Number 77 ● July 17, 2016

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Africa: Goals and Challenges for Diplomatic, Economic and Religious Action

Miriam Nissimov

In August 2013, just prior to Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the movie “The Fourth Child” (Farzand-i Chehrom) was released in Iran. Parts of the movie were filmed in Somalia and Kenya. It tells the story of Roya, a movie star who is weary of her dazzling but empty life, and travels to Somalia in order to photograph and document the daily tragedy of war and famine. Roya , together with an Iranian industrialist Mozafar and a physician from the Iranian Red Crescent, want to save the Africans from themselves: the movie presents the tribal and religious rivalries, wealthy African states and venture capitalists as the causes behind the war and famine. In one scene, the industrialist Mozafar kicks and knocks over a pot of pulpy stew distributed in a refugee camp run by what seems to be a South African crew. Shocked by the quality of the food and the degrading attitude towards the - refugees, he takes it upon himself to  supply the refugees with fine food (from Persian cuisine) and respectful, humane treatment. The humanitarian mission exacts heavy personal sacrifices from the Iranian heroes and it comes to its completion when Roya brings an abandoned African infant back to Iran. This African child is adopted and raised by Mozafar's honorable family.

The movie "The Fourth Child", produced at the initiative of Iran’s Farabi Cinematic Foundation (FCF), has joined the  documentary television series of a very different nature “Africa is Here” (Inja Afrigkast). In their different ways, these productions were both efforts to mobilize cinema and television to introduce the African continent, as perceived by Iran, to Iranian viewers. The 52-episode series, produced in the early 2000s by the IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), was designed to present the importance of Africa and its political and business potential, to Iranian viewers. The answer to why the Islamic Republic of Iran allocated funds and recruited producers and directors to deal with Africa is most likely to be found in Iran’s policy regarding Africa and its diplomatic activity there.

Diplomatic Efforts of Iran in Africa: Theory & Practice

In the four decades since its establishment, the Islamic Republic of Iran has sought to base its diplomatic relations with Africa on the ideological vision of its founders, namely defense of the oppressed (mostazafin), and the struggle against oppressors (mostakberin). For example, in the early 1980s Iranian foreign policy towards Africa was geared towards supporting the struggle against the South African apartheid regime.^[1]Therefore, approximately one month after its establishment, the Islamic Republic broke-off diplomatic relations with South Africa. In January 1986, Iranian president Ayotallah Ali Khamenei made his first official visit to Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe, where he repeatedly stressed that he had decided to visit these African countries specifically because they were on the forefront of the struggle against apartheid.

Since the founding of the Islamic Republic, Iran has faced many diplomatic and domestic challenges. In the 1980s, it was the war with Iraq; followed in the 90s by a decade of rapid economic and social reconstruction. The 2000s and onward were marked by international sanctions. Therefore, despite the -initial declarations and, possibly, -sincere intentions, diplomatic relations between Iran and African countries remained limited throughout the last forty years. Although Iranian presidents made highly publicized official visits to African countries,^[2] where they were sometime greeted by popular demonstrations of support that caused concern^[3]in the West, the actual results achieved by these visits remain limited.

Therefore Iranian diplomats, institutions and academics who deal with the country’s relations with Africa have stated, more than once, that the Islamic Republic has not done enough to expand its relations with African countries, and  to benefit from the continent’s political and economic potential. It is interesting to note that the Iranian industrialists and entrepreneurs who frequently accompanied official delegations remained reserved regarding investments in Africa.  It was against this backdrop that IRIB documentary series “Africa is Here” mentioned above was produced. The   series intended to encourage Iranian entrepreneurs and industrialists to invest in African countries.

However developments in the last year seem to indicate that the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in July 2015 may also be a key point for the relationship between the Islamic Republic and African countries. In May 2015, while marking "Africa Day" in  Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, announced that his ministry intended to reactivate the special Bureau for Africa's affairs. ^[4]The Bureau that had previously been under the purview of a lower governmental rank was to act under the supremacy of the First Vice President, Eshaq Jahangiri.

In November of that year, the special bureau held its first conference on economic and commercial cooperation between Iran and African countries.^[5] In January 2016, Zarif’s then Deputy for Arab-African Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, met with the Iranian ambassadors serving in Africa to examine ways in which to accelerate relationships withthe continent.^[6] At the same meeting, Abdollahian related to Iran’s international standing after signing the nuclear agreement and noted that Iran was “updating its strategy” regarding African countries.

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama’s visit to Tehran in February 2016, and that of his South African colleague President Jacob Zuma in April were to illustrate this new strategy. Both presidents visited Tehran at the invitation of President Hassan Rouhani and also met with the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Regarding the Ghanaian president’s visit, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran said that Africa is one of the most important objectives of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy.^[7] The importance of relations with African countries, especially with South Africa, was also emphasized during meetings with President Zuma and the high-level delegation that accompanied him.^[8]

Iran and Islamic-Shi‘ite Activity in Africa

Parallel to the attempt to update the strategy for maintaining diplomatic ties with African countries, it appears that some seek ways to better its Islamic-Shi‘ite achievements in the continent. In May 2016, an international conference was held in the city of Qum on “Ways to Spread and Promote Shi‘ism and Faith in Mahdi on the African Continent (Opportunities and Threats).” Two hundred   theological seminarians (Tolab) from  thirty African countries  participated in the conference that was organized at the initiative of the Association of African theological seminarians in Iran and Al-Mustafa International University.^[9]

Islamic Republic's activities to spread Islam and Shi‘ism in Africa began in the mid-1980s. These efforts have included sending – preachers (moballeq) and teachers of Islamic education, establishing elementary and advanced schools for religious studies and sending African students theological seminaries (hawza) in Iran. This long-term effort is supported by many governmental and semi-governmental agencies; for example, the Islamic Cultural and Relations Organization, the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly, Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation and others. It is difficult to measure the success of Activities conducted by countries as part of what is commonly defined as cultural diplomacy, or even , identify concrete measures of success for activities of this type. Accordingly , there are those who think that the Islamic Republic has not done enough to spread Islam and Shi‘ism in Africa; that is the impression given by Iranian religious leaders who have spent several years on delegations to Africa when they speak to the media.

From the reports published in Iran, it seems that the conference in Qum was intended to examine ways in which these efforts might be accelerated. To this end, several think tanks were established, headed by theological seminarians from Africa. These teams pointed to the threat of terrorism as one of the challenges faced by the African continent, and emphasized the need to find ways of dealing with this threat. Similarly, they devoted thought to ways for bringing the Shi‘ite and Sunni Muslims of Africa closer together. Moreover, some participants spoke about the need to expand the activity of Islamic educational institutions in Africa, but emphasized that this must be done in coordination with the national governments. Conversely, Iranian speakers at the conference addressed issues related to Islamic resistance, highlighted the strength of the Islamic revolution and its success in repelling the conspiracies of, what they called, the West, the Zionism and the Wahhabiyya of Saudi Arabia.

Another issue raised by Iranian speakers related to the activity of Sheikh Ibrahim Yaqoub El-Zakzaky and the uncertainty regarding his fate. The sheikh, a leader of Shi‘ite Islam in Nigeria is an enthusiastic supporter of the Islamic revolution in Iran. His activity over many years to spread Shi‘ism and promote the Islamic movement has led to several long prison terms, and harassment by the Nigerian authorities who consider his relationship with Iran threatening.^[10] El-Zakzaky is popular with the Iranian religious establishment and many speakers praised his success in spreading Shi‘ism. His arrest in December 2015 and the violent repression of his supporters^[11] led to condemnation by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and support rallies of theological seminarians in various cities across Iran.^[12]

In conclusion, Iran’s desire to deepen its relationship with African countries has been on the agenda of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy  for 40 years. However, a variety of forces have kept Iran from allocating the necessary resources to reach this goal. It will be interesting to see to what extent the Islamic Republic will be able to successfully realize its goals for political and cultural diplomacy in Africa during its fifth decade, and how it will integrate into the international competition for the heart and resources of the “continent of opportunities” of the third millennium.

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