Studying the Identity of Reformists from the Perspective of Groups Outside the Country's Official Political Discourses

Nearly three decades have passed since the presence of reformists in the country's political space, and their identity is a matter of dispute both among rival groups and among those seeking radical changes in the country. The majority of groups that do not fall into the triad of reformism, fundamentalism, and moderation are those with liberal and socialist policies. The present article, using theoretical-identity foundations, seeks to clarify these groups' definition of reformism. Since identity is a linguistic matter and a product of sign production, it is defined and appears in linguistic representations. Therefore, to represent this identity, reference has been made to texts produced by groups outside the country's official political discourses. The present article uses a qualitative approach and thematic analysis technique. The research sample consists of ten articles that criticize and describe reformism. The sampling was done with maximum diversity and theory. The findings show that the sample under study has a dual view of reformism; on the one hand, they consider reformists as a non-violent, law-oriented group, seeking democracy and demanding a modern interpretation of religion (religious reform), and on the other hand, they consider reformists, whether in terms of class origin or in terms of their demands and goals, conservative, lacking political power and lacking the potential for change in the country. However, they define the identity of reformists under the following categories: lack of full-fledged democracy, lack of political power, legalism and people's sovereignty, updating indigenous tradition, structural limitations of the system for change and conservatism.