Review of the Literature 4 - Essay Example

The past Islamic Revolutions demanded social transformation, alongside cultural, political, and religious renewal, but in reality, some key Muslim political leaders have not used populism to truly uplift the lives of their fellow believers. In Chapters seven to nine of Global Islamic Politics, Mir Zohair Husain explores the Iranian Islamic revolution and how it catapulted the importance of forming a genuinely Islamic state. The Islamic Revolution in Iran is pivotal to Islams resurgence, because it demonstrates the influence and power of Revolutionary Islamism in driving the affairs of the political economy.

Husain, nevertheless, indicates the failure of revolutionary Islamists to change the lives of the poor masses for the better, as the former also become entrenched in traditional politics and aspire power for its own sake. Khomeini, in particular, has not effectively improved the socio-economic condition of his people during his rise to power. In "The Islamic Republic," Ervand Abrahamian argues that “populism” is a better concept that would fully grasp “Khomeinism.” Populism refers to the middle class and its movement that mobilized the lower class in rejecting the Wests brand of capitalism, imperialism, and political ideologies (Abrahamian 17).

Populist movements desire to solve social problems of poverty through cultural, social, and political transformation (Abrahamian 17). This transformation has its roots in Islam, where the classical age is considered as the ideal and best model for Islamic states (Abrahamian 17). Abrahamian stresses that “opportunistic populism” is the only category that fits the ideological movement of “Khomeinism.” What is opportunistic in Khomeinis populism is that in his writings, he does not call for important social changes and related revolutions.

Instead, he used popular