winterbadger | probably not of as much interest... (Reply)

Assignment: Answer one of the following two questions: 1) Compare the three most important changes in [Grand Ayatullah Sayid Ruhullah Musawi] Khomeini's political thought throughout his lifetime. Which was most significant, and why? Do these changes show that he was merely an opportunist, or do they illuminate a thinker capable of real growth and change over time? 2) Khomeini only praised one contemporary writer in his lifetime (notably Al-Ahmad, author of 'Gharbzadegi', or 'West-toxication', and NOT Shariati). What do you think accounts for his decision not to openly praise Shariati, a significant Iranian thinker and regime critic?

It is interesting to contrast the characters and interests of Jalal Al-e-Ahmad and Ali Shariati in an effort to understand why one received Khomeini's approval and the other did not. Each was the son of a cleric. Each received a university education in Iran but also studied abroad in the West. Both became interested in sociology (though Al-e-Ahamd pursued literature as profession with sociology as a sidelight, while Shariati earned a doctorate in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris). Both criticized the government of the shah and suffered for it. Both approached the question of Iranian society and government from a Marxist perspective.

But where each directed his efforts is perhaps instructive in answering the riddle of why Khomeini favored one but not the other. Al-e-Ahmad, penned the influential "Gharbzadegi"--a critique of Western influence on Iranian society, culture, and religious institutions--towards the end of his working life, having spent most of the previous several decades devoting himself to literature. He ceased political activism when the Tudeh Party was suppressed, and one commentator even accuses him of portraying all intellectuals as tool of Western corruption.

Shariati, on the other hand, never stopped pursuing political action. He created a fascinating combination of Shi'a mysticism and Marxist ideology that both assailed the injustices of the secular government and criticized the religious authorities for obscurationism and elitist support for the repressive civil government.

And here may lie the reason for Khomeini's failure to praise him. First, Shariati, though influenced by Sufi mystical concepts, decries the Shi'a tradition of mystical and specialized knowledge that restricts proper understanding and interpretation of the Quaran to the clergy alone. Shariati believed that religion belonged to all the people, not just to the clergy. As pointed out in the essay "Ali Shari'ati: Islamic Fundamentalist, Marxist Ideologist, and Sufi Mystic", this ran directly counter to the essential principle of Khomeini's doctrine that the clergy were the only fit rulers of the state and only they could properly understand and interpret the words of the Prophet.

While Shariati used much of the same populist ideology as Khomeini, he seems to have been much more sincere in his belief in the fundamental importance and centrality of the people than Khomeini, and his Marxism seems to have had deeper roots than that of Al-e-Ahmad. But most of all, given his continual political activity and the popularity of his views, it seems quite likely that Khomeini saw him less as a fellow struggler for the people and more as a rival for political influence. In many ways, Khomeini appears to have cut his political coat to fit his cloth, taking whatever tack would carry him to supreme power. Shariati's devotion to his ideals was perhaps a little less elastic but a bit more sincere, the sort of person that one of Khomeini's ilk would always find somewhat unsettling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalal_Al-e-Ahmad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gharbzadegi
http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/jalahmad/jalal_al_ahmad.php
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Authors/AAhmad.html
http://www.iranian.com/Jahanbegloo/2006/July/Intellectuals/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Shariati
http://www.iranchamber.com/personalities/ashariati/ali_shariati.php
http://www.angelfire.com/az/rescon/ALSHAR.html
http://www.iranian.com/Opinion/2003/February/Shariati/