Khomeinism

"Yes, Abrahamian is one of the leading historians of modern Iran. He always writes very interesting things about the social and political history of the country and this book is actually a collection of essays that he has written on the Islamic revolution and its aftermath. What is really interesting about the work he does is that he tries to challenge various assumptions that we may have about recent events. Particularly about the Islamic revolution and the role of the Ayatollah Khomeini. He looks at the way in which Khomeinism became an ideology which borrowed very heavily from left-wing ideas and Islamised them to an extent by putting them into the language of religion. But nonetheless it shows how fluid the thought of not only Ayatollah Khomeini but also the thought of the Islamic revolution really was. And he deals something of a blow to this idea of a staunchly orthodox Islamic state by exposing the idea that the reality was a much more heterodox movement than people normally accept. So I think this collection of essays is very good for showing that and really challenging many assumptions. He always has the capacity to make you think. He shows that the Islamic revolution is a very standard modern revolution rather than something than harks back to earlier centuries."