Ahrīman in Iran's Embrace: 'Alavī, Hidāyat and Romantic Nationalist Demonology

In this paper, it is argued that the nationalist romanticism of Sādiq Hidāyat (1903-1951/1282-1330 sh.) and Buzurg 'Alavī (1904-1997/1283-1376 sh.) during the interbellum years should not be reduced to a crude and perfunctory anti-Arabism, but seen as a revitalized reflection on the Iranian demonological tradition, particularly as it was taking shape during the 1920s and 30s.

By way of 'Alavī's short story "Dīv! ... Dīv!" (Demon! ... Demon!) and the moment when the warrior protagonist embraces the unsuspected demono-Semitic child in an act of trust, the paper foregrounds the shift from liberal pronouncements of demonization and the nationalist narrative of barbaric Semitic marauders sweeping through Sasanian domains to the implicit but haunting question: How could ancient Aryan morality, with its altruistic commitment to charity and the fulfillment of trusts, be so easily susceptible to demonic invasions?

Beyond this question, the encounter between the protagonist and the demonic spawn is argued to be the result of the convergence of two distinct genres: love poetry (the locus of an amoristic demonism) and secular nationalist polemics (the site of a racialized demonism). Moreover, the consecrated unity with the demonic described in "Dīv! ... Dīv!" reflects the unacknowledged miscarriage of voluntarism experienced particularly during the reign of Riz̤ā Khān (later Riz̤ā Shāh Pahlavī, 1878-1944/1295-1363 gh./r. 1925-41/1304-20 sh.).

This investigation partly subverts the commonly held claim that 'Alavī was insurmountably indebted to Hidāyat's literary genius. I argue that though 'Alavī's "Dīv! ... Dīv!" was inspired by Hidāyat's Parvīn Dukhtar-i Sāsān (Parvīn, Daughter of Sāsān), the latter was impeded by the constraints of the prevailing ideological terrain. For instance, a deliberate attempt is made to avoid the sublimity of the Arabs and the corruptibility of the Aryan caste, and instead of analyzing how their nightmares have come to fruition, Iranians in the story only express grievances and rhetorically inquire into redundant theodical matters.

However, in 'Alavī's "Dīv! ... Dīv!," romantic nationalist demonology is presented in a more nuanced and complicated manner. Through Iranian misrecognition, demonism comes to be embraced as a consequence of applied Aryan morality and is cultivated as if it could be rehabilitated. This reflects the incoherence of the general ethos of the early-Pahlavī state and its approach to voluntarism, human nature, education, national identity and historical mythology.