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Paradoxes of Iranian Messianic Politics
Author(s) -
Shahi Afshin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
digest of middle east studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.225
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1949-3606
pISSN - 1060-4367
DOI - 10.1111/j.1949-3606.2012.00129.x
Subject(s) - messianism , legitimacy , politics , grassroots , ideology , millenarianism , political science , state (computer science) , political economy , sociology , law , algorithm , computer science
Shi‘ite Messianism has been accommodated constitutionally and has been portrayed as an indispensable aspect of political culture under the Islamic Republic. If the state is using the concept as a form of legitimacy, the concept is standardized in accordance with the prevailing perspectives of the political system. Thus, if there are other emerging grassroots messianic narratives incompatible with the political ideology, they could undermine the legitimacy of the state. This article examines the emerging paradoxes in a climate in which the state uses messianism as a legitimacy tool but, at the same time, is unable to monopolize the concept primarily for its own use. This article will assess a situation in which the state and the grassroots are struggling in order to maintain dominance over ideas that advocate millenarianism. There will be a critical discussion on how the politics of the Shi‘ite Messianism have proved to be contradictory, and the dilemmas over the politicization of Mahdism will be identified.