Evaluation of the Culture of the Islamic Revolution Discourse and the Salafist Discourse

The discourse of revolutionary Islam and the discourse of Salafist Islam, either one with its own central concept and special symbols, attempt to conquer the Middle East discourse space. These two discourses share the same central concept, as both of them are based on Islam, but they have different symbols and interpretations of Islam. During the last two decades, either one of these discourses has tried to dominate the discourse space of the Muslim countries. The discourse of revolutionary Islam, rooted in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the discourse of Salafist Islam, rooted in Saudi Arabia, are two rival discourses which have caught the attention of the Muslim nations of the region. Using the qualitative, content-analysis method and, at times, the descriptive-analytical method, we have made an attempt to answer this question in the present paper: What are the features of the discourse of revolutionary Islam in Iran and the discourse of Salafist Islam in Saudi Arabia and how do they differ in terms of value and culture? Looking into the central concept and the symbols of these two discourses, we could conclude that, due to its special features, the discourse of revolutionary Islam is in a better position than the discourse of Salafist Islam to dominate the discourse space of the region and become the leading discourse.