The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

The Iranian revolution still baffles most Western observers. Few considered the rise of theocracy in a modernized state possible, and even fewer thought it might result from a popular revolution. Moreover, the Shah's well-equipped army was still intact when he fled, oil-rich Iran faced no financial crisis, and the peasantry had no part in the rebellion. In The Turban for the Crown, Said Amir Arjomand provides a thoughtful and painstakingly researched account that makes the turmoil in Iran intelligible to the general reader and that explains the import of this singular event for our understanding of revolutions. To provide crucial historical background, Arjomand traces the history of Shi'ism in Iran, ranging from its establishment as the state religion in 1501 to the ascendency of Reza Shah and the threat his creation of a modern state bureaucracy posed to Shi'ite institutions. He then describes how, when the state built by Reza Shah began to crumble, the millenarianism inherent in Shi'ism, combined with Khomeini's charismatic leadership, facilitated the emergence of Khomeini as a messianic anti-monarch...how the Shah's indecisiveness neutralized the Army and allowed the revolution to gain momentum...how the massive infusion of petrodollars into the economy--and the blatant political corruption that resulted--turned the urban middle-class against the Shah...and how Khomeini disposed of Bakhtiar, Bani-Sadr, and Bazargan, consolidated clerical rule, and established a constitution based completely on a new interpretation of Islamic principles. Unmatched in originality, historical depth, and accuracy, The Turban for the Crown is filled with insight into the Iranian revolution, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, and their implications for American foreign policy.

Arjomand, Saïd Amir

Oxford University Press

The Iranian revolution still baffles most Western observers. Few considered the rise of theocracy in a modernized state possible, and fewer thought it might result from a popular revolution. Said Amir Arjomand's The Turban for the Crown provides a thoughtful, painstakingly researched, and intelligible account of the turmoil in Iran which reveals the importance of this singular event for our understanding of revolutions. Providing crucial historical background, Arjomand examines both the structure of authority in Shi'ism (one of the two main branches of Islam) and the impact of the modern state on Iranian society, two factors essential to the comprehension of the revolution of 1979. He then describes the emergence of Khomeini; the infusion of petrodollars into the economy; the blatant political corruption; and Khomeini's disposal of Bakhtiar, Bani-Sadr, and Bazargan, consolidation of religious rule, and establishment of a constitution based on a new interpretation of Islamic principles.

History

Middle East

For many Americans, Iran is our most dangerous enemy--part of George W. Bush's "axis of evil" even before the appearance of Ahmadinejad. But what is the reality? How did Ahmadinejad rise to power, and how much power does he really have? What are the chances of normalizing relations with Iran? In After Khomeini, Saïd Amir Arjomand paints a subtle and perceptive portrait of contemporary Iran. This work, a sequel to Arjomand's acclaimed The Turban for the Crown, examines Iran under the successors of Ayatollah Khomeini up to the present day. He begins, as the Islamic Republic did, with Khomeini, offering a brilliant capsule biography of the man who masterminded the revolution that overthrew the Shah. Arjomand draws clear distinctions between the moderates of the initial phrase of the revolution, radicals, pragmatists, and hardliners, the latter best exemplified by Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Taking a chronological and thematic approach, he traces the emergence and consolidation of the present system of collective rule by clerical councils and the peaceful transition to dual leadership by the ayatollah as the supreme guide and the subordinate president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He explains the internal political quarrels among Khomeini's heirs as a struggle over his revolutionary legacy. And he outlines how the ruling clerical elite and the nation's security forces are interdependent politically and economically, speculating on the potential future role of the Revolutionary Guards. Bringing the work up to current political events, Arjomand analyzes Iran's foreign policy as well, including the impact of the fall of Communism on Iran and Ahmadinejad's nuclear policy. Few countries loom larger in American foreign relations than Iran. In this rich and insightful account, an expert on Iranian society and politics untangles the complexities of a nation still riding the turbulent wake of one of history's great revolutions.

After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors

A revolution is a discontinuity: one political order replaces another, typically through whatever violent means are available. Modern theories of revolutions tend neatly to bracket the French Revolution of 1789 with the fall of the Soviet Union two hundred years later, but contemporary global uprisings—with their truly multivalent causes and consequences—can overwhelm our ability to make sense of them. In this authoritative new book, Saïd Amir Arjomand reaches back to antiquity to propose a unified theory of revolution. Revolution illuminates the stories of premodern rebellions from the ancient world, as well as medieval European revolts and more recent events, up to the Arab Spring of 2011. Arjomand categorizes revolutions in two groups: ones that expand the existing body politic and power structure, and ones that aim to erode—but paradoxically augment—their authority. The revolutions of the past, he tells us, can shed light on the causes of those of the present and future: as long as centralized states remain powerful, there will be room for greater, and perhaps forceful, integration of the politically disenfranchised.

Revolution: Structure and Meaning in World History

Europe

University of Chicago Press

Dismissing oversimplified and politically charged views of the politics of Shi'ite Islam, the author offers a researched sociological and historical study of Shi'ism and the political order of premodern Iran that exposes the roots of what became Khomeini's theocracy.

The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi'ite Iran from the Beginning to 1890 (Publications of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies)

Religion & Spirituality

University of Chicago Library

Dismissing oversimplified and politically charged views of the politics of Shi'ite Islam, Said Amir Arjomand offers a richly researched sociological and historical study of Shi'ism and the political order of premodern Iran that exposes the roots of what became Khomeini's theocracy.

The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi'ite Iran from the Beginning to 1890 (Volume 17) (Publications of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies)

From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam (St Antony's Series)

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

This study of messianism and revolution examines an extremely rich though unexplored historical record on the rise of Islam and its sociopolitical revolutions from Muhammad's constitutive revolution in Arabia to the Abbasid revolution in the East and the Fatimid and Almohad revolutions in North Africa and the Maghreb. Bringing the revolutions together in a comprehensive framework, Saïd Amir Arjomand uses sociological theory as well as the critical tools of modern historiography to argue that a volatile but recurring combination of apocalyptic motivation and revolutionary action was a driving force of historical change time and again. In addition to tracing these threads throughout 500 years of history, Arjomand also establishes how messianic beliefs were rooted in the earlier Judaic and Manichaean notions of apocalyptic transformation of the world. By bringing to light these linkages and factors not found in the dominant sources, this text offers a sweeping account of the long arc of Islamic history.

Messianism and Sociopolitical Revolution in Medieval Islam

University of California Press

Kings and Dervishes: Sufi World Renunciation and the Symbolism of Kingship in the Persianate World

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

Books by Arjomand, Saïd Amir

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

The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors

After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors

Revolution: Structure and Meaning in World History

The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi'ite Iran from the Beginning to 1890 (Publications of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies)

The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi'ite Iran from the Beginning to 1890 (Volume 17) (Publications of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies)

From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam (St Antony's Series)

Messianism and Sociopolitical Revolution in Medieval Islam

Kings and Dervishes: Sufi World Renunciation and the Symbolism of Kingship in the Persianate World