The Politics of the Ulama: Understading the Influential Role of the Ulama in Iran.

Although the ulama have lost their traditional roles in many parts of the Islamic world as a result of the modernization process of the social and political structure, the Iranian ulama not only have played a pivotal role in many important events in the recent history of Iran, but also emerged as the most powerful socio-political class since the Iranian revolution of 1979. In this article, I aim to understand major factors that facilitate the development of the ulama as the most powerful political actor in Iranian polity. Drawing on the analysis of two highly crucial historical events (the Constitutional Revolution and the Iranian Revolution of 1979), I point out four major factors for the development of an influential ulama class: The reconstruction of Shi'i Islam for the rule of the ulama in the absence of the Hidden Imam, the political and economic independence of the ulama from the state, the close relationship between the ulama and the urban middle class, and the weakness of the central governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]