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McJihad: ISLAM IN THE U.S. GLOBAL ORDER

McJihad: ISLAM IN THE U.S. GLOBAL ORDER Social Text 73, Vol. 20, No. 4, Winter 2002. Copyright © 2002 by Duke University Press. Timothy Mitchell Iran might seem an exception to this pattern. Under the pro-American government of the shah it was a secular state; after the 1979 revolution it became an Islamic republic, opposed to America’s ambitions. In fact, however, the shah mobilized conservative religious forces in his support, drawing on a CIA-funded clerical leadership to help overthrow a nationalist government in 1953 and losing power only when the leading clerics in the country turned against him. And many scholars of Iran would argue that the Islamic Republic, the Middle Eastern country most independent of the United States, is one in which appeals to religion are increasingly unable to legitimate the exercise of power. Especially among its youth, the Islamic Republic has created one of the most secular societies in the region. This pattern, once it has been noticed, lends itself to a straightforward, but unsatisfactory, explanation. The United States depends on the support of conservative political regimes, it is often pointed out, and these have tended to rely on religion to justify their power. In contrast, many of the populist or nationalist regimes http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Social Text Duke University Press

McJihad: ISLAM IN THE U.S. GLOBAL ORDER

Social Text , Volume 20 (4 73) – Dec 1, 2002

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Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 2002 by Duke University Press
ISSN
0164-2472
eISSN
1527-1951
DOI
10.1215/01642472-20-4_73-1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Social Text 73, Vol. 20, No. 4, Winter 2002. Copyright © 2002 by Duke University Press. Timothy Mitchell Iran might seem an exception to this pattern. Under the pro-American government of the shah it was a secular state; after the 1979 revolution it became an Islamic republic, opposed to America’s ambitions. In fact, however, the shah mobilized conservative religious forces in his support, drawing on a CIA-funded clerical leadership to help overthrow a nationalist government in 1953 and losing power only when the leading clerics in the country turned against him. And many scholars of Iran would argue that the Islamic Republic, the Middle Eastern country most independent of the United States, is one in which appeals to religion are increasingly unable to legitimate the exercise of power. Especially among its youth, the Islamic Republic has created one of the most secular societies in the region. This pattern, once it has been noticed, lends itself to a straightforward, but unsatisfactory, explanation. The United States depends on the support of conservative political regimes, it is often pointed out, and these have tended to rely on religion to justify their power. In contrast, many of the populist or nationalist regimes

Journal

Social TextDuke University Press

Published: Dec 1, 2002

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