Westernization & Identity Jalal Al Ahmad and His Response to the Question of Backwardness

Backwardness of Iran has been an intriguing question which preoccupied many contemporary Iranian intellectuals. This preoccupation drew different responses. In the current work, Jalal Al Ahmad s answer to this is examined. To the author of this writing, Al Ahmad , due to the socio-cultural context of his lifetime, should be considered as an advocate of a moderate alternative in modernization (development) and dependency (backwardness). Even though he perceives that Westernization is the chief culprit in the backwardness of the country, the internal conditions are more to blame than the external ones. According to Al Ahmad, backwardness is the outcome of westernization, inefficiency of Iranian intellectuals, and indifference of the clergy. Eventually he reiterates that the best way to address this predicament is rediscovering our self (national identity), reforming intellectualism, and bringing the clergy to the forefront and redefining the relations between intellectuals and the clergy.