Experts analyze the methods used by the Iranian regime to control its population through ideology, propaganda, and intimidation, while also examining the growing resistance to these efforts. The analysis explores the integration of religion, education, and daily life into the regime’s ideological framework. It also touches on the financial incentives, Basij-tied benefits, and the use of fear to maintain control. The piece highlights the hypocrisy among Iranian elites and the cracks appearing in the regime's ability to maintain its grip on the population, as well as the increasing skepticism towards the regime's narratives and behaviors.
As a child growing up in Iran , Benny Sabti received a Persian translation of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler as a prize for academic excellence. This experience, he reflects, was indicative of a broader effort by Iran ’s ruling clerical establishment to shape the views of young Iran ians regarding politics, religion, and the world.
Sabti, now an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, highlights how schools, mosques, workplaces, and media were all integrated into an ideological framework designed to reinforce loyalty to the regime. Critics argue that religion itself often served as a tool for political control, with faith being utilized to maintain power rather than being the ultimate objective. Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, emphasizes that the regime uses religion as a means to carry out its agenda. The Islamic Republic, founded on the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or 'guardianship of the Islamic jurist,' places ultimate authority in the hands of the supreme leader. However, the system's function is often less about religious purity and more about maintaining political control, employing financial incentives and intimidation to enforce its ideology. Programs associated with the Basij, a militia affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have provided benefits such as jobs, housing, and education to families aligned with the regime, creating a system where conformity is rewarded. This method reinforces ideological adherence within the Iranian population. \The Islamic Republic built a vast network to instill ideology in daily life, as Sabti explains. Regime representatives patrol banks, offices, public spaces, and even bazaars, urging people to pray and monitoring attendance. Mosques are closely tied to the political system, with Friday prayer leaders delivering sermons that align with government messaging. Sabti describes 16 state propaganda bodies responsible for spreading the regime’s interpretation of Islam and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, with some institutions focused on exporting this ideology abroad, including a university dedicated to converting Sunnis to Shiism. Schools, in particular, play a crucial role in the regime's ideological system. Sabti states that schools are heavily indoctrinated, with Islamic messaging interwoven throughout the curriculum, as even non-religious subjects are infused with ideology. The 'Mein Kampf' episode, he emphasizes, exemplified the ideological environment to which students were exposed. The message reinforced hostility towards perceived enemies and embedded a specific political worldview from a young age. Sabti also notes the hypocrisy of the regime’s elites, whose children live abroad while the elites themselves live in luxury, undermining the credibility of the system. The use of fear and manipulation, as Zand points out, further reinforces the regime's ideology. \Despite the regime's extensive ideological machinery, Sabti believes that many Iranians never fully accepted the worldview that the government tried to impose. He suggests that over the years, the indoctrination has become less effective, with most of the public not fully believing it. The regime, however, continues to maintain control through a combination of money, weapons, and propaganda. This suggests that the grip of the regime may be weakening due to its own contradictions and the evolving perspectives of its citizens. The pervasive nature of the regime’s ideological control is evident in various aspects of life, as highlighted by Sabti and other experts. From the educational system, where religious teachings are integrated into all subjects, to the public sphere, where surveillance and propaganda are widespread, the regime attempts to shape every aspect of Iranian society. The use of financial incentives and intimidation tactics further consolidates this control, creating an environment where dissent is suppressed. However, the analysis also points to cracks in the regime's strategy, suggesting that the relentless indoctrination is facing resistance from the population. The regime's reliance on power dynamics may ultimately prove unsustainable, as people become increasingly skeptical of the regime's narratives and hypocrisy
Iran Ideology Propaganda Regime Resistance
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