The Comparative Study of the Reaction of the Religious Scholars and Clerics towards Occupation of Iran in the World Wars I and II

In the first and second World Wars, foreign forces ignored the fact that Iran proclaimed being impartial, and occupied it. Meanwhile, the reaction of the religious scholars and clerics as the religious leaders of the society was much important and influential. In the World War I, they proclaimed Jihad and inducted many forces for confronting the occupying troops. They even took part in those struggles personally. In the World War II, however, they did show no reaction towards occupation of the country. The present study seeks to investigate the reasons for different reactions of the religious scholars and clerics towards the occupation of the country in the first and second World Wars. To do so, we have used a comparative method of study. The findings of the study show that factors such as weakening of the scholars’ position through Reza Shah’s anti-religious policies, proclamation of giving up resistance by the central government in the Second World War, fruitlessness of any resistance against occupying powers considering what was experienced in the First World War, low level of damages in the Second World War, and the scholars’ attempt for reviving the status of Islam and clerics after Reza Shah’s resigning were all effective in different reaction by the religious scholars.