Theology of discontent : the ideological foundations of the Islamic Revolution in Iran

With this lucid, judicious and vividly written exposition of the ideological foundations of the Islamic revolution, Dabashi has rendered the educated public a valuable service.-- Said A. Arjomand, author of The Turban for the CrownIn brilliant, figural strokes, Dabashi arrays EuroAmerican sociological theory as the crucial backdrop to a deeper, fuller understanding of contemporary Iranian history ... Even while recognizing all ideologies as `terrible simplifiers' and particular ideologies as exhausted, Dabashi stresses the recurrent human need to locate meaning along the spectrum of possibility from ideology to utopia. His is at once a comparativist and interdisciplinary tour de force. Though the symbolic force of Iranian Shi'ism remains inexhaustible, insofar as it can be kneaded into words, Theology of Discontent succeeds as no other work can or will in the English language.-- Bruce B. LawrenceDuke UniversityWith resolute dispassion, Hamid Dabashi argues that the eight key figures who helped construct the rhetoric of the 1978 Iranian revolution, while intellectually shallow, had tremendous rhetorical force which came not from their depth or exactitude of knowledge, but through a series of articulations of protest which they built into a theology of discontent. A welcome contribution to the recognition that the Iranian revolution was an outcome of contesting perspectives, partially analyzed discontents and understandings of society, and various roots of identity and belief. -- Michael M. J. Fischer, Rice University In The Last Decade, Scores Of Books And Articles Have Been Published, Addressing One Or Another Aspect Of The Islamic Revolution In Iran. Missing From This Body Of Scholarship, However, Has Been A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Intellectual And Ideological Cornerstones Of One Of The Most Dramatic Revolutions In Our Time. In This Remarkable Volume, Hamid Dabashi For The First Time Brings Together, In A Sustained And Engagingly Written Narrative, The Leading Revolutionaries Who Shaped The Ideological Disposition Of This Cataclysmic Event. Dabashi Has Spent Over Ten Years Studying The Writings, In Their Original Persian And Arabic, Of The Most Influential Iranian Clerics And Thinkers And Here Presents His Findings In Accessible And Eminently Readable Prose. Examining The Revolutionary Sentiments And Ideas Of Such Figures As Jalal Al-e Ahmad, Ali Shariati, Morteza Motahhari, Sayyad Mahmud Taleqani, Allamah Tabatabai, Mehdi Bazargan, Sayyad Abolhasan Bani-sadr, And Finally Ayatollah Khomeini, The Work Also Analyzes The Larger Historical And Theoretical Implications Of Any Construction Of The Islamic Ideology. Carefully Located In The Social And Intellectual Context Of The Four Decades Preceding The 1979 Revolution, Theology Of Discontent Is The Definitive Treatment Of The Ideological Foundations Of The Islamic Revolution, With Particular Attention To The Larger, More Enduring Ramifications Of This Revolution For Radical Islamic Revivalism In The Entire Muslim World. Likely To Establish Dabashi As One Of The Leading Authorities On Islamic Thought And Ideology, This Volume Will Be Of Interest To Islamicists, Middle East Historians And Specialists, As Well As Scholars And Students Of Liberation Theologies, Comparative Religious Revolutions, And Mass Collective Behavior. Chronology Of The Revolution: 1921-1979 -- Introduction: Formative Forces Of The Islamic Ideology -- Jalal Al-e Ahmad: The Dawn Of The Islamic Ideology -- Ali Shariati: The Islamic Ideologue Par Excellence -- Morteza Motahhari: The Chief Ideologue Of The Islamic Revolution -- Sayyid Mahmud Taleqani: The Father Of The Revolution -- Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Hossein Tabatabai: The Philosophical Dimension Of The Islamic Ideology -- Mehdi Bazargan: The Devout Engineer -- Abolhasan Bani-sadr: The Monotheist Economist -- Ayatollah Khomeini: The Theologian Of Discontent -- Conclusion: Dimensions Of The Islamic Ideology Hamid Dabashi. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.