Politics, History and Literature HOMA KATOUZIAN
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IRAN Politics, History and Literature HOMA KATOUZIAN Iran In the twentieth century, Iran experienced two great revolutions within the short span of just seventy years, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Both were massive revolts of society against the state. Neither of them succeeded in their lofty ideals for reasons that are explained and analysed within. Drawing upon a wealth of experience from various disciplines, Homa Katouz- ian offers a detailed description of Iran’s short-term society, examining the political and intellectual lives of two of the most remarkable intellectuals-cum- politicians of the twentieth century. He also provides an overview of modern Persian literature, both poetry and prose, and discusses the works of three of the most remarkable Persian poets and writers of the period. The book further considers classical Persian literature through the great variety of its form and substance, and neo-classical literary developments in the nineteenth century, covering the whole history of Persian literature. This book offers a view of Iran through politics, history and literature, show- ing how these three cultural angles combine. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Iranian studies and Middle East politics. Homa Katouzian is Iran Heritage Foundation Research Fellow at St Antony’s College and Member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Iranian Studies Edited by Homa Katouzian, University of Oxford and Mohamad Tavakoli, University of Toronto Since 1967 the International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS) has been a leading learned society for the advancement of new approaches in the study of Iranian society, history, culture, and literature. The new ISIS Iranian Studies series pub- lished by Routledge will provide a venue for the publication of original and inno- vative scholarly works in all areas of Iranian and Persianate Studies. 1 Journalism in Iran 8 New Perspectives on Safavid Iran From mission to profession Empire and society Hossein Shahidi Edited by Colin P. Mitchell 2 Sadeq Hedayat 9 Islamic Tolerance His work and his wondrous world Amīr Khusraw and pluralism Edited by Homa Katouzian Alyssa Gabbay 3 Iran in the 21st Century 10 City of Knowledge in Twentieth Politics, economics and conflict Century Iran Edited by Homa Katouzian and Shiraz, history and poetry Hossein Shahidi Setrag Manoukian 4 Media, Culture and Society in Iran 11 Domestic Violence in Iran Living with globalization and the Women, marriage and Islam Islamic State Zahra Tizro Edited by Mehdi Semati 12 Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam 5 Modern Persian Literature in Qur’an, exegesis, messianism, and the Afghanistan literary origins of the Babi religion Anomalous visions of history and Todd Lawson form 13 Social Movements in Iran Wali Ahmadi Environmentalism and civil society 6 The Politics of Iranian Cinema Simin Fadaee Film and society in the Islamic 14 Iranian-Russian Encounters Republic Empires and revolutions since 1800 Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad Edited by Stephanie Cronin 7 Continuity in Iranian Identity 15 Iran Resilience of a cultural heritage Politics, history and literature Fereshteh Davaran Homa Katouzian Iran Politics, history and literature Homa Katouzian To the memory of my mother For a debt that was not repaid First published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2013 Homa Katouzian The right of Homa Katouzian to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Katouzian, Homa. Iran : politics, history and literature / Homa Katouzian. p. cm.—(Iranian studies ; 15) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Iran—Civilization. 2. Iran—Politics and government. 3. Iran—History. 4. Persian literature—History and criticism. I. Title. DS266.K37 2012 955—dc23 2012024456 ISBN: 978–0–415–63689–6 (hbk) ISBN: 978–0–415–63690–2 (pbk) ISBN: 978–0–203–08131–0 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon Contents Preface vii Introduction: Iran’s long history and short-term society ix PART I History and politics 1 1 Legitimacy and succession in Iranian history 3 2 The short-term society: A comparative study in the problems of long-term political and economic development in Iran 20 3 The revolution for law: A chronographic analysis of the constitutional revolution of Iran 35 4 Seyyed Hasan Taqizadeh: Three lives in a lifetime 54 5 Khalil Maleki: The odd intellectual out 77 6 The Iranian revolution at 30: The dialectic of state and society 97 PART II Persian literature 117 7 Classical Persian literature: form and substance 119 8 Sa’di’s love lyrics 152 9 Neo-classical Persian literature: Bazgasht-e Adabi in the nineteenth century 167 10 Modern Persian literature: From the constitutional revolution to the revolution of 1979 180 11 Poet-laureate Bahar in the constitutional era 202 vi Contents 12 Iraj, the poet of love and humour 220 13 Private parts and public discourses in modern Iran 233 14 Jamalzadeh’s fiction 246 15 Of the sins of Forugh Farrokhzad 257 Notes 272 Index 302 Preface This collection of essays appears for the first time in one volume. They are often substantially extended and edited versions of essays that have been written and (some of them) published since 2004. They bring together studies in Iranian poli- tics, history and literature, covering a range of concepts and categories such as ‘the short-term society’ and ‘the politics of elimination’ with aspects of Iranian history – ancient and medieval, as well as modern – and interpretative essays on the entire range of classical and modern Persian literature. And although written in recent years, they stem from efforts of a lifetime to know and make known Iranian politics, economics, history, society and literature. It will be very difficult to arrive at a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary understanding of Iran, past as well as present, without a thorough study of these fundamental aspects of the Iranian civilisation. Even a study of Sa’di and Fer- dowsi can contribute to a realistic knowledge of the contemporary social and political realities. As a modern social scientist, historian and literary critic educated and well- versed in the theories of the social sciences which have been developed and applied against the background of European history and society, and a critic of Iranian history, society and literature as well as philosophy of science and sociol- ogy of knowledge, I discovered long ago that theories – whether liberal, Marxist or other – based on the European experience cannot be uncritically applied to a realistic study of Iran as if they had universal validity. However, the methodology of modern social sciences, historiography and literary criticism can be effectively employed in Iranian studies to arrive at theories, models, analyses and critiques with real explanatory and predictive powers and aesthetic quality. This involved the intellectually difficult and materially unrewarding tasks of swimming against the tide and going against the grain, with the familiar consequences that such audacious, if not foolhardy, attempts to propose alternatives to the ‘dominant par- adigms’ normally bring. Still, almost fifty years of persistence, often in complete isolation, bore their fruits, witnessed by the fact that the young and younger scholars both in Iran and elsewhere are paying increasing attention to many of the new arguments, approaches, concepts and categories which have thus come into existence. viii Preface This volume therefore follows and complements many that have been pub- lished since 1980. It is a further step in the long and continuing effort to propose and provide realistic narratives for Iranian studies which, of necessity, will have to be extended and continued by other scholars. In concluding this brief I am reminded of Hafiz’s brilliant verse: In the desert if you walk longing to see the Kaaba Do not be worried by the rebuke of the sharp thistles HK St Antony’s College and the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford January 2012 Introduction Iran’s long history and short-term society Iran has a long history and a short-term society. It is a country with thousands of years of history, the great variety of every aspect of which is at least partly respon- sible for the diversity of opinions and emotions among its peoples. It is an ancient land of the utmost variety in nature, art and architecture, languages, literature and culture. When the Greeks (from whom European civilisations descend) came across the Iranians first, Persian Iranians were ruling that country as the Persian empire, and they called it ‘Persis’. Just as when the Persians first came into contact with Ionian Greeks, they called the entire Greek lands ‘Ionia’. To this day Iranians refer to Greece as Ionia (=Yunan) and the Greeks as Ionians (=Yunaniyan). Thus from the ancient Greeks to 1935, Iran was known to Europeans as Persia; then the Iranian government, prompted by their crypto-Nazi contacts in Germany, demanded that other countries officially call it Iran, largely to publicise the Aryan origins of the country.