ABSTRACT
This chapter deconstructs the meanings attached to and the ideologies embedded in Muhammad Reza Shah's 'positive nationalism'. It shows that in post-revolutionary Iran, Īrānī yat continues to play an important role in Iranian identity, but it is not necessarily the basis of a political identity, or national identity. The chapter illustrates that considerable importance continues to be placed on Iran's pre-Islamic culture during Khatami's presidency. On the one hand, there is the deliberate prioritization of Īrānīyat and the exclusion of Islāmī yat, particularly politicized Islāmīyat. The importance placed on Īrānīyat in the construction of Iranian identity considered as the legacy of the hegemonic nature of 'positive nationalism'. The chapter is based on a combination of different sources that have been pulled together to illustrate the importance of Īrānīyat in construction of Iranian identity. The importance placed on the idea of civilization illustrates a perceived political, cultural and over other nations, especially those in the region of the Middle East.
