The Iranian Revolution

Introduction

Wed May 18 00:27:46 +0000 2011

The revolution that took place in 1979 impacted the world for years to come. It was an Islamic Revolution, bringing theocracy to a westernized Middle Eastern country. Iran will never be the same as it was before the Iranian Revolution. This revolt against the government changed Iran's entire society, culture, economy, and policy. Because of this uprising, Iran became an Islamic Republic, with a government that rules under Islamic law. This Islamic Revolution was led by the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who was opposed to the monarchy of Iran, led by the king, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. This riot took place primarily because of the Shah's poor ruling of his country. His people, especially the poor and the middle class, were dissatisfied by the unequal distribution of wealth and land. They were also outraged by the foreign domination in Iran, such as Great Britain and the United States. Both imperial powers had close ties with the Shah, and benefited from Iran's rich oil industry. Great Britain was part of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The Shah was repressive, especially because of his intelligence service, SAVAK. The people wanted a democratic government, so they could have a voice in politics. Mossadeq was elected in 1951 to bring peace among the people. He nationalized the oil industry and kicked out imperial powers, making them mad. Accused of having a close ties with communist Soviet Union, Mossadeq fled the country in 1953, putting the Shah back into power. As the Shah westernized the country, he slowly removed Islamic laws and policies from Iran, an action which caused many angry protests. Even when the Shah made changes, such as land reforms and price controls, it only increased protests among the middle class, since the price controls closed down 250,000 shops. Khomeini provided a solution to the people's problems in Iran. The White Revolution in 1963 made him well known for his ideas that would better Iran for the people's interests. He was pro- Islam, anti- Western, and anti- American. He was loved and respected because he was to resolve the social, economic, and religious problems in Iran. On February 1st, 1979, Khomeini returned to Iran, becoming the spiritual leader that would establish the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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Common Knowledge of Event

Tue May 17 18:42:34 +0000 2011

Iranian Revolution:

- A revolution to bring down the monarchy ruled by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Islamic cleric Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini

- Took place on February 1st, 1979

- Also known as the Islamic Revolution

- Mossadeq, who is opposed to the Shah, is elected in 1951 to nationalize the oil industry, and not allow foreign powers to benefit from it, such as Great Britain and the Anglo- Iranian Oil Company. British were kicked out of Iran, and so Great Britain went to the U.S. to ask for help to bring down Mossadeq. They convince U.S. by telling them Mossadeq has close ties with the Soviet Union, a communist country, and that Iran might become allies with them in the near future, allowing the Soviets to benefit from Iran's oil. U.S. and Great Britain basically use the Shah to gain back their power in Iran by putting him back into power in 1953.

- Took place because people were upset with Shah's ruling:

1. The Shah allowed western imperialist powers into the country and he accomodated Iran's oil industry and traded with foreign powers such as Great Britain: ex: Anglo- Iranian Oil Company

2. The Shah didn't acknowledge the Islamic religion nor did he try to incorporate the religion into the modernized Iran; ex: he switched from the Islamic calendar to the one based on the coronation of Cyrus the Great.

3. The Shah gave women the right to vote and disobey Islamic teachings through the Family Protection Law, which many of the men didn't like.

4. Some people wanted a democracy, so they could have political input; they saw the Shah as too repressive, especially with SAVAK, his intelligence service.

5. There was an uneven distribution of wealth among the people; the urban poor didn't share in oil wealth, and the merchant class was unhappy, as the Shah closed down almost 250,000 jobs to try and curb inflation.

- Khomeini brought a theocracy to Iran, which is a government based on a religion.

- Khomeini was the best fit for Iran's next leader because he had Iran's interest, and wanted to stop foreign domination in the country, and bring back Islam into society. He would stop the repressive monarchy and set up a democracy.

- Khomeini was exiled in 1964, a year after the White Revolution, when wealthy landowners and Islamic clergy joined to oppose the Shah's land reform program.

- Khomeini wanted to nationalize Iran's oil industry

- Khomeini was exiled in 1964 and went to Iraq until 1978 when he was kicked out by Saddam Hussein and went to France; gained more media attention once there.

- Shah leaves when revolution takes place; doesn't want his people to die in a battle, has cancer and leaves "on vacation".

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Online Source: The New York Times Upfront

Wed May 18 00:04:53 +0000 2011

An article that talks about the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Annotations:

1979: Iranian Revolution
- Bibliography: Edidin, Peter. "1979: Iranian Revolution." The New York Times Upfront. Scholastic. Web. 16 May 2011. .
Ironically, 30 years ago Iran was one of America's staunchest Middle East allies, until a revolution in January 1979 toppled Iran's pro-Western monarchy and brought to power an anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
- America and Iran were allies because the Shah was Pro- US. The Shah also tried to westernized Iran. The people wanted to return back to Islamic policies, rather than become westernized. The Shah was too repressive, especially because of SAVAK, his intelligence service.
The revolution and its implications caught most Americans completely off guard.
The Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had ruled Iran since inheriting the throne from his father in 1941. During the Cold War between the U.S. and its allies and the Soviet Union, the Shah sided with the West and served as a bulwark against Soviet power and the spread of Communism in the region.
Washington also viewed the Shah as a leader who could show the authoritarian Arab governments of the Middle East the way to modernization, if not democracy. Beginning in the 1960s, he pushed through major reforms that gave more rights to women, improved education and health care, and gave peasants land-ownership rights.
Using Iran's vast oil wealth and American and Western aid, the Shah brought an ancient but backward nation into the 20th century, creating one of the region's most advanced economies. Relations with the U.S. were so strong that President Jimmy Carter traveled to Tehran for a New Year's Eve dinner in 1977, toasting the Shah and his nation as "an island of stability" in the Middle East.
- Iran didn't side with the Soviets and tried to contain communism, just like the U.S. Iran helped the U.S. in the Cold War. Iran was a leading example of a stable government in the Middle East. It was very powerful and westernized. The Shah also established land-ownership rights to peasants, which made wealthy landowners angry. This group would later oppose the Shah, along with Islamic clergy. Relations between the U.S. and Iran were strong as Iran resembled the Middle Eastern version of a U.S. more and more.
America's role in Iran's Westernization had also spurred anger. In the years before the revolution, Americans "were everywhere in Iran," writes Robin Wright, the author of The Last Great Revolution. They were "advising its government officials, training its military, building its oil rigs, teaching in its schools, and peddling [American] cars, language, fashions, industrial products, and culture."
- Explanation of Event:The people of Iran were frustrated that Americans were living in their country, benefiting more from the land than the Iranian citizens did. Many people didn't want to have American influence in Iran, and instead wanted to keep the rich Persian culture. The Americans were too involved, as mentioned in the book The Last Great Revolution by Robin Wright, as Americans were advising government officials, training its military, building its oil rigs, etc.
To many Iranians, this was welcome progress, but to many others the American influence came to represent a threat to their ancient Persian culture. (Although Iran is in the Middle East, its people are not Arab.)
That helped the Shiite clergy mobilize opposition to the Shah, spearheaded by Ayatollah Khomeini, who was living in exile in Iraq and later in France. In January 1978, with Khomeini's encouragement, students in Qum, a holy city for Shiites, began street protests against the monarchy. After police opened fire, killing 20, the protests spread throughout Iran and swelled to hundreds of thousands, then millions of people.
- Explanation of Event:Students in Qom protested against the government, encouraged by Khomeini. The killings were small at first, but gradually the Shah's police killed millions who opposed him.
The hostage crisis, Khomeini would later say, helped the revolution to solidify its hold on Iran. But if the Islamic Revolution succeeded, it failed the many Iranians who hoped it might lead to democracy.
The Shah's efforts at Westernization were reversed. Women were ordered to wear head coverings and full body cloaks called chadors; gangs of religious zealots roamed the streets enforcing the mullahs' moral edicts; political opponents were imprisoned and tortured as ruthlessly as under the Shah.
- Explanation of Significance:Since the Shah's actions of modernization and westernization was to stop the country from becoming a backward nation, reversing his efforts is the same as creating a backward nation again.
- Explanation of Significance:Although the people got what they wanted, an overthrow of the monarchy and the establishement of an Islamic republic, it did not lead to a democracy, as Khomeini, even after handpicking Prime Minister Bazargan, held the power, making Iran an Islamic dictatorship instead.

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Common Knowledge of Significance of Event

Tue May 17 21:53:41 +0000 2011

Iranian Revolution- Significance:

- The Islamic Revolution changed Iran's entire form of government. It went from a monarchy to an Islamic republic. In other words, Iran became a theocracy.

- Khomeini planned on making Iran democratic, and in ways he did, such as holding elections, but really, Khomeini himself had power, making him a dictator, thus making the Islamic republic an Islamic dictatorship.

- Khomeini took over, enforced Islamic rules and made it mandatory for people to be appropriately covered.

- Khomeini terminated foreign domination in Iran, breaking alliances with Great Britain and U.S. (Although, in everyone's best interests, normal relations between Iran and U.S. were re-established)

- Iran's westernized policies were terminated, reinforcing Islamic policies.

- Brought on the Hostage Crisis in 1979, when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. Students in Lebanon, under Hezbollah, were mad that the Shah was allowed into the U.S., accusing the Americans of interfering with Iranian internal affairs. They wanted to hang the Shah. They, in turn, kept the American hostages to weaken the moderates in Iran and strengthen the Ayatollah's power.

- The Revolution was to bring economic, social, and political stability in Iran between the poor and the rich, to stop the repressive monarchy, to bring religion into people's lives, and finally throw out foreign powers from Iran so Iran could benefit from the land's natural resources instead of other countries. However, in time, it brought on an oppressive Islamic dictatorship.

- Currently, most Iranians are against the government and the current president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, accusing him of fixing the most recent elections in Iran.

- The Iranian Revolution, overall, impacted the entire Middle East region. After the revolution, other Middle Eastern countries weren't as afraid of Iran's super power. Iran became less powerful, making it vulnerable to foreign invasions.The Iraq- Iran War is an example of this.

- The Iranian Revolution encouraged Islamic revolutions in other Middle East countries.

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Book Notes: The Iranian Revolution (Significance)

Tue May 17 23:13:45 +0000 2011

Book: The Iranian Revolution- Significance

Bibliography: January, Brendan. The Iranian Revolution. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2008. Print.

Pages 46- 48

Khomeini chose Mehdi Bazargan to be the prime minister. Bazargan was Western-educated but also religous. He thought the laws of Islam and the secular laws of the state could both be used to govern Iran. However, Khomeini wanted one type of government, a religious one. So Khomeini and Bazargan decided to allow the people to choose if they wanted a religious government or not. The people chose Iran to become an Islamic republic.

Excerpt from the book, page 47: "Bazargan wanted to give the people a choice between a religious government and a secular government. Khomeini wanted to offer only one choice- yes or no to religious government."

Excerpt, page 48: "On March 30, 1979, the Iranian people voted 90 percent in favor of forming an Islamic republic. Khomeini declared the election to be 'the first day of the government of God.'"

The Iranian Revolution was significant because it, initially, gave the people what they asked for. They, as presented from the book excerpts, wanted an Islamic state. They wanted to be governed by Islamic policies. The Iranian Revolution was significant because it brought down the monarchy, and established a democratic government.

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Conclusion

Wed May 18 06:47:19 +0000 2011

The revolution of 1979 brought joy to many Iranians across the country. They were happy to be rid of the repressive monarchy led by a corrupt Shah. Islam, a religion that was almost obsolete during Iran's westernization, was restored. A democratic government was established to allow people to have a say in politics. The poor and the middle class gained wealth and land. Khomeini was respected for overthrowing the Shah and his pro- US ways. Unfortunately, Khomeini could not keep the people happy for too long. Iran slowly turned into a dictatorship, with Khomeini as its leader, with laws based on Islamic policies. Iran was happy to get rid of a tyrant, but they did not want to be ruled under harsh conditions. Iran broke many western alliances after the Revolution, and supported Islamic radical groups. Later on in the early twenty-first century, Iran was labeled as an axis of evil. Although Iran's revolutino solved many internal problems, it isolated itself from the rest of the world, losing its power it once harnessed in the Middle East. Iran went from being a respected country to an oppressive dictatorship.

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