How Anarchists Saw the Iranian Revolution (part 2)
by thecollective
May 26, 2026
From Anarchisthistories (Substack) by Tom Goyens
Toward the Divine State
From the beginning, anarchists suspected that Iran’s revolution might end not in freedom, but in clerical rule. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, the religious character of the revolution appears obvious. But during 1978 and early 1979, events in Iran remained fluid and uncertain. Anarchists nevertheless sensed the danger early. Long hostile to clerical authority and the quite tyranny of piety, they viewed theocratic politics as inherently hostile to human emancipation.