The Islamic Revolution in the New World

The Islamic Revolution in the New World

The Impacts and Results of the Islamic Revolution in the World

1- The propagation of revolutionary Islam

It can be stated that in the history of Islamic political thought, there were two types of views concerning the issue of resistance against the oppressive regimes: the first one is a submissive stance. The second one is a combative stance. Predominantly, the Sunni Muslims have opted for the first stance while the Shi’ah Muslims have opted for the second stance. Of course, this matter has never been universal as there are revolutionary groups even amongst the Sunnis, and submissive groups among the Shi’ahs. Along time ago, Egypt had a special political uprising in propagating revolutionary Islam. An example of that was the movement of Sayyid Qutb and the Muslim Brotherhood movement. Nonetheless, with the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the issue of a revolutionary Islam was raised in a more serious way and led to the formation of many religious and revolutionary movements in the Muslim countries which kind of used the term ‘al-jihad’ in their official titles. Before that, for decades, the revolutionary movement was in the hands of the Marxist and leftist groups. Presently, two decades after the Islamic Revolution, the revolutionary Islamic groups in the Sunni world are reluctant to fight against the illegitimate regimes in the Muslim countries and they do not pay heed to the traditions that state the necessity of obeying a Muslim ruler in every condition.

2- The propagation of Islamic politics

We must differentiate between political Islam and revolutionary Islam. What is meant by this expression is that Islam is not just a mere religion. Rather, it also includes politics and governance. This view had been opposed for a long time; in the sense that after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Islam had step by step gone towards more restrictions and its political ideology had been neglected. The Islamic Revolution was an emphasis on the political aspect of Islam. Of course, this time the matter of caliphate was not raised since the Shi’ah revolutionary identity did not believe in caliphate. This time around, the discussion was about governance. Islamic governance is a religious-political theory that was taken into consideration by some religious thinkers like Rashid Reza (1865-1935) after the Muslim countries had become independent and the theory of caliphate had been abolished. In Iran, the ideology of Islamic governance was incorporated with the ideologies of Shi’ah political jurisprudence and assumed the name of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Wilayat al-Faqih). In this ideology, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) is the basis of political actions.

3- Reviving the religious identity

One century after the emergence of Western civilization in the Muslim world, self-confidence diminished amongst the Muslims especially the educated class. A big number of the newly educated class were in support of Western civilization in order to be absorbed in the Western global identity and forget about their own past. Their attention regarding the past was only in the sense of fun and entertainment and in regard to this, they also endeavoured to accept and believe what the new Western researchers told them about their own history. Initially, self-confidence which was once the foundation of the great Islamic civilization could have become the reason for the revival of the traditional Islamic culture and its development no longer had many supporters. As a religious revolution in the new non-religious world, the Islamic Revolution, which was an amazing phenomenon, greatly relied upon Islamic self-confidence. This matter was immensely considered in the slogans of Imam Khomeyni and it was a point that ultimately led to the unification of the Islamic world and the return of the great majesty.

4- The propagation of Shi’ism

One of the most important consequences of the Islamic Revolution in the Muslim world is the propagation of the Shi’ah sect. This impact was achieved from different perspectives. The general domain present in the ideologies of the Islamic Revolution was the Shi’ah beliefs and goals and naturally, propagating these ideologies together with their original foundation, that is Shi’ism, was an achievable feat. The credibility of the personality of Imam Khomeyni, his stance against imperialism, and principally his stance against their dominance over the Muslim world added weight to the Shi’ah sect and thus attracted many Muslims towards Shi’ism.

In the course of the Shi’ah growth, other than utilizing the revolutionary bases, the traditional methods were also employed in promulgating Shi’ism. The most vital of all is the promulgation of the love for the progeny of the Holy Prophet (s’) (Ahl al-Bayt) whereby together with that, Shi’ism has grown. Apart from that, after the Islamic Revolution, a lot of institutions in Iran took the responsibility of propagating Shi’ism and while they were propagating the revolutionary and Shi’ah ideology, they conducted and are still conducting their own activities. Some of these institutions have declared the propagation of Shi’ism as their official goal and some are indirectly venturing into these measures. Nevertheless, on a daily basis, hundreds of letters from those interested in the Shi’ah sect are received in these institutions and their desired educational works are sent to them. Likewise, several schools and educational centers for propagating Islam and Shi’ism have been opened in the Muslim countries. Most of these institutions are managed by new Shi’ahs who resorted to Shi’ism after the Islamic Revolution. The management of these schools is in the hands of Iraqi or Lebanese Shi’ah clerics who are more prepared to perform these responsibilities. Most of these institutions have a relationship with educational centers in Iran.

It must be noted that some countries such as Malaysia or Indonesia and even some African countries which in the past had no Shi’ahs or at least had no Shi’ahs among the natives have many Shi’ahs at the present moment. Obviously, we cannot relate all the Shi’ah converts to the Islamic Revolution. We must put into consideration the fact that the Shi’ahs in other countries like Iraq and also the Khoja Shi’ahs played great roles in propagating Shi’ism. After the developments in Iraq, the displacement of the enlightened Shi’ahs of that country has led to the development of Shi’ism in the world. Likewise, some of the religious institutions affiliated to the religious authority in Iraq, which today have centers in London or the United States have made great efforts in this course.

The important matter in our discussion is that the prominence of the concept of revolution in the Shi’ah ideology which has been recognized in the form of a tradition in the history of Shi’ism could have created simultaneous popularity for Shi’ism. Evidently, in some stages, it is only Shi’ism that can create such an opposition wave against the oppressive regimes. Contrary to this, it is said that the Sunni have typically submitted to power and this matter has been accepted as a principle. One must pay more heed to both sects.

It must be noted that after the Islamic Revolution, researches in Shi’ah studies have attained a special position in the Western educational institutes and new researches regarding that have been conducted. This must also be considered to stem from the extensive waves of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.

Ways in which the Islamic Revolution influences the Muslims

The most significant basis for the influence of the thoughts and goals of the Islamic Revolution was in Muslim countries. The leader of the Islamic Revolution believed that value must be given to the countries and not the regimes. With this belief, the regimes that depended on the United States and the people that were afraid of the revolutionary Muslims isolated themselves from the Iranian regime and minimized their relationship with this regime. Owing to this fact, the only way that remained was forming a relationship with the people. Such a matter would only have had a cultural form since forming a political relationship with the people would have made no sense unless it formed a relationship with an institution whereby this matter too, has its own political and cultural problems. In regards to this, we shall outline some bases for political and cultural exploitation:

The pilgrimage and Saudi Arabia: One of the grounds for propagating the message of the Islamic Revolution amongst the Muslims which has always been in the thoughts of the leader of the Islamic Revolution is the issue of pilgrimage (Hajj). The nature of pilgrimage due to the Muslim pilgrims from different parts of the world used to create a conducive environment for forming a relationship with them. The scope of this matter has been and is still so wide that it is not possible to even list its aspects. From the first year of the victory of the Islamic Revolution and every year, a detailed religious and political message from the leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran addressing the pilgrims in attendance is offered whereby its contents are completely political messages of the Islamic Revolution. It is clear that the other pilgrims will pay attention to these messages.

One of the vital measures by the leader of the Islamic Revolution was to replace the Hajj activity from being a mere religious activity into its reality which is being a religious and political activity. The plan that was put forward in order to make the Hajj become as much political as possible, was raising the issue of the exculpation of the polytheists in the Hajj rites. In the ninth year of Hijrah, the Holy Prophet (s’) gave Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali (‘a) the message of the exculpation of the polytheists in order for him to read it for people in Makkah. In this message, the polytheists had been given a respite whereby they were supposed to convert into Islam after the end of that respite. Inspired by that matter, the leader of the Islamic Revolution endeavoured to politicize the nature of Hajj in dealing with the polytheists whereby the United States is recognized as its leader. The importance of the matter of exculpation from the view of the leader of the Islamic Revolution was to such an extent that he said that Hajj without exculpation is not Hajj.

In order to correctly comprehend this message, it is better to quote a statement from him: “The cry of our exculpation is the cry of the Muslims in Africa. It is the cry of our religious brothers and sisters who due to the crime of being black, are being oppressed by the uncultured and racist imperialists. Our cry of exculpation is the cry of the people of Lebanon and Palestine and all the nations and other countries where the Western and Eastern superpowers especially the United States and Israel have laid their greedy eyes and looted their resources. Our cry of exculpation is the cry of exculpation of all the people that can no longer put up with the arrogance of the United States and their dominant presence. Our cry of exculpation is the cry of defence against our sect, chastity and dignity. The cry for defence against the resources and wealth. It is the courageous cry of countries who the dagger of disbelief and hypocrisy has lacerated their hearts. Our cry of exculpation is the cry of the poor, hunger-stricken, the oppressed ones and the bare feet people whose outcome of day and night have been looted by the international thieves. (Sahifeh-ye Nur, 19/201)

One of the vital messages of the leader of the Islamic Revolution in the issue of Hajj was the matter regarding the unity of Muslims. From the fact that the unity of Muslims was one of the strategic goals of the Islamic Revolution, all the messages have emphasized upon that. To a great degree, unity and the spirit of Hajj was adaptable. According to the religious decree (fatwa) of the leader of the Islamic Revolution, the Shi’ah too can pray the congregational prayer alongside the Sunnis behind the prayer leader (imam) at Masjid al-Haram and Masjid an-Nabi.

In general, there are two different periods regarding the manner in which the Saudi Arabia regime deals with the rite of exculpation and the cultural activities of Iranians in Hajj. The first period is up to 1988 (1366 SH) where Iran, with its immense participation in the Hajj, conducted the exculpation rite of the polytheists in a serious way and the Saudi Arabia officials made no efforts to thwart them. In this year, by means of the Saudi Arabian military attack on the pilgrims in attendance, around four hundred and especially the Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims were martyred.

After that, Iran did not participate in Hajj for three years. When they participated again in 1992 (1370 SH), they were not allowed to carry out their previous cultural activities. Even though there were cultural activities in a limited range, naturally, by creating more limitations for cultural activities during Hajj, these bases have been destroyed. Apart from these limitations, the pilgrims from other countries avoided any form of relationship with the Iranians as much as possible due to the influence of the propagation from their countries. Nonetheless, the impact of the activities of some years during the Hajj period is one of the bright records of the Islamic Revolution in promulgating the cultural and political message of the revolution in the alliance of Muslims and defending the oppressed ones.

Lebanon: One of the cultural bases for the activities of the Islamic Revolution in Lebanon. This country consists of different tribes and minorities. One of the prominent tribes is the Shi’ah community whose center is South of Lebanon and also in the Baalbek region. The Shi’ah community in Lebanon has always had a deep relationship with the Iranians ever since the Safavid period and a great number of them migrated to Iran during that period and held several government jobs and offices like Shaykh al-Islam.

Before the Islamic Revolution, during the internal wars of Lebanon in 1975, one of the Iranian clerics named Imam Musa al-Sadr became the leader of the Shi’ah community in Lebanon and managed to form an organization. From that time, the Shi’ah community entered the political arena as an organized unity. During the inception of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Musa al-Sadr disappeared; however, the organization that he had formed remained intact. With the inception of the Islamic Revolution, the light of hope radiated in the hearts of the Shi’ah community in Lebanon and the Shi’ah emerged to be one of the most active groups in this country. After the Israeli attack against Lebanon, the Shi’ah community in the South of Lebanon responded in a more organized manner and strengthened their relationship with Iran. After a while, a group amongst the Shi’ah community of Lebanon was formed known as Hezbollah. It had a more revolutionary stance in relation to the Islamic Amal movement which was headed by Nabih Berri.

The relationship of this group with Iran was so strong and for a long time, it has been one of the most prestigious Muslim groups in the course of defending the land of Lebanon against the Zionist invasion. By relying on the power of its own people, the Hezbollah group has remained loyal to the goals of the Islamic Revolution and right now, a trip to Dahieh, a predominant Shi’ah Muslim suburb in Beirut, shows that the slogans of the Islamic Revolution and the portraits of the leader of the Islamic Revolution is present on the doors and walls of that region. From the fact that Lebanon is considered to be one of the cultural gateways of the Arab world, some of the goals of the Islamic Revolution have been passed to the Arab world through that means.

Syria: One of the Arab countries that contrary to the other countries, stood by the side of Iran during the Iran – Iraq war is the Arab Republic of Syria. From the beginning, the leader of this country perceived the stance of the Islamic Revolution in support of Palestine and have resisted alongside Iran till the end. From the fact that there are predominant Shi’ah Muslim regions in Syria, there were grounds for the cultural activities for Iran in this country. This matter can be perceived by considering the presence of the Holy Shrine of Lady Zaynab (‘a) – the daughter of Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali (‘a) – and the constant pilgrimages to that shrine.

Another matter is the lack of Sunni prejudice amongst the leaders of Syria with the scholars and University lectures of this country was also another conducive ground for paying more heed to the Islamic Revolution. Whenever a conference for Islamic unity is held in Iran, the University lectures of that country participate with great enthusiasm in these conferences. In all the years, the publishers from Syria have always participated in the international book exhibition festival in Tehran and this was and is still a ground for common cultural cooperation.

The Shi’ah books are easily exhibited in the book exhibition in Syria which is an opportunity that is rare to find in the other Arab countries. In this comparison, the relationship of Iran with the transitions in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Pakistan, Libya and other countries must be discussed.

The difficulties of the relationship of the Islamic Revolution of Iran with the world

a. In the Muslim world

1- The issue of Shi’ism

After having discussed the matter regarding propagating Shi’ism and the ideologies of the Islamic Revolution, we must note that the first problem of the Islamic Revolution of Iran with the Muslim world is the matter of Shi’ism which is a very sensitive matter to the Sunni sect. The population of the Shi’ah community in the Muslim world in comparison to the Sunni Muslims is around ten percent although the regions where Shi’ahs reside are better places in the Muslim world. The Arab Shi’ah live in Iraq, East of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon and Kuwait. It must be noted that in all these regions the regimes are in the hands of the Sunni Muslims.

Due to its emphasis on Shi’ism and despite the reliance and emphasis that the Islamic Revolution has on the unity of the Muslims, according to the Sunni, it is a kind of historical dispute with the Sunni sect. The historical roots of this dispute are very long, extensive and deep. The history of the proximity of the Shi’ah and Sunni sects has only been experienced in special historical periods during the sovereignty of Sufism. Other than that, the aforementioned difference has always existed as a continuous issue even though with its severity and weakness.

It must be noted that it is a specific sect of the Sunni that has always been in conflict with the Shi’ah sect and it is the Sunni that is presently represented by the Salafist Sunni in Saudi Arabia. This movement was founded in the eighth century by ibn Taymiyyah and in the third century, it was carried on by the traditionalists under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal. The other Sunnis especially those who have been influenced by Sufism, have few differences with the Shi’ahs. Nevertheless, according to the Sunni extremists who live in Saudi Arabia, the unity of Shi’ah and Sunni has a lot of difficulties. The author of the detailed book, ‘Mas’alatu at-Taqrib bayn ash-Shi’ah wa as-Sunnah’ (The matter of proximity between the Shi’ah and Sunni), that was published in Saudi Arabia, believes that this unity will only benefit the Shi’ah. Likewise, he has also claimed that the Shi’ah are lying in regard to the matter of unity and are using the means of precautionary dissimulation (taqiyyah).

In the last twenty years, hundreds of books and pamphlets against the Shi’ah sect have been written in the Arab countries and also in India and Pakistan. More than eighty percent of them are kind of related to the matter of revolution and Shi’ism.

The issue of Shi’ah persecution in Pakistan, whereby in the past two or three years has emerged as one of the biggest crises. Likewise, the attack of the Taliban on Mazar-e Sharif and the massacre of the Shi’ahs is not only a historical matter. Rather, it is aimed at limiting the influence of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in the Muslim world.

The solution that the leader of the Islamic Revolution has chosen is the unity between the Shi’ah and Sunni Muslims. Principally, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he was looking for a united Muslim world that could solve the differences between the Islamic sects. It is in light of this, that this historical religious decree was issued that the Iranians should pray the congregational prayer behind the Imam at Masjid al-Haram during the Hajj activity.

This solution was not successful due to some reasons whereby the most significant of all is the lack of cooperation by the Sunni leaders. Despite that, it left positive impacts and it influenced the Sunnis who are not under the control of the Saudi ideology. It is expected that raising the issue of unity and the steps that have already been taken before it yields the desired results today, will serve as an experience for the future whereby undoubtedly the need for unity and comprehending its importance will be a matter of concern for all the Muslims. It is interesting to note that this inclination of the revolution has also opposition within itself. These people in opposition are Shi’ahs that are against the issue of unity.

It must be noted that due to its belief in Shi’ism, the Islamic Revolution of Iran has had a very significant influence amongst the Shi’ah community outside of Iran. These communities acted as a strong arm for the revolution. Of course, the difference in opinions amongst the religious jurists within and outside of Iran was also a stumbling block in the course of this matter. However, the affection that the Shi’ahs in all parts have towards Iran is a natural thing even if there are differences in opinions in trivial matters.

The thing that was important to the leader of the Islamic Revolution, was that if Islam was adhered to accordingly in the countries in its original form, and a desired and Islamic society to be established in Iran, the other Muslim countries would immediately turn towards revolution. The basis for inclining towards Islam and executing its legal laws is not only present in the Arab countries but also in countries such as Pakistan which had chosen for itself the title of ‘Islamic Republic’ even before Iran. The many Muslim groups present in these countries have commenced their efforts by imitating the epitome set by Iran. In some regions, there are secret organizations that carry out armed attacks.

The idea that the leader of the Islamic Revolution had was that in the process of the transitions, the countries were supposed to receive the major consideration and not the regimes. Owing to this, the desires and goals of the imposed regimes must not be considered over the countries; what matters is that the people of the other countries together with their goals should be considered. From the fact that there were many signs of the cooperation of the people of those countries with the revolution and its leader, there was hope for success. Over time, by employing many policemen in the political activities in these countries, the actualization of this matter needs a lot of time.

Going ahead with these actions can be very dangerous for the ruling regimes in these countries. Those who consider the Islamic Revolution of Iran to be the one inciting these movements have taken an opposition stance against it. Perhaps, the most important factor that led to the support of the Arab countries towards Saddam Ḥusayn in his war against Iran was preventing the development of the Islamic Revolution in those countries although there were also other reasons for that support. No one doubts that the economic transitions and the efforts for improving the economic conditions of most of the Arab countries are due to the fear of a transition similar to the transitions of Iran. This matter is more true regarding Saudi Arabia than in other countries.

Nonetheless, the issue of the inception of the Islamic Revolution was one of the major problems for the countries in the Middle East Region. In 1981 (1359 SH), the leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “The inception of a revolution by a military means is not inception at all. Inception cannot be achieved by forceful means. The inception of the revolution occurs when there is development in the aspect of Islam, the realities of Islam, Islamic and human ethics.” (Sahifeh-ye Nur, 13/263)

Indeed, it was not only the regimes that were afraid of this matter but also the colonial powers. In 1981 (1359 SH), the leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “You are now witnessing that in almost every part of the world, there is propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is all-inclusive propaganda. The Western and Eastern media together with their allies. This is because they are afraid of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Apart from the fact that they no longer gain their interests in Iran, they are afraid that this matter might spread and the movement and revolution might be established in other countries.” (Sahifeh-ye Nur, 13/263)

b. The problems of the Islamic Revolution with the Western world 

The problem of the Islamic Revolution with the Western world can be categorized into two parts. The first part is related to the ideological and cultural matters while the second part is related to the daily political affairs. We shall now outline some cultural and ideological disputes:

2) The difference between the Arabs and Persians

From a historical view, there has been a kind of conflict between the Arabs and Persians beginning from the time that Iran was conquered by Arab Muslims. The Shu’ubiyah issue in the history of Islamic literature is the cultural representation of this ethnic dispute between the Arabs and the Persians. Later on, the Abbasid dynasty and the Persian empires spurred this dispute in a way. The last part of these disputes was the Ottoman wars for the sake of successorship and representation of the Arabs and the Persians during the Safavid sovereignty.

The difference between Iraq and Iran was a kind of reflection of ethnic conflict. And based on the statistics done, most of the people in Iraq are Shi’ah, the conflict of the Arabs and Persians as a historical dispute, did not only make it impossible to establish a revolution in Iraq. Rather, it was the capitalists of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party of Iraq who used it as a means for distancing Iraq and Iran and deepening the differences. This matter was not only confined to Iraq since the Arabs always relied on this matter. Its basis had long been prepared even before the revolution. This is because the Arabs witnessed the closeness of Iran and Israel and in the decades before the revolution, this matter was one of the factors leading to the hatred of the Arabs towards the Persians.

After the Islamic Revolution, in order to create another conflict with Iran – pay heed to the next discussion – they raised again the issue of ethnicity. The analysis of the Islamic Revolution of Iran according to these people was that ‘again the Magians have come into power’. This title had a great impact that during the first years, it was widely propagated in the Arab countries against Iran and the Shi’ah sect. The title of ‘Magians’ that was given to Iran by the Arabs was and is still a significant mental problem for the Arab Muslims in relation to the Iranians. From another perspective, it must be noted that the Arabs consider themselves to be the real epitome and practitioners of Islam and they naturally mock the claim by the Iranians of having the real and correct Islam!

3) The fear of the inception of revolutions in the Muslim countries

The discussion regarding the inception of the revolution was one of the most sensitive ideas that were relied upon during the first years of the Islamic Revolution. There was hope that a movement like the Islamic Revolution would happen in other countries. In 1980 (1358 SH), the leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “Our movement is getting bigger and spreading to the other countries. The other countries are also facing problems. Anwar Sadat is the president of Egypt while other parts of Egypt are ruled by others. All the countries are having trouble with their ruling regimes and they also want to liberate themselves from the power and force of the regimes. When they saw that Iran revolted and succeeded and still went on even though people got killed, this thought of revolting got into their minds. The other countries too, want to achieve this feat and they will also revolt.” (Sahifeh-ye Nur, 11/45).

We can conclude from this discussion that the inception of the revolution means the preparation of the ideological bases for the Islamic Revolution in other Muslim countries whereby the leader of the Islamic Revolution strongly relied on and hoped for that. The aforementioned movement from those in opposition interpreted that Iran has the intention of intervening in the affairs of other countries and is very active with the aim of conducting a revolution.

 

difficulties a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome More (Definitions, Synonyms, Translation)

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