Ali Dashti (1897-1982), Persian author and politician. His criticism of allowing the Tudeh party into the cabinet and concessions to the Soviets landed him in prison in 1946. He was appointed a Senator in 1954 until the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Ali Dashti writes, (Bist O Seh Sal (Translated :Twenty Three Years):
“Islam was catering to Arab Nationalism…..
The Prophet fully understood Ali’s character. He was well aware of Ali’s virtues and also knew that Ali was an uncompromising stickler for what he deemed to be right. This idealism, while intrinsically praiseworthy, might not be altogether appropriate in the practical handling of men whose religious faith would probably be coupled with ambition or cupidity. If Ali’s leadership would alarm the men of that type, the community might be rent by dissension and the great goal might not be achieved. In the short period of Ali’s caliphate (18 Dhu’l-Hejja 35/17 June 656-17 Ramadan 40/24th January 661), the self-seekers were indeed alarmed. His unwillingness to let sinners continue, even temporarily, to rule over Moslems brought him into conflict with Mo’awiya, the governor of Syria. His view of the matter also antagonized the two senior companions of the Prophet, Talha and Zobayr, who likewise took up arms against him. Whatever the reasons may have been, the succession was undecided when the Prophet passed away. This fact may perhaps be an indication of the Prophet’s wisdom and foresight. It is possible that the Prophet finally resolved not to set one faction over another but to let the struggle for power and leadership take its natural course, in expectation that the principle now called the survival of the fittest would ensure Islam’s survival. The matter brings to mind a somewhat similar event in modern history. Lenin from his sickbed sent a letter to the Soviet communist party’s central committee. Being unable to attend the committee’s meetings, he was obliged to write this letter, which came to be known as Lenin’s testament. In it he praised the qualities of the committee’s two leading members, Stalin and Trotsky, and described both men as vital components of the new regime, but could not conceal his anxiety about the risk of future conflict between them. He even mentioned the demerits as well as the merits of each. Yet he too chose silence on the succession problem, leaving its solution to the workings of the law of survival of the fittest (or strongest). Before the advent of Islam, the Arabs used to boast about the superiority of their tribe, clan, or genealogy over those of others. Their claims to superiority were not based on virtues and graces but on prowess in killing, plundering, and abducting other men’s women. The teachings of Islam negated this concept and made piety the measure of a person’s merit. Unfortunately the new standard was not long maintained in practice – to be precise, not after Omar’s death in 23/644. During Othman’s reign, nepotism prevailed over piety. Devout men such as Abu Dharr ol-GheIari89 and Ammar b. Yaser90were thrust aside, and members of the caliph’s clan such as Mo’awiya b. Abi Sofyan and ol Hakam b. Abi’l-As were appointed to governorships. 129 Under the Omayyad caliphate (41/661-132/750), the great Islamic principle of nobility through piety was simply ignored. Tribal and national pride again held sway, but in a broader setting. The demands of Arab nationalism could now be satisfied at the expense of the conquered peoples. Men from the barren deserts of Arabia had overrun large parts of the civilized world. The conquest of peoples formerly renowned for imperial power and material wealth intoxicated the Arabs with pride. Supposing their own nation to be superior and the conquered nations to be inferior, they despised those nations and never recognized them as equal. They did not even concede to those who became Moslem the equality of rights enshrined in Islamic law. (Ali Dashti, The 23 years, p, 129).
