Islam and the post-revolutionary state in Iran/ Homa Omid.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 220-248) and index.

1. Ulema and Secularisation: Conflict or Coincidence of Interest -- 2. The Arms of the Bureaucracy and the Embrace of Theocracy -- 3. Valayateh Faqih: A Blueprint for Islamic Government? -- 4. Theocracy Defeats its Opponents -- 5. The Revolution Betrayed -- 6. The Armed Forces: Divided We Rule -- 7. Valayateh Faqih in Disarray -- 8. Freedom, Culture and Education in Khomeini's State: What Price Islam? -- 9. Women and the Post-Revolutionary State -- 10. Islam for the People and Mammon for the Economy.

The Iranian revolution is the first example of a successful political takeover by a religious institution in the Middle East. This volume traces the roots of the revolutionary powers of the ulama religious leaders and engages critically with their perspectives on an Islamic government and economy. The author argues that the uneasy alliance between the intelligentsia and the ulama which has fuelled two successful revolutions in twentieth-century Iran has always contained irresolvable tensions.