THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: YEAR ZERO

...On the following day, just three days before the referendum for Khomeini's new Constitution, the media reported a significant hardening of Iran's position in the conflict with the U.S...

...Early in November, Khomeini surprised everybody by suddenly overruling the Revolutionary Council, which had signaled its willingness to negotiate the release of American hostages with a mission headed by the former U.S...

...Nevertheless, even if, as a part of the revolutionary political process, Bani-Sadr is to be sacrificially slaughtered on the presidential pedestal by a people denied the superior satisfaction of regicide, the revolutionary political process has at least begun...

...Among other things, the election of BaniSadr proved that the "anti-Zionistimperialist" coinage, the weapon used to defeat Shari'at-madari and Nazih, had become ineffective...

...Whether or not Bani-Sadr is justified in interpreting his election as the death of the clerical Islamic Republican party, there can be no doubt that his landslide victory in the face of a viciously slanderous campaign orchestrated by the turbaned ruling elite has reversed the trend toward clerical hegemony since August '79, whose course I covered in my previous article...

...Though reckless, this move was undoubtedly Khomeini's most astute since his assumption of power in February '79...

...and those members of the turbaned ruling elite who possess doctorates, such as the late Ayatollah Mufattah and Ayatollah Beheshti, have also been wont to don their titles proudly...

...Attorney General Ramsey Clark...

...Liberalism with its connotations of consumerism, capitalism, and moral laxity did destroy Admiral Madani's chances...

...At long last, at the close of the Year Zero of the revolution, there is a glimmer of hope for the future of Iran...

...The Khomeini sympathizers were being forced to take down his portraits and no conciliatory pro-Khomeini gestures were tolerated...

...This "second stratum" can be described in terms of Machiavelli's dichotomy as the stratum of "foxes"—at least as regards their pragmatic servility if not intelligence 2—in comparison to the Shah's second stratum of "lions"—who could be so described as regards their ferocity if not courage...

...Since Khomeini's Manichaean reduction of all politics to the Satanic black and the Islamic white has constituted the main obstacle to getting past primitive rebellion in the direction of a conscious articulation of political issues, it deserves a careful review...

...With whatever rational power they may have possessed under calmer circumstances totally eclipsed and with their emotions reigning supreme, the crowd took to the streets, repenting the betrayal of the Imam and accusing themselves of abandoning David in his struggle against the imperialist Goliath, as the people of Kufa had abandoned the martyred Imam Husayn in his struggle against the tyrannical Yazid...

...Negotiations with the central government for Kurdish autonomy were in progress...

...Knowing this was not achieved without difficulty, Khomeini seems to have opted for the consolidation of this momentous gain rather than for a politically disastrous and as yet unfeasible program of systematic desecularization of the judiciary (which has, for the time being, been put under the firm de jure authority of the clergy anyway...

...For this reason, just like Mosaddeq before him, the Imam was being unconscionably vilified by the imperialist press and by the agents of American capitalism in Iran...

...The first attempt to inject a rational content into it failed...

...Shari'at-madari wisely decided to lose a round and wait for a time of clearer polarization...

...Khomeini has decided to rest his authority squarely on the new theocratic Constitution and may well have decided not to prevent the possible withering away of the clerical structure of power, 3 created by him in order to assure the continued paralysis of the state, pending its legal subjugation to supreme religious authority...

...Habibi...

...Tabriz rose in insurrection...

...the protesters were primitive rebels no more...

...Bani-Sadr resigned on November 28...

...By the end of December, a traveler from Tabriz reported that not a single portrait of Khomeini remained undefiled in the city...

...This would-be second stratum is quite willing to render unto the turbaned Caesar what is Caesar's due—to tell the truth, the new Caesar's due does not appear onerous...

...A policy of consolidation seems highly rational at this point...

...It showed the inability of the Islamic Republican party—Khomeini's hope for his ideal one-party state—to conduct an effective campaign of mass mobilization...

...The irony of the situation can be fully appreciated only if we remember that Khomeini's extensive powers are formally justified as the sovereign prerogatives of the foremost jurist...

...He forbade the entry of the mission and broadcast an unusually vituperative message to the Iranian nation...

...Shari'at-madari's followers had risen because of loyalty to the person of the Grand Ayatollah...

...Having precluded any political influence of the Westernized intellectuals over the masses, Khomeini is shrewd enough not to waste his scarce energy and political resources on an unpromising cultural campaign...

...3 The reader will recall from the previous article that this parallel structure of power, existing independently of the state, consists of the Guardians of the Revolution, the Islamic Committees, and the Islamic Republican party and its influential organ, the Islamic Republic...

...Shari'at-madari's attempt to broaden the support for his protest movement by creating a democratic platform failed...

...He was now variously described as "an egocentric with a thirst for power," "incompetent," "miselected," "an adventurer," a "representative of the Bazaar [traditional bourgeoisie]," an "opportunist" in foreign policy, and "an enemy of the clergy...

...Of the leftist groups, the Tudeh party and the Mujahideen were both legitimist and intensely loyal to the Imam...

...Of his two major political aims, the establishment of a theocracy and the eradication of Western cultural influence, he has already achieved the first and by far the more important: he has secured the formal subjugation of the state to religious institutions as represented by him...

...And it is significant from our present point of view that in thus observing neutrality from his Olympian position above the political arena, Khomeini is less likely to insist on presenting all issues in a religious garb, and thus less likely to engage in a Manichaean obfuscation of their political texture...

...What showed Khomeini's political acumen much more decisively was the sequence of events after the insurrection in Tabriz that immediately followed the referendum in the first week of December 1979 and can be said to have lasted until January 11, 1980...

...The second step was taken at the end of November, when Khomeini overruled the then acting Foreign Minister Bani-Sadr's decision to attend the meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations, which he had earlier asked for...

...The ruthless counteroffensive by the proKhomeini forces began immediately after the repentance of the neo-Kufan betrayers of the Just Imam...

...Madani, and Dr...

...The presence of the American parachutists 145 in Bahrain and the rumors of an imminent coup d'etat may well have contributed to this crucial decision, but the subsequent course of events leaves room for little doubt that it was the first step in a well thought-out strategy by Khomeini...

...The Kurds had good reason to expect generous terms—which were in fact proposed to them in mid-December—and plausibly feared that the collapse of Khomeini's Islamic republic would bring in a nationalistic or chauvinistic government in Teheran that would be less favorably disposed toward them...

...The ice was broken...

...The Disinherited (the urban poor) would undoubtedly have voted for the new Constitution upon Khomeini's order, and their vote would have been enough to secure its ratification with a comfortable margin...

...Not one among them raised a voice to remind the speaker that Mosaddeq had no comparable Constitution introducing institutionalized despotism...

...q 148...

...There is every indication 144 that Iran's turbaned Caesar has found a "second stratum" of lay servants to run the state and the ruined economy for him...

...Only the Maoists showed enough political maturity not to be fooled by the proKhomeini party...

...He chose to ignore them...

...Of the troubled December days in Tabriz, I should like to choose one, the bleakest, for close scrutiny: Friday, December 7: the day that proved the faintness of the voice of reason in Iranian revolutionary politics and the obduracy of the deaf ears upon which it fell, and the day that vindicated the political astuteness of Khomeini's decision to prolong his "anti-imperialist" struggle by refusing to release the American hostages...

...Owing to their boundless political wisdom, they knew from The former director of the Iran National Oil Company, dismissed for not displaying the proper subservience toward the Mullahs, especially Khomeini's son-in-law...

...First and foremost, we must speak of the instinctive sagacity of the electorate, for once not constrained by the Supreme Leader to choosing between God and Satan...

...In other words, its reactionary, totalitarian Constitution not withstanding, Khomeini's theocratic anarchy was preferable to a strong, nationalistic central government, be it liberal or conservative—from the Kurdish point of view...

...What is more, the second stratum, once they start feeding from the public trough, could always buy their whiskey in the black market...

...I "Iran: From the Shah's Dictatorship to Khomeini's Demagogic Theocracy," in the Winter 1980 Dissent...

...Despite his massive electoral victory, BaniSadr came under immediate assault from all corners (especially the clerical right and the Communist left) even before he had the chance to say or do anything...

...But the calm that immediately descended upon Tabriz could deceive no one...

...The Grand Ayatollah Shari'at-madari, the most eminent living Shi'ite jurist by expert consent and in my estimation, had spoken out against Khomeini's Constitution as an incoherent and self-contradictory piece of legal work on the eve of the referendum, indicating that he would therefore abstain from voting...

...HOW ARE WE to analyze Bani-Sadr's victory in the unbelievably hasty presidential election, despite the opposition of the ruling clerical elite...

...As a result, it seems most plausible for Khomeini to have decided to help Bani-Sadr put together an administrative-technocratic team to run the state and revive the economy for him...

...The clerical structures of power, of course, will not simply melt away...

...the beginning that the Tabriz insurrection was the work of Zionist-imperialist plotters and the agents of capitalism, and so they opposed it...

...The following days witnessed demonstrations, counterdemonstrations, and numerous clashes between the supporters of the two Ayatollahs, all characterized by populist legitimism of the protesting party: the insurrectionists wanted Ghotbzadeh executed because of the vicious censorship he had imposed upon the National Radio and Television Network...

...These two events seem to indicate a transition from a primitive rebellion spread across an entire society to a political revolution...

...It remains to be seen whether he can capitalize on this charisma by a quick assertion of authority and by embarking on his proposed developmental programs effectively...

...The crowd was manifestly moved...

...If so, the chronologically more convenient event, the election of BaniSadr, may be taken to mark the close of the Year Zero of the Iranian revolution...

...To the chagrin of his opponents, Khomeini has keenly monitored the political developments of the past year (his physician's one complaint is that the "exemplary patient" is too avid in reading the newspapers), and has proved himself to be a political realist of outstanding ability...

...I The popular vote dealt a severe blow to the enhanced domination of the clerical elite...

...On Monday, December 10, the pro-Khomeini militants, aided by the Communists, attacked and recaptured the radio station...

...The stage is set for a prolonged political struggle, but one in which Khomeini could for the first time be expected to observe an attitude of some neutrality...

...they wanted the dictatorial Constitution repealed, but Khomeini, they said, was their Imam...

...The new Constitution, ratified by the referendum of December 2-3, 1979, makes him the first Shi'ite Caesar-Pope in history, with virtually absolute power over men and responsibility only to God...

...Eleven of its occupants were summarily executed...

...an ailing octagenarian, he is not interested in the day-to-day administration of the state and the economy, which is far beneath his dignity and would, incidentally, make him responsible for actual performance...

...the radio station and government buildings were taken over by the Shari'at-madari partisans...

...On 146 Friday, December 7, an appeal from Hasan Nazih4—appealing to those who stood for democracy and freedom "to continue the struggle until the elimination of personal power, and of the despotism institutionalized by the new Constitution"—was broadcast three times from the captured radio station but fell on deaf ears...

...He thus launched his heroic campaign against the world-eating American imperialists...

...In his first press interview, Bani-Sadr declared his intention of abolishing the Islamic Committees and replacing the Guardians of the Revolution with a people's army...

...In a society dominated for some time by a bureaucratic state, diploma-holders enjoy considerable prestige, and Iran is no exception...

...nor will he be opening Swiss bank accounts for himself or his family...

...The stage now is set for a prolonged political struggle, a struggle into which Khomeini inevitably will be drawn despite his poor health...

...Now that this goal has been reached, Khomeini seems prepared for the "big deal" with the prospective second stratum, a deal by and large on his terms...

...In the month of unrest and bloodshed that followed, Shari'at-madari firmly withstood relentless intimidation and virtual house arrest, calmly but clearly pointing out how the Khomeini regime was indiscriminately using the Zionist-imperialist conspiracy theory to stifle all opposition with a view to the eventual creation of a one-party state...

...q March 21 As we are going to press, the provisional results of the election for the National Assembly indicate that, to BaniSadr's great disappointment, the Islamic Republican party is very far from dead...

...This is why I do not exclude a compromise [with Khomeini's regime] acceptable to the Kurdish people...

...By contrast, the same day witnessed the triumph of political unreason at the service of Khomeini...

...He reminded the crowd that Khomeini was the champion of the Disinherited against the imperialist oppressors...

...If my analysis is correct, a large admixture of real political issues will, from now onward, be added to the Ayatollah's phantasmagorical struggle with the imperialist Satan...

...As Secretary of the Kurdish Democratic party Qasemlu put it in an interview with Le Monde (December 18, '79), "Whatever the character of the regime, it is less its ideology than the relations of force that will decide the outcome of the conflict...

...So did the electorate...

...The Marxist Fedayeen, having supported the Tabriz insurrectionary movement at the beginning, suddenly reversed their position and joined the anti-imperialist followers of the Imam...

...To facilitate the big deal, and in realistic cognizance of the difficulties it encountered, Khomeini has greatly relented in his Kulturkampf against Westernized intellectuals...

...The three front runners for the presi2 The Ghotbzadehs and the Moinfars...

...nor was the speaker asked in what way the incarceration of unarmed hostages was comparable to the nationalization of the British-owned oil company in 1951...

...But now, who could oppose the Constitution when doing so could only mean siding with Satan against God, with the imperialist plotters against the long-suffering nation and its revolutionary leader...

...These tendentious attacks notwithstanding, Bani-Sadr's impressive mandate has overnight endowed him with the victor's charisma...

...dency put a great deal of emphasis on being Dr...

...and how it was time and again calculatedly exploited by the proKhomeini proponents of "unity" to disarm and defeat them...

...A general strike and demonstration in Tabriz were planned for Thursday, December 6, when an attack on Shari'at-madari's house in Qum and the abortive attempt to assassinate him a day earlier precipitated the matter...

...Tahir Ahmad-zadeh, a supporter of Mosaddeq and a revolutionary with impeccable credentials, addressed a large proShari'at-madari gathering...

...This insurrection began as a primitive rebellion characterized by a pronounced populist legitimism...

...Already by the first week of January the Azerbaijanis had stopped mincing their words: the fateful slogan marg bar Khomeini ("Death to Khomieni") was being heard and inscribed on a number of walls...

...Meanwhile, the people of Tabriz were finding 147 out the hard way how costly their profession of loyalty to Khomeini—their populist legitimism—was...

...But detailed and virulent accusations of Bani-Sadr's alleged long-standing ties with Zionism did not find a receptive audience...

...Just about everyone, including BaniSadr and Bazargan, had been grumbling about the "improved" draft of the proposed Constitution, which gave the Imam absolute power without the slightest responsibility...

...Khomeini's anti-imperialist tactics bore fruit immediately, and he could harness the populist legitimism enhanced by it for a good purpose...

...Everyone expected trouble in Tabriz during and after the constitutional referendum...

...Meanwhile, the frequent accusations of "infiltration" by counterrevolutionary elements as well as mounting open abuse indicate that the two other organs on which the clerical regime rests, the Guardians of the Revolution and the Islamic Committees, have come into increasing disrepute...

...but after a month of continued struggle, populist legitimism was finally discarded and the opposition to Khomeini's regime assumed a fully conscious and explicit form...

...On January 11, 1980, the Guardians of the Revolution captured the headquarters of the pro-Shari'at-madari Republican party of the Muslim People...

...Bani-Sadr, Dr...

...The correspondent of Le Monde who visited Tabriz two days later could only find Shari'at-madari's posters and portraits...

...This immediately raises the question why Khomeini chose not to do so, which in turn brings us to a general consideration of his aims and motivation...

...Mosaddeq, too, had been compared to Hitler and accused of being a dictator when he nationalized the oil industry, thereby expropriating the British...

...The Kurdish Democratic party decided not to support the insurrection for sounder reasons...

...Iran's presidential election of January 25, 1980, which took place almost a year after the fall of the Shah in February 1979, and the insurrection in Tabriz that preceded the election by a few weeks may well come to be regarded as landmarks in the history of Iran's incipient revolution...

...The turbaned Caesar wears soft sandals and not military boots...

...Not only Bazargan's party but also the Jama (leftist Muslims) and the (Communist) Tudeh party declared themselves constrained to support the new Constitution in order not to jeopardize "the ongoing anti-imperialist struggle and the political line of the Imam...