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How can we explain the contradictions of the green movement in Iran "“ with a pro-Islamic Republic leadership in Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, but at the same time, a secular, vocal fringe in the grassroots street protests? The confusing mix of phenomena surrounding the movement "“ young people chanting Allahu akbar from the rooftops; women taking off their hijabs in public protests; Mousavi fondly reminiscing about the early brutal and messianic times of the Islamic Republic, and so on "“ is an indication of the curious relationship between Islam and secularism in Iran.

Ayatollah Khomeini's idea of the supreme Islamic jurist was an attempt to synthesise Shia Islamic traditions with the realities of the modern state. Yet Khomeini's Islamism was only...