아프리카ㆍ중동

Contrary to common assumptions, Iran’s pre-revolutionary state was not “secular”. The constitution of 1906 made Twelver Shiism, the religion of about 85 per cent of the population, the official religion of the state, and all top positions of the state were reserved for members of the majority religion. The prominence of Twelver Shiism was reinforced after the Islamic revolution of 1979, when Iran became a theocracy in which most major positions in the state hierarchy are reserved for members of the Twelver Shiite ulema (clergy). The Islamic Republic of Iran was the first political regime established by Islamists. As such, its advent sent shock waves through the Muslim world, as it signified that it is possible for Islamists to win power and establish an Islamic regime. As time went on, however, the admiration of Sunnis around the world for the Islamic Republic diminished, as the sectarian, Twelver Shiite, character of the regime became all too apparent. The eight-year war with Iraq (1980-88) added to the estrangement of many Sunni Arabs from Iran, especially after Khomeini refused Saddam Hussein’s offer in 1982 to end the hostilities. The Islamic Republic has very few client movements in the Sunni world, the most important of these being the Islamic Jihad movement among the Palestinians. It is among the Twelver Shiites outside Iran, especially those in Lebanon and Afghanistan, where the Twelver Shiites had long been marginalized, that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic had its biggest successes, as it empowered these groups to strengthen themselves, form armed parties (e.g. Hezbollah in Lebanon), and play important roles in their countries’ politics.