Mirza Ya'qub Khan's Call for Representative Government, Toleration and Islamic Reform in Nineteenth-Century Iran

Abstract

This article examines Tarh-e Arizeh-i Ast keh beh Khakpayeh Mobarak Mahramaneh Bayad Arz Shavad (after 1874), an essay by Mirza Ya'qub Khan. This essay is an important document for the history of political ideas in nineteenth-century Iran for several reasons. First, it includes a social, economic and political critique of Naser al-Din Shah's later years. Second, it is one of the earliest Persian texts in which a representative regime is advocated. Mirza Ya'qub's suggested plan for a parliament is particularly innovative and interesting. Third, the essay includes interesting points about the relationship between the Shii clergy (ulama) and the state, as well as some criticism of the ulama. Fourth, it includes an explicit argument in support of religious toleration, which is rare in nineteenth-century Persian texts. In the following pages I review these four elements. Mirza Ya'qub Khan is primarily known in connection with his son, Mirza Malkum Khan, the most famous advocate of Western-oriented reform during Naser al-Din Shah's long reign (1847-95). Although most of Mirza Malkum Khan's writings have been printed and studied, Mirza Ya'qub Khan's writings, although fewer in number, have received much less attention. This is particularly surprising because some of these writings, including the essay reviewed here, include important and innovative political arguments which are either missing in Malkum's writings, or can