Washington, D.C.: Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, 2001. 123 pp. $19.95, paper
Saeid Golkar
Michael Rubin is one
of the youngest neo-conservative figures to gain prominence within the George
W. Bush’s administration and an Editorial Board member of Middle East Intelligence
Bulletin. His dissertation focused on modern Iran.1
In his book which is a policy
paper he tries to explain the role of vigilantes in Iran especially in the era
of Khatami’s presidency. The book consists one executive summary, four chapters
and a conclusion: The chapters are:
·
The historical role of pressure groups in Iran.
·
The evolution of pressure groups under Ayatollah
Khomeini and Khatami
·
Ansar-i Hizbullah: the vigilante group of the
“hardliners”.
·
The widening web: The Intelligence Ministry’s
complicity in vigilantism.
In the executive summary, the
writer tries to briefly describe some of the main pressure groups in Iran, such
as Ansar-i Hizbullah, The Saeid Imami gang, Fadaíyan-i-Islam, The Student
Followers of the Imam Line, Hujjatiyyeh and the Mehdi Hashemi gang. In his
opinion, vigilantism in Iran has followed the same pattern through history.
Vigilante groups are small, they have official patronage, are operationally
organised in cells based on informal networking and the primary target of
vigilantes are those advocating reform in Iran.
Then he pose two scenarios for
the future of these groups. They can either challenge the reform movement and
win the battle against it, or alternatively, they can pave the way for the
traditional and official institutions to defeat reform in Iran.
Chapter one is allocated to the
historical role of pressure groups in modern Iran and describes the history of
three vigilantes groups before the revolution, Fadaíyani-Islam (from formation
to revolution), Islamic Coalition Association (ICA) and the relationship
between them, Ayatollah Khomeini and the Hujjatiyyeh circle.
Chapter two covers the
evolution and transformation of pressures groups under Khomeini and Khatami. In
this section, the writer studies some groups such as Furqan and the Students
Followers of the Imam Line to explore
the transformation of a section of Hujjatiyyeh into the Islamic Coalition
Association and the Madahviyyat group. In the last section of this chapter
explores the Mehdi Hashemi gang and its role in the Iran-Contra affair.
The third chapter is dedicated
to the study the most important vigilante groups in Iran after the Iran-Iraq
war. The leadership, structure and ideology of these groups and the official
support for them are outlined. In Rubin’s opinion the Ansar-i Hizbullah
operations would be impossible without high –level backing. Hence he tries
briefly to study the relationship of this group with other revolutionary groups
(for example with IRGC) and with some of the media. He then focuses on their
operations especially in the attack on the
dormitory of Tehran University in 1999. He correctly concludes that
while groups like Ansar-i Hizbullah continue in their activities, the reform
movement in Iran is unlikely to succeed.
Chapter four focuses on the
complicity of the intelligence ministry and vigilantists in the murder of
Iranian dissents. Even though some from the intelligence ministry were
arrested, the assassination attempt on the reformist Saeid Hajjarian showed
that these groups continued to have influence at some level in the regime.
The book concludes by studying
the implication of vigilante group operations for both Iran and United states.
“Iran pressure groups pose a unique challenges to U.S. policy makers and remain
important to the United States for four primary reasons: Vigilante groups pose
a threat to stability in Iran; they undermine the policies of moderation; the
Iranian government’s tolerance for vigilantism undercuts the legitimacy of
Iran’s diplomatic commitments; and hardliner support for vigilantism would make
a resumption of normal relations with the US impossible. Finally, in Rubin’s
opinion, although vigilante groups have long influenced Iranian politics during
times of domestic and ideological uncertainty, seldom has this influence been
good for the vast majority of Iranians.
Into the Shadows is an
interesting book that focuses on very important issues in contemporary of Iran,
vigilantism. As Rubin shows this is not a new phenomenon in Iran. A well-known
example is the role of these groups in the coup which overthrew prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953.
Unfortunately, despite their importance, research in this area has been scarce.
For this reason Into the Shadow is invaluable, especially as it focuses
on post-revolution Iran.
There are a number of
weaknesses. The description of these vigilante groups is very brief and their
history fails to unravel their complexity. Vigilante group are studied as if in
a vacuum and we cannot see the relationship between these groups and the
society. Rubin failed to consider their background, or their social situation
and the relationship between them and the clergy and religious institutions.
For example Fadaíyani-Islam, an
early vigilante group operating during the reign of Reza Shah Pahalavi, who
were involved in the assassination of a modernist intellectual “Ahmad Kasravi”,
had a close relationship with Ayatollah Kashani. Indeed their leader, Navvab
Safavi, was a mullah.
Rubin explain well the main
stream-lines of vigilantism in Iran. Yet the picture he paints is very broad
and does not explain why and at what time these groups formed or faded away. In
which class or stratum did they take
root? What is their background, and what is the relationship between
them, the religious institutions and the bazaar?
Although Rubin mentions that
the vigilantes group under the Islamic republic received support at highest
level, he fails to show the relationship of the Islamic system and vigilantism
.It seems that in his opinion, the relationship between vigilantes and the
political system is very simple, indeed merely mechanical. The government uses
them as an instrument. But if we look the history of Iran especially after the
Safavid era (1501-1732), we can see that the relationship between the clergy,
the bazaar and the vigilante groups are organic. While the bazaar supported
economically the other groups and the clergy legitimised the bazaaris (merchant
businessmen), the vigilantes groups, a third arm in this triangle, provided
physical support for both the bazaar and the clergy. The bazaar has a very
important role in the formation and transformation of vigilantes in Iran and
Rubin fails to say anything in this regard.
Finally it is worth noting that
the majority of resources used in this book are newspapers articles. This book
is therefore more a description of political events than analysis the
vigilantism in Iran. It is of course true that there are few reliable source
material in this field.
In summary, despite of these
critiques, Into the Shadows is an useful book about vigilantes in Iran
and is good starting point to study and research these groups and their role in
post revolutionary Iran and within the Islamic system. It is a intersting text
for everyone interested in the political and social issues in Iran today.
1.
Washington Institute on Near East Policy: Michael
Rubin http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/senior/rubin.htm