Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings

334 Pages·2020·6.033 MB·\334

by  Pouya Alimagham

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Contesting the Iranian Revolution
Most observers of Iran viewed the Green Uprisings of 2009 as a “failed
revolution,”withmanyIraniansandthoseinneighboringArabcountries
agreeing. In Contesting the Iranian Revolution, however, Pouya Alimag-
hamre-examinesthisevaluation,deconstructingtheconventionalwin–lose
binary interpretations ina way thatunderscores the subtle but important
victories on the ground, and reveals how Iran’s modern history imbues
thosetriumphswithconsequentialmeaning.
Focusing on the men and women who made this dynamic history, and
who exist at the center of these contentious politics, this “history from
below” brings to the fore the post-Islamist discursive assault on the
government’s symbols of legitimation. From powerful symbols rooted in
Shiʿite Islam, Palestinian liberation, and the Iranian Revolution, Alimag-
ham harnesses the wider history of Iran and the Middle East to highlight
howactivistscontestedtheIslamicRepublic’slegitimacytoitsverycore.
pouya alimagham isalecturerandhistorianoftheMiddleEastatthe
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his PhD in history
fromtheUniversityofMichigan.Histhesis,onwhichthisbookisbased,
was awarded the Mehrdad Mashayekhi Dissertation Award by the
AssociationforIranianStudiesin2016.

Contesting the Iranian
Revolution
The Green Uprisings
pouya alimagham
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
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DOI:10.1017/9781108567060
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Names:Alimagham,Pouya,author.
Title:ContestingtheIranianrevolution:thegreenuprisings/PouyaAlimagham.
Description:Cambridge,UnitedKingdom;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,
2020.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2019038198(print)|LCCN2019038199(ebook)|
ISBN9781108475440(hardback)|ISBN9781108466899(paperback)|
ISBN9781108567060(epub)
Subjects:LCSH:Revolutions–Iran–History.|Protestmovements–Iran–History–21st
century.|Iran–History–Electionprotests,2009.|Iran–Politicsandgovernment–1997-
|Iran–Politicsandgovernment–1979-1997.
Classification:LCCDS318.9.A4472020(print)|LCCDS318.9(ebook)|
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ISBN978-1-108-46689-9Paperback
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For my mother and father, Sonia and Shahram Alimagham,
For their love, support, and inspiration.
For my brother, Nima Alimagham,
For being a true older brother.

Contents
List of Figures page ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Note on Transliteration xvii
1 Situating the2009 GreenUprising 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 TheIranianRevolutionandItsHistoriographyMatter 6
1.3 ContestingtheIranianRevolutionof1979in2009and
Post-Islamism 17
1.4 TheIdeologicalUniversesof1979and2009 20
1.5 ModernSourcesforaModernMovement:Researchand
ProtestintheDigitalAge 23
1.6 OutlineoftheBook 28
2 From the Theoryof Islamic Republicanismto Practice,
1979–2009 33
2.1 WaronTwoFronts 33
2.2 TheLearningCurve:RevolutionaryStatecraftandEducation 38
2.3 ReformismandDeadlock 43
2.4 TheConservativesStrikeBack 48
2.5 TheGreenMovement 51
3 On the Streets and Beyond: Crowd Action and the Symbolic
Appropriation ofthePast 52
3.1 Introduction:TheSignificanceoftheCrowdasaSocialConcept 52
3.2 SituatingthePhenomenonoftheIranianCrowd 55
3.3 TheCrowdbeforetheElection 58
3.4 TheTenthPresidentialElectionandItsAftermath 77
3.5 “AllahuAkbar” 86
3.6 SubvertingIran’sPoliticalCalendar 92
3.6.1 AyatollahBeheshti’sAnniversary 94
3.6.2 AyatollahRafsanjani’sFridaySermon 98
vii
viii Contents
3.6.3 DensofSpies:TheAnniversaryoftheUSEmbassy
Takeover 107
3.6.4 TheReturnofNationalStudentDay 115
3.7 Conclusion 134
4 Contesting Palestine: Generating RevolutionaryMeaning 137
4.1 Introduction 137
4.2 GeneratingRevolutionaryDiscourse 139
4.3 IranandPalestine:ABriefHistory 144
4.4 InstitutionalizingPalestinianLiberationinRevolutionaryIran 160
4.5 PalestineContested 177
4.5.1 “NoToGaza,NoToLebanon,ISacrificeMyLife
OnlyForIran” 180
4.5.2 “PalestineIsRightHere” 183
4.6 Conclusion 194
5 Mourning asProtest: Montazeri, Post-Islamism, and
Revolutionary ͑Ashura 196
5.1 Introduction 196
5.2 MontazeriasaPost-Islamist 197
5.3 MourningMontazeriasProtest 211
5.4 Revolutionary͑Ashurainthe1970s 221
5.5 Shiʿism:ASharedEmotiveUniverse 234
5.6 TheIslamicRepublicandHusayn’sMartyrdom 237
5.7 RevolutionaryʿAshurain2009 244
5.8 Conclusion 253
6 Conclusion: History asPrologue 256
6.1 Introduction 256
6.2 RepressionandtheCrowd’sFailuretoAppropriate
RevolutionDay 260
6.3 TheUprisingEndures:ComplicatingtheClaimofItsFinality 269
6.4 Conclusion 280
References 285
Index 310
Figures
1.1 “We will continue on thepathof the Imam andthe
martyrs of theRevolution” page16
1.2 YouTubedeleted files screenshot 26
3.1 Castingaballot:“The13thanniversaryoftheIslamic
Republicof Iran’s establishment” 62
3.2 “Assistance from God leads tovictory” 72
3.3 Like clockwork:co-opting political holidays 96
3.4 Anewbeginning:theseizureoftheUSembassy 109
3.5 The emblem ofthe Islamic Republic’s flag 126
4.1 PLO and IRA: one struggle 138
4.2 Image of a Palestinian refugee boy from a
textbook 162
4.3 Palestine Square: mural of Sheikh ʿAbbas al-
Musawi 167
4.4 Statue at PalestineSquare 168
4.5 Close-up of the Palestine Square statue 169
4.6 Close-up of the Palestine Square statue (from a
different angle) 170
4.7 Close-up of the Palestine Square statue (from a
third angle) 171
4.8 Second mural atPalestineSquare 172
4.9 Raisingarock:“TheuprisingoftheMuslimpeopleof
Palestine” 173
4.10 Khomeini’s leadership and theliberation
of Quds 174
4.11 “Qudsbelongs to Muslims” 175
4.12 “Onlymilitant Islam can liberate Quds” 176
4.13 Jerusalem-themed Iranian banknote 177
4.14 “Thisland is ours, Tehran –Quds” 186
4.15 Handala mural at Palestinian refugee camp in
Shatila 188
ix
x ListofFigures
4.16 “Palestine isright here” 189
4.17 The Green Movement’sPalestinian symbolsof
resistance 190
4.18 Green Handala asa Twitterprofilepicture 190
5.1 “MartyrdomistheinheritanceoftheProphetandHis
family to their followers” 216
5.2 “The blood of themartyrs ismightier than the
sword” 240
5.3 President Barack Obama alongsideShimr 242
6.1 Bannersof resistance 257
6.2 Nearingthe end:the hourglass ofthe Movement’s
major daysof action 266
6.3 Iranian banknote: “Independence, Freedom, Islamic
Republic” 283
6.4 “Moneytalks” 284