New Books Network Radio ReOrient 14.1: State of the Ummah: “A War Against the Islamic Republic?”, hosted by Shehla Khan, with Mona Makinejadbanadaki and S. Sayyid.
Apr 10, 2026
Mona Makininejadbanadaki, lecturer and postgraduate researcher in sociology and social policy, unpacks diaspora politics and identity narratives. She examines how diaspora framings, Islamophobia, and Kemalist influences shape portrayals of the conflict. Short takes explore dehumanization, transnational alliances, and how Orientalist lenses make certain wars imaginable.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Diaspora Framing Presents Iran As Non Muslim Occupied Land
- The diaspora narrative framed the conflict as a war against the Islamic Republic, not Iran, by labeling the Republic an occupier and separating Iranian identity from Islam.
- Mona Makininejadbanadaki cites Reza Pahlavi's Munich statement and diaspora rallies that claim Persians are 'not Muslim' to legitimize targeting the Islamic Republic.
Kemalist Templates Remove Islam Across The Islamosphere
- Kemalism is used transnationally to remove Islam from public life and to construct ethno-nationalist identities tied to pre-Islamic 'Aryan' origins.
- Mona links monarchist diaspora and Zionist allies adopting Kemalist templates to delegitimize Islamic political presence in Iran.
Dehumanization Enables Support For Targeting Civilians
- Dehumanization underpins support for violence: diaspora supporters accept attacks on hospitals and schools because they deny the humanity of those targeted.
- Shehla Khan ties which lives 'count' to proximity to whiteness and secularity as the underlying mechanism.