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_البعث الإيراني_ وإسلام الوهم... التوظيف وسردية الانتصار_بقلم مهند مبيضين لمجلة المجلة_

·10 min·1 clip

How did Iran forge a national identity by blending ancient Persian symbols with Shia Islam to rival the Arab world?

The episode presents a detailed historical and ideological analysis of Iran's national identity construction. It begins by framing Iran as a state and civilization in constant conflict with Arab Islam, a popular idea in contemporary Iranian politics. The narrative traces this back to the 1979 revolution, which brought political Islam to power based on a concept of collective Iranian identity serving Islamic calls. The analysis then reaches further back to the Pahlavi dynasty, starting with Reza Shah's 1925 coup, which established a state on nationalist foundations. Reza Shah promoted a Western-influenced, imagined Aryan identity, aligning with similar nationalist models in Turkey and the Arab world. The episode highlights the role of orientalists and archaeologists like Ernst Herzfeld, who studied the Persian Empire and promoted the idea of Iran as a geoscientific nation dating to the Achaemenid era under Cyrus the Great. It details the internal political maneuvering of the Pahlavi era, noting Reza Shah's attempts to nationalize Islam, his participation in religious rituals, and his alliance with religious men. This alliance was evident in their support against Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. Specific intellectuals are mentioned, such as Murtadha Matahri, who was awarded by the Shah, and figures like Ahmad Fardid, Jalal Al-Hamad, and Hossein Nasr, who contributed to an intellectual history of Iranian modernization. Hossein Nasr's role as a scholar and his appointment to establish the Royal Iranian Academy of Philosophy is noted, alongside connections to figures like Ayatollah Khomeini. The episode argues that these pre-revolutionary ideas led to the formation of the Islamic Republic's national version, which integrated secular ideas with Islamic values, creating a new definition of 'Iranian Islam' in opposition to Arab Islam. This exceptionalism, based on preserving symbols within Shia Islam, was manifested during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), where state propaganda portrayed the conflict as a spiritual mission. The analysis extends to contemporary times, referencing a 2020 BBC documentary and a 2026 context, as well as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's writings. It concludes by examining how this ideology justifies Iran's regional expansion, exemplified by Qasem Soleimani's missions, framed as restoring the glory of Cyrus the Great's empire, positioning Iran against the Arab world and Sunni Islam.

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