The Iranian Revolution of Revolution of 1979 and Political Islam
Gelvin, 317−323.
Jillian Schwedler, “Religion and Politics,” in Politics and Society in the Contemporary Middle East, 2nd Edition, Michele Penner Angrist (ed.), (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013), 121-143.
[Note on the Schwedler piece: much of this will serve as a review to what we have already discussed in the course, including the history of Islamic revivalism/reformism in the region and a brief history of Zionism. As you read, make sure you understand the main categories of political religious activism that Schwedler puts forth.]
[Note on the Schwedler piece: much of this will serve as a review to what we have already discussed in the course, including the history of Islamic revivalism/reformism in the region and a brief history of Zionism. As you read, make sure you understand the main categories of political religious activism that Schwedler puts forth.]
Asef Bayat, "Streets of Revolution," in Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East, Second Ed (Stanford University Press, 2013), 175-187.
Film or Graphic Novel: Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi, 2000, 2007)
Prompts for Reading Responses:
What does Asef Bayat mean when he writes that "revolutions possess an inescapable spatial dimention"? What makes city streets and squares distinct "spaces of contention"? Where do we see these "spaces of contention" in Persepolis?
[for example, you can think about the significance of public streets and squares, but also of the importance of the private space of the home and the realm of the school classroom]
[for example, you can think about the significance of public streets and squares, but also of the importance of the private space of the home and the realm of the school classroom]
Or....
What does Jillian Schwedler's piece tell us about the ways in which Islamism operates in Iran today? What was the role of Islamism during the Iranian Revolution, as narrated through Persepolis? What does the story of Persepolis suggest about the role of religion in Iranian culture, especially in the lives of people like Marjane's family?
Response to prompt #2
ReplyDeleteSchwedler categorizes Iran as a “strongly Islamic state” (129) due to Islam’s dominant role in its political system. The Islamic Republic of Iran was founded after the Iranian revolution carried out by united people with a wide variety of interests such as nationalists, students, feminists, laborers, intellectuals, and bazaar merchants, overthrew the dictatorship of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1978-1979. Islamic clerics led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini then seized power and founded a regime whose legitimacy is derived from Islam. While the Iranian government does include a democratically elected president and parliament to carry out legislative affairs, the government remains effectively dictatorial as virtually unchecked power over the entire government is vested within the position of velayat-e faqih, who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a council of Islamic clerics deeming him to have a higher knowledge of Islam. Another committee of clerics half of whom are chosen by the faqih and the other half in parliamentary elections overseen by another faqih appointee make up the Council of Guardians, which has the power to kill any government policy or law it deems incompatible with Islamic law as well as choose who can run to be on the Assembly of Experts. Schwedler notes the existence of additional built-in devices to stifle any challenges to clerical power. Notably, however, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Islam is effectively monopolized as a means of not only political and economic control but also social control, as the Council of Guardians uses its power to make social impositions on the population, dictating appropriate dress and even the permissibility of contraceptives.
While Islamism as it is used to exert political, economic, and social control in Iran is fully displayed in the movie Persepolis, an autobiographical story based on graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi about her life growing up in Iran during the Iranian revolution and after, Satrapi is careful to differentiate between what Islam is to her and Islamism, when Islam is exploited to control and oppress. She does this by highlighting how her childhood innocence was taken away in the context of the horrors inflicted by the new Islamic regime alongside her maintenance of her own personal relationship with God as good, guiding and lacking responsibility and a sufficient explanation for these horrors. She equates the brutal oppressiveness of the new regime with the old one through the story of her uncle, who inspired her with his bravery, goodness and fight against the shah but is nevertheless executed by the new regime, which carried out many executions of revolutionaries who had brought down the shah, obviously fearful of an uprising. But Satrapi makes clear in her story that the new regime was more oppressive than the last, saying that its laws were “even more repressive,” and exposing the social oppression unique to the new regime when she notes in French “In two years, every aspect of our lives changed… And so did we.” Social oppression of women in particular increases and misogyny becomes rampant in society, weighing heavily on Satrapi’s now-covered mother though she tries to stand up to it, with even many women internalizing these attitudes about how women should act and dress. Satrapi’s family and their friends see through the regime’s manipulative exploitation of Islam and though Islam has long provided them with important emotional sustenance and been a huge part of their lives, they face a crisis when something so important to them is used to oppress them. Indeed Mrs. Nassrine, a family friend exclaims “I can’t believe in anything anymore!” while recounting how Islam is being exploited to tempt her son into dying for the regime. Ultimately, it is clear from their secret partying that while Islam provides them with emotional sustenance and moral guidance, they do not want it to limit their enjoyment of the world as the regime is using it to do and differentiate between the exploitation of Islam and its meaning to them.
ReplyDeleteNotably, that Satrapi named her story after an ancient Iranian city corresponds with the idea of using glories of ancient history to shape national pride; though she encounters discrimination for being Iranian in Europe, Satrapi maintains her Iranian pride.
When looking in history and trying to understand what fuels a revolution, there are patterns which appear that lend clarity into the phenomenon of an uprising of people. Within these patterns, there are political environments, social conditions, and as Bayat argues, a “spatiality of discontent” which lead to these revolutions (176). The urban environment produces a higher expectation for the quality of life than in the rural environment, so the likelihood of a revolution spawning from the countryside is lower (Bayat 180-1). When returning to the city to analyze this further, Bayat states that “expressions of public discontent” always occur in streets because streets are where the disagreeing parties will meet and interact inherently, allowing the message to spread quicker (180). These streets are chosen strategically. Within public spaces and streets, a crowd can quickly organize but also disperse if necessary, making it ideal for protests which may bring police (Bayat 184-5). Because of this ability for the streets to bring together large groups of people who will certainly be seen by most the populations, streets and public spaces are integral to revolution and its success. While private protests and individual disobedience may make headlines and provide hope to individuals, they generally will not disrupt the system enough to bring substantial change.
ReplyDeleteThe movie (or graphic novel) Persepolis showcases these moments of contention which occur on the street. At the beginning of the story, Marjane and her family are in their living room when they hear the booms and screams of protests on the street. This “historic moment” shapes the rest of the narrative (Persepolis). Shortly after, while learning of her uncle’s fate because of his communist ties, Marjane takes to attacking a young boy with her friends on the street as his father took part in the anti-communist regime. Quickly Marjane learns this significance of attack on the street. While her mother stops the children from a harsh attack, it was still publicly visible and set a tone amongst the neighborhood. Later on, after Marjane’s return from Austria, a scene which showcases the importance of the streets in spreading revolutionary messages is during the car ride with her friends. She bets with her friends that she won’t take off her veil, and when she does, she starts shouting of joy. A passerby hears these screams and is visibly uplifted by this freedom he briefly sees. In this moment, we see the overlap between public and private spaces. A car is partly a private space. But in the instance of authoritarianism, it becomes public and politicized. This is also seen in the home and school. The teachers tell the women to feel uplifted by the veil-that it is their power to cover themselves and protect their modesty. In one scene, the neighbor feels that need to cover herself suddenly as Marjane’s father walks in. In this manner, the private space can be both a place for retaliation and oppression where more personal views shine through (Persepolis).
Alec Haley
ReplyDeleteAsef Bayat dives into the importance of public spaces, specifically streets and squares, throughout the entirety of a revolution’s lifespan in his piece “Street Politics and the Political Street.” While he makes it clear that “millions work backstage in these highly complex dramas” (180) and that their efforts and impact should not be overlooked, it is the act of people taking their opinions out into the streets and other public spaces that are the direct challenger to their government. There are many instances throughout the Middle East and around the world where we see major squares become the focal point of revolutionary protests. This includes Enghelab Square in Tehran, Tahrir Square in Cairo and Taqsim Square in Istanbul among others. The reason that these squares were so important, discussed both by Bayat but also throughout our class discussions especially pertaining to Istanbul, is the fact that these large open spaces are in major cities. Unlike rural villages, city residents feel they have rights and entitlements as a city resident, and one of the most important of these rights is public transportation. Major squares are typically a meeting point to all sorts of transit methods, from busses, metros, or taxis. This makes it simple for people of all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds to come from their homes, near or far, and make their voices heard.
Another important piece about squares is the maze of streets that surrounds them. Since most of these protests are illegal and heavily cracked down upon, there needs to be a place to flee. Having a complex grid of streets makes it easy for protestors to flee when necessary and find refuge in “narrow alleyways, shops, or homes” (185).
Since squares are typically so centrally located within cities, it is common that the area directly surrounding is filled with theatres, cafes, bookstores, universities and other places that tend to attract an intellectual crowd. This is typically the crowd who has the support and resources to organize a protest of such grand scale, and because of the previously mentioned ease of transportation, the working class who typically could not afford to be around the central urban area, can get in and out of the protest without issue. Although protest leaders are not the only ones who understand this importance. As discussed in class the Turkish government actively shuts down public transportation into and out of the city center when there is concern for protests in squares and throughout the streets.
Alec Haley #2
ReplyDeleteWe also certainly see Bayat’s points come to life in Persepolis. Almost immediately after the start of the film there is a protest throughout the streets, where the massive crowd is symbolically filled in all black, each protester without personalization or character. Satrapi also brings forward the importance and need for rallies in the streets because as one of the characters noes, “half the population is illiterate. Only nationalism and religion can unite people.” Protests in the street are a way of sharing ideas that everybody can participate in regardless of education level and the unification and mere sight of a large protest is enough to instill a sense of nationalism in just about anyone. Throughout the film we see that the streets are used for a number of revolutionary activities that aren’t riots, such as where Marjane would go to buy illegal CDs of western artists just as Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd. Beyond the streets we see other semi-public areas that have a large effect on Marjane. The first is her school in Tehran where we see the varying ideologies that are taught to her based on the government influence at the time. It is also where she begins to rebel for the first time. She constantly stands up to her teachers voicing her own opinion knowing full well the trouble that she faces by doing so. Beyond these spaces being a place for protesting, violence, and illegal activities, Marjane is able to find one place, grocery stores in Vienna, as a place of comfort where she can view all of the western brands that were taken away from her daily life back home, but a space like this would be widely not approved of back in her home city of Tehran. Throughout both the film and the reading we do see that spaces of contention can be just about anywhere. While streets and public squares are the ones who find their place on front pages of news publications around the world, schools, grocery stores, and dozens of other places are politicized and play a role in revolutions.
-Mahmoud AlQadi
ReplyDeleteAsef Bayat uses the revolutions throughout the Arab world as examples of why certain areas within their cities would be very significant. He brings up places like Tahir Square in Cairo Egypt, and even Taqsim Square in Istanbul, Turkey since each one of those places are very significant to their own national history (176). Bayat argues that these environments such as the squares places of “discontent” because these squares, along with many others, are very commonly the locations of acts of “public discontent”. These acts or expression occur in the city rather than in the countryside because they have “higher living standards”. These acts always occur in streets because that is where most people would often go to cities to “communicate their collective discontent” since urban residents feel they are entitled to more rights than a typical rural inhabitant would (180). This way, the more people behind a movement, the more disruption it will bring to the city, which generates a larger audience who might eventually support the movement as well. Also, having these protests, or whatever kinds of acts of expression, done in the public streets and parks so that all is welcome. Everyone, no matter their socioeconomic background, can access the streets and squares so they can join the movement, and have their voices heard. Persepolis displays these rallies and the parts of the revolution that occur within the city. The protests are done typically in the streets, and how they are supporting the idea of revolution.
Persepolis also displays which areas under certain regime are deemed public and private spaces. Houses seems to be private for most of the time, unless the military authority have suspicion of “illegal activity”. Schools are more likely to be more of a what I like to call a “one-party education”. That is when any differences in ideological concepts from the student and that of the school, which is essentially controlled by the government, are heavily discouraged. Yet we see the Iranians attempt to still practice their different ideologies, as we see Marjane being sold Stevie Wonder, and Iron Maiden cassette tapes. She also has her jacket that says, “Punk is not dead’, her sneakers, and her Michael Jackson pin to project her interests, even though it is frowned upon in public. However, Marjane is comfortable rocking out to her music at home, which is where she also free to take off her veil. Marjane finds a lot of comfort in a grocery store she goes to when she moves to Austria, since it has a lot of products that are no longer sold back in Tehran.
Spaces of contention can be found almost anywhere. They can be in the public where a huge population wants to share their thoughts, or even in a private home where the residents can listen to just about any music they desire.
(Neha Ramani | Prompt #1)
ReplyDeleteThe Significance of Physical Spaces in Persepolis
In the chapter “Streets of Revolution” in his book Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East, Asef Bayat argues that the spaces in which significant events of a revolution take place are just as important to analyze as “why revolutions take place, who participates in them, and how events unfold” (Bayat 180). He focuses in particular on the connection between revolutions – specifically in the Middle East – and the urban settings in which they take place. He writes, “The idea of cities as the center of discontent is perhaps as old as the cities themselves” (Bayat 180). The movie Persepolis – which traces the life of a girl growing up around the time of the Iranian Revolution – illustrates how urban physical spaces play a role in revolutions.
One example of physical spaces playing a role in the plot of the revolution in Persepolis are during the scenes when Marjane, her family, and/or her friends are running away from the police. The scene that perhaps carries the most weight is when a party is raided and the men escape on the rooftops, resulting in one of Marjane’s friends falling to his death. The cityscape is clear in the background as the men jump from building to building. Bayat writes that this kind of “flexible” (Bayat 185) space can help facilitate rebellion. He writes, “Streets of discontent need to be a maneuverable space, where protestors can easily flee from the police— a space that is open yet surrounded by narrow alleyways, shops, or homes that can offer respite or sanctuary to revolutionary fugitives” (Bayat 185).
Another example of physical space shaping the revolutionary ideals of the characters in Persepolis are during the scenes that take place in Marjane’s various academic institutions in Iran. Bayat writes that “the vicinities of an urban campus of a university (such as that in Tehran), or a large mosque (such as al-Azhar in Cairo), or promenades of bookstores and theaters that attract an intellectual crowd are all potential sites of contention” (Bayat 184). This is proven in Persopolis, as school and university are where Marjane first appears to question authority and speak her mind. One scene that comes to mind is the university-wide assembly where the veiled women are sitting separately from the significantly more casually dressed men. The speaker encourages women to dress even more modestly and Marjane questions openly to the crowd why only women are held responsible for the supposed moral disintegration of society.
In conclusion, urban settings provide a unique backdrop for revolutions. The large population, many public spaces like streets and squares, and the diversity of thought prove the perfect mix for ideology to be turned into action. In Persepolis, we see everything from protests in public streets to secret Prohibition-esque parties in private spaces. While the film is only one account of a particular revolution, Bayat proves that physical space matters in any revolution.