"More than thirty years after Islam Republic's inception, the mystery remains. Nearly every day, Iranian leaders surprise the world; doubts remain as to the precise nature of a regime that calls itself both a Republic and Islamic but is neither one nor the other. While the Ayatollahs' unpopularity reaches unprecedented heights, their power seems more secure. The paradoxes weigh heavily and judgments diverge. While public opinion wonders how an archaic regime such as the mollahs could survive, some observers speak of Iran's modernization and of the clergy's ability to reconcile itself with politics. Understanding this specific modernization process that began with the Constitutional Revolution is difficult and raises a number of questions. How and why could ideological Islam dominate Iranian society since the late 1970s? How could it gain power and overcome the reform molded by the Constitutional Revolution? How did it gain influence in Iran and in the rest of the Muslim world? Mahnaz Shirali analyzes twentieth-century Iranian history to understand the role of the Shiite clergy in the social and political organization of a country that began its modernization. What enabled the clergy to take over politics and gain control of the State? How did it replace other prevailing political forces? Studying the past hundred years of Iranian history reveals the force of a religious conservatism opposing political modernity and repelling the slightest attempt at democracy by Iranians, thanks to constant metamorphoses. This book studies the curse of the Shiite clergy on political modernity. It is one of the most in-depth criticisms of the ideological Islam imposed on Teheran"--Provided by publisher.