Cultural Export of the Islamic Revolution

Islamic Ideology

 

One of the sources of the soft power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, through which messages of Revolution is transferred to other Muslim countries, is the common Islamic ideology which is the cause of the unification of all Muslims across the world regardless of their denominations; because they all pray, fast and take the pilgrimage for the sake of one God and bound to one scripture and prophet. These are enough to establish an intellectual link between Muslims and bring them closer to one another, especially when they deal with the same political issues; as they all suffer from tyrannical and dependent foreign powers and the presence of colonialism in their countries that exploit national resources and humiliate them. This Islamic ideology that is the basis for Iran’s Islamic Revolution, is a reason for its universalism. Therefore, Dr. John L. Esposito, the Western thinker, in his book “The Iranian Revolution: Its Global Impact,” addresses this aspect of the Iranian Revolution and tries to find reasons for the reflection of the Iranian Revolution in its Islamic character:

 

Naturally, the Islamic Revolution, inspired by Islamic ideology which calls for happiness and salvation of all humans, may not strict itself to geographical boundaries of Iran and therefore its message would reach the Muslim nations of neighbouring countries as well as other nations. Hence, the export of Revolution from the very first days was brought to the attention of the authorities and thus it was included within the framework of revolutionary activism (Esposito, 2003, 261).

 

Essentially, the fact that the Iranian Revolution, due to its ideological nature cannot be confined to the country’s borders, is also stated in Article 154 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

 

The Islamic Republic of Iran has as its ideal human felicity throughout human society and considers the attainment of independence, freedom and rule of justice and truth to be the right of all people of the world. Accordingly, while scrupulously refraining from all forms of interference in the internal affairs of other nations, it supports the just struggles of the oppressed against the oppressors in every corner of the globe. (Constitution of the Islamic Iranian Revolution, 1989, Article 154).

 

This is a meaning of the soft power of the Iranian Revolution, which is reflected in foreign policy and has the power to influence other societies. Moreover, it can be seen in the words of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

For instance, Imam Khomeini said:

We raised for Islam. This is the Islamic Republic. This uprising for Islam cannot be enclosed in a country and even in Islamic countries. This movement is the continuation of prophets’ movements. Their movements have not been restricted to a single place. Prophet Muhammad (s) is from Saudi Arabia, but his invitation was not merely for the people of Saudi Arabia rather it was for all humans. (Sahifeh-ye Nour, volume 10:115)

 

Spirituality in Politics as the Soft Power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution

 

Joseph Nye presents one of the most comprehensive definitions of soft power; he sees soft power as “the ability to shape others’ preferences through the power of attraction” (Nye 43: 2003) that is manifested in culture, values ​​and foreign policy of a country (Nye 51: 2003) Obviously, the ability to shape the preferences of others requires cultural activities and it is done through influencing the audiences while convincing them to accept or act upon an issue and this is by no means possible with the use of physical forces. For example, if we see Egyptian and Bahraini people use the slogans of Allahu Akbar and la ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but God) following the ideologies of the Islamic Revolution in their anti-government demonstrations, or Palestinians who were plagued by the compromise between Palestinian movements and regime of Israel, use stones against the Israeli soldiers in line with the Iranian Revolution through the First and Second Intifadas, all in all, show the acceptance of views of Iranian revolutionaries by their counterparts in the above-mentioned countries.

 

This is the meaning of soft power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, upon which people in other countries find the Iranian method in seeking their ideals without the use of force acceptable and applicable in their countries. Therefore, the soft power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution lies in its cultural nature and can be utilized by other countries who share the same faith.

 

Introducing the Methods of Transferring Soft Power of the Iranian Revolution to the Muslim World

 

The soft power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution can be transferred to other Muslim countries by informing them about the revolutionary ideas as well as the factor of Islamic invitation. Essentially, the achievements, ideals and values ​​of the Revolution come to the attention of the world by the means of propaganda. Hence, the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini and the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran have tried to use this tool to reflect the realities and values ​​of Revolution throughout the world. Imam Khomeini talked about the importance of using propaganda for the cultural export of the Revolution.

 

When we say that we want to export Islam, it does not mean that we will travel to other countries. But what we can do is to introduce Islam as it is, by the means of our facilities, media and press and the groups that would go abroad. If it is presented as it is, it will be accepted by all. (Sahifeh-ye Nour, volume 18, page 243)

 

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, emphasizes the means and methods of transferring the message of the Islamic Revolution to the world:

The Islamic Revolution and the Islamic system include new concepts that, though they are common to the world, have specific features by which they are distinguished from the various schools of thought across the world; We need to understand and address this issue. (Speech of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, February 6, 2002).

 

In addition, it is necessary to properly utilize the public diplomacy and facilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, as well as cultural institutions such as seminaries and international universities and even sports, in order to spread the soft power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

 

 The Role of the Soft Power of Islam in the Middle East Uprisings

 

Regarding the nature and causes of the rise and emergence of popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa and from the perspective of soft power, many analysts consider these events to be rooted in the influence of the soft power of the Iranian Revolution in these regions; because they believe that reviving Islamic values is the motivation for the activism of such phenomena. This motivating power stems from the soft power of the school of Islam, shari’ah and teachings of Iran’s Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini, who emphasized the expansion and deepening the idea of ​​resistance against the arrogant powers.

 

The similarity of some of the demands of the protesters of the Arab revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Bahrain with the characteristics of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the nature of the authoritarian system of the countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and the Pahlavi regime, indicates that they observe the model of Iran’s Islamic Revolution while considering this as the reflection of the soft power of the Iranian Revolution at regional and trans-regional levels. For example, in view of some followers of this approach, the Egyptian protesters’ attack on the Israel embassy on September 9, 2011, and the escape of its ambassador are regarded to be in line with Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the repetition of the event of the United States embassy siege in 1979, in which the protesters were driven towards countering the Zionist regime.

 

Considering the soft power of religious teachings and the Islamic Revolution as the roots and nature of the developments in the Middle East, we may focus on the following as the achievements of such phenomena:

 

a) Self-confidence and reviving the messages of resistance are the most important achievements of these movements which are referred to as the “Islamic Awakening.” Basically, any structure and movement that is formed within the framework of the teachings of Islamic Resistance has posed serious challenges to the desires of the tyrannies, including the achievements of the Hezbollah movement or Hamas in the 33-Day or 22-Day War with Israel.

 

b) The process of the Islamic Awakening seems to proceed in the region with the creation of the Islamic Middle East. Ayatollah Khamenei for the first time predicted the formation of an Islamic Middle East based on the soft power of religious teachings. He talked about this matter during a meeting with the participants of the Gaza Congress: “Without a doubt, the Middle East will be formed based on the facts that the Almighty God has destined this to happen. This will be the Islamic Middle East‎.” (Speech of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali ‎Khamenei, October 5, 2009)

 

c) The increase in the significance of the Shi’ah political geography in the Middle East security-political equations is another result of these developments. In this regard, American think tanks have defined Shi’ah political geopolitical scenarios as one of their research priorities. For example, the Research Institute of the Council for Foreign Relations, which has a significant impact on the centers of power and governing structures, hosted “The Emerging Shi’ah Crescent Symposium: Understanding the Shi’ah” symposium on June 5, 2006, run by Richard N. Haass. In that meeting, it was argued that Shi’ah political geography in the Middle East has a high potential to form some democratic uprisings that in some areas are not in line with the United States interests in the Middle East. Haass argues that the future of the Middle East would see the competition of soft power of the teachings of Islam and the one posed by Joseph Nye, which is rooted in the culture of liberal democracy. Yet, nowadays this power is forming within the Islamic Middle East on the basis of the soft power of Islam and the Iranian Revolution.

 

This reminds us of the words of the head of the Institute for Foreign Policy Research, Daniel Pipes, more than twenty years ago at a seminar held in Istanbul in 1989, describing the Western fears of the revival of Islam after the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and its transference to other Muslim nations. He stated: “The United States will not be able to compromise with Muslims because they are not only going to expel our troops from the Middle East but also to stop cultural assimilation in this region…”

 

We cannot have peaceful coexistence with them because we have nothing in common with Ayatollah Khomeini... We did not have a particular sensitivity to Islam until ten years ago, but this is not the case today and we should pay adequate attention to this new phenomenon in Iran and some other countries. Today, Muslims take Iran into consideration and regard that as a role model. Nowadays, Iran is like a laboratory; if this experience succeeds, it will give courage to Muslims in other countries... Muslims are seeking to present Islam as a perfect school of thought, but we cannot accept this. (15 Khordad journal, 1990: 5)

 

d) Another achievement of manifestation of the uprisings in the region will be the collapse of the royal and traditional regimes of most Arab countries in the region. Moreover, the developments trends in the short term will incline towards the establishment of a new order based on religious democracy, or an increase in more observance of political and social rights of citizens by the governments; In other words, the nature of the political structure of the Middle East and the types of those who are involved in that structure, are likely to experience a fundamental change, which is partly inspired by the soft power of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

 

 

 

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