The Place of No Place

Among Traditionalists, the Iranian Revolution kindled optimism that a rebellion against the modern world could indeed materialize. In the literature produced by converts, this victory was credited to the potentialities of Shiʿism, perceived as a religion that blended contemplation and action. The revolution was seen as the embodiment of Evola’s utopian ideals, and therefore, the aspects of this utopia were attributed to the nation that hosted the revolution—Iran. Iran’s image became synonymous with the Traditionalist utopia, where a king-warrior ruled over a highly hierarchical society guided by essentialist ethical norms. In the publications of converts, Iran and Khomeini are glorified and described with extraordinary characteristics, often relying on racial and romantic narratives inherited from figures like Evola, Filippani-Ronconi, and Corbin. The Iran depicted by converts is unlike the one represented by Iranian immigrants in Italy or the one that had been engaged in a struggle for modernizing its socio-economic and political structures since the early twentieth century. The converts’ portrayal of Iran omits the voices of reformists and leftists. Protests by Iranian women, workers, and the middle class advocating for civil and social equality are dismissed as being orchestrated by the United States and financed by the International Monetary Fund. Converts do not translate or acknowledge the existence of non-conservative Iranian intellectuals. Immigrants from Iran (and immigrants in general) who come to Italy in search of improved material and economic conditions are not considered representatives of Islam and Iran by converts. Instead, converts promote the narratives crafted by Iranian political representatives in Rome, which portray Iran’s political system and leadership as traditional and spiritual. Khomeini held a central role in the literature produced by converts and is equated with the Infallible Imams. Consequently, converts become advocates for Iran’s hardline positions in Italy. This specific relationship between converts and Iran led to various conflicts with Iranians residing in Italy. During moments of civil unrest in Iran, converts often support the Iranian state’s efforts to save face, either by denying the existence of the unrest or by attributing it to a conspiracy by the United States.