Mehdi Mirabian Tabar (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

Theologico-Political Obstacles to the Establishment of the Modern State in Iran: A Study of Iran’s Constitutional Movement of 1906

The opening of the first National Assembly (Majlis) in the courtyard of the military school of Tehran (1906)

In Iran, the nineteenth century, which coincided with the reign of the Qajar dynasty, was a period of profound changes in the economy, politics, and culture. The seeds of constitutional thought in Iran were also sown in the early nineteenth century when a group of intellectuals introduced modern concepts and ideas—such as the rule of law, limited monarchy, freedom, and equality—to the country. The main objective of the constitutional movement was to curtail the Shah’s absolute power by enacting a set of laws modeled after European ones—that is, a state based on the rule of law. This was not something that could be easily accomplished for two reasons: First, the Shah opposed any limitations on his absolute power; And, second, the Shi῾ite clerics considered the idea of law making to be contrary to Islam. However, what made the situation worse for the constitutionalists was the collaboration between the shahs and the Shi῾ite clerics, which had its roots in the Safavid era (1501-1736) and reached its peak during the Qajar period. With the gradual expansion of constitutional thought in Iran, this collaboration turned into a coalition that opposed constitutionalism and advocated the old regime. This study aims to investigate this coalition as a theologico-political obstacle to the establishment of modern state in Iran: a state based on laws originating from the unassisted human reason in a community governed by God’s law and His sovereign will.