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Abstract

The Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought Iran to be transformed into a new revolutionary theocratic republic. This is in line with the raison d’être of the Iranian constitution, realizing the life of the nation and state based on the noble and universal values of Islam. Meanwhile, the existence of power competition and conflicting conceptions of authority have been reflected in its political constellation. Islam in the realm of this state is not only understood as a religious institution but also a concept of political spirituality. The hijab policy, for example, has become part of Iranian culture ever since and became a political symbol after the government of Shah Pahlavi in 1936 banned the use of the hijab through the Kashf e Hejab decree. In addition, visual observations through various authentic and reliable video recordings and news reports from Iran over the past 5 years are made to examine what is misunderstood by the world about Iran and its people. Therefore, the results of the analysis should be able to explain how media distortion affects Iran’s political decisions. Because politics plays an important role in the expression of public policy. If the policies implemented contain identity politics, then it will have a significant impact on the emergence of social divisions in Iranian society

Bahasa Abstract

Revolusi Islam tahun 1979 membawa Iran bertransformasi menjadi negara republik teokratis revolusioner baru. Sejalan dengan raison d'être konstitusi Iran, yaitu mewujudkan kehidupan berbangsa dan bernegara yang berlandaskan pada nilai-nilai luhur dan universal Islam. Sementara, eksistensi persaingan kekuasaan dan pertentangan konsepsi otoritas telah tergambar dalam konstelasi politiknya. Islam dalam ranah kenegaraan ini, bukan hanya dipahami sebagai suatu institusi agama melainkan juga sebuah konsep spiritualitas politik. Kebijakan mengenakan hijab, misalnya, menjadi bagian dari kultur budaya Iran sejak saat itu, dan telah menjadi simbol politik setelah pemerintahan Shah Pahlavi pada tahun 1936 mengeluarkan larangan penggunaan hijab melalui Dekrit Kashf e Hejab. Kebijakan ini mengandung politik identitas. Seorang antropolog Iran, Sadeq Hedayat yang populer pada tahun 1910-1920an mengemukakan, budaya ‘Islam’ dalam masyarakat Iran berada dalam posisi dialienasi karena dianggap tidak logis dan anti-modern, sementara budaya pra-Islam dianggap sebagai budaya asli masyarakat Iran yang selaras dengan kebudayaan modern Barat. Persepsi demikian membudaya dalam masyarakat, baik di dalam maupun di luar Iran. Terlebih ketika media mengambil peran penting dalam membentuk opini publik bahkan mempengaruhi pengambilan keputusan dan konsensus politik. Selama ini, pemberitaan yang bersifat tendensius atau bermuatan politik menjadi pusat perselisihan Iran dengan negara-negara oposisinya. Hal ini perlu untuk ditinjau untuk mengetahui lebih dalam masalah pengaruh misrepresentasi Iran di media terhadap pembagian masyarakat Iran melalui analisis teori perpecahan (cleavage). Sejak pra-revolusi hingga pasca-revolusi, perpecahan masyarakat Iran sudah tampak di permukaan, seperti pembagian kelas, perbedaan preferensi politik, dsb. Pencarian jawaban terkait persoalan ini dilakukan melalui studi pustaka, diantaranya eksplorasi latar belakang, teori, dan tulisan etnografi tentang Iran pada masa revolusi Islam dan pasca-revolusi untuk mendukung analisa masalah. Selain itu, observasi visual melalui berbagai rekaman video dan pemberitaan tentang Iran yang otentik dan kredibel dalam kurun waktu 5 tahun terakhir dilakukan untuk menelaah apa yang disalahpahami oleh dunia tentang Iran dan masyarakatnya. Sementara untuk melihat sisi empiris, wawancara dan diskusi dilakukan bersama warga negara Iran secara daring sehingga informasi yang diperoleh diharapkan mampu merepresentasikan gambaran kehidupan sosial masyarakat Iran masa kini secara lebih utuh. Dengan demikian, hasil analisis akan dapat menjelaskan bagaimana misrepresentasi media berdampak pada keputusan politik Iran. Mengingat politik memiliki andil besar dalam memanifestasikan kebijakan publik. Bilamana kebijakan yang diimplementasikan mengandung politik identitas, maka hal ini akan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap timbulnya perpecahan sosial dalam masyarakat Iran.

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