Two Experiences of Islamic “Revival”: The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Formation of the “Islamic State” in Syria and Iraq in the 2010s

The objective of this chapter is to conduct a comparative analysis of two Islamic political projects: the Islamic Republic of Iran and the “Islamic State” (ISIS), both of which arose as a result of religious revolutions and a sharp reinforcements of political Islam in the Middle East. Both of these projects aimed to spread their influence throughout the world. Filin et al. pay particular attention to the reasons why the Iranian regime is so stable while ISIS ceased to exist so rapidly. The following internal and external factors are considered: external pressure, economic development, domestic policy, including religious policy, and the attitude towards ethnic and confessional minorities. The authors determine that the Iranian regime turned out to be incomparably more stable due to the priority development of the social welfare sector and a moderate approach to the establishment of Islamic norms, which ISIS did not have. This Islamic State instead used radical methods to assert its influence, which led to the loss of support from Muslims both inside and outside its territory.