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On the Boundaries of the State and the State of Boundaries in Iran

Department of Social Sciences at the University of Tabriz, Iran, University of York, UK, godazgar{at}yahoo.com, hg11{at}york.ac.uk

Laleh FATHI

University of Tabriz, Iran, aleh19992003{at}yahoo.com

English

Inspired mainly by Barth’s and Jacobson’s models of analysis, the authors explore the interrelationship between religion and ethnicity among young Iranian women who are Christian Armenians, Sunni Kurds and Shi’ite Azerian Turks. The major question is whether modern Iran displays a unitary notion of Islam, in which Muslims are considered as a single community and people are categorized in terms of their religious identity, as if there was no place for other identities. Alternatively, the authors ask whether modern Iran presents religious and ethnic communities and identities in all their diversity. Their findings reveal a variety of conclusions. First, Iran exhibits a diversity of identities and differences among both Muslim and non-Muslim people, all of whom live under the rule of an Islamic government. Second, both the religious and ethnic boundaries of young Iranian women are relatively permeable and fluid in comparison with those of previous generations. Third, the state’s ideological boundaries have not persuaded young Muslims to show solidarity towards fraternity based on the "ummah" or Muslim community.

French

Principalement inspiré par les modèles d'analyse de Barth et Jacobson, les auteurs traitent de la corrélation entre la religion et l'ethnicité parmi les jeunes femmes iraniennes chrétiennes arméniennes, kurdes sunnites et turques azériennes chiites. Le problème posé est de savoir si l'Iran moderne propose une conception unitaire de l'islam, qui considère les musulmans comme une communauté unique et le peuple en fonction de sa seule identité religieuse, ce qui ne laisserait pas de place à d'autres identités ou, au contraire, s'il prend en compte les communautés et les identités religieuses et ethniques dans toute leur diversité. Les résultats des recherches vont en sens divers. D'une part, l'Iran dirigé par un gouvernement islamique montre néanmoins des signes d'ouverture à la diversité des identités et à la différence entre peuples musulman et non-musulman. D'autre part, les limites, à la fois religieuses et ethniques, imposées aux jeunes étudiantes sont relativement perméables et fluides si on les compare à celles de la génération précédente. Finalement, les limites idéologiques de l'Etat n'ont pas poussé la jeunesse musulmane à être cohésive envers la fraternité ummah.

Key Words: boundaries • ethno-religious identities • Iran • Islam

Social Compass, Vol. 52, No. 2, 115-129 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0037768605052566


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