed, and have obviously failed worldwide.