The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909

CIRA Bulletin (Vol 11, #3, Spring 1996)
I first came E. G. Browne through his Literary History of Persia, and my imagination was captured by his enthusiasm for Persia, his weal... (More) CIRA Bulletin (Vol 11, #3, Spring 1996)
I first came E. G. Browne through his Literary History of Persia, and my imagination was captured by his enthusiasm for Persia, his wealth of knowledge, and the empathy he brought to both language and culture. He thus embodied all the advantages of that tradition of scholarship which seeks to immerse itself in every aspect of the country under study, and which is correspondingly imbued in its judgements with an unusual kind of awareness.

In the History, in the course of a commentary on Hafez, Browne quoted the poet's observation that "There is no musician who can make drunk and sober dance to the same tune." He himself wholeheartedly adopted the national cause and maintained his faith in the future of liberal democracy embodied in the constitution for Persia. He was an unabashedly devoted adherent of the Whig view of progress in historical development. He emerges as an impassioned activist whose work is a polemic in the cause of the Nationalists, and of progress in Iran, in Amanat's view seeing the Revolution as a battle with profound moral undertones. However, he was aware of his own limitations as an historian of the Revolution, owing to the difficulty of fully examining or impartially criticising the contemporary events. In the work Browne quoted liberally the views of those struggling to reform the country, but, true to his expressed intention, restrained himself on sweeping judgements. He understood, for example, that courage has no political affiliations, and unlike some who have attempted to emulate him, did not seek to eradicate the vision of those who chose to dance to a different tune.

Browne was ahead of his time in challenging notions of national stereotypes and attacked the false and superficial judgements embodied in such concepts as "backwardness." He was also alert to the perceptions of Western intrusion and interference, and their struggle, in particular embodied by al-Afghani, for a revolution in the existing feeble and oppressive system as part of a movement for independence, self-determination, and dignity. Above all, however, Browne was captivated by the Revolution' s wealth of ideas as expressed in his subsequent The Press and Poetry of Modern Persia. Freedom of expression produced an intensely lively debate in which Persians could at last openly address the thought of Locke and Rousseau and discuss their possible adoption in their own country . Browne' s interest in literature led him to bring out the variety of new expression, drawing attention to poems, stories, satire, and cartoons, as well as articles of debate.

In his introduction to this edition Amanat observes that Browne saw the struggle as one by "an oppressed and impoverished nation to establish a constitutional order despite domestic tyranny, foreign intervention and ideological division." He feels impelled, however, to defend Browne against the prevail pale galileans by contrasting Browne's liberalism with the shortcomings of academic orientalism and the biases of the popular view, though he considers Browne part of the spirit of his time in perceiving a largely imaginary world called the orient. Amanat also asks the significant question of how The Persian Revolution is pertinent to our understanding of the present situation in Iran. In particular he ponders how a popular revolution with liberal objectives and a largely secularizing program can seventy years later result in a second revolution of a very different character. It may be observed that the question and its various responses could provide a comment on the Whig theory of history. Amanat' s perceptive point that the work is organized like a drama again underscores Browne' s way of interpreting the world through literature. The story passes from background to engagement to the triumph of the revolutionaries and its climatic end, thus emphasizing its heroic spirit. As Amanat says, Browne saw the Persian national awakening as not only a (Less)

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