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    Kim Min Jung - Book Review 1

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    Roy Mottahedeh weaves in many threads of Iranian history through a character named Ali Hashemi. In the first half of the book, we get a glimpse of Ali's life, before the revolution. The second half takes a closer look at a topic brought up in the previous section.

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    Kim Min Jung - Book Review 1

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    Roy Mottahedeh weaves in many threads of Iranian history through a character named Ali Hashemi. In the first half of the book, we get a glimpse of Ali's life, before the revolution. The second half takes a closer look at a topic brought up in the previous section.

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    Roy Mottahedeh weaves in many threads of Iranian history through a character named Ali Hashemi. In the first half of the book, we get a glimpse of Ali's life, before the revolution. The second half takes a closer look at a topic brought up in the previous section.

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    107 views2 pages

    Kim Min Jung - Book Review 1

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    Roy Mottahedeh weaves in many threads of Iranian history through a character named Ali Hashemi. In the first half of the book, we get a glimpse of Ali's life, before the revolution. The second half takes a closer look at a topic brought up in the previous section.

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    Min Jung Kim

    HSTAFM 463 A
    Book Review #1
    Mottahedeh, Roy. The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. New York:
    Simon & Schuster, 1985. 416 pp. $17.95.
    In The Mantle of the Prophet, Roy Mottahedeh weaves in many threads of Iranian history
    through a character named Ali Hashemi, a mullah from Qom living in the 20th century. In doing
    so, he paints the picture of life in Iran during the years leading up to the Islamic Revolution of
    1979 and provides the contextual historical and cultural knowledge. Most of the chapters are
    divided into two sections. In the first half, we get a glimpse of Ali Hashemis life. In these
    sections, Mottahedeh draws upon the interviews he conducted with Iranians before the
    revolution and the madreseh curriculum, which he studied for two years in preparation for this
    book. In the latter half of the chapter, Mottahedeh takes a closer look at a topic brought up in the
    first half in a historical context. Although Mottahedeh did not include footnotes in these sections,
    he cites essays, academic books, an oral autobiography, and biographies that he used at the
    back of the book.
    The story begins in Qom where we see Ali Hashemi grow up from a boy learning to pray and
    read in Arabic to a first class talabeh at madresehs in Qom and Najaf. From there, we follow him
    to Tehran where he accepts a teaching position at a theological school and becomes an
    influential ayatollah. While Ali Hashemis life unfolds throughout the chapters, Mottahedeh
    inserts academic segments on a variety of topics. On education, Mottahedeh contrasts the
    education system in Europe and Iran throughout the ages and grounds these ideas in the 20th
    century through a figure named Isa Sadiq, a prominent education reformer (50-68). Mottahedeh
    highlights the impact Sufism had on Persian literature by analyzing excerpts and including short
    biographies of influential literary figures like Sohravardi, a mystic writer who wrote about wine
    and lovers (156-170). Mottahedeh also emphasizes the importance of Islamic law in Iran
    through figures like Ghazzali and Sheikh Mortaza Ansari, and he draws comparison between
    Shiite and Sunni interpretation of the Islamic law by parsing through their distinct logic (198212). In the latter chapters, Mottahedeh traces the ever-changing relationship between the
    secular and religious leaders in the 20th century Iran as they step in and out of their powerful
    roles (223-247). Mottahedeh simultaneously notes that the once unified circle of religious
    leaders fell apart as their conflicting political alliances inevitably became prominent.
    Even with its incredible scope of outwardly disparate topics, The Mantle of the Prophet has a
    tenuous theme by the time we reach the aftermath of the revolution at the end of the book:
    ambiguity, or rather lack thereof. Mottahedeh argues that during the 20th century Iranians were
    stripped of the ambiguity that they relied on to morph their identity with the changing times (379).
    In this process, Iranians (represented by Jalal Al-e Ahmad, an acclaimed writer and social critic
    that coined the terms euromania and westoxification) found themselves hopelessly confused
    and self-contradictory (Mottahedeh 287). Not only that, with increasing foreign influences and
    without basic commodities, Iranians felt that their country was becoming foreign to them before
    their very own eyes, and they felt the need to do away with ambiguity and reclaim their religious
    roots. After the revolution, this ambiguity was gone and the parliament was finally installed, but
    many (including culturally Shia people, intellectuals, leftists from the 40s and 50s, etc) felt
    that they had been deceived. The radical demands were nowhere to be found, and the
    revolution had brought about a new set of violent rulers.
    The Mantle of the Prophets greatest strength is that it is both dense and approachable.

    Comment [1]: Explain the nature of the


    character (fictional, semi-fictional,
    pseudonymous)

    Comment [2]: Yesthis is an unusual


    degree of preparation!
    Comment [3]: Book?
    Comment [4]: Great. What, basically, is
    Mottahedeh arguing?

    Comment [5]: Great selection of details


    and summary. A well-balanced paragraph.

    Comment [6]: Of leftists? Needs to be a bit


    more specific.

    Mottahedeh achieves this by embedding the academic segments containing tailored


    biographies and historical analysis within Ali Hashemis narrative. The academic analysis
    sprinkled throughout the text make the rich culture and history of Iran more accessible to
    readers without compromising their complexity. Another major strength is that Mottahedeh
    effectively captures Iranian culture through his characters dialogues and detailed description of
    everyday life in Iran. Proverbs like, God willing, its a goat (Mottahedeh 181) and Arabic is
    learning, but Persian is sugar (Mottahedeh 249) are interspersed throughout conversations and
    thoughts. Ali Hashemis interactions with respected religious leaders shed light on Iranian
    etiquette. His extensive use of quotes and allusions from the Book of Kings and Poem of Hafez,
    which are considered to be cornerstones of Persian literature, in dialogues allow readers to
    understand common cultural references (Mottahedeh 246-247, 365). Between these
    conversations, Mottahedeh also uses intimate descriptions of everyday life in Iran. We are
    exposed to the variety of public displays of religious grief over Hosains martyrdom (Mottahedeh
    173-179). We get glimpses of the madreseh courtyards teeming with talabehs eager to discuss
    politics, especially before the evening prayer (Mottahedeh 121). We are introduced to dowrehs
    that facilitate rumination and debates among diverse groups of friends (Mottahedeh 271). These
    collections of dialogues and descriptions convey aspects of Iranian culture that would be difficult
    to communicate in a traditional academic text and allow readers to feel as though they have
    gotten to know an Iranian mullah in person.
    Although Mottahedeh covers Iranian history and culture with an exceptional breadth and depth,
    a glaring weakness of this book is what is left unsaid. Mottahedeh makes it clear through Ali
    Hashemis interactions with common folks that despite their influence, mullahs are generally
    disconnected from the rest of the society. As a result, the majority of the Iranian population
    notably the women whose existence is merely hinted when the men mention miniskirts or
    hijabare left completely voiceless in this narrative. Even with its flaws, The Mantle of the
    Prophet is an excellent read that allows the general audience to cultivate a deep appreciation of
    the intellectual history and culture of Iran, and Mottahedehs creative approach on the subject
    makes this masterpiece worth reading even for an academic audience. [988 words]
    Min Jung,
    Overall, this is an excellent review. Youve done an especially good job of selecting material to
    review out of a dense book and achieving a critical distance from the book well enough to
    recognize what it omits while still recognizing its strengths.
    We (the readers of the review) need to get a better sense from the beginning of the review of
    what Mottahedehs central goals and point (i.e. argument or arguments) are. It takes a while for
    the reader to get there. However, you do a great job of highlighting Mottahedehs unusual
    methodology, which might be the most important feature of the book.
    Grade: 95%

    Comment [7]: Yesgreat that you notice


    this methodology and its strength. (Its an
    unusual book in many ways.)

    Comment [8]: Good critique.

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