“This chapter provides an overview of sociopolitical history of religion and politics in the transformation of the Kurdish question in modern Turkey. It examines this transformation in five distinctive periods, spanning from the 1925 Sheikh Said Rebellion to the present, and evaluates both the implementation of state religious policy in the Kurdish region and the counter-strategies adopted by Kurdish actors to challenge the state’s repressive practices. It argues how, throughout this period, the religious policy was a significant dimension of the Turkish state’s attempts to break community networks organized around religious and traditional actors and settings. On the other hand, focusing on the influence of religious affiliations and solidarities in the Kurdish region, it brings attention to the changing role of Kurdish Islamic structures and identities in the political sphere, from a platform of resistance in the early republican period to a medium of compliance after the transition to the multi-party system and a tool of mobilization, repression and resistance, in the last decades. Thus, the chapter demonstrates that there is not a fixed status of religious politics in the context of the Kurdish question as religion could serve both as a medium of compliance or a mobilizing force of Kurdish resistance.”

Maintaining the focus outside of Iran’s borders, Chapter 8 “Lebanon (1988–2013)” investigates RJ’s deployment to Lebanon in cooperation with Hizbullah. RJ’s presence in Lebanon sheds light on three critical aspects of Hizbullah and its relationship with the IRI. First, RJ reveals that, rather than simply existing as a client of the IRI, Hizbullah sought autonomy from it. To this end, Hizbullah aspired to control RJ’s projects, localize its personnel, and diversify its funding. Second, RJ demonstrates how Hizbullah instrumentalized development to advance its strategic and ideational interests. They included mobilizing and socializing recruits, supporters, and voters, spreading political and religious values, and preserving a territorial and social base. Third and finally, RJ illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of Hizbullah’s politicized, faith-based, and distributive development model. While instilling cohesiveness and commitment in some personnel and beneficiaries, it disregarded the priorities and preferences of others, and lacked inclusivity and sustainability.