evolution in its beginnings as a populist movement without realizing that this means imposing Western ideas about populism on a population that views the process of history in a different way. Kaveh L. Afrasiabi emphasizes this when he writes that "the Islamic revolution is a threat to the ideologists of progress inasmuch as it threatens their belief in the march of history and in time-honored distinctions such as progressive/reactionary and racial/conservative" (1). The Iranian revolution involved a unique blending of religion with modern bureaucracy, a fact which has not been adequately recognized by most theoretical or descriptive discussions of the Iranian Revolution or its aftermath. This failure can be found in Western democratic analyses and in Marxist views alike, and any effort to cope with the perceived problems brought about by this revolution must necessarily recognize the reality of that revolution and the nature of the forces it has unleashed.
Robin Wright is an experienced reporter of the Iranian scene and won the 1989 National Magazine Award for articles on Iran that appeared in The New Yorker. She wrote another book on Iran about the rise of militant Islam entitled In the Name of God, a history of the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath, covering the period of rule by the Ayatollah Khomeini, from 1979 until his death in 1989. In this book, she also addresses the larger question of the rise of Islam as a political force and the directions it has taken during this key decade, as well as pointing to possible shifts in the future, and the perspective she offers is more understanding and perceptive than most. From the Western point of view, the revolution meant the loss of an ally and the acquisition of an enemy. Wright correctly points out that understanding Iran has never been easy for the West. Iran has been valuable to the West because of its position as a supply route and because of the need for oil after W...