ABSTRACT
The Islamist discourse of national identity is embodied in and articulated through the ideals and aspirations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamene'i. The ideologies embedded in the Islamist discourse of national identity are the idea of an Iranian Islamic Republic, independence and anti-imperialism, and populism. The construction of Iranian national identity as Iranian, as opposed to simply Islamic, is explicitly articulated in Khamene'i's approach to the Persian language. The focus is primarily the articulation of the Islamist discourse during Khatami's presidency. Khamene'i expands on the notion of Iran's collective national identity; the Islamic identity of the Iranian nation is one based on that which goes beyond its current territorial borders. As was the case for Musaddiq and Muhammad Reza Shah, anti-imperialism, is integral to Khamene'i's construction of Iranian national identity. Populism of the Islamic Revolution is an important characteristic which is revealed in the term 'republic'.
