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From Zarathustra to Khomeini: Populism and Dissent in Iran

Manochehr Dorraj
 
ISBN: 978-1-55587-181-9
$37.00
1990/220 pages

"A highly readable, well-researched, and well-argued book. . . . Intellectually stimulating and provocative."—The Journal of Politics

"Well-written. . . . Welcome resource for scholars, students, and researchers to balance a plethora of writings accentuating the perspective of the intelligentsia while ignoring the populist base that made it all possible."—Choice

"A compelling analysis of the Iranian revolution, situating it within the history of clerical populism and dissent in Iran. It will be of interest to students of Middle Eastern and comparative politics alike."—John L. Esposito

DESCRIPTION

Shedding new light on the sources and character of Iran's 1979 Revolution, Manochehr Dorraj explores the genesis and development of popular movements and dissent in Iranian history.

Dorraj draws on Iran's pre-Islamic religious culture and on its legacy of Islamic folk heroes and the millenarian movements, as well as on more recent history, to illuminate current events. His investigation of the peculiarities of Islam, of populism, and of Iranian social development is a major contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the essence of the Iranian revolution and, more generally, the political dynamics underlying social change in the Middle East.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Manochehr Dorraj is assistant professor of political science at Texas Christian University. He is coauthor of the forthcoming book, Political Culture in the Middle East.

CONTENTS

  • Introduction.
  • Islamic Populism.
  • The Primordial Significance of Pre-Islamic Iranian Religiopolitical Traditions.
  • The Legacy of Populist Origins, I: The Prophecy of Muhammad and Spirit of Quranic Precepts.
  • The Legacy of Populist Origins, II: The Caliphate of Ali.
  • The Historical Roots of Irano-Islamic Populism: The Pre-Islamic Period to the Eighteenth Century.
  • The Ulama in Political Opposition.
  • Neo-Islamic Populism.
  • Populism of the Secular Intelligentsia.
  • Populism of the Religious Intelligentsia.
  • Clerical Populism.
  • Conclusion.
LC: 89-10973