Items related to Khomeinism
"Fanatic", "dogmatic", "fundamentalist" - these are the words most commonly used to describe the Ayatollah Khomeini. Ervand Abrahamian's book challenges that view, arguing that Khomeini and his Islamic movement should be seen as a form of Third World political populism - a radical but pragmatic middle-class movement that strives to enter, rather than reject, the modern age. Abrahamian, while critical of Khomeini, asks us to look directly at the Ayatollah's own works and to understand what they meant to his principle audience - his followers in Iran. Abrahamian anlyzes political tracts dating back to 1943, along with Khomeini's theological writing and his many public statements in the form of speeches, interviews, proclamations and fatwas (judicial decrees). What emerges is a militant, sometimes contradictory, political ideology that focuses not on issues of scripture and theology but on the immediate political, social and economic grievances of workers and the middle class. This book reveals how the Islamic Republic has systematically manipulated history through televised `recantations', newspapers, school textbooks, and even postage stamps. All are designed to bolster the clergy's reputation as champions of the downtrodden and as defenders against foreign powers. Abrahamian also discusses the paranoia that permeates the political spectrum in Iran, contending that such deep distrust is symptomatic of populist regimes everywhere.
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About the Author:
Ervand Abrahamian is Professor of History at Baruch College at the City University of New York. He is the author of Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982) and The Iranian Mojahedin (1989).
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- PublisherI.B. Tauris
- Publication date1993
- ISBN 10 1850437785
- ISBN 13 9781850437789
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages200
- Rating
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Khomeinism : essays on the Islamic Republic
Published by
London : I.B.Tauris
(1993)
ISBN 10: 1850437785
ISBN 13: 9781850437789
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Soft cover
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Fine. XI, 188 pages : 23 cm. The author argues that the Ayatollah Khomeini and his Islamic movement should be seen as a form of Third World political populism - a radical but pragmatic middle-class movement that strives to enter, rather than reject, the modern age. Seller Inventory # cv24
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