From its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been characterized by a paradox. Some of its most frequently employed slogans: wahdat-i isl―am (Islamic unity) and sud―ur-i inqil―ab (export of the revolution) reflect the apparent eagerness of its leadership to reach out beyond Iran and to make the rest of the Islamic community share in the fruits of the country's revolutionary experience. Yet the minority status of Shi⊂ism within the umma, coupled with the close and growing identification of the revolution with (Twelver) Shi⊂ism, has largely restricted the outside appeal of Iran's new order to the Shi⊂i world.