INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from auy type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 Nortfi Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 9114095 Orientalism in reverse; Iranian intellectuals and the West, 1960- 1990 Boroujerdi, Mehrzad, Ph.D. The American University, 1990 Copyright ©1990 by Boronjerdi, Mehrzad. A ll rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ORIENTALISM IN REVERSE: IRANIAN INTELLECTUALS AND THE WEST, 1960-1990 by Mehrzad Boroujerdi submitted to the Faculty of the School of International Service of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations Signatures of Committee: Chair: û/1/LLi ' ± L ü ü — )ean of the College or School Date 1990 The American University 7)1? Washington, D.C. 20016 IHB UEBiciB üsrvEiisiTï LrannmT Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. (c) COPYRIGHT by MEHRLAD BOROUJERDI 1990 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To My Mother and to the Memory of My Father Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ORIENTALISM IN REVERSE; IRANIAN INTELLECTUALS AND THE WEST, 1960-1990 BY MEHRZAD BOROUJERDI ABSTRACT This dissertation seeks critically to deconstruct the ontological and epistemological premises underlying the process of identity formation of contemporary Iranian intellectuals. The study concentrates on the emergence of a new mode of thinking described as "Orientalism in Reverse," which came to dominate the political and intellectual panorama of pre- and post-revolutionary Iran. Drawing upon the works of Michel Foucault and Edward Said on how the "constitution of otherness" permeates any process of identity formation, I examine the two dominant problems confronting Iranian intellectuals: identity per se, and encounter with the West. I maintain that since the Iranian intellectuals' vision of their "self" was constrained by their perception of the "Western other," they did not and indeed could not experiment the same types of ontological and epistemological ruptures that their Western counterparts experienced in the aftermath of the Enlightenment. As a result, Iranian intellectuals in the last three decades have ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. increasingly turned toward nativism, traditionalism, and politicized Islam. This intellect trend provided the theoretical guidelines for the revolutionary movement that swept to power in 1979. In identifying the Iranian intellectuals' means and modes of cultural identification, I have followed the maxims of methodological pluralism by drawing upon post­ structuralism and sociology of knowledge. The study has relied upon personal interviews, oral history files, and a variety of primary as well as secondary textual sources. Ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation usually begins with a combined optimism of will and intellect. Yet in the strenuous and lonesome process of completing it, the writer experiences a pessimism either of intellect or will. In this regard, I would like to extend my thanks to the following groups of people. First and foremost, the four members of my dissertation committee whose questions, criticisms, and guidance I valued the most. Professors G. Matthew Bonham, Serif Mardin, Nicholas Onuf, and Ahmad Ashraf helped me at every step of the way to overcome my intellectual doubts and bewilderment. I profited enormously from the theoretical insights as well as the personal dignity of these teachers- friends. Secondly, I would like to thank the distinguished thinkers, cited in this study, who kindly gave of their time and shared with me their experiences and thoughts in many interviews. Without their help this study would not have been deserving of any merit. A third group of people to whom I have an intellectual debt have been my valuable friends and colleagues who each read different parts of this study and made numerous suggestions for its improvement, both stylistically and qualitatively. In particular I would iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. like to thank Mehdi Aminrazavi, Vincent Gaetano, Peter Gran, Jules Hulton, Ali Mirsepasi, Tom Pounds, and Prodromos Yannas. I am also grateful to Dean Louis W. Goodman and the School of International Service for providing a congenial atmosphere conducive to unobstructed intellectual pursuits. I am indebted to an American University Dissertation Fellowship which helped ease my financial difficulties when they were most pressing. Furthermore, a summer research award by the Graduate Student Council of the School of International Service enabled me to conduct my archival research at Harvard University. Finally, I would like to express gratefulness to my beloved fiance, Mondana, my dear sister Mahzad and my wonderful brother Mehran. I owe much of my optimism of will to their loving care, support, and encouragement. To them goes my gratitude and love. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................ Ü ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iv INTRODUCTION ........................................ 1 Chapter I. OTHERNESS, ORIENTALISM, AND ORIENTALISM IN REVERSE ........................................ 18 II. SECULAR INTELLECTUALS AND THE OTHERNESS OF A RENTIER STATE .................................. 70 III. SECULAR INTELLECTUALS AND THE OTHERNESS OF THE WEST ........................................... 130 IV. CLERGY AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF A RELIGIOUS SUB-CULTURE .................................... 195 V. THE DISCURSIVE REPERTOIRE OF LAY RELIGIOUS INTELLECTUALS .................................. 239 VI. THE ENCOUNTER OF POST-REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT WITH HEGEL, HEIDEGGER, AND POPPER ................... 284 CONCLUSION ......................................... 321 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................ 330 VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Fardid's Perception of the Ontological Circuits of Oriental and Occidental Philosophy ........... 143 2. Al-e Ahmad's Circular Theory of Intellectuals .... 152 V l l Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Negative and Positive Propositions about Orient/ Orientals and Occident/Occidentals .............. 42 2. Third World Proponents of Nationalism ........... 60 3. Iranian Government's Revenues From Oil .......... 75 4. A Taxonomy of Shayegan's Philosophy ............. 175 5. Shariati's Taxonomy of the Occident/Orient Divide. 257 6. Synoptic Taxonomy of the Ideas of Davari and Soroush ........................................ 303 7. Traditional versus Dynamic fiqh ................. 314 vxii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION Moderately speaking, the Iranian Revolution of February 1973 constitutes one of the most exciting occasions of the modern era. The brisk downfall of a mighty autocratic regime, use of religion as the primary agency of political mobilization, the unprecedented level of animosity displayed against the West, and the establishment of a theocracy in the latter decades of the twentieth-century presented