Shi’i Ideology, Iranian Secular Nationalism and the Iran‐Iraq War (1980–1988)

By Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh

Volume 7, Issue 1, pages 86-103

Abstract

In the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the ensuing Iraqi invasion of the southern province of Khuzestan, one of the most important initiations of Islamic institutions of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was the creation of the Sepâh‐e Pâsdârân‐e Enqelâb‐e Eslâmî (The Islamic Revolutionary Guard) or SPEE (Rafiqdust 1382/2004:173‐4). This revolutionary organisation was Khomeini’s answer to the regular standing Iranian army, trained and disciplined under the tight control of the deposed monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to thwart any effort to destroy the much fought for Revolution and a possible coup d’état (Menashri 1999:218–219; Katzman 1993). The Ayatollah ordered its creation in the first week of his victory in February 1979 (Rafuqdust 1383/2004:174). ‘Whoever is armed,’ stated the call, ‘can join the Sepâh’ (Rafiqdust 1383/2004:184). The call was put out to start recruiting those who had taken up arms against the Pahlavi regime during the Revolution. Basîj‐e Enqelâb‐e Eslamî (Islamic Revolution’s Mobilisation Force) or Basîj was the organisation born out of SPEE, which was filled with devout, motivated, and faithful Shi’i militants (Globalsecurity.org 2004)). By default, the Iran‐Iraq War (1980–1988) solidified the Islamic Revolution, and Basîj, as a key military body of the new regime, played a major role in this process. This study discusses how the Islamic government of Iran successfully promoted long‐learned religious traditions, in this case, the Karbala paradigm and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in 680 AD to rally support and receive unconditional loyalty of the Basîji (a Basîj member) during the Iran‐Iraq War. It examines the following two points: first, the idea of self‐sacrifice as part of a religious belief, powerfully energised by the use of Shi’i ideology and history; second, the discussion of the amalgamation of secular and religious nationalism, which Ernest Gellner describes as ‘a principle which holds the political and national unit’ together (Gellner 1983:1). Secular or modern nationalism was imbued with religious symbols, playing a key role in the fight against Iraq.

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