Iranian Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century

Ali Gheissari shows how in Iran, as in many other countries, intellectuals have been the prime mediators between the forces of tradition and modernity and have contributed significantly to the formation of the modern Iranian self image. His analysis of intellectuals' response to a number of fundamental questions, such as nationalism, identity, and the relation between Islam and modern politics, sheds new light on the factors that led to the Iranian Revolution - the twentieth century's first major departure from Western political ideals - and helps explain the complexities surrounding the reception of Western ideologies in the Middle East.