Management of Cultural Relations in the Islamic World: A Comparative StudyWith Special Reference to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey

International cultural relations have been a major concern for states, governments, and regional and international cultural organizations in the recent decades. In their analysis of the cultural state of different nations the cultural authorities should always seek to discover and manage the reciprocal impact of cultural interactions as well as institutions, groups and organizations. The increasing efforts made by the Saudi state to gain supremacy in the cultural arena of the Muslim world and spread the Wahhabi teachings has prompted the Saudi elites to assume their state to be that of the leader of the Muslim world. The main objective of the Saudis, with respect to their cultural diplomacy, is to make the other Muslim countries surrender to this issue and that any resistance towards the leadership of the Saudis will have its consequences for them. To achieve this objective, the cultural diplomacy of the Saudis has been aimed at undermining the cultural and belief fundaments of the Islamic Revolution of Iran by resorting to different measures and strategies like presenting a distorted image of the conditions of the Sunnis of Iran.Turkey, on the other hand, is another country, which seeks to increase its cultural influence in the countries of the region. At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been able to meet part of its objectives by utilizing its soft power. By the same token, by improving its soft power and strengthening its certain elements Iran has ensured the protection of its national interests. The present paper is an effort on the part of the authors to examine the existing cultural relations between Islamic countries of Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia by resorting to the authentic sources and applying a descriptive-analytical method and suggesting an effective model of cultural relations between them. The paper also seeks identify the factors contributing to the failure of Islamic governments in promoting stable cultural relations.