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The Islamic Republican Party (حزب جمهوری اسلامی or IRP) was a political party in Iran, formed in mid-1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini establish theocracy in Iran. It was disbanded in May 1987 after its objectives had been achieved.
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Founders and characteristics
The party was formed by Mohammad Javad Bahonar, Mohammad Beheshti, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ali Khamenei, and Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardabili, ayatollahs close to Khomeini in order to mobilize popular support for the Islamic Republic.
The party has been said to be distinguished by "its strong clerical component, its loyalty to Khomeini, its strong animosity to the liberal political movements, and its tendency to support the revolutionary organizations," such as the komiteh. Policies it supported included the state takeover of large capital enterprises, the establishment of an Islamic cultural and university system, and programs to assist the poor. [1]
These revolutionary ayatollahs originally used the party to form a monopoly over the post revolutionary theocratic Iranian state.
In its struggle with civilian opponents the party made use of its ties to the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah, "who were popularly known as the chomaqdars or "club wielders", for the clubs they used to break up rival political gatherings." [1]
Causes of its dissolution
In the late 1980s, factionalism in the IRP intensified, the major issues being the Iran-Iraq War, whether to open up to foreign countries or remain isolated, and economic policies. Because all rival parties had been banned, the party "did almost nothing and had little incentive to."[2]
According to Ahmad Mneisi,
"While unanimous on the idea of a theological state and united under the umbrella of one party, the Islamic Republican Party (IRP), [the religious right] differed on a number of issues, such as the extent to which religion is to take hold of political life (the Velayat-e Faqih debate).[3]
According to Daniel Brumberg, it was in response to the dispute between President Ali Khamenei and radical populist prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, that the IRP was dissolved - the Islamic Republican Party served "as a stronghold of radical activism," supporting Mousavi. [4]
References
Further reading
- Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East 2nd edition Oxford: Westview Press, 2000.
- Hafte tir bombing: The explosion that killed 73 high-profile IRP members.
External links
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