ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how non-Islamiosity shapes and is shaped by diasporic consciousness in quotidian diasporic living. In pre-revolution Iran, freedom had come to be defined against the Shah's dictatorial rule, censorship practices and dependence on the West. The achievement of freedom thus necessitated a radical transformation of 'Iranian-ness' in which Shi'ism played an important part NITV (national Iranian television) was one of the first diasporic channels to broadcast internationally, and crucially inside Iran, from Los Angeles. Nasser ad-Din Shah exemplifies a wider, though heterogeneous, group of dissidents, who were in their twenties and politically active at the time of the revolution. Saba Mahmood has written about issues of agency and freedom within Islamic society. Minoo Moallem's work is especially relevant here because she also makes some references to the Iranian diaspora. Belonging, citizenship and gender are clearly complicated issues in the Iranian diaspora, and they will need to be researched more in the future.
