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In this talk, Dr. Bolourchi deprovincializes the discourses and practices of political theology to answer questions about how mid-twentieth century Iranian political theology differs from and is like its European counterparts. In doing so, she examines the recent and clearer interdisciplinarity of political theology to engage questions about it outside of Europe and Christianity. By questioning cultural assumptions, she offers different resources for framing alternative theories of sovereignty, polity, and belonging.

Specifically, Dr. Bolourchi analyzes speeches and writings of ostensibly secular Iranians from 1941 to1983 to show political actors believed in their land not only as a country or homeland (vatan) but as a sacred (moqadas) for which they needed to sacrifice (feda kari). These actors - both for and against the monarchy- held different ideas on the rule of law, government form, and future of the country. This did not equate to divergent views on the sacredness of Iran. Across the political and religious spectra Iranians spent decades using sacrificial rhetoric and imagery, trying to advance their respective utopian visions. These contending visions of Iran impacted millions of non-political actors. Unsurprisingly, then, when Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, Iranians from across the political and religious spectra—including those from Jewish communities—volunteered to defend their sacred.

Neda Bolourchi is Associate Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and Post-Doctoral Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She is an interdisciplinary scholar deeply engaged in legal, ethnographic, and archival theory and methodology and whose work investigates how people believe in and articulate understanding the sacred and sacrifice through cultural, historical, and legal production and consumption. She currently is completing the book manuscript of her dissertation, “Contending Visions of Iran: The Battle for the Sacred Nation-State.”

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Sponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Iranian Studies