In this book, a leading authority on Iranian political parties offers the first history of the Mojahedin, a little-known radical group that was instrumental in bringing the Ayatollah Khomeini to power but that now constitutes the main opposition to his Islamic Republic. Drawing on all available sources-including interviews with past and present members of the Mojahedin-Ervand Abrahamian traces their organization from the 1960s to the present. "[This] book is important and useful not only because it is the first in English on its subject, but also because . . . it is objective. . . . [I]ts approach is thoughtful, fresh and independent, being to Islam more or less what liberation theology is to Christianity."-Economist "Abrahamian's commentary on Ali Shariati and his relationship to the Mojahedin is a unique and impressive achievement. . . . Radical Islam is a learned, lucid and cogent piece of Iranian history. . . . The book is must reading for all experts and observers interested in the politics of the Islamic Revolution and the role of Iran's political culture."-Mansour Farhang, Middle East Report "The result is one of the best of so many books about Iran today."-A. R. H. Kellas, Asian Affairs "This is the most objective and comprehensive study available of the important Iranian movement."-Anthony Hyman, International Affairs

The Iranian Mojahedin

History

Abrahamian, Ervand

Americas

Yale Univ Pr

The Mojahedin, a radical political group in Iran, were prominent in the movement against the Shah and played an important role in bringing the Ayatollah Khomeini to power. Yet they have borne the brunt of his reign of terror and now constitute the main opposition to his Islamic Republic. In this book a leading authority on Iranian political parties offers the first history of this little-known underground group. Drawing on all available sources including interviews with past and present members of the Mojahedin, Ervand Abrahamian traces their organization from the 1960s to today. He investigates the social backgrounds of their leaders, the main features of their ideology, and the Marxist influences on their interpretation of Islam. He is then able to explain why they failed to gain political power despite their mass following and the fact that they were the best armed, best disciplined, and one of the largest groups opposing the Shah. In an introductory section on contemporary Iran, Abrahamian analyzes the downfall of the Shah, discusses the resurgence of Islam in that country, contrasts the varieties of Islam on the present scene, and explains why the Islamic Republic, despite all expectations, has proved to be so durable. Clearly and concisely written, the book as a whole provides a wealth of information on contemporary Iran. “A very fine book that deals with an important subject in a very thorough and engrossing fashion.” –Nikki R. Keddie, U.C.L.A.

Middle East

Yale University Press

Written by a distinguished group of comparativists, this innovative text has been organized around levels of political development and themes to make comparative politics accessible and easy to understand. Readers can use the Geographic Setting sections in each chapter, as well as maps, tables, charts, photographs, and political cartoons to further their understanding of each country studied. The Fifth Edition has been completely redesigned to engage readers with additional pedagogy and color.

Introduction to Comparative Politics, AP* Edition

Kesselman, Mark

Krieger, Joel

Joseph, William A.

Allen, Christopher S.

Legal Theory & Systems

Wadsworth Publishing

Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic

"Fanatic," "dogmatic," "fundamentalist"—these are the words most often used in the West to describe the Ayatollah Khomeini. The essays in this book challenge 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.Ervand Abrahamian, while critical of Khomeini, asks us to look directly at the Ayatollah's own works and to understand what they meant to his principal audience—his followers in Iran. Abrahamian analyzes political tracts dating back to 1943, along with Khomeini's theological writings and his many public statements in the form of speeches, interviews, proclamations and fatwas (judicial decrees). What emerges, according to Abrahamian, 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.These essays reveal 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.

Africa

University of California Press

"Fanatic," "dogmatic," "fundamentalist"―these are the words most often used in the West to describe the Ayatollah Khomeini. The essays in this book challenge 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. Ervand Abrahamian, while critical of Khomeini, asks us to look directly at the Ayatollah's own works and to understand what they meant to his principal audience―his followers in Iran. Abrahamian analyzes political tracts dating back to 1943, along with Khomeini's theological writings and his many public statements in the form of speeches, interviews, proclamations and fatwas (judicial decrees). What emerges, according to Abrahamian, 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. These essays reveal 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.

The role of torture in recent Iranian politics is the subject of Ervand Abrahamian's important and disturbing book. Although Iran officially banned torture in the early twentieth century, Abrahamian provides documentation of its use under the Shahs and of the widespread utilization of torture and public confession under the Islamic Republican governments. His study is based on an extensive body of material, including Amnesty International reports, prison literature, and victims' accounts that together give the book a chilling immediacy.According to human rights organizations, Iran has been at the forefront of countries using systematic physical torture in recent years, especially for political prisoners. Is the government's goal to ensure social discipline? To obtain information? Neither seem likely, because torture is kept secret and victims are brutalized until something other than information is obtained: a public confession and ideological recantation. For the victim, whose honor, reputation, and self-respect are destroyed, the act is a form of suicide.In Iran a subject's "voluntary confession" reaches a huge audience via television. The accessibility of television and use of videotape have made such confessions a primary propaganda tool, says Abrahamian, and because torture is hidden from the public, the victim's confession appears to be self-motivated, increasing its value to the authorities.Abrahamian compares Iran's public recantations to campaigns in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, and the religious inquisitions of early modern Europe, citing the eerie resemblance in format, language, and imagery. Designed to win the hearts and minds of the masses, such public confessions—now enhanced by technology—continue as a means to legitimize those in power and to demonize "the enemy."

Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran

The role of torture in recent Iranian politics is the subject of Ervand Abrahamian's important and disturbing book. Although Iran officially banned torture in the early twentieth century, Abrahamian provides documentation of its use under the Shahs and of the widespread utilization of torture and public confession under the Islamic Republican governments. His study is based on an extensive body of material, including Amnesty International reports, prison literature, and victims' accounts that together give the book a chilling immediacy. According to human rights organizations, Iran has been at the forefront of countries using systematic physical torture in recent years, especially for political prisoners. Is the government's goal to ensure social discipline? To obtain information? Neither seem likely, because torture is kept secret and victims are brutalized until something other than information is obtained: a public confession and ideological recantation. For the victim, whose honor, reputation, and self-respect are destroyed, the act is a form of suicide. In Iran a subject's "voluntary confession" reaches a huge audience via television. The accessibility of television and use of videotape have made such confessions a primary propaganda tool, says Abrahamian, and because torture is hidden from the public, the victim's confession appears to be self-motivated, increasing its value to the authorities. Abrahamian compares Iran's public recantations to campaigns in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, and the religious inquisitions of early modern Europe, citing the eerie resemblance in format, language, and imagery. Designed to win the hearts and minds of the masses, such public confessions―now enhanced by technology―continue as a means to legitimize those in power and to demonize "the enemy."

In a reappraisal of Iran's modern history, Ervand Abrahamian traces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, through the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the Pahlavis and, in 1979, revolution and the birth of the Islamic Republic. In the intervening years, the country has experienced a bitter war with Iraq, the transformation of society under the clergy and, more recently, the expansion of the state and the struggle for power between the old elites, the intelligentsia and the commercial middle class. The author is a compassionate expositor. While he adroitly negotiates the twists and turns of the country's regional and international politics, at the heart of his book are the people of Iran. It is to them and their resilience that this book is dedicated, as Iran emerges at the beginning of the twenty-first century as one of the most powerful states in the Middle East.

A History of Modern Iran

Cambridge University Press

Written by a distinguished group of comparativists, this innovative and accessible introductory text surveys 12 key countries organized according to their level of political development: established democracies, transitional democracies, and non-democracies. The country studies illuminate four comparative themes in a global context: the world of states, examining the interaction of states within the international order; governing the economy, covering the role of the state in economic management; the democratic idea, discussing the pressure for more democracy and the challenges of democratization; and the politics of collective identities, studying the political impact of diverse attachments and sources of group identity.

Introduction to Comparative Politics

Cengage Learning'

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Books by Abrahamian, Ervand

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Abrahamian, Ervand. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Iranian Mojahedin

The Iranian Mojahedin

Introduction to Comparative Politics, AP* Edition

Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic

Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic

Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran

Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran

A History of Modern Iran

A History of Modern Iran

Introduction to Comparative Politics