Revolution without Movement,

Movement without Revolution:

Comparing Islamic Activism in Iran
and Egypt
A S E F BAYAT
'Ilit- AniciKd/i Uni\'ci'\it\ in Cairo
Why did Iran ot the late 1970s w i t h a thriving economy, wealthy middle class,
repressive political system, massive military might, and powerful international allies go through an Islamic revolution, \ \ h i l c Hg>pt ol the early 1990s with
similar international allies, hut poorer economy, impoverished large middle
classes, and a more liberal political system did not go beyond developing an
I s l a m i s t movement'."
I X l'! AI N IM,

l Hl

Kl \'01 U l ION

Mainstream scholarship views the Iranian revolution as an outcome of an

ideological process, (he c u l m i n a t i o n ot a long-lasting Islamic movement
w h i c h had been e v o l v i n g since the late 1960s Hamid Dabashi's impressivework seems to suggest that in (his "deeply religious society." the Islamists
spent a long time preparing for an I s l a m i c takeover Through the i n s t i t u t i o n s
ol mosque. lmw:cli (theological seminary) sermons, preaching, and publications, they were husv w i l l ) recruiting, organi/ing. t r a i n i n g , and m o h i l i / i n g
their resources so that (hey could gain power when internai and international
opportunities presented t h e m s e l v e s . ' S i m i l a r l y , for Mansoor Moaddel. the
I si n m i l l l i k e In ai k n o w l e d g e l IK- Mai A u l m i I oiind.il ion. the l ' i o p i a m mi I V.u. c ami I nlcni.il u nul
l oopcr.ilion loc s u p p o r t i n g .1 bioad project on yiassroots l o n s i i l n r i u ) ol I s l a i n u a U i w s m in
h . i n .mil I s'y pi ol whic.li this essa) is ,i p.nt My ih.inks arc also lo I'rolcssors Saad I Mm
l l n a h i i i i I icil H a l l u l a y . I rvancl A h i a h a m i a n Sann /ubaiil.i. .nul A i i n a n i l o S a K a l o i c as w e l l as
t h e . i n o i i M i i o n s u - M c w c r s ol llns |ociinal w h o rc.nl anil l o m m c n l c i l on c . i i l i c i versions ol Ihis
essay None ol them are responsible toi l i a l o m l u s m n s drawn in this essay
1
In I U 7 X Ihr pei l a p i l a UK ome in l i . m was $2.400. eoinpaied lo SdoO in l'(:y|)l in 1 U X X
During the I')7(K. some 15 pen cut ol I r h r a n ' s population l i v e d in the squatter areas ( a n d about
15 percent in slums), wheieas llns tifiurc loi ( a m i in the early I'WOs was 50 percent.
M a i i i n l D.ii'.isin. lh<t>lo^\ i>i DIM unit in The Ideological Foundation iif the Islumu K/\nlu
nun in linn ( N e w York New Yoik I n i \ r i s i i \ I'icss I ' ) V S | I III |-oi i n s t a i u e Saul A A i | o i n . u u l
s t a t e s t h a l in I ' X i l 7X
the u-hfiious i n s l i l n t i o n s came under relentless atlack by the Pahl,is i
siale and had to murt the masses more assiduously m older lo mobili/c t h e m in Us defense see
( K ) l 0 4 l 7 V > ) X / | 5 ) e 051MS'J 50 > IWX Souci) loi ( o n i p a i a l i u - Sind) ol SIK ICH and HlMoi)

firth'**

ISLAMIC ACTIVISM IN I R A N AND EGYPT

137

emergence of the "Islamic discourse" in the particular "episode" of 1953-77

culminated in the Islamic revolution. 3
Although Moaddel and Dabashi focus on internal factors, others such as
Anthony Parsons and Nikkie Keddie regard the Islamic revival as the popular
assertion of "Muslim identity" against Western political and cultural penetration. Parsons argues that the Iranian revolution was different from other revolutions in that the "bulk of the Shi'i population of Iran knew both what they
did not want (the continuation of Pahlavi rule) and what they did want (a
government controlled by religious leadership, the historical guardians of the
Islamic Iranian tradition)." For Keddie, two additional factors played a role: a
growing association between secularism and western control and a government associated with the western powers.4
Others have explained the revolution in terms of the breakdown of the
traditional social order caused by "social dislocation and normative disturbance." Said Amir Arjomand views this as the result of the socioeconomic
changes that the state initiated. Unable to integrate the dislocated and disoriented groups into its own structure, the state pushed them to the arms of the
Shi'i clergy, who were ready to mobilize them since the 1960s. The Islamic
movement acted as the "rival integrative movement," offering the disoriented
with a sense of moral and spiritual community. 5 What happened in 1979,
according to Arjomand "was destined to be an Islamic revolution with the
goal of establishing a theocracy.'>f>
Structural factors and class interests are emphasized by yet another group of
scholars. Ervand Abrahamian, Fred Halliday, Mohsen Milani, and Keddie (in
her later writings) among others consider the contradiction between socioeconomic development and political autocracy as the main source of conflict
and the social classes ;is major players in the revolution. 7 Patsa Misaq in
addition places special emphasis on the role of the statethe high degree of
Arjomand. "Shi'ile Islam and the Revolution in Iran." Hovernmeni ami ()p/>oution. 16:2 ( 1981 ).
302.
' Mansoor Moaddel, (7<nv /'/if/is and ldeoli>x\ in the Immun Ke\olntioit ( N e w York
Columbia University Press. 19931; and M Moaddel, "The Significance of Discourse in the
Iranian Revolution: A Reply to Foran," in Critique: Journal fin Cntual Studies of the Middle
East, no. 4, (Spring 1994), 65-72. See also an interesting critique of Moaddel by Jhon Forn in his
"The Iranian Revolution and the Study of Discourses: A Comment on Moaddel," in Cntit/iie
Journal for Cntual Sfui/ii", o/ the Middle tViW. no. 4 (Spring 1994). 51-63.
4
Anthony Parsons, "The Iranian Revolution," Middle t.a\t Review. 19X8 (spring), 3-8. Nikkie
Keddie. Root1, of He\olution An liutrpntivc Hi\tor\ of Modern Iran (New Haven: Yale University Press. 1981). N. Keddie. "Islamic Revival in the Middle East: A Comparison of Iran and
Egypt," in Samih Farsoun. ed., Aral' Soi ier\ Continuit\ ami Chauve (London, Croom Helm.
1985).
' S. A. Arjomand, The Turhan to, the Crown (Oxford University Press. 1988), 106, 197-200.
6
Ibid. 6.
7
Abrahamian. Iran Between Two Re\olntion\. Halliday. Iran: Dicuiitir\hii> and Development:
M Milani. The Making oj tlie l\lumit Revolution in Iran: N Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World
(New York: New York University Press. 1995)

I }S

ASM M A Y A I

state iniei \i-iition in capital accumulation eroded the mediating role of the
market, rendering the slate the target ol all conflict and opposition.s
I do not intend to offer a thorough assessment of each o! these explanations
Undoubtedly, these authors have on the whole shed a valuable light on the
complexities ot the Iranian revolution I do propose here to point to two
problems. 1-irst. despite their differences, these authors grant an overestimated
agency to a supposed strong Islamic movement which is said to have evolved
since the 1960s or earlier, and to its role in carrying the revolution to victory.
fins is an assumption which I shall question m this essay Second, the pro
posed models, in general, may be able (o explain nol the revolution per se but
help to identity (he major causes behind popular resentment and mobili/ation
One still needs to examine how a massive mobili/alion and movement articulates into a revolution. Indeed, as Henry Munson argues, most of the factors
suggested by the above authors resentment of foreign domination, authoritarian rule. Moladon ol traditional values, social dislocation, economic downturn. inequality, and state intervention also existed m some other Middle
I -.astern countries but did not mutcriali/e into revolution. 1 ' for Hgypt. Snow
and Marsh, il maintain cultural imperialism and globalization as the underlying
cause ot (he Islamist mo\emenl '" Similarly. Bmgat and Dowel I see Islamism
in Egypt and in North Africa as the third phase ot anti-colonialism cultural
and discursive independence -alter jiolitic.il and economic independence. 11
Meanwhile S a. K I I (Id in I hi alum (and more or less (ill les Kepel) among others
locus on (he national crisis manifested in conflicts with foreign influence,
especially the defeat m the 1967 war with Israel, class incongruity, and individual anomie among the educated rural migrants as the major factors which
furnished the rise of the Mamisi movement since the 1970s.' ' Like the Iranian
case, both internal (socio-economic and political) and external (resentment
against western domination and the Israel factor) played crucial roles m bringing about Egypt's Islamist activism So. in what way do Iran and Hgypt
represent tvu> dittereni trajectories '.' \\'h\ (evolution in Iran, but not in Egypt'.'
The question can he addressed not simpl) m terms of the structural causal
analysis but by explaining the link between popular mobili/alion and rvolu
lions.

" M i s . i v l i l', ir.. i Social Origins of tht Iranian Revolution (Ht* B i u n s u u k Rutgers University
I'll V S S .

\WH

i K i i i \ Momon, Islam and Revolution in tht Mnlilli / < / > / i N r u ll.iu-n Y*le Univcnity Prein,
1988)
" Sncm .nul M.iCilhil ( iiliiii.il linpriuliMii Soi i.il MoMMik'iils. .nul Kl.inm Ki-m.il in
Research in Social Movement* (ntlm* ami < hun^i \ o l 7 i l u x ' ) i . Ml S2
I Km u. i .nul \V Dowttt, The l.tlamii Movement in North Africa (Austin. 'I X t ' m u - i s i i s ol
Texas l'i.-- 1993)
S.i.ul I ililin Ihi.ihim. An.iloiin ol I - y p t s Miln.iril Isl.unii dioups Mclhotlolnvu.il Nodand Prtliminiry Finding!.' International Journal of Middli / < / w s/// ( //< s 12 (1980). 42.1 ^ ' (i
Ki-pi'l. Minimi i \ l i i n i i \ i i i in I i,'\/>/ (Ui-iki'k'\ I 'nivi-isily ol C .ililomi.i 1'ivss.

IM A M K

S ( ) ( l AI

A < M S I S M I N I R A N A N D I (,\ I ' I

139

MOV I M T N I S A N D K I V < ) l I I I O N S

None of the major models of collective action has theori/eti the dynamics of
the transformation from collective action to revolution. They are concerned
largely with explaining causes of social discontent and revolutionary crisis. 1 <
For James Davies. "Revolutions are most l i k e l y to occur when a prolonged
period of objective economic and social development is followed by a short
period of sharp reversal." 1 4 As in Ciurr's "relative deprivation" thesis, what
seems to mediate between these objective processes and the occurrence of
revolution is the psychological mood of the people, t h e i r expectations, and
frustrations. | S But as the resource mobili/ation theorists have pointed out. the
mood of a people may not lead to action unless they are able to mobili/e the
necessary resources by creating appropriate opportunities. In t h i s context.
Tilly's important concepts<>pponniin\. or those factors which facilitate collective action, and s///>/ws.s;V>/i, or those which restrict it are particularly
useful."' And so are the degree of the legitimacy of the authorities, the
dynamics of the use ol v i o l e n c e , and the d i v i s i o n w i t h i n the elites which
Quee-Young Kim highlighted. 1 7 Yet these theorists fail to capture the complex
dynamics of the interaction hel ween (he contenders and state during the revolutionary process.
Popular discontents, whatever their cause, may give rise to two types ol
mohili/ation. The first type, protest or insurrectionary movements, l i k e Iran's
revolutionary movement during l l )7S. aims solely to negate the e x i s t i n g order:
l hey may or may not be able to build an alternative structure. The second,
social movements, aim to alter the dominant arrangements but also attempt to
establish alternative institutions and v a l u e systems before a total change. The
I ; .uropean Socialist movements. Poland's Solidarity, and some Islamist movements, represeni such a pattern. In general, such social movements are more or
less structured and require the durable efforts of a relatively large number of
people to produce social change. These movements may be composed of
diverse activities with pervasive institutional ramifications within c i v i l society. As constituents ol a l t e r n a t i v e i n s t i t u t i o n s and cultural settings, they differ
from such free-form collective actions as riots or street demonstrations or
from rigidly structured interest groups which concern only their own members. Social movements are also different from power seeking p o l i t i c a l parlies, small cliques like secret discussion groups, and underground g u e r r i l l a
M

See. IDI iM'.l.inee. l l i e i l . i Sko^pol. S/I//CN unit \<>< nit Rvolutions iC'.imhiuhje ( . u n b i u U ' r

I niversit) 1'ivss. l l >7<>)

11

.1.lines D.IMOS. "hm.iril .1 l i e d i \ dl K r \ d l u l u > i i . " \nu-imin So, n>/ni;/i <il Ki\nu. 27:1

I 1 ebniw)
I'HOi. (i
ls

Ted dim. II In Mm Kcln-1. i h i i u e l n 1'nin.elnii l'imersiu 1'iexv 1470).

"' ('h.u lex l l \ . I-HUH Mhili:iilniii n> Rf\i>lniioii. l l )7X

17

QueeOfouitj Kim, "Disjunctive Justice and Revolution) Mi>\einem I h e 4 I') is.i il-gui

I ' | i h e . i \ a l .nul Ihe I .ill nl Ihe Suiymdii Rhee R e g i m e in Soulh KDIV.I." in yuee-Voimjj K l i n , eil .
Rc\olutn in l/i, linn/ Win 1,1 ( i . e u l e n I, J H u l l . I W | | . sd / ( )

I4<>

ASM

BAYAI

organi/ations without mass support. Yet they may be connected to these kinds
of activities, share many features with them, or even transform into one
another (such as the Rifah Party or the Islamic movement in Turkey'.'). They
are, moreover, distinct from revolutions, in thai the latter refers to processes of
pervasive, usually violent and rapid change, where the political authority
cnllapses and is replaced by the contenders."*
Protest movements which may culminate in insurrections, on the other
hand, are usually transitory and do not last long. Either they achieve their goal
or get suppressed. The most critical element for protest movements is sustamability. since they directly challenge the political authority. Nevertheless,
in some rare cases, a protest movement may transform itself into a more
structured and institutionali/ed social movement or even into an interest
group. Jadwiga Stams/kis has referred to Solidarity's transformation during
September 1980 and March 1981 from a national movement into a trade union
position as "Poland's sell-limiting revolution." 1 '' Solidarity regained its original status after the crackdown by the military regime in 1981 and reemerged
in the late 1980s after the "Gorbachev revolution." 20
Because they are institutionali/ed within the civil society, social movements
unlike protest actions and insurrectionsare able to sustain and persist longer
when confronted with the state. However, precisely because of this dynamics,
they are likely to turn away from a revolutionary or insurrectionary character
by struggling, instead, within an existing arrangement. Many factors contribute to this. The first has to do with the temporal clement Unlike an insurrectionary movement which docs not have much time (because it either crushes
or gets crushed), social movements function w i t h i n a longer span of time,
during which people can ask questions, debate key issues, and be clear about
the aims of the movement. Various ideas and consequently divergent tendencies develop. While clarity and differentiation mark the salient features of a
social movement, ambiguity and unity arc the hallmarks of insurrectionary
actions Second, because of the positive changes that they may generate,
social movements may modify the conditions of their own existence For
instance, the unemployed movement in Iran in 1979 undermined itself partly
because it achieved some of its goals.21 Unlike the protest movements or
insurrections which only negate the prevailing order, social movements tend
'" More precisely, a revolution is. in Huntington's \vords. "a rapid, fundamental, and violent
domesliL (.hange in Ihc di un in,ml \ allies and m y t h s ot I aocicty, in itf political i n s t i t u t i o n s , social
structure, leadership, and government actmty .nul p o l i t u s " See S Huntington. "Modernization
and Revolution, in Claude. I'. Welch and M B. Tainlor. eds.. Kctnliiiinii ami I'nliliinl ('luuix?
(1972). 22
|g
J a d w i g a Stams/kis. Pulaiul \ St'l l.inniinv Hun/niton ( P i m c e t o n Princeton University
Cress. 19X4). 17.
I' K u c / y n s k i and K. Nowak. "The Solidarity M o v e m e n t m Relation to Society and the
State." in I. Knesberg ft til ed*., Reiearch in Social Movement Conflicts and Change vol 10
.nh C o n n e c t i c u t . Jai Press Inc . I 9 X X }
1
See A sel Bayai. "Workless Revolutionaries The Movement ot the Unemployed in Iran.
1979." liilcriiiilniiiiil Kt-\iCH of Sin nil llnlnn. 42 2 (Summer 1997), 159 XS

ISI VMH

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141

i'.lso to construct alternative institutions and value systems. In this process,

they develop, for instance, alternative credit systems for the poor as well as
clinics, factories, mutual aid, housing, and systems of social protection, all of
which may l u l f i l l some of the needs of their constituencies. Besides, they also
g i v e rise to social and c u l t u r a l sub-systems which usually coexist, albeit with
tension, within the dominant order. Alternative electoral systems in autonomous unions, syndicates, neighborhoods and associations for the excluded
groups are a few of their institutional manifestations. Finally, alternative
religious and cultural organizations schools, holidays, charities, political
parties as well as those dealing with music, art. customs, and even laws are
set up to serve as a moral community in which excluded people can feel al
home. The Austrian socialist movement in the 1420s and Egyptian Islamic
activism represent two examples.
Some neo-Durkheimian social theorists, such as Arjomand. view such institutions as the embodiment of an "integralivc community" which breeds opposition to d o m i n a n t i n s t i t u t i o n s and v a l u e systems (as in Iran). However, instead of political opposition, such arrangements are likely to lead to what
(iucnther Roth (in an analysis ol Social Democracy m Imperial Germany)
calls "negative integration" partial economic and political inclusion combined with alternative cultural and social existence. 2 2 On the other hand.
integration theorists such as Kendix and upset (pointing to the Western European trade union m o v e m e n t ) have argued that i n s t i t u t i o n a l i / a t i o n of this
nature helps contenders develop interests in the prevailing system and work
ing w i t h i n i t . 2 t However, I wish to emphasi/e that social movements do not
simply integrate the contenders into a system, they also produce some real
change and generate sub-systems within which the actors operate and reproduce themselves. Instead of leading to a sudden revolutionary transformation.
these movements often both coexist and compete w i t h the d o m i n a n t social
arrangement. U n l i k e insurrectionist movements, they do not or cannot undo
p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y , although this does not mean that they are integrated in the
sense ol ideological and political eo-oplalion because the \ery operation ol the
movement signifies considerable change for its members. Rather, in a sense, it
conjures up (iramscian "passive revolution" (or a "war of position") which
a i m s not simply at capturing state pov\ei (as the insurrectionists do in their
"frontal attack") but focuses on the gradual capture anil possession of the
society by exerting moral and i n t e l l e c t u a l leadership over c i v i l institutions and
processes.- 1 A true revolution, tor Gramsei, is not [List w i n n i n g the state powei
but w i n n i n g the society by institutional, i n t e l l e c t u a l , and moral hegemony. "A
social group can, and indeed must, already exercise leadership before w i n n i n g
" (iuenlhei Rolh. lln Sm nil Driiim im\ in liii/x-iuil (ii'i iiiiin\

\ ,S/iii/\ n/ \\inkiiii; ( ' A n s

Isolation and NathiHal Integration (Taiowa, N.I l % < ) . 170.

' H n u l i v \nliini Hinlilnni. S(i

S<). l.ipsi-l. l'ulilinil Mini. 70-7.1.

'' Amomo (Ir.unsu. I'IIMIK ,v7xi/ss (Ness Voik International Publishers. Wh. Kid 114.
1Cl(i

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VSI 1 B VI Vl

governmental power (this indeed is one of the principal conditions tor the
w i n n i n g of such power)."25 Although "passive revolution" represents a conscious strategy, its consequences reflect those of the social movements.
Whereas "frontal attacks" or insurrections are likely to occur in societies in
which civil institutions are minimally available to mediate between the government and the people, passive revolution occurs where a strong civil society
prevails. But the passive revolution, the "revolution of the spirit." is prolonged, "complex, difficult," and calls for "exceptional qualities of patience
and inventive spirit." 2 ' 1 The reformist core of social movements and passivervolution must be evident from both their "integrating" impacts and the
conscious strategy ot the movements which give priority to changing the
society rather than to capturing governmental power. This is radically distinguished trom the insurrectionary movements whose aim is frontal attack
against the government (the war of maneuver), which results in a differeni
outcome.
In this essay I argue that Iran experienced an insurrectionary movement
aimed at capturing the state power; Egypt, on the other hand, developed with a
degree of relative openness, a p e r v a s i v e Islamic social movement which operated ami brought about significant changes within the civil society but tailed
lo alter the political structure. In other words. Iran witnessed an Islamic
revolution without a strong Islamic movement; but Egypt experienced a
movement without a revolution. Three major factors were involved in this
equation, differing political and social statuses of the clergy, differences in the
ways that Islam was articulated and practiced, and finally different degrees of
political control in the two countries. In the following pages I will elaborate on
these two trajectories and their implications lor revolutionary and reformist
outcomes.
l Hl

IS1 V M K

K l VOM

I ION IN I R A N

On February I I , 1979. Tehran radio announced the victory of the Iranian

revolution with feverish jubilation. This heralded the end of a 2.500-year-old
monarchy. A mood of ecstasy overtook the populace who rushed into the
streets en mass. Women milled through the crowd, handing out candies and
\h(irh<n. sweet drinks. Vehicles sounded iheir horns in unison, beaming their
lights as they drove down the main streets, which only days before had
witnessed bloody clashes between the protesters and the army. These same
streets were now being patrolled by the revolutionary m i l i t i a s , the Pasdaran.
For those present, it was a day of incomparable victory.
The victory day was the culmination of over eighteen months of mass
demonstrations, bloody confrontations, massive industrial actions, a general
sinke, and many political maneuverings. Yet the genesis of the revolution
Ihnl

207

' Joseph I-'CIIIM. ( m i n i M i \ I'nlilinil Umnht. \l>2

ISI \MI(

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143

niusi he traced io structural changes that had been underway since the 1930s,
when the country began undergoing a process of moderni/ation. This process
was accelerated especially after the coup 1953 engineered by the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), which toppled nationalist prime minister. Mohammad Mosaddeq, and reinstated the Shah. This structural change resulted in
many conflicts, the chief among them being the contradiction between socioeconomic change and political underdevelopment. 27 In addition to these structural causes, certain accelerating factorsstate inefficiency, corruption and a
sense of injustice among many sectors of the Iranian societywere also
involved.
The policy of moderni/ation and economic change, initiated by the state
uiulei both Re/a Shah (1925-46) and his son. the late Shah, resulted in the
g n m t h of new social forces, a development that dismayed traditional social
groups. By the late 1970s, a large and well-to-do modern middle class, modern youth, public women, an industrial working class, in addition to a new
poor slum and squatter dwellers dominated the social scene. With the exception of the latter, all these groups represented the beneficiaries ol the
economic development, who enjoyed relatively high status and comparable
economic rewards. However, the persistence of the Shah's anachronistic autocrac) (political underdevelopment) prevented these thriving social layers
from participating in the political process, something that angered them. At
the \ e r \ same lime, the old social groupsa segment of the traditional ba/aarcs. the old strata of the urban middle class, the clergy and (hose adherent
to Islamic institutionswere also frustrated by the modernization strategy
because it undermined their economic interests and social status.
When all the institutional channels that could have given expression to the
discontent were closed, the populace became increasingly alienated from the
state In the meantime, corruption, inefficiency, a sense ol injustice, and a
feeling of moral outrage characten/ed the social psychology of many Iranians
So. during the tense years of the 1970s, at the height of the Shah's authoritarian rule and remarkable economic development, many people (except perhaps the upper class and landed peasantry) seemed dissatisfied, albeit for
d i f f e r e n t reasons But .ill were united in blaming the Shah and his western
a l l i e s tor that state of affairs. It is not surprising, then, that the language of
dissent and protests was largely anti-monarchy, anti-imperialist, third worldist. and even n a t i o n a l i s t , turning towards the end to religious discourse
The opportunity for popular mobili/alion aimed \ \ i t h what we used to call
the "Cartel ite bree/e" (Mnvc;// < I'urti-ri). President Carter's human rights
policy in the late 1970s forced the Shah to offer a political space tor a limited
S i r I I \ . I I H | Ahr.ihiimi.in. Inm Hriuitii /im Ki^nliilin/n ll'min-lon I'riiiciMon l l m \ i - r s i l y
IVss. I ' J K M . N Keckhe. Ri>ot\ of Revolution: Mohsen Ml I.nil. I'he Milking ! I/it' I \linnif Ki \olii
linn ni II un (Boulder Vv'esl\c.-w Pros. I M X d l . I il l l . i l l u l . i s Inm Du tutorship unit / ) < > < lopmenl
11 oiuloM IVn.-mn Hooks.

144

A s!

degree of expression. This expression, in the process, was cumulatively built

up and in I he course ot less t h a n iwo years swept aside the monarchy. It ull
began with a limited relaxation on censorship, allowing some literary and
intellectual a c t i v i t i e s (in the (joelhe I n s t i t u t e and in the u n i v e r s i t i e s in Tehran)
and public gatherings by political Islamists (in Oquba Mosque). It continued
with the distribution, by the i n t e l l e c t u a l s and liberal politicians, of openly
critical letters to high-level officials. In the midst of this, an i n s u l t i n g article in
a daily paper, kttilaat. against Ayatollah Khomeini triggered a demonstration
in the shrine city of Qum w h i c h left some demonstrators killed. To commemorate this death, a large-scale demonstration took place in the A/eri city of
Tabri/ in t h e north. This marked the beginning of a chain of events which
formed a nation-wide revolutionary protest movement in which diverse segments of the population, modern and traditional, religious und secular, men
and women, massively participated and in w h i c h the 'ultima came to exert its
leadership. But why did the clergy in particular lead the revolution?
I-or over t w e n t y - f i v e years of autocratic rule, since the 1953 coup, any
effective secular political parties and non-governmental organi/ations had
been removed or destroyed. The coup crushed both the nationalist and communist movements; trade unions were infiltrated by the secret police. SAVAK;
publications were strictly censored; and there remained hardly any effective
non-governmental organizations (N(iOs). 2 x The primary source of organi/ed
political dissent came from the underground g u e r r i l l a organi/ations. Marxist
I-edaiun and radical Islamic Mujahedin, whose activities were limited to isolated armed operations. "' Student a c t i v i s m also remained restricted, limited
either to campus politics inside the country or to events carried out by the
Iranian students abroad. In short, the secular groupings, w h i l e badly dissatisfied, were disorganized and without leadership.
U n l i k e secular groups, however, the clergx had the comparative advantage
of possessing i n v a l u a b l e i n s t i t u t i o n a l capacity, i n c l u d i n g its own hierarchical
order, over H).(KX) mosques, Husseiniehs, Huw/ehs, and associations w h i c h
acted as v i t a l means of communication among the revolutionary contenders.
Young Islamists, both girls and hoys along with young clergymen linked the
i n s t i t u t i o n of the ' u l a m a to the people. A hierarchical order facilitated unified
decision making and a systematic flow of order and information; and in
mosques higher-level decisions were disseminated to both the activists and the
general public. In short, beyond the lack of a credible alternative, this institut i o n a l capacity and a remarkable a m b i g u i t y in the message of the clergy
On ihr .mil i l r i i i i H l a t i c n a t u r e t i l tin- Shuh's lesjime anil its p o l i t i c a l implications, sec I n-il
H a l l t d a ) . li'iin: l ) i f l i i l n i \ h i i > mul Di'ii'/n/iini'iil (I omlon. I V n j i u i n . l l >77) (on SAVAK a c t i v i t i e s ) ;
l l a h i h l . a i c t a t i l i . Ijihni I nin/i-, <nnl ;\iiim in, \ in linn (Syracuse: Syracuse U n i v e r s i t y Press.
mX5l. l l o i n a K a l n u / i a i i . Ilu- l'iiliUfiil i<i>irnii\ I Mni/t'in Iran (London: Macmillan. 1982).
"' On f i i c i n l l a activities in l i . i n . -IT hcd l l a l h d a \ . linn: Du laloi \liip und Development!
] A l i i a h a i i i i a n . Iran lirtm'cn 7iu Ki'volnliini-,

ISLAMIC ACTIVISM IN I R A N AND EGYPT

145

ensured the 'ulam's leadership. That leadership was maintained due to the
relatively rapid conclusion of revolutionary events; there was little time for
debate and dissent for a social movement to emerge and a possible alternative
leadership to develop. Thus, the nascent Islamic movement of the 1970s
rapidly transformed into a state. Islamization unfolded largely after the victory
of the Islamic revolution and was enforced largely from above by the Islamic
state. It was manifested in the establishment of the valiiya-tifuqih, or the rule
of clergy, Islamic legal system, restrictive policies on women, and Islamic
cultural practices and institutions.
S I X I O - I ( O N O M I C C H A N C i F . A N D T H E DEI L I N E O F I S L A M

This analysis does not underestimate the significance of political Islam before
the Islamic revolution. Indeed, the history of political Islam in Iran goes as far
back as that in Egypt, at least to the late nineteenth century. The role of the
Iranian 'ulama in the Tobacco movementthe first nationalist-religious
movement against foreign influenceand their impact in the Constitutional
Revolution of 1905-06, as well as the Jangali movement of the mid-1920s,
are well documented. w Yet their legitimacy, political orientation (largely due
to their social heterogeneity), and thus political efficacy fluctuated markedly
in different periods. To preserve their special interests as a status group, along
with their judiciary prerogatives and economic benefits, clerical figures such
;is Shaikh Fadlullah Nouri turned to become staunch opponents of the 1906
Constitution, leading "the vast majority of the constitutionalist 'ultmi"31
toward a mashm'a, or an Islamic constitution. Although mashn/a politics
failed, the country being occupied by the Russians and British during the First
World War, Islamic leaders found yet another ground to combine nationalism
and anti-government politics. Many local uprisings and movements emerged
throughout the country. From 1917 on, Mir/a Kouchik Khan, a dynamic
Islamic preacher from Rasht, along with secular revolutionaries such as Khalu
Qurban and Ehsanallh Khan, led a spectacular movement (Jangalies) which
controlled much of the Caspian Sea Province of Gilan.' :
The post-Second World War period witnessed intense activities of such
grand clergymen as Ayatollah Kashani and the Fedaian-i Islam in the politics
of the nationalist movement led by Mohammed Mosaddeq and in the urban
riots of 1963, when Ayatollah Khomeini emerged as a resolute politico111
N i k k i Keddie. Ke/if-ion unu Rebellion in Iran: The TohuiTo Protest of IKVI-V2 (London:
('rank ('ass, 1966). Humid Alghar. Keliifion untl Politics. Said A. Arjomand, "The Ulama's
Traditionalist Opposition to Parliamentarism: 1907 I909.: in Mult/le Eastern Studies. 17:2
( I 9 X 1 ) . 421-33.
(l
See Said A. Arjomand. "The Ulama's Traditionalist Opposition to Parliamentarism: 19071909." in Middle h'.tistern Studies. 17:2 ( 1 9 8 1 . 186. U n l i k e Arjomand. Ervand Abrahamian, a
historian of Iran, believes that most of the clergy remained supportive of Constitutionalism
(personal communication).
l:
Abrahamian. Iran Hetween / < > Revolutions. I I 1-2.

146

As i i n \ s \ i

religious figure." l-ollowmg tins t u r m o i l , he was forced lo leave lor an exile

in Turkey, then Iraq, and in the nmlsl of the I s l a m i c revolution, was iranslerred lo Fans, where he heeanie the leader of the rvolution. The events ot'
J u l y 1963 were to mark the last major s h o w d o u n t i l the I s l a m i s t s in the streets
u n t i l the I s l a m i c R e s o l u t i o n ot 1979. In all ol' these episodes Islam played an
e f f e c t i v e political role in m o h i l i / i n g its supporters because both I s l a m (as a
l a i t h . paradigm, and discourse) anil the Islamic leaders enjoyed a great deal of
legitimacy among t h e i r followers H o w e v e r , that role had begun to decline
since the reign ol Re/a Shah ( 1925 41 ).
Re/a Shah, the father of Mohammad Re/a I ' a h l a s i . emerged d u r i n g the
conditions of remarkable political i n s t a b i l i t y and social insecurity spread by
years of upheavals, c i v i l war. f o r e i g n occupation, and nomadic uprisingsconditions w h i c h breed the desire for "strong leaders." Brought to power by a
British-engineered coup, he set out lo establish a strong state on the image ol
the West and i t s t h i r d - w o r l d v a r i a n t , the Turkish R e p u b l i c headed by K a m a l
Alalurk. He aimed lo build a u n i f i e d modern stale founded upon secular
n a t i o n a l i s m , educational development, anil state c a p i t a l i s m . ' ' Many of these
measures seriously undermined the i n s t i t u t i o n s of Islam and the ' u l a n i a
To begin w i t h , the Judicial"), up to then under (he i n f l u e n c e ol the clergy,
was entirely restructured; modern educated l a w y e r s replaced traditional
judges; iTcnch C i v i l ('odes took the place of most Islamic laws, and the
secular judges determined the nature of cases deemed to he raised in seeulai or
nus courts Re/.i Shah, m addition, restricted religious festivals, com
memorations. passion plays, and other practices t h a t allecled public l i f e . The
establishment ot a modern system of t a x a t i o n , along w i t h that ol M i n i s t r y of
A\\i/<if ( h n d o w m e n l s ) . dcpmed the clergy of a si/able segment of r e l i g i o u s
tax income; and. w i t h t h i s , the economic independence w h i c h the u l a m a had
eii|osed for the previous two c e n t u r i e s was threatened. Mut more i m p o r t a n t ,
educational l e t o r n i played a lasting pari in Re/a Shah's secular dreams. Setting up u n i f i e d state-run schools meant t h a i t r a d i t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s of learning
controlled by the clergy and a c u r r i c u l u m dominated by the teaching ol
Oui an. grammar, rhetoric, and logic in nuikltih^ and ///</<//rsc//v lost t h e i r
preeminence Thus, while students in both modern pnmars schools and colleges grew more than l i v e - t o l d between 1 9 2 5 - 4 1 . ( s the number of takihch\
(theological s t u d e n t s ) in madresehs f e l l Irom over 5,500 in 1929-30 to fewer
than 1,340 in 1937. Indeed, es en the c h i l d r e n ol many prominent 'ulam
prclcrrcd and moved into the modern a d m i n i s t r a t i v e occupations. "' The social
and i n t e l l e c t u a l impact of modern schooling was also far-reaching. With ils
1
I n ! moiv I!L'|.II|V M-V S l i a h i m i k h A k h . m . Rillen) untl I'oluit \ m CtMllfHtpown
l A l h . i m S I ' N Y Pros. I W i l l . W KIS

Ain.ili

Inin

\a.n. Iran between Twu Revolutions, 140.

I . i l u i l . i t i - i l h u m d.U.i |iio\idccl h\ Ahi.ih.imi.m. Inui Hi'itu-i-ii / Ri'\t>lnlion\

" Sec Roy Moll.iliolrh I In Minu/i' <>l iln /'//''"'' iNVw V i n k I'.inllieon

144 45

1SI A M U A( I I V I S M IN I R A N AND EGYPT

147

emphasis on diversified subjects, it offered and facilitated alternative discourses, scientific rationality, and secular practices instead of religious paradigms. Moreover, modern schools, along with other public places such as
parks, cinemas, cafes, factories, and offices, contributed to the movement of
urban women from domestic seclusion into the public domain with men.' 7
Re/a Shah's relentless war against the veil was already under way. Notwithstanding his palriarchism, he forcefully outlawed the chudor. a long veil of a
single piece, and required high officials to bring their wives to public events.
These measures, introduced in drastic and often brutal ways, undermined
the clergy profoundly but neither eliminated them nor killed religious sentiments among people. The policies, however, did make accessible alternative
secular ways of l i v i n g , t h i n k i n g , and reasoning, while offering diversified role
models and sources of legitimacy. It is perhaps not surprising that after the
Allies removed Re/a Shah and during an unprecedented democratic experience between 1941 and 1953, various sorts ot secular, nationalist, radical, and
Marxist ideologies flourished. Islam as a faith, discourse, and mobili/ing force
continued to decline. A few women who had been forced to unveil under Re/a
Shah returned to wearing the traditional chador alter his fall; the remainder,
along with the new generations of women, continued with their new identities. l x Although the number of talabehs increased."> political Islam declined
drastically. Linder Ayatollah Broujerdi, the miirjti1 tnqlccil, the Haw/eh remained apolitical. When one segment of the 'ulumu together with ba/aares
supported the nationali/ation of oil. the Ayatollah chose to remain neutral. In
the end. the clergy's tear of the Tudeh Party's growth under Prime Minister
Mosaddeq allied them with the 1953 coup which toppled the nationalist lead
er.40 There seems to be evidence to suggest a decline in religious practice
among ordinary people. An eyewitness account during the Mosaddeq era
reported about the mosques which had been emptied of the masses. 41 While
it is likely that in general popular religious sentiments remained, new venues
of popular expression nevertheless opened up in political parties, artistic circles, associations, trade unions, and (he like. Now millions of ordinary men
and women joined or sympathized with movements which were known to be
secular, radical, and Marxist. Mosaddeq. the secular leader of the struggle to
" Interestingly, aller Ihc Islamic Revolution, the mayor ot Tehran. Karhaschi. was attacked by
i o n s e i \ a l i \ e student w e e k l y . I'muni-i i\iini'\liiii. because he had made hundreds ot public parks
. n u l "u-en spots in the city wheic 1 men and women could m i n g l e in public
IK
See gher Mo'meni, "Islam-i Mow|oud. Islam i Mow'oud." in Nuif/iti'li, 1 : 1 11995). 74 ( i n
I V t s i a m Sir also Vida Hehnam. "/an. Khanevadeh v.i Tajaddod." linn Nnnit'li 1 1 : 2 (sprin
l')') 11. 2 4 ( i n Persian i
"' See A k h a v i , Kclii-iiiii and I'ulitu \. 1X7. Appendixes
411
Ahmad Ashral. "7ammeh-ye l|temaii-ye Sonnulgerau v a Taiaddodkhalun" |Social Framework ot Traditionalism and Modernism in I r a n i , in Inin-Nuineh, 1 1 : 2 (Spring 1993). 177 (in
Persian I
41
Jann. G;ii\/iU'li Cliinu/-! Ruli-i A\an<li'h .\\i | A History ot Modern lran|. (London: Jami (in
Persian). I 9 7 K ) .

I 48

\ S l l

H V > V I

nationah/c (he Irani,in oil industry, became a national hero in the early 1950s.
His National Front, an alliance ot various secular nationalist parties was
rivaled only by the more cohesive Tudeh. or Communist Party. With over
25,(XX) members, and some 300,(XX) sympathi/ers in the early 1950s, it enjoyed support among workers, women, intellectuals, artists, m i l i t a r y officers,
students, teachers, professionals, the urban underclass, and even some peasants Despite police restrictions, it became the most effective organi/ation in
the country, 4 2 leading the most powerful communist movement in the Middle
East43
I III

I'OS I ( 01 l' l K \

A( C l l l K \ I I N C ,

I III

( II A N C , I

The coup d'tat of 1953. planned by the C I A . was designed to end the
Premiership of Mohammad Mosaddeq and reinstate the authority of the Shah
It thus ended the democratic experience, crushed both the secular nationalist
and communist movements, and pushed political Islam on to the sidelines. It
consolidated a regime that was to manifest a model ot moderm/ation in the
peiiphery. The post-coup era. notably the 1960s and 1970s, represented a
period of remarkable economic growth, integration in (he world market, urbam/ation. and social changeall initiated primarily by the autocratic state of
the Shah, sale-guarded by a notorious secret police. SAVAK. This new phase
of modernization enhanced many programs that Re/a Shah had initialed. It
promoted the ascendancy of modern classes the professional-bureaucratic
and technocratic intelligentsia, i n d u s t r i a l working class, public women, and
modern y o u t h -at the cost of traditional social groups and ideals: the f e u d a l
class, ba/aanes. the ' u l a m a . and the institutions of Islam in general.
The post-coup regime became the closest a l l y of the United States in the
region. It joined western military, political, and economic treaties to become a
satellite ol the West. In a big push for moderni/alion. the Shah inaugurated in
1963 the "White R e v o l u t i o n " in w h i c h land reform, women enfranchisement,
and the l.itcracv (Dips were the most important elements with far-reaching
social consequences Land reform, in particular, curtailed the power of feudal
lords, converted the peasantry into eithei small landowners or rural proletariat
who then migrated to cities, developed commodity relations in the countryside, and expanded communications between villages and cities and w i t h i n the
countryside in general.
In the meantime, rising oil prices contributed to a remarkable a n n u a l growth
rate of over I I percent tor the entire 1963 72 period, a rate that jumped again
to a staggering 30 percent during 1974 and 1975. Oil income was able to
f i n a n c e impressive programs of industrialization and national education. Between 1963 and 7X. Iran's i n d u s t r i a l output rose almost twelve told, w i t h an

'

t , i h . i n n . i n linn l>, hm ii lim AVi nlnlii>ii\. .121.

I led H.ilhcl.i) linn l)u tulai ^/u/i mill I>i \ i li i/iiiu in (London: Penguin. 1979).

ISLAMIC A C T I V I S M IN I R A N AND EGYPT

149

average growth rate of 72 percent per year.44 This meant that the industrial
working class of factory and workshop workers grew to a si/able portion of
the population constituting one-third of the total work force in 1977.4'5 The
modernisation strategy also boosted a large and fairly prosperous new middle
class by means of expanding modern education. The literate urban population
grew from 33 percent in 1956 to 65 percent in 1976, with 50 percent rate for
women. In 1978, some I75,(KK) students were enrolled in 236 institutions of
higher education in addition to some 8(),(KX) students outside Iran.4'1 One third
of these students were female. Education became an important vehicle for
social mobility, contributing to the growth of modern middle class. Thus, the
number of students, professors, teachers, writers, doctors, lawyers, technocrats, and bureaucrats increased from 16.5 percent of the urban labor force in
1966 to over 33 percent, or over 1.9 million persons by 1976, including
3(X),(XX) women. A strong modern middle class had been created.47
Parallel to these developments, other traditional social groups were losing
ground. The feudal class, among them many important members of the clergy,
had virtually withered away. Its members gradually moved into commerce,
speculation, and industry. A large segment of the ba/aar, well over 5(X),(MX)
retail and wholesalers, felt the impact of the invasion of modern financial
institutions, trade companies, shopping centers, large factories, and new
tastes. 4 S While some surely resisted the invasion, others lost the battle, and
still many more began to conform to the reality of modernization by trading
foreign goods, employing modern trade relations and language.4l) By the eve
of the Revolution, the Ba/aar was sociologically, if not politically, divided.s"
The political divide came only after the revolution manifesting along the lines
of Banisadr. who was supported by the more modernist and well-off ba/aaries,
and the clergy backed by the more traditional-minded and small scale traders.
More than anybody, the clergy was on the defensive on the economic,
political and social fronts. In economic terms, land reform, together with the
establishment in 1963 of the Organi/ation of Endowment cut back the main
source of clergy's income from Awc/af. Earlier. Re/a Shah's administrative
" llom.i Kaiou/iaii. UK I'l'lirniil lit'iiniin of Miniem Iran (London Maumllan. 19X1). 276.
*" AscI B.I\.II Wink, M mul Hi \iiliiliini in linn (London. Xed Book--. 19X7). 25.
4(1
Mehrdad Annan. "Naqsh-e Javanan dar l-.nqcl.ih" (The Role ol (he Vmths in the Iranian
Revolulion|. in Kmikmli A Peruim Joiirmil <>/ Union mul Pnlitn\. no. 5 (Fall 14X8). 95 (in
Persian)
" On Ihese. sec M. Milani. The Miikmx t lilt' Iniiiuni hliinin Kevitlulmii ( Bouldci Wcstv lew
Press. 14X6). I 15-9.
4
M. Milani. The Miihnt;. 116
4
'' The general I) modern or foreign naluie ol merchandise in Tehran ba/aar becomes clearer
when one casually compares n with ihose in ha/aars ot C'airo or Istanbul
M)
Personal communication w i t h Taheieh Oaderi. (he aulhoi ol a Ph I) thesis on ba/aai in Iran
in 1970s (available at the University of Kenl at Canterbury. Tngland. 19X5) The political
reflection of this division was revealed only one year after the revolution when different segments
of the ha/aar exhibited support to different political leadership They were notably divided
between suppoiiers of President Bam Sadi and Ayatollah Beheshli

I5<>

ASM

BAVAI

reform had already diminished the tees the 'ulama were entitled to in their
legal anil clerical duties sueh as registration ol titles.'' 1 What remained was
/Kit/i/i IIIKIIII and klionnn. contributions trom the faithful. In political terms.
the historic ally of the clergy, the traditional ha/aaries and the feudal class.
were both seriously debilitated. At the same time, other social groups such
as the middle class, women in the public domain, and modern south
developed, hul most ol them expressed little affinity with the institutions ol
Islam, thus further undermining the social legitimacy of religious institutions.
I can recall back in the 1960s, my village classmates would question the
village mulla because they felt he lacked modern knowledge, and m turn the
mullahs expressed then dismay ol the youth who. they felt, no longer listened
to their preaching. The number ol madiasahs declined by I96X to only 138
most ol which had only a lundi ul ol students. "Some continued to exist as
monuments of landmarks more than instructional institutions. " S2 Hence. Ayatollah Mutahhan's acknowledgment as early as 1963 ol tins sail truth thai
"materialistic philosophy has its appeal among Iranian youths. " s < He blamed
this on the ulama's failure and on their dated practices.S4
Indeed, this onslaught of secular tendencies made some Muslim leaders
rethink their practices and moderni/e their strategy. The opportune time came
when a vacuum was created following the death in 1961 of Ayatollah Broujerdi. the nun i ' - i iiu/lid. A group of like-minded ulama and Islamic intellectuals
began lo present Islam m an a l i i a c t i \ e modern language, mixing Islamic
discourse v \ i t h lalional scientific concepts, paying particulai attention to concerns of everyday hie."1"1 Instead of jurisprudence or religious rituals, they
discussed Darwin's evolution. Same's existentialism, and Marx s materialism.
As an engineer. Mehdi Ba/argan was particularly emphatic that hard scientific
discourse had to be used lo arrive at religious conclusions. Sympathetic clergy
followed suit. The leadeis ol l-reedom Movement, a remnant ol Mosaddeq
National 1-ronl (including Mehdi Ba/argan. Morte/a Mutahhari. Beheshti.
Allameh Tahalaban. and Mahmoud Talcqam. most ol whom w c i e to become
leaders ol the Islamic Revolution) orgam/ed monthly seminars around the
1

\kh.iM Ki'livioti uni/ l'oliin v KI J

//,/ ! ")
This (.oiucrn sccmcil lo coin nine cu-n up lo lln1 I'M- ol the Kc \oluiiou Dunn;' I lu t. niions
lectures ol ()(|h,i Mosc|iic oru.nn/ccl h\ moilciniM ileii'v in I .ill l c >77 I could olisci\e hou niosi
ol Ihc pie.iehm'j. in p.iilicul.n Ihosc ol .\\.iiolkih Moi.ilih.nl .nul Mcluli H.I/.IIIMU. centered on
.ill.ickui'.' m.il seinl.ii m.iU'ii.ilisi ,nul \l.n\isi ulc.is In the lin.il r\enm;j which w,is dc\o(c'd lo
discussiu;.' p.ulicip.iuls questions .nul comments. I picscntcd .1 cnlic.il i e \ i e \ s ol H.IAIMII s
lecture I hi ,111"! \ lesponse ol As.iloll.ih \1iH.ihli.tii ht un Loiiiinciils pointed to .1 sense ol
mseiunty ol Iskimisis ,il ihe lime
\loiti /.i Mtii.ihh.iii. "K.ihh.in s t N.ixl i.l.i\.m i K .uliiiL' the Voulus), in (intuii -i Muh. no t
( 1 4 X 6 ) . pp U. -IS
M
All Ashli.nn. I hy.i' e l-iki e Dun \,i S.iik.inlcL'in \ e Isl.nn c S\,issi il.n lnc|il.ih e h.i .....
Kiinkii-./! ,\ I'li^nin lniiiiKil ul lli\im\ mul I'nliiii v no (ill, ill l l )K')Min I V i s i m i see also Ah
Mnsep.issi Ashli.nn 'I he < i t sis ol Sec u l, n ism .nul I'oliiK.il Isl.nn m h in m S, ml li \l. \1:?i
iSpinif I'l'Mi S | S4
1

ISI.AMK

A< I I N I S M IN I R A N AND F C i Y P I

l s; l

theme of i i u i r / ( i [ i \ ( i l vti velimii dar Islam; (the source of Humiliation and

leadership). These seminars continued under the rubric of' Maktub-i Tcisluiyo
but still paid little attention to strictly Qur'anic teachings or traditional Shi'i
texts; instead, they maintained their emphasis on modern scientific language.
They published a journal, Meiktnh-i Tushino. which printed articles on such
themes as "Leading the Young Generation," "The Law of Causality in Human
Science and Religion," and "Islam and the Proclamation of Human rights." A
similar publication, (lofttir-e Mali, also carried comparable contributions.
These reformist Muslim leaders even resorted lo sociological surveys to learn
v\ hat the youth thought about Islam. Such developments were the beginning of
what came to he known as /./m/'-r Ukr-c /v/<;m; (or. reviving Islamic thought)
w h i c h chaiacteri/ed political Islam throughout the 1960s and the early 1970s
until it was overshadowed by the radical Islamist. Ali Shariati. It was manifested in Islamic publications, the organi/ation of Islamic study groups, and
the establishment of Islamic schools. The Islamic schools were different from
the madrasahs in that they combined a regular curriculum with Islamic extracurriculum activities, including lufwi- and Qur'an recitation sessions. Islamic
entertainment, daily collective prayers, and alternative weekends. Their mission was to create "true" Muslim individuals.
This (rend surely represented a significant shift in the sociali/ation and
politicization of Islam. However, this and its contemporary religiosity were far
Irom a mass social movement and bore little resemblance to the Egyptian or
Algerian versions in the early 1990s. In Iran, the Maktab- i Tashayo and
similar activities remained weak, isolated, and elitist Only three issues ot'
their two periodicals were published. As historian Re/a Afshari points out.
Ayatollah Khomeini's most significant contributions to the Islamic ideology.
\'flu\(ii-e f-di/ih. was unknown to some ot' his most ardent followers.^ Contrary to the prevailing assumption, there is not adequate evidence suggesting
that the 'ulanui resorted to making an appeal to the masses. 57 Indeed, none of
the major leaders paid a particular attention to the musta/'afm as a special
class. A review of XX sermons, messages, and letters by Ayatollah Khomeini
attests that in the 15 years prior to the revolution, he made only 8 passing
references to lower-class people, compared to 50 references to educated
youth, students, and universities ss In turn. Ayatollah Mutahhari's elitist apS(
' See Re/a Atshan. "A ('ntii|uc nl Dab.ishi's Reconstruction ot Islamic kleolog) .is .1 Prerequisite tor (he 11.in i.in Revolution." in ( n in/in /nn/iiiil n/ Critical Studies nf tilt Muli/U l:n\l. no. 5
il .ill I'I'M I. 7(v
" This assumption is made by Akhavi. Kcli^inn mid Politic v 101: Ai|omand. I'lii liirhtm:
Moitahedeh. J lie Minnie: and Ka/eiiu. I In I nknoHii
ix
See Ayatollah Rouhullah Khomeini. S,//;i/< \, \uiit: collected works compiled and edited
by (he Mnmlrv ol National Guidance (Tehran. 1982). Imciesiinulv. the term inuitu:'utiii appeared
in Ins l.iii'iuajie onl) during the height ol' the revolution (Abun 1357). when he used it merely I
repudi.ite the leltisls hy uttciiiptiiij.' to oiler an alternative concepluali/ation ol the poor. For ai
more detailed disuission see A se I H.iv.il. S / / < 11 I'/ililn \ l'uni /></''< s MI>\CIIK ;//\ /// him. IV77
Yoik Coluinhia llmversii) l'iess. IW7).

152

ASM

BAVA I

proach is clear through his warnings about ti\-aain-:iuk'ffiii. or populism"; for

Ali Shariati, intellectuals, not the popular masses, constituted the revolutionary force/1" For these Muslim leaders, then, the critical mass was not the
musta/'alin hut the educated youth.
Indeed, some evidence seems to point to the growth of Islamic hooks, tapes,
and associations in general during the late 1960s and 1970s. Accounts are
given in 1976 about, for instance, 48 publishers ol religious books in Tehran,
the sale of 490,(KX) copies of Mafalili cil-Jiuin, 13 centers of recording and
distribution ol lapes, approximately 12.3(X) religious associations in Tehran,
of which 1,800 had formal titles/' 1 Despite serious doubts on the accuracy of
these figures/'2 many scholars take these as "firm evidence" of a "religious
movement" in the 1960s and 1970s which presumably underlay the Islamic
Revolution/' '
To begin with, the censorship policies alter 1966 caused a general decline in
\oluines of published works m non-religious subjects and. thus, an increase in
relative proportion of religious hooks/'4 It is interesting to note that immediately after the revolution, when censorship was removed, secular periodicals, books, pamphlets, and tapes nourished, on a massive scale. According to
the Iranian Publication Association, more than 2 million books were published
in the country within the first six months of 1979.('s Whereas the highest
circulation lor the largest daily in Tehran (Ke\htiii) was recorded at 300.000 in
1978. the circulation of lehian's two major evening dailies (Kc\lnin and
l-.ttild'iiD reportedly surpassed 1 5 million in the early months ol the revolution, and the leftist morning newspaper. A\n<ulcv,iin. hovered at around
4()0.(X)0. On the whole, over 100 newspapers and periodicals began to work or
resumed publication in Tehran alone in the post-revolutionary months/1'1
In addition, most ol the icligious publications put out before the revolution
"' Sec Anonymous, eil . Hiilil/n dm Hun u Mm/ii'i\\nl \n Riilitnnuii. 1 X 1 (in Pcisiam
'" Ali Shunali. J<ihiiii;iiiii \< luhui/tiii u l\l<iiu ( li-hi.ni I'JXO in Persian)
11
Airmail Shi n M.ini ,iml ilu- Revolution in II.HI dm < mini in uiul O/i/io^inon. lf>:.1
( 1 4 X 1 ) . 11 I !
Ilk Illimbei t ' l l Mik s i. Ill IV v c n l i c d hv l e t c t e i l c e Id I'M SCO sl.lllMlC.il SOUICCS

I low CUT

n Ihe nuiuhcr I Islamic. Associations, mils ihose lcnin.il ink", numbering I.X(K). arc reliable. Il
is impossible to v e n l v ihc oihcr categories Ol ihe I.X(M). n is mu deal how many were really
viable or existed only in name
'' See also Musepassi Ashtiam Ilu ( inn 77. Km Mollahedeh. The Mimik: Humid
Dahashi. //ic/i;\ nl Dntunit HI Ilu Idroliifiicul Foundation of thi l^laiiin Revolution ill Inui
(New York Ne York Unuersiu press. I'J'Mi
'' Akh.ni. Ki'litfinn uinl I'nliin \ Kill M is imporianl to note lliul al the lime Iran had one ol ihe
most severe tcnsoiship policies in ihe world About censorship on popular press, see also Willium
Milliard. ' I'opulai Press in Iran.' in (,i>/ l> (uni no 4 (Tehran. IW4) (in Persian)
' Sec Ma|id lehiaiii.ni. \u< i l HIUHIK anil (iniiiiii/ini iili/m liiilnaiim in Df\flopmtlll
Phiiiiiinv ACast S;H</\ ,./ linn (Pans l M S<'( ) I9X(I). 6.1.
'' On these lijnnes. sec M,i|id lehiam.m. Sr i<> 1, niionui S(, s7 The lolal numhei ol rei-is
lered periodicals lumped Innn KU in 1475 lo 227 in ll>S(l. one \ c a i allei the levoliition H o w e v e r
a cruckdown on oppusiiKin.il publications .nul OILMIII/.nions leiluced the numhei lo .1 mere 6(1 In
oilier words, some IM periodicals, almost all secular, were banned publication I "i heures see
Maik.i/'i Amar e Iran. IHIII iltn \U'IIH \i \ I I H I , i t no 4 I Milan!. I Ui *

ISLAMIC' ACTIVISM IN IRAN AND EGYPT

153

hardly represented political Islam. Instead, they were either practical guides
on religious rituals, preaching on morality, or scholarly inquiries into mysticism or theosophy.67 While it may be true that Makttib-e Islam, a journal of
the Haw/.eh in Qum, had reportedly high circulation in the late 1960s, it
always refused to publish reformist or political materials''8; and, Mafatih aljnan represented, according to Ali Shariati, no more than "the most otherworldly aspect of fossilized traditional shi'ism."61J
One should also be cautious about the success of the Islamic schools in
spreading religious messages or, for that matter, political Islam. In my own
three-year experience in one of them in the 1960s, the Islamic programs were
the least attractive to most students,70 and the clerical instructors the least
popular with the many of us who, in the end, felt the pressure of institutional
indoctrination and left the school for secular counterparts. The somber mood
of the Islamic entertainment could hardly compete with the non-religious fun
which the students actively sought. On the other hand, there is a widespread
assumption that the nmxtaz'afin, the poor, knew the mullas and joined the
revolution through such Islamic institutions as hey'ats, the ethnic-based and
ad-hoc religious setups. Contrary to what is claimed, 71 while they did bring
together many shi'i poor, the hey'ats were hardly the sites of political mobilization. My own direct observations confirm a young squatter's view that the
functions of the hey'ats remained limited to "socializing," "sacrificing Imam
Hussein and weeping [for his dead body]."72 The urban poor went under the
political banner of the 'ulama only just before the insurrection of February
I979. 71 In short, the significance of religious publications and institutions for
political Islam lay not much in their ideological impact during the 1960s and
the 1970s but in their networking capacity and mobilizing role on the eve of
the revolution.
More important, taking these as a sole indication of Islamic revival, especially when they are seen in retrospect, downplays a significant parallel phenomenon, that is, a strong secular tendency that was developing at the very
same lime, a subject almost totally overlooked by the post-revolutionary scholarship. Above, I pointed to the historical bases of secular behavior in Iran:
widespread modern education, the expansion of communication, and the erosion of economic and social position of the clergy. The trend reached its peak in
hl<
'' See Akhavi. Religion <ind Politic*. 161-2.
Ibid.. 138.
''' The phrase is Amir Arjomand's; see his "Shi'ite Islam and the Revolution in Iran" ( 1981 ).
312.
7
" My own school. Taheri-ye Eslami. which had hoth primary and secondary le\els. was part
ul ilu- Islamic conglomerate, Jiitne'e-ve Tu'linitii-e Kxltnni.
71
See. for instance. I'arhad Ka/emi. Poverty tiinl Revolution in Iran (New York: New York
University. 1980); Roy Mollahedeh. The Minirle of the Pronhel: Religion untl Politic* in linn
(New York: Pantheon Books. 1985).
7:
Ali Banua/i/i. "Alounaknishinan-i Khiahan-i Professor Brown." in Alifbti, 2:3 (Summer
1362/1983). 59.
71
For an analysis ol the role of the urban poor in the Iranian Revolution, see Asel Bayat. .Vmw
Pi>liiie\: Poor People*' Movement* in Inin (New York: Columbia University Press. 1997), ch.3.

154

ASI l B A Y A I

the very decade in which the Islamic revolution occurred. Unlike the 1940s,
when communist, nationalist, and intellectual movements manifested in the
major secular institutions, the Shah's dictatorship in the 1970s largely deprived
the society of comparable institutions Instead, there was a tremendous boost in
the production and consumption of secular journals, cinemas, western movies,
pop music cassettes, popular singers, youth centers (klmne-ye Javanan), bars
promoting alcohol drinks, Caspian Sea holidays, and the vast popularity of
western-produced television programs.74 The number of movie viewers increased by over 50 percent between 1969 and 1975. nearly twice as much as
that of urban population growth in the same period. During the 1970s, over 500
foreign films a year, one-fourth American, were shown in the Iranian cinemas.
Beyond that, by 1975 about 50 percent of urban families had acquired television sets, compared to less than 4 percent in I960. with about 65 percent of
total households owning radio sets. 7S This media succeeded by the late 1970 in
shaping a highly secular popular culture embodied in the songs and performances ot do/ens of popular singers and actors, such as Ciougoush. Fardin,
Aghasi, and Sousan. These were at a time when cinema, radio, and television
were condemned by religious-minded people, since in Ayatollah Khomeini's
views, these media were being "used to corrupt our youth."7<1
It was such a background that rendered Islamic leaders skeptical about any
political change. Although many scholars writing alter the revolution magnitied the extent of an Islamic movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Shariati's letter to his son (in the late 1960s) shows how he was frustrated,
pessimistic, and bitter with the people who had remained disinterested in his
mission.77 Even Ayatollah Khomeini in 1970 thought that it might take two
centuries to overthrow the Iranian monarchy.7"
Indeed, the popularity of Ali Shariati, a modernist Islamic intellectual,
during the mid-1970s seemed to begin an Islamic movement, although it
remained limited to political discourse among Muslim intelligentsia and hardly assumed any institutional form within the civil society, whether in associations, NGOs, syndicates, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces or media, in
contrast to Egypt during the early 1990s. Although the Mujahedin-c Khalq
Organi/ation was influenced by Shariati's ideas, it did not receive ,i mass
following until after the revolution. 7 '' The Islamic movement in pre-revolution
74
It is important lo note thai, unlike attending mosaics, shnncs 01 ln\'di\. these were
commodities for which ordinary and middle income people had to pa\ I exclude those leisure
items which only the rich could altoid to consume, such .is uibaicts. I mope.in holidays (as
opposed lo allendm)! Ha||l
" On these iifiures see UNKSCO. \tdli\titdl Yt-dihutit, il'.uis \arious years)
7
" Ciled in Humid Nalici. Iranian ( inema under the Islamic Republic." A I I K I K / I I I Aiir/no/>i>/(>nnl y? 1 (September IWS). 54H
77
In Re/a Alshari. A ( nrn/m KO
78
Ruholl.ill Khomeini. Hnkiinuii < i\lnini I \lnin Dm t S W / M I v M n p 1 1 >7(( 1 1 W Arabic
year|). 160
7
" On Mujuhcdin. see l.rvand Ahrahamian. Kiulndl l\hnu I In Immun Mn/dlii iliu (London:
Tauris. I'W/i

I S L A M I C A C T I V I S M I N I R A N A N D EGYPT

155

Iran proved, in short, to be a late starter. There remained no time tor political
Islam to evolve into a mass social movement. In Iran, an Islamic movement
was in the making when it was interrupted by an Islamic Revolution.
I N I EGYPTIAN ISLAMISTMOVEMENT

Unlike Iran, however, Egypt developed a strong and pervasive Islamist movement by the early 1990s. The popular image of the Islamist Movement in
Egypt is represented in the protracted war of attrition between the militant
Islamists, notably members of the Jihad and al-Jama'u al-Islamiya, and the
slate, beginning since the assassination of President Sadat in September 1981.
It was also manifested in attacking Christian Copts, western tourists, secular
Muslim thinkers, and the image of Shaikh Omar Abdur-Rahman, the spiritual
leader of al-Jama'u al-Islamiya, who was detained in the United States for his
alleged involvement in the bombing of the World Trade Center. Indeed, during
1993 alone, the confrontations between these Islamists and the government
forces left 1,106 killed or wounded, and 17,191 arrested.80 Several attempts
were made to kill politicians, security heads, and public figures. In addition, a
number of cinemas, cafes, video shops. Nile cruisers, and banks also became
the target of bombing campaigns. Despite its dramatic appearance, this militant trend was by far less influential and pervasive than the gradualist and nonviolent trend. The more significant was the growth of religiosity in general,
which further fed the spread of political Islam within the civil institutions.
Islamist revival in Egypt expanded from below through a pervasive social
movement which began in the 1920s but spread rapidly after the early 1970s,
reaching its peak in the early 1990s. It manifested itself in a vast spectrum of
groups, encompassing, on one end the violent militants, the non-violent and
gradualist Islamic coalition (EI-Ekhwan and Hi/.bul'Amal), and the individualist sufi orders. At the other end, it also included Al-A/har and a number of
institutions of the secular state, including the Ministry of Awqaf and the
Supreme Islamic Council. The 1980s experienced a dramatic increase in the
number of ahli, or private mosques. Officials reported that the number of nongovernmental mosques had increased sharply from 40,000 in 1981 to 70,000
in I ( W). S I Many of these mosques served as places for alternative and often
dissenting religious messages. Over 4,000 Islamic associations existed in the
early 1990s, also a rise of over 100 percent since 1975. The period saw a
spectacular popularity in the production and sale of Islamic books, pamphlets,
and religious cassettes. In 1994, over one quarter of books published were
religious, a 25 percent rise since 1985.K2 About 85 percent of books sold
"" In Saad Eddin Ibrahim, "The Changing Face of Egypt's Islamic Activism: How Much of a
Threat'.'," Ihn Khaldoun Comer's papers (C'airo. May 1995). p. 7.
"' Stated respectively by the minister of uwqaf in Jtiritlu Mayo (2 January 1989) and an ottical
I Ilk' ministry in AI-Ahram (5 December 1981 ). filed in Hala Mustafa, AI-Duwlii mil-Htirukut
nl/\/r/;i'\T(/ al-Mu'arida (C'airo: AI-Mahrousa Publications. 199?!. 409. It is worth noting that
the government -sponsored mosques increased by only 40 percent between the mid-1970s and the
late 1980s.
K
' Data obtained from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture (November 1995).

156

ASEF BAYAT

during the 1995 Cairo book fair were Islamic.* 1 The tapes of figures such as
Shaikh Kishk, numbering over a thousand, were on sale in their millions.
Dozens of Islamic newspapers, weeklies, and monthlies had high circulation
rates.1*4 Radio Quran, a channel devoted entirely to religious matters, maintained its highest popularity in this period, while in contrast, movie viewers and
production of domestic films declined. K<i Self-censorship emerged in the production of television programs in response to pressure on the state by popular
sentiment, and religious programs increased by 50 percent between 1975 and
1990 X6 island sentiment was particularly expressed in a marked decline of
alcohol consumption, bars, liquor stores, and night clubs for Egyptians
At the same time. Islamic activism in the last two decades penetrated a
variety of civil institutions, mass media, formal education, and community
social services. By the early 1990s, the Muslim Brotherhood was able to
control Egypt's major professional syndicatesdoctors, engineers, pharmacists, lawyers, dentists, commerce, college professors, its well as the student
unions. In general, the 4,(XM) Islamic NGOs outdid the 9,000 secular ones.
They were widely believed to be financed, managed, and to function better
than others."7 The Muslim Brothers were also involved in creating Islamic
investment companies in the early 1980s until the government cracked down
on them. With returns as high as 20 percent return, the companies were
considered by many to subsidi/e the low-income groups in society. In addition
to civil activism, the Islamic coalition (of Muslim Brotherhood with the Labour Party) made considerable headway in the local and national elections.
*' Personal communication with Professor Mustafa Gl-Sayyed of Cairo U n i v e r s i t y ( I 9 9 ( > )
KJ
The newspapers included A/-Shti'l> ol the Mannst Lahor Parly. AI-Niiur of Liberal Party/
Muslims Brotherhood AI-MmliniiHin ami Al-Moslim AI-Moa\ir are international dailies Others
included Al-l.iuii'n Al-l\ltinii. ol the National Democratic Parly. Ai/nliili. an AI-A/har sanctioned
journal; and Liwif Al-l\lam (published weekly) Periodicals included: AI-Muklilur AI-l\lniiu
( M B ) . Miiihui h.l-ftliau/ (Labor Parly). AI-TaMI*-af Al-lilami ( t h e Suti Council). Minlxii M l\liini
and AI-A:htir (AI-A/har Institute). AI-Mii\liin A/ Sm/n ( I s l a m i c children) In addition, a number
ol dailies and weeklies are published by the leading Islamic political organi/alions and parties
They include: AI-Ahrar (daily). AI-Aharar (weekly). AI-Huqiyali (weekly). AI-Noiu- (weekly), Al(>\iui el-Anibi (weekly), plus over 30 speciah/ed or regional related publications, such as ElOninha. Shabab el-Aharar. Ahrar el-Saml. and Ahrar EI-Hilwatt. Despite this, some Islamists
protest the "crisis of religious publications in contemporary Egypt." See for instance, articles m
Liwa Al-hlam. 50:2 (October 1995). I 1-15; H-Wuuit. no. 195. 23/10/1995. pp. .32-34.
** See UNESCO publications; also Simon Brmdle "Egypt's Film Industry." Hu\iiit">\ Mimihl\:
Journul <>/ the American ('hambei n/ ('ommen e in K>i\l>l. I I ' f t ( J u l y 1995). shows a steady
reduction in ihe production ol domestic movies
"'' See Nagwa AI-Fawal. AI-Hiiriniiiiai; AI Dim \\u 11 AI li-li\ .1011 AI-Main (Cairo National
Center for Sociological and Crimmological Studies. 1994) Data lor television religious progi.ims
in 1990 extracted from the above source; lor 1975. it was obtained Irom a sample of daily
television programs printed in the daily paper. AI-Alinun
" 7 S. Ibrahim. The Chaiiitint; I-an-. 4 It is believed thai the number of Islamic NGOs in lad
exceeded this In the Ministry of Social A l l a n s s ligures, many religious PVOs are actually
hidden under such categories ,is "multiple" NGOs So. taking these into a c c o u n t , the Islamic
PVOs have grown since Ihe 1970s to reach al least 50 percent of ihe total welfare NGOs. that is.
over 5.000 in Ihe early 1990s See Saad Ldilm Ibrahim. "Grassroots Participation in Ihe Development of Egypt." in Cairo Papers in Soiuil Science. 19:3 ( 1997).

I S L A M I C ACTIVISM IN I R A N AND EGYPT

157

From 12 seats in Parliament in 1984, the number of Brotherhood delegates

reached 38 seats in 1987.sx
As a mass movement, support for the Muslim Brothers came from diverse
social groups, ranging from segments of the business community to lower
classes, with old, young, male and female members. Yet its backbone originated from members of the modern middle class. On the other hand, activists
of the militant groups were mostly young men (between 20 and 30 years) with
rural or provincial background, primarily educated, many with college degixvs, or professionals, who resided in Cairo's lower class neighborhoods or
large villages of Middle Egypt. The early 1900s witnessed entry of younger
(average age 21 ) and less-educated members (only 30 percent being university
educated, compared to 64 percent in the 1970s) into the ranks of the militants. 8 '' Lower-middle-class youth appeared to be new players in radical Islan n s i i i . Although organi/.ed labor remained in general out of Islamists' reach,
the relationship between the urban poor and Islamists is complex. I will
suggest below that, contrary to common perception, Islamic social welfare
organizations were not places for Islamists political activism. On the other
hand, it is true that while many radical activists in Greater Cairo, for instance,
come from or reside in slums or shanty towns, this in itself does not necessarily point to their political presence among the poor. High rent and visibility
are sufficient reasons for a militant to dwell in a cheaper and a hide-out
locality.'"' In fact, a pervasive housing crisis has made a spatially "marginali/cd" middle class a peculiar Egyptian urban phenomenon. Although the
episodes of Cairo earthquakes in 1992 and Hooding in upper Egypt in 1994
pointed to the Islamists' attempt to build a social basis among the poor, these
were largely occasional activities.
Political Islam in Egypt in this period reflected primarily the rebellion of
the impoverished middle class who were frustrated by a feeling of moral
outrage.'" Their high expectations, an outcome of their high education and
thus social status, were dampened in the job market, which offered few
prospects for economic success A product of Nasser's welfare-state boom,
this segment represented the losers ol Sadat's influih policyone which
K Ihiil. 4.
m
See Ne'niat (iuencna, "The Changing Face of Egypt's Islamic Activism: 1974-1995"
(unpublished manuscript. Ibn Khaldoun Center for Developmental Studies. Cairo. September
I'W). 7-K
'*' Indeed, some eudence suggests thai the spread ol m i l i t a n t s m the slums of Cairo began in
the 1970s when, allei the dismantling ol AI-Takfir wa al-Hegra. escapee militants from upper
Egypt sought refuge in the overcrowded and invisible informal communities, '<n/itr</iv\<i/'. See
All Essawi. /-.'/-.AS/MHHM/ mi Itiiidi'iih AI liiiiiin\\tih (Cairo Cairo University. 1995).
'" I.Mdence lor social profile ol m i l i t a n t Islamists may be found in Saad Eddin Ibrahim,
"Anatomy of Egypt's Militant Islamic Groups"; Gilles Kepel. Muslim Exiremi\m in En\pt. 210IX, and Ne'mat Ouenena. The Jilnul' An 'hltimii Alternative' in t'yy'. Although Akhwan got
support Irom different social layers, nexertheless the new (educated, professional, and
Himr.-.-i;/i;i) middle class was the majoi player. No detailed study has been published on the
social profile ol the EI-Ekhwun. However, their clear influence in the professional associations
point to their largely urban middle class constituency.

I5S

A SM F B A Y A I

opened the country to western economic, political, and cultural influence, as

well as a rapprochement with the Jewish enemy. Islamism in Egypt represented an ideological package which negated all the perceived causes of such
a state of deprivationeconomic dependency, cultural sell-out, and national
humiliation (1967 defeat by the Israelis and then Camp David Accord). In
view of all the failed ideologies, chiefly Nasseritc socialism and Sadat's
capitalism, and of the conditions of western cultural, political, and economic
onslaught. Islam, was seen as the only indigenous doctrine that could bring
about a genuine change.
Such an articulated ideology in political Islam belonged clearly to the core,
the cadres and activists. Beyond those, there were many others in the outer
concentric circles of the movement, such as the lower-class elements, who
found in Islamism not the leaders' ideologies but, largely in pragmatic terms,
the only viable opposition to the status quo. These fringe groups, "free riders,"
often articulated no coherent ideology of their own, nor did they even internali/e that of the leadership. Indeed, they would have turned to almost any social
force which offered them a way out of their impasse and the prospect of a
dignified future. Similar strata had followed the Wafd in the 1920s and I 9 . N K .
then Nasser in the 1950s and the 1960s. Moth were secular to the bone but
offered credible alternatives. 1 '- 1
I'OI I T I C A I . V I K S I S S O C I A L I S L A M

Why did Islamist activism in Egypt assume a social movement character,

whereas in Iran it was narrowly politici/ed 1 .' It is often noted that shi'ism is a
tradition which, unlike its Stinni counterpart, mixes religion with politics and,
as an oppressed sect, constitutes an inherently revolutionary tradition. The
Shi'i and Sunni branches of Islam surely take different approaches to the issue
of rule, or hukiiniyytt. Yet both regard Islam as politics; and, as Zubaida and
Keddie note, there is nothing inherently revolutionary about shi'ism's character. In Sunnism. the community determines political authority. In Shi'ism,
however, only the imams have the legitimacy to rule the umma. In reality, this
transpired in the time of shi'i imams. After the occultation of the last, twelfth.
imam, the issue remained in controversy for over a century u n t i l the Qajar
period in Iran, when shi'i scholars were divided into the two schools, the
akhbari and usuli. The former stressed the literal following of the Prophet's
traditions; the latter recogni/ed the concept of ijtihad, which granted power to
the 'ulama to interpret (he Prophet's sunna and stipulate new injunctions if
deemed necessary. Although the clergy gained an unprecedented prominence,
they were not yet entitled to exercise f u l l authority on behalf of the imams. As
such. Ayatollah Khomeini's concept of Hokommit-c Islanii (Islamic Government), written in 1971, represents simply a new i n v e n t i o n in the shi'i tradi''-' I am grateful ID Professor Suad hilclin Ibrahim lor bringing these historical notes ID my

attention.

I si \ M I (

ACTIVISM IN IRAN AND EGYPT

159

lion'"; and its invocation alter the revolution was largely the result of political
circumstances at the time which ensured the clergy's leadership.1'4 Yet, as
Alghar and Keddie among others have noted, certain historical and institutional specificities in shi'i Islam contributed to the political versus social character
of Islamist activism in Iran.
In both Iran and Egypt, the clergy constitute a distinct status group who
despite internal differentiation (along seniority position and economic status)
share common interests in terms of the security of income and social and
spiritual legitimacy. But their political and social positions in the two countries differed. Unlike in Iran, where religious affairs were the exclusive prerogative of traditionalist Shi-i clergy, who became opposition leaders, in
Egypt the administration of religious affairs was extended to lay activists who
spread their message through massive associational work within civil society.
In the eighteenth century, the 'ulamfi of Egypt were an integral part of the
ruling clue anil acted as a medium between the elites and the people. By the
time Mohammed Ali consolidated his power, the r ulama had become a formidable power which the Egyptian leader could not afford to ignore. He first
bought off then support by offering them income from farm tax and endowments and a prerogative of consultation on political matters, then later subordinated them by denying them those privileges and making them paid employees of the state. The 'ulama, nevertheless, remained a significant component
of the anti-colonial movement.' )S Opposition of 'ulama to British rule continued most notably with the activities of AI-Afghani and Mohammed Abdu, and
later Kashid Reda. As Islamic reformers, they struggled not only against
foreign domination hut also attempted to reformulate Islam to rival with the
western progress a measure that some modernist 'ulama in Iran began as
late as the I%(K.
As a component of the state, however, the political role of the 'ularna
remained limited only to nationalist postures. On domestic matters, except for
some clerical figures, they remained by and large complacent. 'Ulam's dependence on (he slate was further intensified by Nasser, who in 1955 abol'" I 01 a line discussion on this mailer, sec I I . m i n i l.nayal. 'The Concept ol Valayal-> Ivuph in
Imam Khomeini." in Kntui. 6:34 ( January I ehruary I'W7. m Persian) Published in finglish in
James Piscalon. d.. h/uni in iln- I'n/iliiul l'm\\ (London: Cambridge University Press. 1983).
A more detailed account may be found in Ahmad K Moussa\i. Kcliiiiom .\ullioi n\ in Slu'ile
l\lnni l min ili< ('Uni of Mit/ti ta tin Institution i>f Marjtt ( Kuala Lumpur 1STAC Publication,
!')')(.). especially ch X
'" In Ins memoir. Hani S.idr. the lirsl president ol the Islamic Republic and one ol the closest
aides ol Ayatollah K h o m e i n i m Pans, says In Pans. K h o m e i n i did not hehe\e that the Shah
would I.ill ' I w o oi three limes a week I w o u l d icassiire him that the Shah w o u l d i c h n q u i s h
pouei
Kepoileis would ask h i m "w hal is vom Name ol relerencc. your model ' hal is an
Islamic slate '" We weighed oui a n s w e i s l a i e l u l l y lo w h a t penod ol our history could we r e f e r '
The Ahhasid d y n a s t y ' The U m a y y a d s ' Or the period of hist c a l i p h s ' Hi- /;,/</ /,. /niniitli/it tin
tilfn/(it;\ at tin ntn n \iiliiin'ii luted m \l .\linnn H i i i / \ (Egypt, 26 October, l W 5. p 5 ) I added
emphasis)
r
' See l i , I apidus. \ lli\lon i'l hlimiK Sadi'tii*. (( ambndiie. I 9 X K ) . 617 20.

l6

ASHF BAYA I

ished religious courts, put all endowments under state control, and then took
over AI-A/,har and Islamic education in 1961. Despite a similar move in Iran
in the 1960s, which seriously curtailed the clergy's control over shrines and
mawqufat, they nevertheless maintained their autonomy by relying on themselves (many of them were landowners), on ba/aaris with which they had
close ties, and on small voluntary religious donations.'"'
Thus in Egypt, it was not the 'ulam but the lay Islamic activists who took
the banner of opposing internal rulers. Hence, the emergence of the Society of
Muslim Brothers (MB) in 1928 during Egypt's liberal era (1919-52). when
the secular-nationalist Wafdist Party and the Royal family ruled the country.
The MB was founded by Hassan El-Banna, a school teacher from Ismailiya
who was dismayed by the imperialist economic domination of his country;
corruption and degradation of Muslims, especially those in the younger generation; and the decadence of (he kings. His messages found appeal among a
vast array of Egyptian citi/.ens who came to believe that theirs was a society of
Jahiliya. The Brotherhood grew rapidly from having only four branches m
1929 to 2,000 branches in 1949, with about one million activists and sympa
thi/.ers at its peak. The activists came from various walks of life, but the core
originated from the rising urban middle classes who felt the crunch of "foreign
economic control which limited the prospects for the new bourgeoisie.'"'7
Hassan El-Banna was assassinated by police in 1949 and was replaced by
Hassan el-Hudayhi as the spiritual guide.
Despite its close connection with the Free Officers, the MB went through a
series of suppressions after the 1952 Revolution by Nasser, a nationalist leader
committed to modernism, secularism, nationalism, and later lo socialist
ideas.'"* Such MB figures as Sayyed Qutb, a major ideologue, were sent to jail
and executed; and the State outlawed the organi/ation. After Nasser, a split
has divided the movement between the revolutionary views like those of
Sayyed Qutb and the gradualist views of Hassan al-Hudaybi. Both sides
agreed that Egyptian society and polity was one of Jahili. which was characterized by the worship of man by man, and the sovereignty of man over man.
While both strived for an alternative Islamic state and society, they differed on
the ways to achieve such order. Sayyed Qutb advocated action and movement,
regarding non-actives as non-Muslims. Hudaybi, on the other hand, called lor
discourse, preaching and Jd'wa for the Islamic cause. Both wings shared an
opposition to Zionism, crusaders, communism, secularism, and Nasserism.
This schism was to mark the origin of (he split between today's militant and
'"' On clergy-ba/.aar relations, sec Ahmad Ashral. "Ha/aar Mosque Alliance: I he Social
Roots ot Revolts anil R e v o l u t i o n s . " in I'ulitit v ('iiliiin', ninl Sm -i<7v. 1:4 (Summer I')XX). 41 X 2 1 .
'" Richard Mitchell. /'/;< Smicn <>j Min/ini Hmiln-r\ (London: Oxford University Press)
328-30.
'"' See Gilles Kepel. Muslim l:\ncnu\in in /-..o/" ( B e r k e l e y : C a l i f o r n i a I i m c i s i t v Press.
14X6); Neinat (iuenena. Jihad: An hlumit Alicnialin1: and Samen Naquih. "The Political Ideology of the Jihad Movement" (unpublished M A . thesis. Sociology Department. The Ameiiean
University in Cairo. IW3).

I S L A M I C A C T I V I S M I N I R A N A N D EGYPT

II

the reformist Islamic coalition (with Muslim Brothers). From the revolutionary trend emerged al-Takfir wal-Hejra, Jama'at Islamiya (both crushed during
Sadat). al-Jihad, and al-Jama'a al-Islamiya (active to date).1'1'
The Muslim Brothers owed much of their success to their associational
charactertheir commitment to social mobilisation within the civil society
through organi/ing cells, alternative mosques, schools, youth associations,
women's organi/ations, clinics, work cooperatives, as well as athletics and
paramilitary groups. This strategy solidified the grass-roots basis of the MB,
turning it into a mass social movement that spread Islamic sentiments in the
society, integrating them into people's everyday l i \ c s .
In turn, the spread of Islamic sentiments (aided by both the failure of the
liberal experiment and the mistrust of secular liberalism which in the 1940s
was associated with colonialism) pushed the Egyptian secularists to give way
to Islam. 100 As Lapidus notes, in this period, the secular intelligentsia "accepted an Islamic framework, and attempted to compromise between Islam
and modernity. The net effect was not so much to rescue secularism as to
legitimize the Muslim revival." 101 Yet it was a peculiar kind of revivalism, in
that the fusion of Islamic symbols into the people's everyday life contributed
to the production of a somewhat seculari/ed religion.
Whereas the secularization of religious symbols has been a feature of the
Iskini of Egypt, Iran, on the contrary, has held religion and its symbols in an
exalted position, emphasi/ing the sacred and esoteric nature of Islam. The
Iranian, for example, would treat the Qur'an with great deference, placing it in
assigned holy locations, where it rests in that protected place until it is taken
out to be read on a special occasion. In Egypt, on the other hand, it is not
uncommon to see a taxi driver switching between playing Egyptian pop music
and reciting the holy book. In contrast to Egypt, where religious occasions are
by and large popular festivals (ciilx), they are seen by an Iranian Muslim as
sober, sad. and serious affairs, often associated with death and mourning. The
playful and highly festive mood of the Egyptian Ramadan is comparable only
to the Iranian Nowrooz (new year festivities). Islamic pop music is a common
feature in Egypt's cultural and religious landscape, where popular singers
perform songs about the Prophet Mohammed accompanied by a full backup
band with synthesi/er and electric guitar. It would be, however, unthinkable
for an Iranian Muslim to imagine Gougoush singing about Imam Hussein. In
'''' On radical IsliiniK- groups, sec ( l i l i e s Kcpel. Mn\lnn l:\ln-innni in / . e \ / > r , Saad l.ddm
Ibrahim. "Anatomy of Egypt's Militant Islamic, (iroups." International .lonrnul t Middle Eastern
Suiting, no. 12 ( 19X0); Humid Ansan, "The Islamic M i l i t a n t s in Egyptian Politics," International
.liiiiiniil nl Mitlille Link-in S/H</I<-\. I n (March 19X4). 4IX--.13: Uri Kumlerschmidl. "Reformist
und Militant Islam in Hrhan and Rural Egypt." Mitlitte IMMCIII VIK//I-V uil 2 (October 1987).
40.1-IX See also various issues ol ('nil V iei\ (Ihn Khaldoun Center for Developmental Studies, Cairo)
100
A lal l .ut 11 Ll-Sayyid Marsot, /-.o/>;\ I ihcutl l:\i>eriiiient (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991 ); Ira Lapidus, A Hilton n/ l\ltiinu S,n /,/;<* (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Cress. I9XX).
"" See Ira Lapidus. ,\ Union / l\lnmu Sot ietH'\. 627.

|62

ASRF BAYA I

short, in contrast to Iran, where modernity and religion and the mundane and
sacred were treated as mutually exclusive, Egypt experienced some kind of
cultural hyhridity in which religion remained by and large dominant. 102 Consequently, binary oppositional identities of religious and traditional versus the
secular and modern identities were by tar more pronounced in the Iran of the
1970s than the Egypt of the 1980s and 1990s. Like Turkey today and unlike
Egypt, Iranian society was deeply divided along secular and religious lines.
The implications of these different forms of religious practices vis-a-vis the
social and political status of the clergy in the two countries were highly
significant.
The 'ulama in Iran were frustrated by the overall cultural change, rapid
westernization, and secular behavior, which during the 1950s and 1960s
threatened their social and cultural legitimacy. Modern educated youth particularly began to dismiss the clergy and the institution of religion in general.
The source of this evil was perceived by the 'ulam as the corrupt regime and
its western allies. These conditions then turned the 'ularna to oppositional
politics which targeted (he state The experience of clergy in Egypt, however,
was different. Despite the rise of modern ideas and social groups (such as the
middle classes, educated youth and public women). AI-A/har (and nonclerical Islam) still enjoyed a great deal of respect and legitimacy among
Egyptian Muslims; and despite the upsurge of political Islam. AI-A/har continues to represent religious orthodoxy in the country. Friday sermons of AIA/har are well attended: its publications have mass circulation: and millions
of people are still attracted to Sheikh Shu rawi's television lectures (klu>tal>ii\).
Today, young modern Egyptians do not shy away from embracing traditional
Islam. As someone who had observed the religious laxity of Iranian youth
during the early 1970s. I was astonished by me extent of religiosity of the
westerni/ed middle- and upper-class Egyptian youths who spoke with reverence about Islamic precepts and the clergy's authority. Consequently, not only
had different segments of Egyptian societythe youth, the traditionalists, the
'ulama. and the state found something to cherish about their Islam, the
clergy did not experience as much frustration, resentment, and political dissent
as their Iranian counterparts. They continued to maintain a great deal of social
constituency and religious legitimacy. 101 Nevertheless, similar to the political
Islamists, the 'ulama also remained committed to Islami/ing the society, albeit
not by sei/ing political power, but by ilii'wu.
" pl In F.gypl. one can notice this in the day-lo dav bchavioi ot upper or up|>ei middle-class
families. While young people gel m.imeil in l a i n v hotels like Mernolt or Hilton. I have nul
observed alcohol being served on such occasions Young girls and hovs from wcsierm/ed classes
mostly last during the Ramadan, many rgulai I) piav and shout respect lor Islam and the clergy.
In contrast, in Iran ol the late IWiOs and 1970s, modern classes in general expressed .1 gieal laxity
in observing religion
"" It is only very recently, in January IW7. that a group ot clergy tunned a group. The I'lenia
Front, distinct from the o f f i c i a l AI A/hat, in response tu the government's encroachment on their
prerogatives, which included icijuests loi permission lu pre,ich m the mosques and to bring
private mosques under the control ol the Ministry of Awqaf See AI HUMII (January 25. I97). 7.

1 S I A M 1C A ( I I V I S M I N I R A N A N D I ( , Y I ' I

163

K l l O KM lS I 0 I!I ( O M h

Thus, strategically, two different approaches to Islamic change differentiated

Iran and Egypt. The Iranian experience conjures up Gramsci's "frontal attack"
or insurrectionary mode, whereas Egyptian Islamists pursued "passive revolution" with reformist consequences. Hardly familiar with Antonio Gramsci,
Hasan E l - B a n n a echoed this strategy many years ago:
Our duly as M u s l i m Brothers is ID work lor the reform of our selves, of our hearts and
souls, by connecting them to ( iod the a l l - h i g h ; then to orgam/e our society so that it
becomes a virtuous community winch calls lor the good and forbids evil-doing, then
from the community w i l l arise the good state. 104

Mustafa Mashur. the present Ekhwan's leader points to the same approach:
"All we ask is an Islamic state based on shuri'u . . . It may take us a century to
establish an Islamic slate. Our principles should be bequeathed to future
generations and there should be no deviation from these principles." 105 In a
recent encounter in a Cairo mosque, a militant young man accused the shaikh
ol political complicity. The shaikh, a young man wearing a suit and necktie,
responded that the task was not a matter of anti-government political agitation
but "building an ideological infrastructure" and creating a truly Muslim society at the base.10'1
The M u s l i m Brothers had begun to put their passive revolution, to build that
ideological mlrastructure into practice years earlier through extensive networks and grass-roots structures. Not only did these networks spread Islamic
sentiments, they concomitantly served to f u l f i l l some fundamental material
and spiritual needs of the ordinary Egyptians. By doing so, the movement
unintentionally provided conditions lor a "negative integration" of its constituency, since those networks and a c t i v i t i e s devised coping mechanisms and a
moral community in which many contenders felt at home. Guilian Denoeux's
argument that reformist outcomes occur only when the leaderships in such
institutions adopt conciliatory strategy is partly true, but it disregards the
objective ( r e f o r m i s t ) impact these networks olten have over the perception of
the constituency and the dynamics of the movements '7 In Egypt. Islamic
associations played a crucial institutional role in this process of both integration and change.
In the last two decades, the shortcomings of the traditional top-down planning and implementing development objectives in Egypt boosted the expansion of the local and small-scale development projects, especially the NGOs.
Islamic associations, often centered in ahli mosques, were quick to utili/e the
opportunity and grew extensively. They accounted for one third of the total
"" Hasan A I - B a n n a Ntiilnnil It l^ln/i ill ,\ul\ , / / Mniliimi ( ( ' a i m Maklaha ul-l'itisam.
14X0). 62 M
lm
In .in mli.-mi.-w m M ,Minim U'irAh ( N o v e m b e r 16-22. 1995). 2
""' I observed this interaction in a mosque m ( ' a i m in Oiiober 1946
1117
See ( n u l l . n i Denoeux. I'lhun l'un i/ in llit Mnlilli I-.IIM: A Ctiin/xiiciini Slutl\ t Informal
V , ; i u > / t \ in I'i;\i>t /uni and lihiiiidii ( A l b a n y : Slate University of New York Press. 1993).

104

ASEF BAYAT

private voluntary organizations (PVOs) in the late I98()s, lox and at least 50
percent of all welfare associations, or 5,000 PVOs in the early 1990s, offering
charity and health services to millions of Egyptian poor.l(|1' Indeed, it appeared
that the mosques came to provide alternative support services to the lowincome to compensate for the government's withdrawal from its social provisions after more liberal economic policies. As a typical association, the Islamic CDA in Ezbat Zein in Cairo, for example, offered classes on the Qur'an but
also provided a sewing center, day care, medical treatment, remedial tutoring,
a food cooperative, and septic tank cleaning.' 10 Others offered video clubs,
computer training centers, and other services to cater for (he needs of such
groups as the high school graduates who are the potential recruits of the
radical political Islamists. The availability of both funding (in the form of
zakat from businesses and migrant workers in the Persian G u l f ) and the spirit
of voluntarism (scarce in today's Egypt) rendered these associations comparatively advantageous. 111 The government supported the initiative only to the
extent that this sector shouldered a portion of the government's burden of
providing social services.
What made these practices Islamic was the combination of an alternative to
both the state and the private sector, the religious conviction of some of their
activists, zakat funding, and especially the provision of affordable social
services. Yet for many involved in them, these associations simply provided a
job or, for some, even a business. Contrary to the common perception, Islamic
social welfare organizations were not places where Islamists conducted political mobilization, but simply acted as service organizations. The vast majority
of these NGOs had no link to political Islam. Only a few were related to
Muslim Brothers and only a handful to the radical Islamists. 1 1 2
However, unlike the Islamic associations, the Islamic-dominated proles
sional syndicates were all allied with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Ekhwan
managed by the early 1990s to control the major professional syndicates and,
in others, to constitute a formidable opposition. The influence of the Islamists
meanwhile caused a dramatic increase in membership of many unions such as
the Teachers Union, which grew from 250,000 in 1985 to 750,000 by 1992.' ^
'"* AI-Ahram Strategic Studies Center. 'liii/nr Hii/m t.ililini\\a /i MIM (Cairo. 1996). 236-7.
I<IM
See Saad Eddin Ibrahim. "Egyptian Law 32 On Egypt's Private Sector Organization A
Critical Assessment" (Cairo Ibn Khaldoun Center lor Development Studies. November 1996,
Working Papers, No. 3. pp. 34 35)
"" See Denis Sullivan, Private Vnliiiiinn OrKani:utn>n\ in /.,i;v" ( M i a m i University Press of
Florida. 1994), 65-68
111
In 1990. tor instance, about 5.4IX) /akal committees spread in the mosques They were
operated in ways that were similar to the Naser Social Bank, which was sel up in 1971. funding
social and charity activities. Ou'ran recitation classes, and building new mosques. During 1990.
some two million poor people benefited from this See Amain Qandil and Sarah Ben-Nafisah. AlJamin\\al AI-Mili\\ti fi Mt\r (Cairo: AI-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies. 1995). 61. 282-3.

-Ibid.. 282.

1
' ' See Amam Qandil. "Taqdim Adaa' h,l-hlumi\n Ii-Nniqabal A/-M(iiu\\<i" (Cairo (T.I)hJ/
Cairo University, 1993)

I S I A M I C AC T 1 V I S M I N I R A N A N D E G Y P T

165

The popularity of these syndicates had largely to do with the performance of

the Islamist leaderships: They fought corruption, increased members' income,
created systems of social welfare, found jobs for unemployed members, set up
consumer cooperatives, established sub-syndicates and social clubs, and did a
great deal of political mobilization.' ' 4 An exemplary activity was their rapid
mobili/ation during the Cairo earthquakes in 1992 and flooding in upper
Egypt in 1994. The syndicales became so powerful and vocal that the government saw no choice but to curtail them by both legal means and the arrest of
their leading members. 1 1 5
In providing social services, the Muslim Brothers were not alone. Indeed,
their grass-roots activities compelled other social forces to enter into the
competition, hoping to share the political space. Al-A/har. for instance, began
to oiler similar grass mois social services as oppositionell Islamists. 1 1 6 In
addition, the Egyptian government's measures to upgrade slums and squatter
areas in the early 1990s clearly reflected the incident of Imbaba, a slum area in
Cairo, in 1991, when militant Islamists had created, according to foreign
media, "a state within the state." Similarly, secular groups, in particular secular NCiOs seemed to work hard to offer their own piecemeal alternatives. An
estimated five million poor benefited from the health, educational, financial.
and community services of Egyptian PVOs in 1990.' l7 As in many other
similar experiences, the net result of such an intense competition was both to
mohili/e the critical mass and to provide a coping mechanism of a political,
economic, and spiritual nature.
Beyond improving material conditions, the Islamist movement in Egypt
also ottered alienated constituencies with an alternative social, cultural, and
moral community within which the rival secular and western culture seemed
less threatening. F-'acing the conditions of rapid globali/ation and western
cultural penetration, these communities provided the traditionalists both with
an expression of discontent and a moral safety net. The ritual of weekly
g a t h e r i n g s that spread across the small and big cities reflected not only a
cultural protest but also materiah/ed a Durkheimian social solidarity, security,
and moral integrationthe contradictory conditions to which Arlene MacLeod referred when she called the new veiling among Cairian women a way
of "accommodating protest." 1 I S The Young Men's Muslim Association, with
its over 2.000 members just in Tanta, for instance, offered youth libraries,
sport facilities, language and computer classes, video and television sessions.
111

//xi/ Also based upon my i n t e r v i e w w i t h .1 membei ol Doctors Syndique (C'.ino. 14901.

' ^ The Law KX1/IW ruled thai a syndicate election would he legitimate il at least u() percent
ol the total membership east voles Seventeen syndicales rc'iecled this law. leading lo major
confrontationi w i t h the government
116
See /-V / M U / /-7 Mom/ t September 2. IW5. p. I S ) .
1
S.ud F.ddm Ibrahim. I ' L ' x p n . m Law '1' 34
'* Arlene Mad n H I \fcommodatingPmtesl Working Women, the Ne* Veiling, and Change
in ( una (New York: Columbia l ' i n \ e i s i t \ Press. I W I ) .
1

|66

ASI:I B A Y A I

lectures, tours, and holidays.' | l ) In hundreds of urban neighborhood gatherings

(hciliiqat), women from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds grouped together
weekly not only to learn about Islamic precepts but also to gain a sense of
belonging to a moral community. In another domain. Islamic-dominated syndicates became the places where members, mostly excluded from national
political processes, could really participate in decision making and he confident that their votes be counted. The syndicates were the site of the struggle
for human rights, where issues like political prisoners and the Palestinian
cause could be discussed; activists could collect donations for the victims of
Bosnia. Iraq, and Chechnia 120 ; and Hajj pilgrimages could be organi/ed for
members. Even young adults could stay away from opulent Egyptian hotel
marriage ceremonies by organi/.ing "Islamic weddings."
The growing number of Islamic private schools accounted for the development of yet another institution of both religious dissent and integration. In
addition to a decent education (Ki'lim) which, the Muslims believed could not
he obtained from a feeble and "morally misguided" national education system.
these schools sociali/ed their pupils into morality and the virtues of Islam
(Uirl>i\\(i). Different from the A/hari i n s t i t u t i o n s , these new i n s t i t u t i o n s were
not dissimilar to my own Islamic school in Tehran back in the late 1960s.
where the daily collective prayers, religious classes, camps, and alternative
leisure defined its Islamic identity but on a scale t h a t was much larger in
Kgypt than in Iran. 1 2 1
In short, during the 1990s, contestation in Egypt at the level of culture and
moral virtues became even more fierce (perhaps because it was less cosily)
than that in the provision of material welfare. There, "true Islam." both in idea
and in deed, became the subject of an intense competition between various
contenders, i n c l u d i n g the seculars, the net result being further concessions by
secularists and the spread of Islamic ideas. This included not only variants of
political Islam but also the modernists ( t o r example. Mustafa M a h m o u d ) as
well as the secular slate which had already made s i g n i f i c a n t concessions to
Islamist revivalism. State-controlled television cut back many of the "immoral" shows and increased Islamic programming alter the early 1980s. In the
same period, the government nutionuli/.cd many mosques, hiring thousands of
shaikhs to offer sermons during the month of Ramadan. The number of Imams
who worked for the Ministry of Awqal increased more than three-fold, from
6.000 in 1982 to 22,000 by 1996. In the same period, the number of groups
memorising the Qur'an jumped from 900 to about 1,200.'-- In 1993. the
government launched the program. "Caravans of Light." which sent aw<i<if
"'' Sec Denis S u l l i v a n . I'rivtilr Vnliintim /\\\(>fiiiln>in in /:i;\/>/. 73.
" Amani (Jandil. "Taqclim Aclaa' hi I s l a n i i v y n . "
' : ' On the lifiypiian Islamic schools. I have relied on Lnula l l e n e r a ' s study ol'these schools
for IW5 W>.
i:

'-- EI-LiMv El-Islam (Dtccmber 5. IW6). 14.

ISLAMIC

A C I V I S M IN

I R A N AND

HtiYPT

167

employees and A/har graduates lo spread its message of Islam throughout the
country. l 2 ' Al-A/.har had already begun to expand its grass-roots activities
tremendously in the past decade. In 1995, it controlled well over 10,000
mosques, over 6,000 educational institutions ranging form primary schools,
Qur'an classes, lo branches of the University and close to 1.25 million students. 124 As graduates of Al-A/.har and local kiittahs, every year thousands
were added to the rank of the 'ulama. l2S On the other hand, the ruling National
I Vmocratic Parly and the secular elite figures began to offer their own brands
of Islam. Such Islamic weeklies as EI-Liwa el-lslumi (by the ruling National
I Vmocratic Party) and Ac/iilali (by a westerni/ed publisher) were established
to "spread correct Islamic thought and culture among Egyptian youth."126
Ironically, both publications exhibit a traditionalist and at times remarkably
fundamentalist versions of Islam.127 The Army also joined the race in 1989 by
putting out its Islamic monthly, AI-Mujahid. Such competition fed further into
a traditional popular religiosity in which, unlike Iran's shariati type of nascent
Islamic revivalism, had the effect of rather isolating modernists.
At any rate, by the early 1990s, n appeared as though the prevalence of such
communities and the conduct of their members equaled a partial realisation of
(he notion of an Islamic society. Side by side, with great strides towards
building an "Islamic infrastructure." the integrationist and even acquiescent
consequences ol'these measures became ever more apparent. This angered the
revolutionaries, rendering them dcmorali/ed. The latter expressed concern
about the conciliatory 'ulamS and "apolitical" preaching and the mosques'
messages. Although these Islamists blamed the growing police surveillance
for this, which was partially true, nevertheless the reformist consequences of
Egypt's Islamist movement played a crucial role. 12 *
These concerns signified not only a widespread debate in the Egyptian
society but also considerable differentiations and divisions within its Islamist
movement (various militant groups, reformist Muslim Brothers and its internal fractions, to Al-A/.har and its internal discontent, certain state institutions
such as courts, and the various Sufi orders). The intense competition for "true
Islam" and "correct strategy" for change espoused a heated controversy; even
as il offered an opportunity in which people could put hard questions not only
'-' The incomptence of Ihe preachers, however, partially led lo the failure of the program.
See Diana Digges. "The (invermiiciil Schud]: The Nc\l (icncration ol' Imams in Apolitieal
Islam." Cd/i-ii '/'/;<> I IX Seplemher 1 Oclohci 1W7). 7.
1
' ' Ihiil.
1
'' See l:l-l.imi l:l-hhnni l Seplemher 2S. I'W5). IS.
1
'' Slalemenl made In Ahmed 'Umar llashim. the president ol AI-A/har University. inAqultiti
November 7. IWS). 3.
- ' H-l.iwn i.l-hhinii. which has a respectable circulation, supported the "fundamentalist"
' utilities of Professor Abu -/aid and sided w i t h the conservative tendencies ol' the Beijing Wom111
i 'inference.
''" See lleha Raul m Sliuiili ( Januarv 3. IW7). '). Sec also the interview w i t h the author in
March 1997.

|68

ASM RAYAT

to the politicians hut also the Islamic oppositionu phenomenon totally

absent trom the Iranian political scene prior to the Islamic Revolution. It is
important to note that these debates and expressions owed much to a relative
political openness in the Egypt society. The space available in Egypt for the
political parlies, press, and NGOs in the 1980s, however limited, was unparalleled to that under the Shah in Iran during the 1970s. During the 1980s.
Egypt, unlike Iran, enjoyed a multi-party political system with nine parties,
periodic elections, opposition newspapers, popular criticism of the government (unthinkable in some Arab states), andmost importanta judiciary
that maintained its independence from the political authorities. But competition and controversy within the Islamist movement was also important in
another respect. They implied a relative clarity on political views, a diversity
of positions, internal dissent, and thus disunitythings which character!/c a
social movement and are anomalous to a revolutionary scenario. Revolutions,
unlike social movements, rest on high degree of unity, generality, and ambiguity. Unlike in Egypt, these elements were clearly present in Iran. The
autocracy of the Shah, the sole leadership of the clergy resulting from the Shi'i
clergy's hierarchical structure, lack of time for debate and dissent, and thus a
remarkable ambiguity in the discourse of the revolution provided that astonishing unity.12'*
In the meantime, the perseverance of both the Islamists and the state in
Egypt created a political equilibrium in which neither party was ensured of a
total victory. The Islamic Revolution m Iran, just like the socialist Revolution
in Russia, surely bolstered similar movements in other parts of the world. Yet
its very victory, in a sense, prevented similar scenarios in other countries,
principally because it made incumbent states more vigilant while carrying out
some reforms. Thus, not only did the Egyptian political regime remain intact,
but it began by the mid-1990s to intensify pressure on even moderate Islamists. The emergency law barring public assembly was maintained. In 1992, a
new Anti-Terrorism Law made preventive detention legal and restricted the
opposition press. In 1993, the government used Law 100 to limit the success
of Islamic candidates by interfering with the election procedures of the syndicates. Similar policies were used in the universities to restrict the election of
Islamists to leadership positions. The Ministry of Awqal screened and monI2>
' Ot course, unity can he built by politic.il coalitions, but this requires an hegemonic element
Ki enforce consensus on other dissenting paities I Ins was lacking in ligypt An indignant and
well-orgam/ed clergy might have played lhat role as in Iran; hul in l-.gypl, the 'ulam were nol in
political opposition Nevertheless, it the situation changes, the Al A/har and Us 'ulunia are likely
to join the bandwagon, even becoming major actors in an Islamic order. Indeed, even today there
are signs that this slate institution may be used by militant young mushms. Egyptians and
foreigners alike, ho acquire Islamic knowledge while maintaining a critical stand against conciliatory politics of the AI A/har tiniest in the AI-A/ahai University during October IW5 when
many sludenls protested the govern mem anesis and nnliiaiy iriaK of Muslim Bioihers point to the
political potential of tins institution l-or details, see .M Aliniin Hi r A / i and Ai/idiili dining ihe last
t w o weeks ol October and the first week of Novemhei IW>

I S L A M I C A C T I V I S M IN I R A N AND EGYPT

169

itored Islamic preachers. Those without the ministry's permit were not allowed to operate. ' ' Finally, the state accelerated its policy of taking over ahli
mosques to the point where the Ministry of Awqaf was claiming to nationalize
an average of 9,(X)() mosques a year.1" This pressure further exacerbated
controversies and rifts within the movement. Internal division within the
Ekhwan led to a split in 1996 from which Hizb El-Wasat emerged. While
pleased with the divisions, the government refused to recognize the splinter
group. Notwithstanding these developments, Islamic reforms from below continued unheeded. Egypt in the early 1990s was undergoing such an Islamic
social change which was so significant that would have been unthinkable for
the Iranian clergy under the Shah. Egypt, thus, experienced the persistence of
an Islamic movement without an Islamic revolution, whereas, Iran underwent
a revolution without a strong Islamic movement. By the mid-l9yOs, it looked
as i t Iran had begun to experience a "post-Islamist" phase," 2 a return from
revolutionary ideology, the Egyptian Islamist movement was in the grip of
three major challenges: an increase in hostility from the state; an acceleration
of economic, political, and cultural globalization, and the revelation of what
Oliver Roy termed the "failure of political Islam." 1 ' ' This was not good news
for Egypt's Islamists

<" IJ 11,1 ul hl,inu (28 November 14791. 2.

(.',111 Inn,", ( I X September l (Koher 1997). 7.
'- See Asef Bayat. "The ('0111111^ ot .1 I'ost-lslamisi Sociely." in L'nnyue: Jiiuriuil for the
('iin,,il .Sim/il', ut 'In Mu/tll, l:n\l. no. 9 (Fall 1996). 43-52.
111
Oliver Roy. Hi, l u i l u i f n/ t'uliinal l\ltii (Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1995).
111