State and religion in contemporary Iran modernity, tradition, and political Islam (1979-2005)
The title of this study raises questions about the meaning and the
significance of the words 'modernity', 'tradition' and 'Political Islam'
in contemporary Iran. The purpose of this study is to reveal true
meanings of the thoughts and practises of the post-revolution Iranian elites
and intellectuals, in relations to and alongside the social events, to
emphasize the existence of a modernisation process in the institution of
state and the moderate re-interpretation of Islam in the religious
establishment, which together have given rise to the distinctly Iranian
features of political development. This study shall be in a socio-historical
setting because political changes and social events in contemporary Iran are
difficult to identify and impossible to understand unless their roots are
discovered in their true locations.