Theological Foundations of Historiography of Islamic Revolution of Iran

After four decades have passed since the Islamic Revolution, a collection of various works about the history of this great event has been published. These works are the result of the efforts of researchers and historians and official and unofficial scientific and academic institutions and centers inside and outside the country, which ultimately led to the formation of the historiography of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Historians narrate the history of the revolution according to their knowledge. Therefore, they have different perceptions of the revolution and its ideals. This has led to the creation of various works in this field and has ultimately contributed to the quantitative and qualitative growth of the historiography of the revolution. It is clear that the historiography of the Islamic Revolution cannot be evaluated in the continuation of the official historiography approach of the Pahlavi period due to its special features and components. On the other hand, the historiography of the Islamic Revolution is related to its historical tradition and is not created in a vacuum and all at once. For a correct understanding of the historiographical themes of the Islamic Revolution, it is first necessary to have a clear understanding of its intellectual foundations and sources. Western schools of thought, Iranian and Islamic traditions, and the world of historians, each of them somehow influenced the emergence and continuation of what we know as the historiography of the Islamic Revolution. It is not possible to examine this issue from all aspects in the form of an article. Therefore, the author has tried to focus on a very effective component in this field, and that is the relationship between the historiography of the Islamic Revolution and theological beliefs. For this purpose, some examples of the historiographical works about the Islamic Revolution in the period from 1340 to the present day have been examined. By critically examining these works, it can be seen that the historiography of the revolution, especially the historiography of the religious spectrums which later became the official historiography of the Islamic Revolution, is more than any other factor closely related to the theological thoughts of Islam and It has been formed especially for the teachings of the Shi'a. Therefore, the approach of many official historians of the revolution and the reading they present of the history of the revolution and its developments have a theological basis. The link between theology and history forms the main structure of the official historiography of the revolution.