نشریه مطالعات ملی
سال ششم شماره 2 (پیاپی 22، تابستان 1384)

An investigation and analysis of different periods of war and also its nature and role among different societies is of paramount importance to sociologists and researchers of political sciences. The present research, in addition to conducting a study of the history of war and the changes it experienced in its nature among traditional, modern and post-modern societies, will make an assessment of a society's structural and cognitive changes; it will also try to delineate the role of war in shaping the identity of a society. The author chiefly aims at proving this important point that "We are still living in militaristic societies". In other words and contrary to the quite optimistic approach of modern age in doing away with war from the lives of people, we can constantly witness the more destructive forms of war and negative consequences that it leaves on world environment. This danger is so huge that it threatens the human race in the post-modern world. This research work will resort to various statistics and examples in objectifying the hypotheses it raised.

In deepening the mental, cultural as well as religious convictions, the Islamic Revolution of Iran (1976) was considerably influenced by the Iraqi imposed war against Iran. During the eight year war (1980-1988), Iran in defending its territorial integrity vehemently relied on its revolutionary motto of "Neither West Nor East - Only Islamic Republic". It was an era when the world was divided into two poles of East and West. During that time, the Islamic Republic of Iran managed to stand against the two world powers in rendering a new independent definition of its identity. It should be humbly confessed that little has been done about Iran-Iraq war from a theoretical viewpoint. Therefore, this research tries to investigate the identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Sacred Defense through a Constractivist approach.

War is one of the most sophisticated social phenomena which can leave a huge impact on different communities. This impact is so huge that it can affect all systems and subsystems and social institutions. Therefore, a war is a group fighting whose main characteristic is having a special discipline and organization. On the other hand, identity has an intricate and highly sophisticated concept in social sciences. Though it is an old issue, it has remained a continuing debate open to change and redefinition. The current research, in addition to studying the Parson's pattern and also the biological, biographical, social as well as cultural subsystems will also analyze the Iran-Iraq war from a sociological perspective. Through this it aims at establishing the relation between identity and war and the fact that during a war identity in general and national identity in particular are enhanced. This process can eventually encourage the people of a country to defend their homeland against its enemies.

At a time when foreigners are trying to forge division among various Iranian ethnic and religious communities, the current research work aims at delineating the reasons upon which all these different communities came under one umbrella to defend their motherland. This work, in addition to demonstrating the national compromise plan in Iran, will eventually try to neutralize some foreign conspiracies. In the beginning of the current research work, some key concepts, like religious faiths, sacred defense, and integration, are taken into consideration. Then it tries to portray the relation which exists between religious minorities and the government. This section will finally conclude that since the Iranian religious government is based on religious democracy, it can safeguard the rights of the minorities within the country and can even encourage them to do their outmost for the sake its sake. In studying integration between the followers of different religious faiths and other Iranians during Iran- Iraq war, the contributing factors are emphasized. Firstly patriotism and also being a true Iranian; and secondly, Imam Khomeini's especial way of tackling the rights of the minorities and the interactions that he stressed should exist among them which lead to a logical national compromise. The second point mentioned above is far above the rights of other religious faiths in the Iranian Constitution and it can be based on religious identity and the interaction between the followers of other religious faiths and the muslims.

The eight year Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) is a mirror which widely reflects a wide range of thoughts and research to the Iranian scholars and researchers. This can inherently help them to conduct wide-scale research about unknown and also delicate dimensions of Iranian culture and original religious values. The current work is an attempt in exploring and understanding the impact of the eight year war and Iranian cultural identity on Persian poetry. An exploration of the Iranian identity in the poetry of the Sacred Defense can expand patriotism and national spirit. Poetry is also a major means for the revelation of Iranian identity which can by itself show an Iranian's attitude toward the world around him.

"Tirgan" is an ancient Iranian festival. The Iranians celebrated it gloriously from the time of the Ma'ad era throughout Iran. After the Mahmous Afghan invasion, and for some still unknown reasons, "Tirgan" was forgotten. Now it is only celebrated among Zoroastrians, Armenians as well as some villages in the provinces of Guilan, Khorasan, and Mazandaran ; it is called "Tirmah Sizdahshoo"(The thirteenth night of the month of Tir)among the latter groups. One of the things that the people who participated in it did was splashing water on each other. Most Iranians do not know about "Tirgan" Festival and its old history. For reviving and also fostering a better understanding and familiarity with this ancient Iranian celebration the current research work was carried out.