Religious condemnations can be timed for domestic political gain

Evidence

It is difficult to see a religious reason for the long delay, though the timing of the present response to coincide with the American publication of the book might suggest a political reason. There is an obvious and striking parallel with the seizure ten years ago of the American Embassy and diplomats, which stopped and reversed a movement in Iran to mend fences and restore relations with the United States, and which left the radicals in full control. The Rushdie affair has stopped a similar move to restore relations with Europe and will probably have a similar effect on the internal balance of forces in Iran. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1689

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how ritual/religious declarations serve political stabilization — echoes the sacrifice book’s theme of religion as social stabilizer, but here used for power consolidation rather than social cohesion. — connects to: European populists co-opt Christian symbols to cloak political aims in religious morality. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 537; Christian nationalists subordinate personal morality to political power restoration. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 231; Religious claims serve different functions depending on political position — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 207 (+1 more)