The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran

by Said Amir Arjomand

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 which reveals the importance of this singular event for our understanding of revolutions.
Providing crucial historical background, Arjomand examines both the structure of authority in Shi'ism (one of the two main branches of Islam) and the impact of the modern state on Iranian society, two factors essential to the comprehension of the revolution of 1979. He then describes the emergence of Khomeini; the infusion of petrodollars into the economy; the blatant political corruption; and Khomeini's disposal of Bakhtiar, Bani-Sadr, and Bazargan, consolidation of religious rule, and establishment of a constitution based on a new interpretation of Islamic principles.

Genres: History, Iran, Islam, Middle East, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Said Amir Arjomand is Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He earned his Ph.D at the University of Chicago in 1980. He was the founder and first President of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (1996-2002) and Editor of International Sociology (1998-2003). He edited a special double issue of that journal on "Constitutionalism and Political Reconstruction" (March 2003). He has held appointments at St. Antony's College, Oxford, 1982-83; the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, 1984-85; Sociology and Development Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1989; the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in Social Sciences, 1998; and the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, 1993-94. His article, "Constitutions and the Struggle for Political Order: A Study in the Modernization of Political Traditions," European Journal of Sociology (1992), won the Section's Award for the Best Essay in Comparative and Historical Sociology in 1993. His books include The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam (l984), The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran (1988), and Rethinking Civilizational Analysis (Edited with Edward Tiryakian, in press). At Princeton, he was the inaugural Martin and Kathleen Crane Fellow in Law and Public Affairs.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, sad to say, is the first book I've ever read about modern Iran. During the revolution of 1979 such reading as I did was in the popular press or from a leftwing perspective. Now, having heard war drums beating out of Washington against Iran for years and having seen the Argo movie, I decided to look at the events leading up to the Iran of today a bit more closely.

Arjomand writes of the Iranian revolution from a sociological perspective, his eye very much on contemporary theories of revolution, many of which he cares to refute employing Iran as a counterexample. In the course of this he gives a quick overview of historical trends beginning in the 16th century which crested in the state versus clergy (and other sectors of society ultimately dominated by the clergy) struggle of the seventies and early eighties. In addition, he presents a portrait of traditional Shi'ism against which he contrasts the version promulgated by Khomeini and his successors.

The picture isn't pretty. This book came out in the late eighties, its analyses ending in 1986. At that point at least Iran is portrayed as being on a par with Saudi Arabia with thought police on the streets, a bloody court system, oppressed women and minorities--the whole ugly business reminiscent of the Nazis and led by men just as out of touch with reality.==Yet, this is not to say that their revolution wasn't popular or that their current government isn't...--but that, too, is reminiscent of the German state before their invasion of the USSR.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Chapter 10, and you're good to go. The rest of the book is muddled and isn't worth the slog. Meanwhile, the comparative revolution section (10) should have been his primary focus beyond just the last chapter, rather than the afterthought that he makes it out to be. It is your book if you have an eye for history that reads more like an inventory and constantly refers back to classical, 19th century texts like Weber, Durkheim, and Tocqueville. This is not your book if you're just looking for an easily graspable, introductory or better analysis of the Iranian revolution.

[Mohamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

خب برسیم به مشغله چندماهه اخیر اینجانب، عمامه به جای تاج
نویسنده کتاب خودش رو جامعه شناس تطبیقی معرفی میکنه و در این کتاب مثال های به شدت گویایی میزنه تا نشون بده انقلاب اسلامی هم زمان که یک پدیده نوآورانه و خلاقانه است، در عین حال در تاریخ مشابه به همچین چیزی وجود داشته و غفلت حکام پهلوی از این نمونه های مشابه رو یکی از دلایل اصلی وقوع انقلاب معرفی می کنه، نگاه آقای ارجمند به روحانیون مبارز با کمی بی انصافی همراهه، وقتی با لحنی ازونها یاد میکنه که انگار صرفا برای بدست آوردن جایگاه مادی مردم رو به دین دعوت میکردن اما وقتی تعداد شهدای روحانی جنگ رو یادآور میشه، خودش تا حدودی لحن فصل های قبلی رو اصلاح میکنه. در کل نویسنده نگاه مثبتی به مقوله ولایت فقیه و حکومت اسلامی نداره اما این باعث نشده در روایت کردن دچار طرفداری بشه، یک روایت تاریخی روان و البته از نظر ادبیاتی سخت، و همچنین تطبیق های آموزنده که بعد خوندن کتاب بیش از پیش به چرت بودن این جمله که دین افیون توده هاست، پی میبرید...

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written by an Iranian Muslim about the fall of the Shah of Iran. Khomeini was a religious cleric that had a run in with the Shah in 1963. He spent a good deal of time in Paris after he was arrested. This author was there. In fact he has interviewed Khomeini. As a Shiite, he states his bias up front. He believes that Shiites generally believe in a separation of church and state and that Khomeini has subverted this belief. However, he does not let his bias get his way to a thorough look at the Iranian Revolution. In his comparative chapter, he compares Khomeini to Cromwell in British history. The author is well footnoted and knowledgeable. It also clearly shows why the Carter Administration bungled its dealings with Iran.

[Behdad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting and enjoyed reading it.
Basically, it starts with some historical background on clerics' role in society and government in the 15th century. The author proceeds with clerics and kings' interaction in the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties in more detail.
The author tries to look more closely at what factors led to the Islamic revolution and the major similarities and differences with other revolutions.

[Amirali Shams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the perspective of the author over the Islamic revolution in Iran. Amir Arjomand perfectly draw a line from the Shi'ism from Safavid emperor and connect it to Islamic revolution in 1979. The social analysis of these two and a half centuries could help the reader to have better understanding the replacement of Turban with the Crown!

[Kelly Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author does a fantastic job of laying the groundwork for the Islamic revolution in Iran. It is an older book and I believe a lot more information regarding foreign influence has come out. With that said, it’s not to take away the agency Iranians had in the revolution and this book does an amazingly detailed job of explaining the culture of Iran during the time period. VERY DENSE book though.

[Harrison Helms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting structuralist explanation of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that also devotes a good deal of time to the ways in which Western-influenced modernization and centralization transformed Shi'ite Islam.

[Joe Ballschneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate energy.

[Phillip Welshans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely dense treatment of the years leading up to and then immediately proceeding the Iranian Revolution of 1979. I read only certain chapters of the book, as I was focusing mainly on the months leading up to the Revolution and the underlying drivers within Iran that brought revolution about. However, this is a book I would return to when I want to do an even deeper dive on post-WWII Iran.

Arjomand gives a very granular account of what transpired in under the Iranian republic after WWII, the coup that brought the Shah back to power in the 60s, and then the conditions throughout that period that made the theocratic revolution and Khomeini's heirocracy the winning force. What I found really interesting was how the liberal intelligentsia (mostly middle class professionals) and the military came to accept the revolution. The former mistook Khomeini for a leader who would rescue Iran from the corruption of the Shah and usher in an inclusive government built upon a liberal interpretation of the Sacred Law. The latter viewed the clerics as the political winner of the revolution and the top brass then shifted allegiances once the middle ranking officers revealed that they had been allied with Khomeini in their hearts all along. In both cases, the moderates failed to realize what they were facing until it was too late and the clerics had consolidated power, ousted or humiliated what moderate politicians remained after the Shah, dissolved the secular Majles (parliament), and tightened their grip on Iranian society.

And throughout the whole Revolution, the U.S. was viewed as largely dithering about whether the Shah was worse than a military junta that never materialized. By the time the U.S. made up its mind what to support, it was too late and the hostages in the embassy were already being taken.

My only gripe would be that the detail of the book can also work against it if you (the reader) aren't interested in getting quite so granular. However, the book is broken up into digestable and well-titled chapters and sub-chapters, so with a little skipping around and title interpretation, it's not a huge deal. I give it 4 stars, but would likely give 3.5 if Goodreads allowed that.

So, in all, a very well done account and a must-read if you want to peel back the myths about the Iranian Revolution and try to understand the who, what, and why of the matter.

[Rflutist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book if you are interested in certain aspects of Iranian history: specifically, how Iran's economy operated prior to the Constitutional Revolution, and the initial modernization of the Iranian state. I learned that Iran called upon a French banker, then upon an American one, when it wished to set up its economic procedures in the late 1920's. It made me stop to think about how much the relationship between the U.S. and Iran has changed.

The author is meticulous in defining the Persian/Farsi/Arabic words which appear throughout the book. Some may be distracted by it in the beginning of reading, but I found that it is helpful when reading other books or articles on Iran. A few words have commonly entered into English usage, but a great many have not.

Bear in mind that this book was written/published in 1988, a decade after the Iranian Revolution. Its strength lies in "what happened," not necessarily the "whys" or thought process behind what happened. As such, a reader will want to consult other works for current events. Nevertheless, this book is a fine introduction to the facts of Iranian history.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reread... So worth it.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly my favorite non-fiction book ever right now. It's pretty dense and hard to read but brilliantly woven.