The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran

Arjomand, Said Amir

ISBN 10: 0195042573 / ISBN 13: 9780195042573

Published by Oxford University Press, New York, 1988

About this Item

25 cm, 283, glossary, appendix, notes, references, chronology, index, pencil erasure residue on front endpaper. Filled with insight into the Iranian revolution, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and the implications for American foreign policy. Bookseller Inventory # 25004

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic ...

Publisher: Oxford University Press, New York

Publication Date: 1988

Book Condition: very good, very good

Edition: First Printing.

About this title

Synopsis:

The Iranian revolution still baffles most Western observers. Few considered the rise of theocracy in a modernized state possible, and even fewer thought it might result from a popular revolution. Moreover, the Shah's well-equipped army was still intact when he fled, oil-rich Iran faced no financial crisis, and the peasantry had no part in the rebellion. In The Turban for the Crown, Said Amir Arjomand provides a thoughtful and painstakingly researched account that makes the turmoil in Iran intelligible to the general reader and that explains the import of this singular event for our understanding of revolutions.
To provide crucial historical background, Arjomand traces the history of Shi'ism in Iran, ranging from its establishment as the state religion in 1501 to the ascendency of Reza Shah and the threat his creation of a modern state bureaucracy posed to Shi'ite institutions. He then describes how, when the state built by Reza Shah began to crumble, the millenarianism inherent in Shi'ism, combined with Khomeini's charismatic leadership, facilitated the emergence of Khomeini as a messianic anti-monarch...how the Shah's indecisiveness neutralized the Army and allowed the revolution to gain momentum...how the massive infusion of petrodollars into the economy--and the blatant political corruption that resulted--turned the urban middle-class against the Shah...and how Khomeini disposed of Bakhtiar, Bani-Sadr, and Bazargan, consolidated clerical rule, and established a constitution based completely on a new interpretation of Islamic principles.
Unmatched in originality, historical depth, and accuracy, The Turban for the Crown is filled with insight into the Iranian revolution, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, and their implications for American foreign policy.

From the Back Cover:

The Iranian revolution still baffles most Western observers. Few considered the rise of theocracy in a modernized state possible, and fewer thought it might result from a popular revolution. Said Amir Arjomand's The Turban for the Crown provides a thoughtful, painstakingly researched, and intelligible account of the turmoil in Iran, revealing the importance of this singular event for our understanding of revolutions.