The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Restoration of National Identity

National Identity" has recently been a major topic of discussion among Iranian scholars who deal with various fields of social sciences. There have been different approaches towards the issue. Most of those who adopt a philosophical approach believe that the identifying elements of Iranian national identity are influenced by three domains: Iran, Islam and the West. Those elements have conformed to the circumstances existing in the first two domains whereas when confronted with modern western values some problems have arisen. A survey of the roots of the problem shows the insufficiency of an acquaintance with the values and principles of modernity especially in the pre – revolutionary era. The Islamic Republic has for the first time in Iranian history paved the way for restoring the Iranian national identity.