Music and Charismatic Authority in the First Decade of the Islamic Republic

May 15, 2025The relationship between music and revolution has often been a fraught one. This lecture discusses the tension between the two, focusing on the Islamic Revolution of 1979. It chronicles the evolution of state policy towards music in the years 1979-1988 against the background of doctrinal discussions within Twelver Shiism in Iran, that pitted traditionalists against the charismatic authority of Ayatollah Khomeini, which ultimately imposed itself. The lecture provides comparative perspectives by adducing evidence from other instances of tensions between music and religious revolution.Houchang Chehabi is a professor of international relations and history emeritus at Boston University. He is the author of three books and editor or co-editor of twelve books, most recently Unconquered States: Non-Western Powers in the Imperial Age (OUP, 2024).Part of the Stanford Festival of Iranian Arts