Liberalism in Iran

This article provides an overview of liberalism in Iran. It is limited to the Iranian liberal movement and liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in the majlis (Iranian Parliament).

The historical development of Iranian liberalism is a controversial subject, since several of the most fundamental liberal concepts stand in direct opposition with the ideological positions of the Islamic republic. Regarding this dichotomy, Ramin Jahanbegloo, a liberal philosopher and Iranian dissident who currently lives in exile, has commented that "freedom is possible even in a world of secret police and of the rule of autocrats. Freedom is a universal human possibility."

The emergence of a Westernized liberal tradition in Iran is a relatively new phenomenon, formed against a backdrop of political transformation which included: the demise of the Qajar dynasty, the constitutional struggles of the 1920s, consolidation of the regime of Reza Shah, the postwar confrontation between Reza Shah’s son and the nationalist prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, and the shah’s launching of the White Revolution in 1963. The distinct concepts and sensibilities constituting contemporary Iranian liberalism were largely formulated by intellectual-activists like Hasan Taqizadeh, Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh and Mohammad-Ali Foroughi a century ago. A politician and former Iranian Prime Minister, Foroughi's writings and translations during that period were mainly discussions of the basic norms of constitutionality and pillars of modern thought. In his book Huquq-e Asasi Ya'ni Adab-e Mashrutiyat, published in Tehran in 1907, he articulated, in an Iranian context, the liberal concept of separation of powers between the executive and judiciary, which remains a key concepts of Iranian liberalism.

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