Cultural Aspect of Iran's Revolution

Processed by Saeed Kalati

Nowadays, with the unprecedented increase in cultural communications- as a result of the development of communications networks and means of mass communications as well as widespread migration, the disparities between cultures have become more conspicuous. On the other hand, following the spreading and expansion of modern culture, we are faced with new cultural issues such as globalization of culture or values. Under such circumstances, the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution as an unexpected phenomenon that helps shape the thinking and cultural performance of the world can be extremely significant in terms of new achievements or challenges.

Significance of Islamic Revolution

The words and actions of social and political players show that the Islamic Revolution is of special significance in the modern history of Iran and the world. Some analysts have described the Islamic Revolution as a political spiritualism, as the most modern form of uprising in the course of history, as the foremost and greatest uprising of mankind and as the foremost post-modern revolution - a revolution in which the spirit of religion has been breathed into and whose leader is a mythological personality.

On one hand, the empirical realities of the society of Iran reveal the fact that the 1979 Revolution is a value-based revolution. It is a kind of revolution whose aim was returning, reviving and reconstructing the fundamental traditions of the religion of Islam. Studies conducted on certain empirical reviews pertaining to the Islamic Revolution of Iran reveals that the cultural circumstance of the Pahlavi regime in particular was among the most important factors of occurrence of the revolution. Some western analysts in their studies and explorations of the Islamic Revolution of Iran have stressed the role of "beliefs of Muslims", "the Shiite school of thought", "Islamic ideology" and "creation of a culture independent of the influence of western powers" as the factors for the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution and establishment of a new regime.

Culture and Value of Islamic Revolution

Efforts to obtain a better perspective and idea of the Islamic Revolution, of the essence and basis of its occurrence leads us to understanding the culture and values of this revolution through analyzing the relevant approaches or cultural dialogues and also reveals a new way for analyzing and viewing the revolution.

Although a relatively large number of topics compiled by domestic and foreign analysts about the essence, identity and causes of the Islamic Revolution have been published, however, so far an observation devoted exclusively to the cultural dimensions of the revolution or taking note of culture as an infrastructural factor of occurrence of the revolution has seldom been given much attention. Focusing on this issue seems to be necessary that by concentrating on the specialist points of view of culture and its components and ingredients, it makes it possible to add more appeal to the collection of analytical topics of the Islamic Revolution. The question that arises here is that among the various analyses presented, what are the features of the subject under discussion? Which elements and components because of their specialization can be attributed to being a cultural factor? According to the viewpoint of Imam Khomeini, which of these cultural dimensions have been taken into consideration and been analyzed and what is the share of each of the factors? In order to answer the questions put forward and considering the need to understand culture mutually, we should clarify the definitions, components and elements related to it.

The discussion and dialogue of culture is considered as an easy and facile task. The definitive changeability of culture in various areas and fields of science from literature and history to sociology has caused us not to have a coherent situation in this sphere. Discussing on cultural dimension of the Islamic Revolution of Iran is like sea as one never reaches its depth, so we invite you to google various relevant articles in this issue to get more acquaintance with the miracle of the temporary century.