ABSTRACT
Michel Foucault's writings on the Islamic revolution in Iran have not received the critical attention they deserve. Although the emphasis is on Foucault's views on the Iranian revolution rather than the revolution itself, a brief recapitulation of events until early 1979 may serve as background information. It should be kept in mind that Foucault's writings on the Iranian revolution are mostly of a journalistic character, and do not direcdy relate to his philosophical and historical work. A journalistic inquiry into a revolutionary event, especially one which so centrally involves the public and political use of religion as the uprising in Iran, thus implies a philosophical commentary on modernity itself. The economic reforms introduced in Iran since the 1960s had, for the most part, benefited only a small part of Iranian society, and the increase in oil wealth in the 1970s had only helped to exacerbate the already serious corruption and political repression.
