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In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Assalam-o-alaikom

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Before beginng, I would like to congradulate you and all the Muslim and oppressed people of the world on this anniversary of the miraculus victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, which has changed in a very fundamental manner the politoical climate of the world and the Islamic Ummah in particular.

Today our discussion will not focus so much on new developments in the Islamic Republic, nor will it attempt to highlight the achievements of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic during its sixth year of existance. Rather, we will try, with the help of God, to develop a model of revolutionary change in the Third World in General and the Islamic countries in particular, taking into account the dominant forces in international relations. The shining record of the Islamic Revolution provides a guideline as well as an example for this model.

Looking at the power situation in the world, and the allience of all imperialist quarters against revolutionary attempts to rid themselves of the domination of these powers creates a rather discouraging prospect for success of revolutions in the Third world and Islamic countries. The all-out efforts by Satanic powers to prevent the occurance of such true revolutions is best exemplified by the support given to the Shah until the last days of his existance by both super-powers as well as most reactionary and so-called progressive regimes around the globe. Furthermore, after the victory of the Islamc revolution, the efforts made by these powers headed by the United States to overthrow the revolutionary regime are clear to all. It is the ability of the Islamic Revolution to resist all these attempts that makes it a unique phenomenon in world history. I believe this unique phemenon can be explained in a way to develop a model for revolutionary change.

It is obvious that the most important factor for the victory and continued presence of the Islamic Revolution is the help and grace of God, so visible in the brief history of this revolution. One needs only to look at the miraculous defeat of all U.S. military attempts to overthrow the Islamic Republic through Coup attempts and through the invasion of the Islamic Republic under the guise of rescue mission to understand the magnitude of this factor in the Islamic Revolution. As the Holy Qur'an declares:

If God helps you, no one can overcome you.(Al-e-Emran, 160)

The other factors in this model which enable a revolution to succeed and continue its existance despite the outside pressures and without sacrificing or compromising its basic revolutionary goals is based on the following definition of power. Power is not a one way street. For power and its exercise to be successful, there is not only a need for posession of enough power to overcome the enemy, but also there is a need for a receptive target for such power. In other words, for the exercise of power to be successful, it is very important that the target of that exercise of power is actually influenced by that power. Otherwise, power will not be able to achieve its basic goal, namely changing the policy of the target or removing the target all together.

The dominant powers in the international arena try to influence the international system and maintain their dominance through the use of basically three sources of direct power as well as through indirect use of power. The direct sources of power can be catagorized into

1)ideological power;

2)remunerative power; and

3)punitive power.

The indirect sources---------------------------------------------------

The power differentiation between the hegemonic powers in the world and the deprived masses of the Third world and Islamic countries in particular as well as the determination of these hegemonic poiwers to preserve their dominance over the peoples of these nations has lead many to believe that the possibility of a successful revolution depends on the will of the super powers, and no revolution can succeed without support of one power and acquisance of the other. The erroneous explanations concerning the Carter's administrations role in the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran is a result of such perceptions of international politics, and follow directly from the assumption that power politics is able to determine all aspects of human endeavor on this palnet. This conception of the role of super powers in the international scene, and their ability to determne everything in the international political arena has lead many to prescribe that revolutionary movements should try to moster the support of at least one of the two hegemonic powers in the globe. To me, these so-called theoretical assumptions concerning power relations in the world are no more than connstructs of the same hegemonic powers who use these theories as means of tightening their hold over the oppressed people. It seems that one of the most important contributions of the Islamic Revolution has been the fact that it has proved the erroneous nature of all these so-called realist theories which are sponsored both by the scholors of right as well as left persuatuions. The documents captured at the American spy nest in Tehran not only prove the erroneous nature of those who claim that Carter and his administration helped the Islamic Revolution, but also show very clearly the concert of hegemonic powers and their active collaboration to prevent the Islamic Revolution before it succeeded in 1979, and thereafter to destroy it or at least curb it within Iranian boundaries. It is based on the exprience of the Isalamic Revolution in Iran and the subsequent Islamic Republic that the following model of revolutionary change in the Islamic countries and to some extent other Third World Countries is presented.

I contend that those who argue in favor of domination of hegemonic powers in the international arena and their ability to determine the course of events in the international political scene base such arguements on an implicit assumption about the nature of power. It seems that they assume that actual political, military and economic power that a country or bloc has can be automatically transformed into influence over the course of events. According to this static conception of international politics, once a weak country is the target of a powerful nation, it has no choice exept for surrendering or trying to enhance its own power by allying itself with another hegemonic power. Such is very close to the feudal tributary relations between the feudal lords and the subjects. It is interesting to note, that this approach in fact perpetuates the dominance of these powers because the only alternative it offers to an oppressed people is to become dominated by another oppressor. Unfortunately this is the attitude of the majority of so-called revolutionary and anti-imperialist countries who feel that they need to become the satalites of the Soviet Union in order to escape American hegemony. However, it seems to me that the basic assumption of this approach is not true and has proven false by the Islamic Revolution. Power cannot automatically provide the ability for its holder to influence the course of events in a target state. It is clear that for power to be successful, the target state should have certain characteristics to be influenced by the power of the hegemon. If we catagorize direct use of power into three branches, it seems that the power holder can project its power through ideological, military and economic means. In other words power can be ideological, punitive or remunerative. However, for each of these powers to be effective the target should posses certain characteristics. Ideological power requires submisiveness on the part of the target; punitive power need fear; and remunerative power needs dependence. Without these characteristics a nation can be to a large extent immuned from the attempts of the hegemonic powers to project their influence and alter the course of events in their advantage. Thus, through a revel;otion in the attitudes of the people of the Islamic countries, it is possible to develop such sources of resistance to power by creating and fostering self-respect to ressist ideological power, self-relience to resist remunerative power and fearlessness to be able to counter punitive power. We can call these characteristics power over oneself. Before attempting to apply this model to the Islamic Revolution, two factors have to be mentioned and stressed:

1)As will be shown in the reminder of this discussion, the source of all these powers over oneself in the case of the Islamic Revolution is the people's belief in God. It has to be kept in mind that while we are considering and discussing self-respect and self-relience, we not only do not believe that such is or should be the approach toward God, but also believe that self-respect with regard to non-believers is a logical extension of submission to God and his rules and only to God and his rule. Moreover, we believe self-relience with respect to the international exploitative system is complinted by relience upon the grace of God for continued sustinance; a reliene which has to be combined with action on the part of Muslims. Furthermore, it should not need reemphasis that as Imam Khomeini has repeatedly pointed out, without the help and grace of God, this revolution could not have materialized nor could it have continued its existance despite all the odds. Many episodes in the brief history of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic clearly establish this phenomenon. The failure of American invasion of the Islamic Republic under the guise of rescue mission, and the failure of American and Soviet sponsored coup attempts are but examples of many instances which are but miracles. As the Holy Qur'an points out:

If God helps you, no one can overcome you.(Al-e-

Emran, 160)

2)The second point that should be made before continuing with this model is that power over oneself as explained above and as will be shown below is a necessary but not sufficient element in the victory and continued existnce of an Islamic Revolutionary regime. It is important that the other type of power, namely power over others be obtained by Islamic government, without sacrificing the principles of self-relience, self-respect and fearlessness. As the Holy Qur'an declares, Muslims should acquires all they can of power. And it seems to me that both types are very important in that respect:

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And make ready for them whatever force and string of horses you can, to terrify therby the enemy of God and your enemy, and others beside them that you know not, God knows them. (Anfal, 60)

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With these two fundamental considerations we can now continue to examine the record of the Islamic Revolution in order to develop a model for revolutionary change in the Islamic countries:

1)IDEOLOGICAL POWER AND SELF-RESPECT

It is clear that the amount of influence exercised over the people of Third World and Islamic countries through the use of ideological power is greater and much more efficient and effective than the other sources of power in the hands of hegemonic powers. The ancesstors of these hegemonic powers have tried to crush the identity and self-respect of the people of the Islamic countries through the colonial period, trying to clear the way for the later episodes oif colonialism. The introduction of Western values of right and left, and the all out campaign to eradicate Islam from people's daily lives which was pursued vehemently by the Shah's regime and is still being followed by all other regimes rulling over Islamic nations is seen by most Western analysts as the most fundamental task of these clients in their countries. Submissiveness on the part of Muslim people to the exercise of ideological power has lead to creation of a complete cultural dependence on the West --or East for that matter. Moreover, the fact that Islamic countries have been willing to accept without examination or analysis whatever is introduced by their hegemonic masters has lead to the introduction of obsolete techniques and dependence-increasing technologies in the universities of the Islamic nations. Thus, there is a need for a cultural revolution. A cultural revolution requires a revolution in the attitudes of the people and their approach to their daily lives and reintroduction of Islamic values in their social relations. In the universities, it requires a change of curriculum which is responsive to the needs of the Islamic nations. As Imam Khomeini has pointed out on this issue:

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When we speak of the reform of the universities, wht we mean is that our universities are at present in a state of dependence; they are imperialist universities, and those whom they educate and train are infaturated with the west. Many university teachers suffer from this infaturation, and they transmit it to their students, our young people. We have been unable to attain self-sufficiency in any of the subjects taught in our universities. It is for these reasons that fundamental change must take place in the universities, and it is in this sence that they must become Islamic. (Algar, Islam and Revolution, 1981, PP. 295-6)

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In addition to the changes in the attitudes of the people as well as changes within the ducational curriculums of the institutions of higher learning, the need for creating and fostering self-respect among Muslim students has been clearly recognized and recommended by the great revolutionary scholor, Ayatollah Montazeri. He pointed out in a recent speech:

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The first step that has to be taken is fostering self-respect among our school children by their teachers and educators. Colonialism in the past hundreds of years was successful to crush our self-respect, disabling us from discovering our talents and those of our youth.(Kayhan Air Mail Edition, September, 19, 1984, P. 13)

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Another method for the West to project itsideological power is through international organizations. Having a near monopoly over these institutions in the time of their creation, the hegemonic powers have been able to introduce their cultural values into international instruments which claim to be applicable universally. One such instrument is the Universal declaration on Human Rights. The Islamic Republic has been the target of criticism in this respect in many international bodies, which are still instruments of Western ideological power, dispite the numeric majority of the Third World. It seems to me that the reactions of the Islamic republic in response to such allegations of human rights violations have been one of the best illustrations of the principle of self-respect. First of all the Islamic Republic has exposed the political nature of such accusations, thus removing the cover from this subtle method of projecting power. Secondly, it has clearly announced its refusal to accept any international instrument which is not in complience with Islamic principles. Thirdly, it has convened an international Islamic Juridical conference to be held this summer in order to develop inter alia, the Islamic principles of human rights. Such courageous reactions to ideological pressures of the West are most important if the revolution is trying to maintain its ideological purity and independence, as well as its most important principle of neither East nor West. It is clear that Islamic teachings provide enough encouragement and inspiration for all Muslims to maintain and increase their self-respect in the face of these all out attempts by the hegemonic powers and their clients to crush that. The Holy Qur'an declares that Muslims are the best nation and the greatest people if they are able and willing to follow the Islamic principles instead of following other traditions and schools of thought:

Faint not; neither sorrow; you shall be the upper ones if you are belivers. (Al-e-Emran, 139)

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O belivers, if you obey the unbelievers they will turn you upon your heals, and you will turn about loosers. But God is your protector, and He is the best of helpers. (Al-e-Emran, 149-150)

You are the best nation ever brought force to men, bidding to honor, and forbidding dishonor, and believing in God. (Al-e-Emran, 110)

2.REMUNERATIVE POWER AND SELF-RELIENCE

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Dependence is a very widespread phenomenon in the Third World and is the basic force behind the effectiveness of remunerative power. It is important to note that despite the popular notions of dependence it is not exclusive to economic dependence. Rather, dependence exists in technical, politial, military as well as ideological arenas. For the structure of dependence and remunerative power to work in the international system, the people in the dependent country should percieve a need for some material or non-material thing that an outside power can provide. Furthermore, a perception should exist that alternative sources of those things are either non-existant or very costly. Self-relience, on the other hand means the removal of those percieved needs that are not necessary, as well as the removal of a single source of obtaining the materials which are deemed necessary. Thus, any self-relience scheme requires a cultural revolution changing the attitudes of the people and reforming consumer-oriented values implanted in the Muslim countries by hegemonic powers and their clients. The re-introduction of basic Islamic codes of modest dress is one step in this regard. [Of course this may only be one of the reasons for the modest dress codes.] The emphasis on transcendental values instead of materialistic values of a consumer society is another way of achieving this cultural revolution. It is unfortunate, that throughout history revolutionary movements tend to forget such transcendental values or at least down play them vis-a-vis material benefits of life. This phenomenon, which has occured in the Islamic Revolution of the Prophet (PBUH) after he passed away, is also threatening the Islamic Revolution today and has to be dealt with seriously and structurally. The Islamic Revolution is fortunate today to follow the lessons of that time and has scholors in the position of leadership who are keenly awre of such tendencies. ayatollah Montazeri, in his commentary on the 32nd cermon of Nahjol-Balaghah points to this very fact:

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It is a fact that occurs in revolutions around the world. A group of people start the revolution with complete sincerity; however, after they reach a position and after the revolution achieves victories many of them are changed, and are corrupted by wealth and material benefits unless they have completely purified themselves. Islam was one of the greatest revolutions in human history. Those first Muslims who gathered around the Prophet(PBUH) were sincere and sacrificing. However, after the Islamic nation expanded, and Muslims captured Iran and the Roman Empire, large number of Muslims started to look for materialistic benefits at the expense of transcendental values. (Passdar-e-Eslam, Issue #22, PP. 6-7)

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The other requirement of any self-relient scheme is to increase self-sufficiency and decrease dependence. This, despite what many have eroneously argued does not mean a cutting off of relations with the rest of the world, rather, it requires an effort to reduce those relations enabling the hegemonic powers to project their remunerative power.

Thus, in political and military spheres, the basic principle of neither East nor West has always been the most basic goal of the Islamic Republic. A self-relience scheme that is trying to achieve anything by changing the ties of dependence from one hegemonic power to another is an absurd proposition, and has proven to be totally without success in those countries that have tried to follow it.

In the technical field, it is important that the cultural revolution and the reformation of universities make it a basic part of its program to introduce techniques that are reducing relience on the West rather than increasing it. This has been a major goal of the cultural revolution in the Islamic Republic, and its success can only be determined in the long run.

In the field of foreign trade, two basic strategies have been adopted by the Islamic Republic. On the one hand, according to the First Five-Year Development Plan of the Islamic Republic approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly in July of 83, reduction of imports , specially of food stuff is one of the highest priorities, while reduction of dependence on oil exports is also given considerable attention. On the other hand, the Islamic Republic has been trying to increase its trade with Third world and Islamic countries, and thus diversifying its foreign trade, and establishing inter-periphery trades which the west desparately tries to avoid. Last year Iran's trade with the Third World amounted to $3 billion, $1.6 billion of which was done with other Islamic countries. Such developments are positive signs promissing the possibility of success of a self-relient scheme in the Islamic Republic.

3.PUNITIVE POWER AND FEARLESSNESS