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“ReligioninIranisprimarilyavehicle toexpressoppositionagainst continued western imperialism”
Critically discuss.
The Islamicresurgence inthe Middle Eastinthe 1970’s wasa largelyunpredicted phenomenon in
the political science sphere. Intellectualssuchas Weber,FreudandBergerpredictedthataprocess
of secularisationwouldbe inevitable asstatesbegantomodernise, ‘modernisationisthe casual
engine draggingthe God’sintoretirement’(StarkandFinke 2000).However,thistheory of
secularisationwaslargelydisprovedbythe creationof the IslamicRepublicof Iranin1979. This
essayaimsto analyse whetherornot Iran hasusedreligionprimarilytoexpressoppositionto
continuedwesternimperialism. Forthe purpose of thisessay,religion willrefertoTwelverShiism
whichisdominant inIran,it will not,therefore,include civil religions suchasnationalism.Thisessay
will provide achronological analysisof specificeventssincethe 1950s whichevidence western
imperialism;OperationAjax (1953) Khomeini’sreligiousuprising(1963),the Iranianrevolution
(1979), the Iran-Iraqwar (1980-88), PresidentBush’sdeclarationof Iranas part of the axisof evil
(2002), andnucleareconomicsanctions(2007 to present); itwill correspondingly examine the role
that religion playedinopposingthese events. Proceedingthis,thisessaywill examinehow religion
has alsobeenusedbyIran as a unitingfeature againstwesternimperialismonaglobal scale by
analysingIran’sreligiousaffiliation Islamicliberationmovements.Itwill concludebyanalysing
whetherreligioninIranispurelyof a defensive nature orwhetherornot religionfulfilsadifferent
role.
ShiaIslamhas beenthe official state religionof Iransince the 16th
Centuryandalthoughthe
religiosityof the state hasfluctuatedoverthe pastsix centuries,approximately 99% of the Iranian
population describesitselfas Muslimwithover90% followingShiism (PewResearchCentre). During
the Pahlavi erawhichruledIranfrom 1925-1979, the Shahenactedreformswhichenforced
secularisation inanattempttomodernise the Iraniansociety.Inthe late 1920’s the Ministryof
Education wascreatedto secularise the educational system and to regulate all publicandprivate

2. Page 2
schools, endingthe monopolypreviouslyheld byreligious teachers(Mullahs) andencouragedco-
educationfromthe late 1920’s onwards. The hijabwasalsobannedas a signof modernisation‘the
lack of hijabwasmentionedasa signof civilisationandhuge propagandahype waslaunchedaround
it’(Mirrzavi 2013). The policiesof secularisationenforcedbythe Shahwere notonlyusedtobenefit
the national economybyadvancingthe workforce,butwere alsousedtocreate a relationshipwith
the more prosperouswesternstates.Westernimperialismhadbeenevidentinthe Middle East,
mostnotablyviaBritishcolonialisminthe earlytwentieth-centuryand the UnitedStates inthe late
twentiethcentury andIranwassubjectedtoan influx of westernideas;liberalism, capitalismand
secularism.
In 1948 the FirstDevelopmentPlanwascreatedbythe Iraniangovernmenttoaddressagricultural
and industrial developmentinanattempttofurthermodernise the country.Toraise the finances
neededtofundthe plan,the Iraniangovernmentprivatised the nation’s oil.By1949, the majorityof
the Iranianoil supplywascontrolledbyaBritishcompany(AIOC) but Iranianssoonbecame
discontentwiththe deal;althoughthe AIOCpaidroyaltiestothe Iraniangovernmentforthe oil that
theyhad extracted,the companywasprofitingmuchmore thanthe Iranianstate.By 1950 there
were increasedcallstore-nationalize Iranianoil supplyandfora nationalistPrimeMinister-
Muhammad Mosaddegh - to become electedandby1952 both hadbeenachieved. Inthisinstance,
Iraniannationalismwaseffective enoughtooppose westernimperialisminthe formof the AIOC;
however,itwasnotable to survive repeatedwesternencroachmentsbyboththe UnitedStatesand
Britain.Afterpressuring Iraneconomicallyviaaboycottof Iranianoil;employingIranian agentsto
cause social unrestand undermine Mosaddegh’srule,Mosaddeghwasfinallyoverthrowninacoup
d’état(OperationAjax)conductedbythe CIA in1953 andthe Shahwas reinstatedat the leaderof
Iran. The PersianGulf wasa strategicarea for the U.S. throughoutthe ColdWar period anduntil the
IranianRevolution, the ShahruledIranas an authoritarianleader, backedbyU.S.support. Although
nationalisationof Iranianoil failed itwasthe mostsuccessful oppositiontowesternimperialismin
the 1950s, howeveritlackedanaspectthat wouldimpassionthe majorityof Iranians.As aresultof

3. Page 3
the uprisings, political dissentwasseverelyrepressedbythe Shah’ssecretpolice –the Savak- and
U.S. interestswere activelysupportedandprotectedbythe Iranianarmyandthe U.S. advised
Gendarmerie (Ward2014).
Althoughunderthe Shah,Iranappearedtobe a secularising andwesternisingstate,the religious
clergystill playedapredominantrole inthe livesof manyIranians. The responsetothe Shah’s
‘White Revolution’in1963 was one of the firsteventstouse religiontoactivelyoppose whatwas
seenas‘an American-inspiredpackage of measuresdesignedtogive his(the Shah’s)regimealiberal
and progressive façade’(IranianChamberSociety). Ayatollah Khomeiniandothermembersof the
Ulama denouncedthe reformsintroducedbythe Shah’sWhite Revolution as‘dangerous
westernisingtrends’aswell asseveral anti-popular,anti-religiousandpro-Westernpoliciesof which
had caused‘majorinjurytoIraniannational pride andarousedfierce resentmentamongthe people’
such as grantingfull diplomaticimmunitytoAmericanmilitaryandciviliansin1963 and 1964
(Farazmand1995: 236). In a speechon 3 June 1963, Khomeini denouncedthe unconditional rule of
the Shah,claimingthatthe Shahhad beensubmissivetoAmericanandIsraeli demandsandthat
authoritarianleadershipwasun-Islamicand inviolationof the constitution. Although Khomeini was
arrestedtwodayslater,three daysof riotsensued,andthe Shahhad to restore orderby military
force.Khomeini usedhisreligiousinfluence andknowledgetooppose whathe saw as the Shah’s
westernizationattempts,andbeganto unite Iraniansagainstwesternimperialisticpolicies.
The most documentedreligiousmovementinIranhas been the creationof the IslamicRepublicafter
the IranianRevolutionin1979. Althoughthe Iranianrevolutionwasnot a religiousmovementinits
entirety,religionwasusedasa unifyingfeature tomotivatethe masseswhowere ‘anti-monarchy,
anti-dictatorship,anti-imperialist,nationalistanddemocratic’ (Farazmand1995: 240). Due to the
reasonsstatedpreviously, manyIraniansviewedthe Shahas an ‘Americanpuppet’ andoppositionto
hisrule ‘includedawide spectrumof peopleandorganizationswithvariousideological,political and
ethnicorientationsfromthe left tothe liberal andthe right’(Farazmand1995).

4. Page 4
As part of opposingthe Shah,the revolutionin1979 was alsoaboutopposingwesternimperialism.
Under the Shah’swesternizationattempts aonce agriculturallyself-sufficientcountrywasnow
spendingmore thana billiondollarsonimports (Hurd2004: 120-121).On 2 February 1979 Khomeini
tolda huge crowd outside Tehranthatthe Shah had“enactedhisso-calledreformsinorderto
create marketsfor Americaandto increase ourdependence onAmerica” (Hurd2004: 122).
Khomeini consistentlydesignatedthe UnitedStatesasthe “headof the imperialistserpent”,accused
the international communitiesof “Looting”Iran’sresources,complainedof “domination”byforeign
capital and the squanderingof publicfundsinmassive armspurchase’(Roucleau1980: 6)
(Farazmand1995: 236).
“One of the reasonswhythe movementagainstthe Shahandhismodernizationpolicieswas
translatedintoanIslamicdiscourse wasthatthe onlyexistingsub-culturetosurvive the political
terror of the Pahlavi State were the institutionsof ShiaIslam”(Ali Mirsepassi) (Hurd:2014: 123).
As hasbeennotedpreviously,althoughthe Shahbrutallysuppressedseculardissent, he tolerated
Shiaindependence and ‘the separationof churchpowerfrom state powerhad,until the formation
of the IslamicRepublicin1979 given the Ulama an independentbase of powertooppose any
governmentactiondeemedcontraryto Islam’ (Farazmand1995: 239). AlthoughKhomeiniandother
religiousleadershadbeen imprisonedandexiled,the Mullahswereable toutilisetheirnetworkof
Mosques spreadoutacross the countryto organise andspeakoutagainstthe Shah’sregime (Tabari
1982:10).
Although,Islamisamonolithicreligionand“legislationbelongstoAllahandnotto humanmortals”
(Tabari 1982: 20), in ShiaIslamAyatollahshave inheritedthe abilitytoleadShiaMuslimsspiritually.
Lessthan a monthafter the ShahfledIran,AyatollahKhomeinibecame “the undisputedleaderof
the clerical establishmentthatultimatelycame torule Iran”(Voirst,1995:68) and beganto shape
Iran intothe ‘model state tobe followedbyall Muslimsandnon-Muslimpeople everywhere whoare
opposedtoforeignimperialismanditsdomesticarbitraryrules’ (Farazmand1995: 244). Khomeini

5. Page 5
wantedtoliberate Muslimsfromwesternimperial oppression andasa result‘animperial formof
secularmodernityhadbeenchallengedandreplacedbyanimperial formof religiousmodernity’ and
can be witnessed inIranianforeign policiesfromthe 1980’s onwards (Hurd2004: 124).
As the Supreme Leader,Khomeini setideological guidelinesthatinfluencedmilitarydecisions and
like manyotherscholarsof Islam,he believedthatthe worldisthe scene of an incessantbattle
betweengoodandevil (Taremi 2014:7).Anti-westernsentimentpeakedin1979 withthe hostage
crisisinTehran andthe threatof militaryinterventionbythe CarterDoctrine (1980) if US interests
were threatenedinthe PersianGulf. After, Khomeini soughttoensure all tieswiththe ‘evil’west
were cut andterminatedIran’sonce close defencetieswithIsraeldue toitsclose relationshipwith
the US andSaudi Arabia(Taremi 2014: 7).
Basedon Khomeini’sreligiousviews,there are twoscenariosunderwhichforce canbe used.The
firstisin defence of aMuslimcountrywhenithas come underattack by Muslimsor non-Muslims.
The second,that he callsjihad,takesplace whenMuslimsgoonthe offensivetooverthrow infidel
governmentsandconquertheirterritory (Taremi2014: 13). The Iran-Iraqwar showedanexample of
howthe firstscenarioevolvedintothe second.Irancame underIraqi invasionin1980 (aidedbythe
U.S. and itswesternallies inpursuitof controllinglargeroil supplies);however, once the invading
Iraqi forceshad been pushedoutof the country,Iranianforcescontinuedtopursue the enemyinto
Iraq and wagedwarfor six more years. Accordingto Khomeini“warcannotbe wagedfor worldly
gain….War iswagedto upholdwhatisrightand eliminatethatwhichiswickedandevil….Ensuring
the healthandwellbeingof Muslimsocietyandthe widermankind”(Taremi 2014: 16). At the
beginningof the war,Iranpursueddefensivetacticsbutthenevolvedintoanoffensive pursuitto
liberate Iraqfromits‘infidelgovernmentandthose who supportedit’ (SaddamHussein andwestern
allies).Iraqwasseenasthe firststeptowardsliberatingJerusalem, “the roadtoQods goesthrough
Karbala”(AyatollahKhomeini) (Taremi 2014: 14).

6. Page 6
Thisrevolutionarybrandof Islamcanbe seenbyIranian supportof international Islamic
organisations whichopposewesternimperialism.AyatollahKhomeini arguedthatIranshould‘aid
and abetIslamicandliberationgroupsfightingagainstcorruptregimesandtheirAmericanand
Sovietpatrons’tohelpexpel ‘infidel powersfromthe Muslimlands’ (Taremi 2014: 7). Underthe
influenceof Khomeini, IranhasprovidedHezbollah withmilitaryequipmentandtrainingsince its
creationbyLebanese Shiite clericsin1982. It has alsoprovided“extensive”‘funding, weapons, and
trainingtoHamas, PalestinianIslamicJihad(PIJ),the Al AqsaMartyrsBrigade’aswell asother
groupsthat the US State Departmentclaims use theirviolence ‘tounderminethe Arab-Israelipeace
process’( Taremi 2014: 7). Althoughall groupssupportedbyIranare anti-U.S,notall are Shiite.
Khomeini saw‘assistingmilitantIslamicliberationmovementsas ‘anIslamicduty’andwhich
overrode anydivisionswithinIslamtofeat‘acommonenemy’(Taremi 2014: 7). AfterKhomeini’s
deathin1989, it can be arguedthat the consequentleadershipof Presidents Rafsanjani and
Khatami;andthe proceedingSupreme LeaderAyatollahKhamenei,placednational prosperityand
securityabove revolutionaryIslam.
The IslamicRepublicanditsIranianoperativeshave at timesworkedincorrespondence with
unanticipatedalliestocombata mutual enemy. There have longbeenhostilitiesbetweenSunni and
ShiaMuslims. Throughoutthe 1980s and 90s more than 900 clashesbetweenSunniandShia
Muslimshad claimedoverfourthousandlives (Nasr2007: 166). However,in the late 1990s Al Qaeda
(Salafi Sunni Islam) andthe IslamicRepubliccollaboratedinSudantoattack twoU.S. embassiesin
Africawhen HezbollahtrainedseniorAl Qaedamembers. Al Qaedawascreatedin1989 by Osama
BinLaden withthe ‘expressedgoal of restoringthe Caliphate tothe Arabworld’ anddidnot
recognise the IslamicRepublicof Iranas a Muslimgovernment (Hastert2007: 328). Ramzi Yousef,a
memberof Al Qaeda,afterorganisingthe WorldTrade Centre bombingof 1993 whichtargeted
America,placedabombin the women’ssectionof the shrine of Reza(the eighthShiite
Imam)(Hastert2007: 328). Althoughthere wasa strongreligiousdivide betweenAl Qaedaandthe
IslamicRepublic,itwasputaside tooppose westernimperialisminspecificcases.

7. Page 7
Thisunanticipatedcollaborationtodefeatacommonenemy canalso be seeninthe Islamic
Republicsrole during OperationEnduringFreedom in2001. In publicIrancondemnedthe invasionof
Afghanistan but‘behind the scenestheywere anenthusiasticsupporterof the overthrow of the
Talibanandthe eliminationof Al Qaeda’ andcooperated withthe US government(Hastert2007:
331). Al Qaedain Iraqwas pursuinga civil waragainsta Shiite governmentledbyaprime minister
wholivedinIranfor 10 yearsand workedhandinhand withthe Iranianstate (Hastert2007: 334).
Althoughthe IslamicRepublichasbeenanti-USsince itsorigin,underthe leadershipof President
Khatami andAyatollahKhamenei theycollaborated todefeatacommonenemy.
ReligioninIranat thistime wasnotusedto oppose westernimperialismbuttosupportthe
governmentinaddressingtwoproblemsthatthe IslamicRepublichad;the ideological oppositionof
Al Qaeda,and a strugglingeconomyas can be seeninthe supportfrom AyatollahKhamenei. In1998
Khatami haddescribedthe Iranianeconomyas "chronicallyill ...anditwill continuetobe sounless
there isfundamental restructuring",todothishe advocated an economicpolicythatsupported
foreigninvestment (Nourbakhsh2004) and therefore cooperationwiththe west.However,despite
Iranianand US cooperationduringOperationEnduringFreedom, the partnershipwasonlyshort
term.
Iran wasdeclaredas part of the axisof evil in2002 due to its linkwith‘terroristgroups’(asdefined
by the UnitedStates) andIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called it an honour to be
targetedby "the most-hated Satan in the world". As part of Iran’smembership of the axis of evil,
economic sanctions against Iran were increased. In 2006, U.Nand worldwide bilateral sanctions were
also imposed to pressure the Iranian government into giving up their illicit nuclear technologies (U.S.
Department of State).Althoughthe sanctionshave greatlyaffectedthe Iranian economy;they may
alsobe responsible forincreasedreligiosityinthe country.
Post- 2006, Iran’scurrencyhas become highlyinflated andthe Iraniangovernmenthas since
withdrawnsubsidieson;foodstaples,electricity,waterandgas. This strainon the Iranianeconomy

8. Page 8
has beenviewedbysome asan attemptbythe Westto enforce its imperialistagenda.Political
uprisingssince 2006 have also beenseenbysome religiousleaders, suchasAyatollahKhamenei asa
‘continuationof the regime-changepolicyof UnitedStatesanditsallies’referringtothe Green
Movementin2009, andcontrastedit ‘withatrue revolution,suchasthe one that ledto the
foundingof the IslamicRepublic’(Ganji 2013).As hasbeenseenhistorically throughoutthisessay,
whentimesof national crisishave emergedinIran,the Iranianpopulation have turnedtowards
religion.Religionplaysabeneficialrole formanypeople asitisa systemof copingwith existential
pressuresanddeathanxiety (Pargament2002) (Koca-Atabey2012: 855) and a more conservative
President(PresidentAhmadinejad) hadbeen electedin2005 and2009.
To conclude,itisclearfrom whathas beenanalysedthroughoutthisessaythat religionin Iranhas
not onlybeenusedtooppose westernimperialism,butitssuccesshasalsobeenthe resultof
continuedimperialistattempts. ReligionhasconsistentlybeenusedthroughoutIransince the 1960’s
as a way to unifythe nationundertimes of oppression;however,the ferocityat whichIranhas
followed ShiaIslamicpolicies hasfluctuated.Although,underIslam, nationalboundariesare seento
be inferiortoideological boundaries,whenthe state of Iran’sinterestshave beenthreatenedthey
have respondedinwayswhichcanbe seenas contradictorytoShiite expectations.Thiscanbe seen
inIran’s collaborationwithIslamicliberationmovementssuchasHamas and Al Qaeda,as well as
Iran’spartnershipwiththe U.S.in2001. Religionhasthusbeenmanipulatedbythe Iranian
governmenttopursue itsownagenda,usingreligiontosupportwhatitdeemsas‘goodand evil’at
certainpointsinhistory.Thiscan alsobe seeninthe increasedreligiositytakingplace inIransince
the 2006 sanctions were imposed,aswesternimperialismhasassumedthe role of the oppressorof
Iraniansandnot the state government.Shiismwasusedasaunitingtool underthe Shah’s
oppression,soitisunderstandable whyShiismisagainbeing usedtounite the Iranian population
againstthe west.Withthe advance in Iran’snucleartechnologiesitwill be interestingtosee
whetherornot religionremainsaninfluential partof IraniangovernmentasIranbecominganuclear
powerwouldbe a large deterrentagainst westernimperialism.

9. Page 9

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10
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