Interaction and Opposition between the Clergy and the Intellectuals during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran (1905-1940)

A full understanding of the nature and substance of movements and revolutions depends to a great extent on the determination of the role of the various social groups and forces that play an influential part in the execution of the same. The clergy and the intellectuals, due to the role that they play in most societies, are certainly counted as amongst the forces that have influence in social structures. The ideas that predominated during the constitutional movement led to an initial loose coalition between the clergy and the intelligentsia but eventually and inevitably ended in these two social forces being set off in opposition against one another. This was the first experience in the history of contemporary Iran in which two competing political groups worked together, in this case to bring the constitutional revolution to a victorious end. In the intellectual battles that took place between the two, the clergy was not able to put forth an appropriate religious alternative and sufficed itself with propagating the political system of the free thinkers. So for two decades after the constitutional revolution it was the free thinking intellectuals who held the reins of power in the country. During this time they slowly but surely pushed forward their agenda, removing any opponents from their path and establishing a new political system based on the institutions forged during the revolution-a system that they had already envisioned before the victory of the revolution. The main purpose of this article is to investigate the interaction and opposition between the clergy and the intellectuals during the constitutional revolution of Iran (1905-1940).