Geopolitical Journey: Iran at a Crossroads
This is a good article to read about an analyst's recent trip to Iran. I agree with most , if not all of what he says about domestic Iranian politics -- mainly that the Islamic Republic has massive popular and elite support and that the Green Movement has always been a constrained force.
He also makes a very interesting point that the region is undergoing a political awakening -- not a religious revival -- and that the uprisings have been limited to the Arab world, thus the term "Islamic Awakening" (thus extending to non-Arab nations as well) may not be apt. This is a quite interesting point and one I would definitely like to engage further in future posts.
The question, at the heart of the matter, is what is motivating these events? Islam, at least nominally, was at the forefront of revolutions and uprisings in the Middle East from the middle to late 20th century including the Islamic Revolution in Iran and Muslim Brotherhood movements in countries such as Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
In light of this, we should ponder Asef Bayat's assertions on "Post-Islamism" and how, as he argues, the current "theme" of Muslim societies has turned away from "Islamic fundamentalism" to focusing on better government and lively civil society. Bayat published his book in 2007, but it seems to be extremely relevant today. Are we in a "post-Islamist" world, and what does that mean? What has taken the place of Islamic revivalism?
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