foucault-and-the-iranian-revolution-janet-afary

Appendix 247
a specific one. We are sending a women's delegation to Tehran, in order to
gather information. We have sent a telegram to M. Bazargan, asking him ifhe
will see us. I say "we, " although for personal health reasons, I am not going.
But I have many women friends who are going to travel to Iran on Monday.
We have asked him to receive the delegation, but even if he does not reply,
we are going anyway! In that case, however, it would no longer be a dialogue
with a head of state. It would solely be an effort to gather information. Unless,
of course, they turn us away completely, which is still a strong possibility.
It is very possible that the mission will fail, inasmuch as they might tum it
away the moment it arrives. Nevertheless the die will have been cast, and it
is important to have a demonstration-on the part of a very large number of
Western women, French women, Italian women, and others-of solidarity
with the struggle of Iranian women.
I reiterate, however, that this is essentially an effort to gather information,
in order to put ourselves in contact with Iranian women, in order to know
their demands and the ways in which they plan to struggle.
What Are the Philosophers Dreaming About?
Was Michel Foucault Mistaken about the Iranian Revolution?
by Claudie and Jacques 8roye/le
First published in Le Matin, March 24, 1979.
Editors' Note by Le Matin: What is the character of Ayatollah Khomeini's
regime in Tehran? This is still an open question that provkes heated debates.
Whereas the fall of the shah was welcomed with a sense of relief by Western
opinion, the evolution of the Iranian Revolution has given rise to serious
concerns. The philosopher Michel Foucault had foregrounded the spiritual
dimension of the Islamic revolution. Claudie and Jacques Broyelle, whose
book, A Second Return from China, caused a sensation two years ago, and who
have just published the Happiness of Stones (Seuil), lOS criticize Michel Fou­
cault's position unstintingly, calling upon him to "acknowledge his errors."
Returning from Iran a few months ago, Michel Foucault stated that he was
"impressed " by the "attempt to open a spiritual dimension in politics" that
he discerned in the project of an Islamic government. 106
Today there are little girls all in black veiled from head to toe; women
stabbed precisely because they do not want to wear the veil; summary executions
for homosexuality; the creation of a "Ministry of Guidance According