Islamism is a captivating phenomenon that has been continuously visited in literature since its emergence in the 1970's. In particular, the Iranian Revolution has received curious attention in the pursuit to understand the nature, power and effects of Islamism. This essay makes a critical assessment of the opinions journalist Afshin Molavi's draws on Iran and Islamism in his journal styled compilation Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys across Iran, `Pilgrimage: The Shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini' . The discussion will explore Molavi's ideas against the historical narrative of David Reynolds' One World Divisible: A Global History Since 1945 and the opinionated informative piece Islamic Fundamentalism, `The Transcendence of Islam' by Youssef M Choueiri.

Molavi draws our attention to two main areas of thought through his descriptions of the atmosphere at the Shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini, which is situated between political power capital Tehran and ancient religious city Qom (although closer to Tehran).

Using, amongst...