Instead of engendering a renaissance of interest among Western intellectuals in the conditions of the 1979 revolution, the post-electoral crisis in Iran has unfortunately obfuscated what was already a complex historical event. Given that the protests in Iran cannot be understood without an adequate knowledge of their historical precedent from 1979 and earlier, we are making available here an edited version of Rasoul Nafisi’s “The Genesis of the Clerical State in Iran” from Telos 51 (Spring 1982). Telos 51 is available for purchase here.
The Genesis of the Clerical State in Iran
by Rasoul Nafisi
The religious state that has emerged in revolutionary Iran poses serious questions that, because of the rapidity of developments, have remained unanswered. In order to understand the Iranian revolution and the emergence of the clerical state, therefore, it is necessary to analyze the revolution’s genesis, its course, its aftermath, and, most importantly, the clergy’s role as a key sector of the power elite and its alliances.
