The Inefficiency of the Mobilizing power of the Nationalism Discourse Compared with the Political Islam Discourse in Iran

The most important function of the mobilizing discourse is that it has managed to protect and integrate the nation and call it up to defend the best interests of the country. The nationalist discourse from the Constitutional Revolution through the Pahlavi Era (the secondPahlavi) has played this role, but has failed to integrate he nation in historical crises, and to draw them into field battles. A study of the way people faced the occupation of the country in the two world wars, the Coup D’état of 1299, pushinh Pahlavi the First Shah outof Iran in 1941, and the Coup D’état of 1332 show that the Nationalist discourse has been disqualified to count for that matter. The most significant reasons for this inefficiency include: the lack of a native epistemological support, making a mistake in introducing Islam (picking Islam) as an antagonist force, being antagonistic towards the native culture, relying on temporary sensations, and that those who generate this discourse are disqualified. A comparison between the public engagement with critical and vital situations of the countryfrom the Constitutional Revolution through the Pahlavi era with the Post-Revolution era reveal that political Islam discourse brings in an advantage capability and capacity for nation-building and social mobilization of the Iranians. People’s presence in the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the 8-year war, the events taking place in 1999 (Tir 1378), the post-election events in 2009, the insistence on the nuclear rights as well as the resistance against the West-led sanctions are examples of the mobilizing power of the political Islam discourse.