ABSTRACT
The revolution that gathered momentun in Iran throughout 1978 and finally overthrew the shah’s regime in early 1979 represents the most dramatic confrontation between militant Islamic resurgence and various forms of liberalism in contemporary Middle East history. The most important development in the revolution was the recruitment of this disaffected sector of the population by Ayatollah Khomeini, though he initially had much broader support as the recognized titular leader of the antishah movement. The organized groups that constituted the political spectrum in the early stages of the revolution were oriented in terms of either Islamic resurgence, moderate Islamic reconstruction, or secular reform. Khomeini’s political strategy, designed to establish an Islamic state and check all attempts to create a liberal democratic system, involved a series of adroit moves to ensure the Islamic alternative. Another aspect of Khomeini’s theoretical formulation concerns the relationship between the Islamic government in Iran and the external world.
