The Unholy Alliance of Socialism and Islam: A Personal Perspective on the Iranian Revolution
By Bobby Darvish - darvishintelligence.blogspot.com
Many Western leftists mistakenly believe that socialism and Islam are incompatible ideologies. They imagine that Islam, with its conservative social framework and religious laws, could never harmonize with the collectivist, anti-religious doctrines of socialism. As an Iranian-American ex-Muslim Christian conservative, I can tell you firsthand that not only can socialism and Islam work together, but this dangerous alliance was pivotal in one of the most disastrous events in modern Iranian history—the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Growing up under the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran was a flourishing nation. The Shah was a great leader, beloved by many Iranians who valued freedom, progress, and the stability he provided. Under his rule, Iran was modernizing rapidly, advancing in education, healthcare, women's rights, and the economy. His vision of a strong, secular Iran was admirable. However, that vision was shattered when a toxic alliance of leftists, Islamists, and Marxists, with the aid of American socialist Democrats like President Jimmy Carter, led to the overthrow of the Shah and plunged Iran into a nightmare.
The Islamic Revolution: An Alliance of Socialism and Islam
Contrary to the naïve views of some Western leftists, socialism and Islam found common ground in their shared hatred for the Shah and their desire for power. The 1979 revolution was a coalition of various groups, and many of them were Marxist-Islamists. Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, was not just an Islamic cleric; he harbored socialist leanings, particularly in his economic policies. His goal was to centralize power under an Islamic regime that would merge Islamic values with socialist principles.
The revolution also had the backing of the Tudeh Party, Iran’s communist party, and other Marxist factions like the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), led by Massoud Rajavi. These groups aligned with Khomeini, thinking they could outmaneuver him once the Shah was toppled. They were wrong. The alliance between Islamists and leftists was temporary, but it was powerful enough to bring down the monarchy. Tragically, both socialism and Islamism would destroy the country together.
American Democrat Complicity: President Carter’s Role
The leftist-Islamist coalition wouldn’t have succeeded without the interference of foreign powers, most notably the disastrous policies of President Jimmy Carter. Carter, a Democratic socialist sympathizer, withdrew support for the Shah at a critical moment. He pressured the Iranian military to stand down, and through human rights rhetoric, enabled Khomeini’s rise to power. Under Carter’s administration, the U.S. allowed the Shah to fall, effectively abandoning Iran to the hands of the revolutionary forces.
Carter’s actions were motivated by the same flawed socialist thinking that plagues the American left today: the idea that the Shah was an oppressive dictator who needed to be replaced with a "people’s government." This simplistic and moralistic view ignored the complexities of Iran’s situation and the dangers of Islamic extremism. The Democrats’ betrayal of the Shah was not just a betrayal of Iran—it was a betrayal of Western values and the strategic interests of the U.S. in the Middle East.
The Aftermath: Iran’s Descent into Darkness
The coalition that overthrew the Shah quickly collapsed into chaos as Khomeini’s Islamists purged their leftist allies. Khomeini’s regime implemented a brutal theocratic dictatorship, combining the worst elements of socialism—such as economic centralization, state control, and wealth redistribution—with the oppressive religious laws of Islamic Sharia.
The results were catastrophic. Iran, once a thriving, secular, and modernizing nation, became a backward, theocratic state. The new regime destroyed the middle class, crushed individual freedoms, and plunged the country into poverty. The promise of a "revolution for the people" was a farce. It was a revolution for the clerics, the ideologues, and the power-hungry elite.
The Leftist-Islamist Alliance Today
The alliance between leftists and Islamists didn’t end in 1979—it continues today, both in Iran and in the West. Marxist groups like the MEK still exist, and in the West, many leftists openly embrace Islamism as part of their broader anti-Western, anti-capitalist agenda. This is especially true in the United States, where Democratic socialists and leftist organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) support Islamist causes, while turning a blind eye to the oppression that Islamists inflict on women, minorities, and Christians.
Western leftists who believe that socialism and Islam are incompatible are either ignorant or willfully blind. They don’t realize that the very Marxist ideas they champion are being used by Islamist regimes to oppress millions of people. The irony is that in countries like Iran, where socialism and Islam have worked together, they have produced some of the most tyrannical regimes in history.
Conclusion: The Danger of Underestimating This Alliance
As a Christian conservative, I see the threat posed by this unholy alliance clearly. Western leftists need to wake up to the reality that socialism and Islam can and do work together, and when they do, the result is nothing short of totalitarianism. Just as socialism erodes individual freedom and economic prosperity, Islamism suppresses religious liberty and human rights. Together, they are a recipe for tyranny.
The Islamic Revolution of 1979 stands as a grim reminder of what happens when these ideologies combine. They overthrew our beloved Shah, destroyed a once-great nation, and left a legacy of oppression that continues to this day. Let us not forget the lessons of history as we confront the rising threat of socialism and Islamism in the modern world.
Sources:
- Milani, Abbas. The Shah. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
- Abrahamian, Ervand. A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
- Kinzer, Stephen. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
- Taheri, Amir. The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution. London: Hutchinson, 1985.
- Kepel, Gilles. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002.
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