The Structural Causes Of The 1979 Iranian Revolution

This type of suffering also occurred in 1722 with the Afghan tribesmen and yet again during the late eighteenth century and lasted until 1925. The Qajars, a Turkic tribe that was established near the Caspian Sea, conquered Iran this time. The kings who ruled under the Qajar Empire also were mainly responsible for the country’s poverty and resistance to modernity. The only difference between the Qajars and the Arabs is that now the people of Iran were not going to sit back and let these kings give foreigner powers the right to their country. The Qajars had “lost their right to rule, their farr. Armed with Shiite principle that endows the ordinary citizen with inherent power to overthrow despotism…Iranians rebelled in a way their forefathers never had” (28).

Iran has always, it seems, been the breeding ground for some kind of political upheaval or another. In recent times, back in 1979, there was a major revolution which was, in some ways, similar to the revolution we are seeing today. The people were angry and they were tired of being controlled by the government that was in power. They had concrete ideals and were incredibly passionate about their revolution. The revolution Iran is experiencing today does not appear to be quite as passionate and does not appear to maintain a belief in any real solid political system. They just know they want something different. In the following paper we present an illustration of the current revolution that is taking

“Because his American-supplied army and his American-trained secret police kept the shah in power, his opponents hated the United States almost as much as they hated their autocratic ruler. The shah’s rule was not one of constant decency” (Carnes and Garraty). From 1977 to 1979, Iran grew more and more unstable, as the Iranian people’s hatred of the shah further intensified. 1977 saw numerous riots, along with both the wounding and even killing of large numbers of the Iranian people. The Iranian people finally rose up against the shah in 1978, by January of the next year the shah was forced to flee. “A revolutionary government headed by a religious leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, assumed power. He that freedom was an enemy of Islam, as well as that Islam condoned terror. Khomeini denounced the United States as the “Great Satan” whose support of the shah, he said, had caused the Iranian people untold suffering” (Carnes and Garraty). Upon his exile, the shah was dying of cancer, after seeking refuge in numerous countries he was finally given refuge in the United States. The Iranian people wouldn’t have it, and began protesting outside the U.S. Embassy demanding the shah be returned, tried, and hanged. The Iranian Hostage Crisis was quickly approaching.

To begin, a few key events that caused the Iranian Revolution must be known to understand the politics and major changes that Satrapi grew up with in Tehran. The Iranian Revolution began on February eleventh, 1979 when the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was succeeded by the Islamic Republic. This took place partly due to an event that occurred about a year earlier; on January ninth, 1978 in the city of Qum,

On August 19, 1953, the American CIA helped to overthrow a democratically elected prime minister in Iran-Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, who was elected in 1950-and restored the Shah to his Monarchical leadership position (“A short account of 1953 Coup”). The Shah was a modernizer for Iran in many respects, promoting the growth of a modern economy and a middle class, and championing women's rights. He outlawed the hijab, which is the full-body veil that women are to wear, according to Islamic law; encouraged education for women up to and including at the university level; and championed employment opportunities outside the home for women. The Shah was restored to his Monarchical leadership position

In 1953 American intelligence agencies helped royalists led by the Shah seize power from the Prime Minister in a coup de tat. After the coup the Shah made the country into an absolute monarchy. The United States helped the Shah tighten his grip on power over the next twenty-five years, training his special police and providing financial and military aid. During this period the Shah used the secret police to purge opponents and ruled with an iron fist. While he did bring significant reform to Iran, including modernizing the country, many were resentful of his ties to the West and angrily saw the reforms as attempts at Westernization. Popular support remained tepid and eventually led to protests and a coup in 1979.

According to Madeleine Albright, “In 1953 the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Irans popular Prime Minister, Mohammed Massadegh… it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs.” While the Shah did succeed in modernizing his country and improving the rights of women, he also ousted and arrested political dissidents, which ultimately lead to popular unrest and his overthrow. Which brings us to

Iran was faced with high unemployment rates and immense property, as workers had low wages and protection, and the country was underdeveloped. Iranians lost hope for a better future, as the promises of a prosperous Iran made by the Shah were not coming true. For example, the Shah believed that developing an industrial base with multiple foreign contractors and corporations would be economically beneficial for the country. Due to these investments made, Iran's oil market was flourishing in the late 1970's. However, an increase in oil profits resulted in problems with absorbing funds, leading to an increase in spending. Iran was therefore hit with effects such as inflation and corruption. Another example is that the Shah hoped for a modernization program for Iran. With this, the hope was to limit the land one could hold, decreasing the financial gap between the wealthy and poor. The result was that wealthy families continued to be as wealthy and the economic status of peasants generally worsened. Modernization also negatively affected religious institutions relying on a network of exchange, as limited land made it harder for trade. A final consequence of land reform was that peasants were forced to move to cities, begging to Westerners in order to feed themselves. These peasants began to see the negative impact western culture had made in society. They found inner peace through

The Iranian Revolution refers to the several events that took place in an effort to remove the Shah from Iran in the late 1970’s. At the time, the Shah of Iran, much like his father, ran the country as an autocracy. This means that there was one person in absolute power. The people of Iran did not like this, and they wanted the Shah out. They attended demonstrations where they protested for the Shah to leave. The Iranian Army shot at the protestors, and they threw rocks at the army. The Shah finally left Iran in exile, and the people

Early in the 1960s, the Shah announced social and economic reforms but refused to grant broad political freedoms. Iranian nationalist condemned the Shah and his U.S. supported regime and accused him of “westernizing” of Iran. Between 1963 and

On President Jimmy Carter’s third year as president, the shah of Iran was in deep trouble. Iran had brutal and unpopular policies that many people did not agree with. Revolution broke out in the January of 1979, because many Iranians didn't agree with the shah's ruling. The shah had no support due to his “secret police” that would

A revolution is a mass movement that intends to violently transform the old government into a new political system. The Iranian Revolution, which began in 1979 after years of climax, was an uprising against the Shah’s autocratic rule resulting in much religious and political change. Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi made efforts to remove Islamic values and create a secular rule and “westernize” Iran through his White Revolution. In addition, his tight dictatorial rule and attempts at military expansion felt threatening to the people, who desired a fairer governmental rule immensely influenced by Islam. Afterwards, governmental affairs became extremely influenced by Islamic traditions and law which created changes religiously and politically

In addition, the author recalls the Iranian government closing down all bilingual schools or any other symbols of “capitalism” and “decadence”. These became symbols of regression in the eyes of the Ayatollah and everyone must conform. The author struggles with the very idea of politics and religion during this period as laws of forced veiling and oppression came into conflict with her preconceptions of religion. The author cites an instances where the police locked the outside doors of an Iranian cinema, set it on fire, and prohibited people from rescuing those inside. According to the text, “The BBC said there were 400 victims. The shah said that a group of religious fanatics perpetrated the massacre. But the people knew that it was the Shah’s fault.” The secular Iranian perspective of the injustices being committed by the newly formed Islamic Republic was troubling. A release was sought by this group of people, the only problem was enjoying life and not getting caught.

Throughout both revolutions, it is clear to see their notions oppose each other. It is visible as early as the commencement of both. The French Revolution began because of the people of France, the Third Estate, were not receiving the same opportunities/privileges as the privileged estates. However, the same cannot be said for the Iranian Revolution. Instead, the revolution began because the ruler of Iran, Reza Shah, was doing too much for the people. Like many leaders, Shah Reza Shah believed that to improve his country, he had to modernize it. The Shah began instituting policies for what he considered to be the betterment of Iran, these including advances in public education, investing in the building of cross railroads, improving health care, implementing major infrastructure projects and large-scale industries ("History of Iran: Pahlavi Dynasty"). These new systems fueled a substantial amount of frustration from a religious group that made up 90% of the population, the Shii’s (“Iranian Revolution”), which would play out later on. Due to mishaps with the British government, Reza Shah stepped down, but his son, Shah Mohammed Reza was allowed to take his title. His son shared his views on modernization and planned to continue his father’s vision as to why he instituted the White

This continued to exacerbate the gap between the social classes of Iran. The main reason for the Shah’s confidence in bringing his people prosperity was the mass amount of revenue Iran was generating from Oil. The nationalization of Iran’s oil in the fifties meant increased profits for the nation. Iran’s economy was growing exponentially; its GDP was five times higher in 1976 than it was in 1960 (Clawson, p.15). Islamic modernists, such as Marxist Mujaheddin-e-Khalq, opposed the Shah’s capitalist economic policies (Diller 1991, p.152). There were several other groups that were not pleased with the Shah’s growing focus on economic growth, including the ulemas (councils composed of local Mullahs or respected religious leaders) (Sanders 1990, p.66). These ulemas possessed considerable local influence, as they were in charge of the educational systems and had influence over the urban poor and bazaar merchants (Diller 1991, p.152). In the midst of all that was going on in Iran, Khomeini lived in exile in Paris. The Ayatollah however, was well informed, and managed to sneak tapes into the country to his supporters and the local ulemas. These tapes spread the word of Islamic fundamentalism to these groups that opposed that Shah, and gave them a binding power that eventually would be the revolution of February 1979. Not long, Khomeini had