Identity & Nationality: An Overview of the Relationship between Identity and Nationality in the Thoughts of Kazemzadeh Iranshahr

Hossein Kazemzadeh Iranshahr is one of the nationalist thinkers of Reza Shah period. In his works, he reflected on and compared the concepts of nationality, progress, modernism, and religion. He considers nationality as the foundation of Iranian identity and as the only means of progress and development. He believes that politics, religion, language, and ethics are the bases of nationality and by stressing the apparent similarities between Shi ism and Zoroastrianism tries to put a nationality garment on religion. Through this, he attempts to introduce Shi ism as Iranian Islam. In his effort to constitute an Iranian identity based on nationalism, he ignores the tremendous impact of Islam and the west on Iranian identity. The present work tries to examine Iranshahr s thoughts on Iranian identity. It also tries to criticize the fundamental concepts of his thoughts.