IRAN - The Changing Muslim Parties - Part 5.

Iran is the country which set the spark for the latest upsurge of Islamic militancy in the Middle East with its 1979 revolution. But the Iranian revolution was such that it did not tolerate political "parties", concentrating instead on establishing a theocratic system. To some extent it succeeded, but over time political factions have emerged and they function broadly as parties within the theocracy. In the case of Iran, therefore, rather than looking at the way in which political "parties" have changed, it is more relevant to examine the way in which the various factions of theologians have evolved over the past two decades, especially since 1989 following the death of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini.

The political situation within Iran is complex and fluid. There are two broad spectrums of political and economic ideology, usually divided into a hardliner/traditionalist camp on one side and a pragmatist/reformist/liberal camp on the other. At the same time, Iran has developed into one of the functional democracies in the Middle East - in the sense that the people can elect their president, their parliament deputies and their municipal representatives, although the Supreme Leader remains a theologian appointed by a group of religious figures functioning as the Assembly of Experts (see following pages).

As with the 1979 revolution, what some observers refer to as the ongoing "second revolution" of Iran, following Khatami's election as president in May 1997, is a source of inspiration to sections of the Islamic World. Intellectuals in the Muslim World view in a positive light the way in which the "Islamic democracy" of Iran is evolving. They have noted that it is evolving in a way which safeguards Iran's "pride and dignity", while at the same time becoming acceptable to the West. Indeed, the gradual democratisation of Iran has been lauded in the West as well, with the European Union leading the way to be followed increasingly by the US. Relations between most of the EU countries and Iran have returned to a fairly "normal" plateau.

In the case of the US, there are obstacles such as the frozen Iranian assets and the label of terrorism, among other things - but the business lobbies are working hard for a rapprochement between the two countries, although hardliners on both sides remain equally reluctant to see that happen. Washington has relaxed its sanctions regime against Tehran. There is a viewpoint that the retreat of Israeli troops from South Lebanon, marking the success of Iran-backed Hizbollah in driving them out, could prove to be a positive catalyst. If Hizbollah guerrillas do not pursue further attacks against northern Israel, one of the thorns in the Iran-US relationship would be removed. But this remains to be seen.