Were the thirteen essays Michel Foucault wrote in 1978–1979 endorsing the Iranian Revolution an aberration of his earlier work or an inevitable pitfall of his stance on Enlightenment rationality, as critics have long alleged? Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi argues that the critics are wrong. He declares that Foucault recognized that Iranians were at a threshold and were considering if it were possible to think of dignity, justice, and liberty outside the cognitive maps and principles of the European Enlightenment.  Foucault in Iran centers not only on the significance of the great thinker’s writings on the revolution but also on the profound mark the event left on his later lectures on ethics, spirituality, and fearless speech. Contemporary events since 9/11, the War on Terror, and the Arab Uprisings have made Foucault’s essays on the Iranian Revolution more relevant than ever. Ghamari-Tabrizi illustrates how Foucault saw in the revolution an instance of his antiteleological philosophy: here was an event that did not fit into the normative progressive discourses of history. What attracted him to the Iranian Revolution was precisely its ambiguity. Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, this interdisciplinary work will spark a lively debate in its insistence that what informed Foucault’s writing was not an effort to understand Islamism but, rather, his conviction that Enlightenment rationality has not closed the gate of unknown possibilities for human societies. 

The Iranian revolution of 1979 overhauled not only the foundations of Iranian society, religion and politics, but also our understanding of the role of religion in modern government. Here Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi takes us on an enlightening journey, showing that the revolution unintentionally opened up the public sphere to competing interpretations of Islam. Far from being the exclusive preserve of high-ranking seminarians as before, in contemporary Iran lay theologians, intellectuals, lawyers and social activists are active and influential interlocutors in debates on the meaning of Islam.A key figure is philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush, a leading force behind Iran's pro-democracy movement and vocal critic of the state. Through a close reading of Soroush's writings, and by tracing the links between Muslim intellectual critique and the realpolitik of postrevolutionary power struggles, Ghamari-Tabrizi offers nothing less than a pathbreaking reassessment of the Iranian revolution. With powerful insights, 'Islam and Dissent' is essential for an understanding of the Muslim world today, as of the new relationships between religion, politics and democracy visible across the globe.Islam and politics a very important topic, especially re. Iran. Soroush is a key figure in Iran, and in Middle East generally. This title is recommended by star academics in the field of Islam and politics.

Were the thirteen essays Michel Foucault wrote in 1978–1979 endorsing the Iranian Revolution an aberration of his earlier work or an inevitable pitfall of his stance on Enlightenment rationality, as critics have long alleged? Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi argues that the critics are wrong. He declares that Foucault recognized that Iranians were at a threshold and were considering if it were possible to think of dignity, justice, and liberty outside the cognitive maps and principles of the European Enlightenment.  Foucault in Iran centers not only on the significance of the great thinker’s writings on the revolution but also on the profound mark the event left on his later lectures on ethics, spirituality, and fearless speech. Contemporary events since 9/11, the War on Terror, and the Arab Uprisings have made Foucault’s essays on the Iranian Revolution more relevant than ever. Ghamari-Tabrizi illustrates how Foucault saw in the revolution an instance of his antiteleological philosophy: here was an event that did not fit into the normative progressive discourses of history. What attracted him to the Iranian Revolution was precisely its ambiguity. Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, this interdisciplinary work will spark a lively debate in its insistence that what informed Foucault’s writing was not an effort to understand Islamism but, rather, his conviction that Enlightenment rationality has not closed the gate of unknown possibilities for human societies. 

This special issue of "Radical History Review" marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Iranian revolution, an event that reverberated across the globe, causing rifts and realignments in international relations, as well as radical changes in Iranian political, social, and cultural institutions. The Iranian revolution of 1979 was a historical inevitability neither in its inception nor in its outcome; however, its continued domestic and global significance - often misunderstood and misinterpreted - remains indisputable. The issue explores the complex and evolving nature of the post-revolutionary dynamics in Iran and calls for renewed reflection on the roots of the revolution, the processes leading to its proponents' victory, and its impact on the Muslim world and the global balance of power. The articles in this interdisciplinary issue take up the legacy of the revolution within and outside the borders of Iran and offer critical evaluation and new insights into the transformations that Iran experienced as a result of the revolution. One essay discusses the role of the crowd in the revolution, while another traces the genealogy of the discourse of anti-Zionism in Iranian circles. Other articles explore the treatment of the revolution in the Egyptian press and illustrate how the trauma of the revolution is portrayed in diasporic Iranian women's biographies. The issue also features a "Reflections" section, which includes eight short essays that provide snapshots of postrevolutionary politics, economics, literature, cinema, and visual arts, demonstrating both radical changes and continuities in Iranian society. Contributors include Ervand Abrahamian, Mahdi Ahouie, Niki Akhavan, Said Amir Arjomand, Mansour Bonakdarian, Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, M. R. Ghanoonparvar, Hanan Hammad, Taraneh Hemami, Persis M. Karim, Mazyar Lotfalian, Ali Mirsepassi, Minoo Moallem, Nima Naghibi, Nasrin Rahimieh, Ahmad Sadri, and Djavad Salehi-Isfahani. Kamran Talattof Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi is Associate Professor of History and Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mansour Bonakdarian is visiting Assistant Professor of History at the University of Toronto at Mississauga. Nasrin Rahimieh is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine. Ahmad Sadri is Professor of Sociology at Lake Forest College. Ervand Abrahamian is CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center.