Investigating the Role of the Combatant Clergy Association and the Association of Combatant Clerics in the Iranian Politics until 2009

Accurate and deep knowledge of the nature and content of the political arena of countries largely depends on examining the role and influence of influential social groups and forces in their trends. In Iran, the Shiite clerics have long been one of the most powerful social forces and an important pillar of civil society. The financial independence of the Shiite clerics, with its quasi-partisan structure, among other characteristics, had made this group a special political community and a potential or alternative government in the past periods - a potential government that has become an actual government with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in February 1979. The Islamist political party that has ruled the country since the early years of the revolution has evolved in the light of the leadership and guidance of the clerics. In the meantime, the two clerical organizations, i.e. the Combatant Clergy Association and the Association of Combatant Clerics, have played a very important role. This study tries to use a comparative approach to investigate the role and impact of the Combatant Clergy Association and the Association of Combatant Clerics in the Iranian politics until 2009. The study of the history of the Iranian Islamic Revolution - political parties - will provide a clear perspective for those interested in the issues of the Iranian contemporary political history to analyze more carefully the situation and positions of the two parties in the past and present and to clearly understand the changes in positions or the degree to which each of them adhere to their past positions.