Unity within Diversity: Foundations and Dynamics of National Identity in Iran

The Defence of National Identity as a Revolutionary Concept: Gharbzadigī, Islamic Modernisation, and Anticolonialism

“…On one hand, it is surely true that the debate over national identity in Iran revolves around two main themes, Islam and nationalism, where the dichotomy between pre-Islamic and Islamic heritage is often pivotal in shaping the prevalence of the former or the latter (Tavakoli-Targhi 1990;Ahmadi 2005;Farhi 2005;Saleh & Worrall 2015;Holliday 2016). On the other hand, Iran presents many sub-identities that can be intended as specific identities of different communities, which are products of social reality similar to language, and together constitute a political community proper of an imagined nation (Anderson 2006).…”

“…On the other hand, Iran presents many sub-identities that can be intended as specific identities of different communities, which are products of social reality similar to language, and together constitute a political community proper of an imagined nation (Anderson 2006). In that sense, it is possible to argue that the existence of both an Iranian-ness and a related national identity, where a political community shares common cultural heritage and historic myths (Ahmadi 2005). Therefore, by considering the common cultural heritage in terms of tradition the dominant political powers have been able to create their own discourses on national identity thanks to intellectuals (Said 2014).…”

Safevî İranı Bir İmparatorluk muydu?

“…İran'ın modern öncesi ve erken modern tarihi boyunca "devlet ve monarşi etnik kökenli kurumlar değildi" ve yöneticiler, ülkenin kültürel ve mülki bütünlüğünü desteklemek şartıyla, herhangi bir etnik kökenden veya hanedandan olabilirdi. 42 Safevî Devleti'ni işler kılan ve işler olduğu sürece de var olmasını sağlayan çok sayıda faktörden biri; mekânsal düzlemde anahtar bir role sahip olan yetkinin pragmatik kullanımıydı. Ayrıca Şah, bu tarz sebebiyle inatçı memurlara merhametsizce davranma alışkanlığından sık sık saptı, onları affetti ve onlara uyum sağladı.…”