...1979 Iranian Revolution Revolution is the culmination of popular discontent brewing for a certain amount of time. People may grow dissatisfied with sharp social contrasts, inequality, segregation, discrimination, and other blatant violations of their rights. Even conservative authoritarian Arabic societies like that of Iran can experience the rise of general discontent and indignation. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 is the revolt rationalized by a wide range of motives from corruption to excessive westernization adopted by Shah Mohammad Pahlavi. The unpreparedness of the ruling elite and its foreign patrons along with repressions sealed the fate of the Iranian leader signifying the historic shift of power and foreign vector. The point is that the Iranian Revolution of 1979 was the product of Shah Pahlavi’s repressive regime largely facilitated by regime’s weakness and unpreparedness, which culminated in crucial achievement and the establishment of a theocratic regime ruled by Ayatollah Khomeini over the following decade. Popular Sentiments, Ideological Groups, the Unique Nature of the Iranian Revolution, Rationales behind the Revolt, the Factors of Success Philosophy Doctor Homa Katouzian (n.d.) noted that the revolution of 1979 was the rebellion of the Iranian society against the political regime reigning supreme at the time of the event. Based on its underlying features, what happened in the country in the late 1970s did not match the norms of Western revolutions for...
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...Ch. 19 The Iranian Revolution and the Revival of Islam The chapter started by describing how influential the Iranian Revolution turned out to be. Not only to of course the Iranians which saw the overthrow of the American installed Shah, and a radical change in laws which saw a change from secular to Islamic codes but also to Islamic states worldwide. There were many in the position of leadership that did not welcome the success of the revolution. Those nations that did have problem were primarily the conservative monarchs both religious and secular; these officials did not want the emergence of a militant Islamic Republic. Another nation that had problems with the change was the United States. After the Shah was deposed the United States...
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...The Iranian Revolution “In Iran's future Islamic system everyone can express their opinion, and the Islamic government will respond to logic with logic.” (Khomeini) Furthermore, Ruhollah Khomeini was the islamic fundamentalists that was the leader of the Iranian Revolution. However, the revolution did not just come out of the blue, but it had a lot of factors that led up to it. Life before the revolution highly differed from life in the midst of the revolution. Moreover, the Iranian Revolution began in 1978 and ended in 1979. The country fell into chaos and many were forced to flee and migrate to other countries. In particular, my father and his family had to flee Iran at the onset of the revolution. Life in Iran before the revolution was...
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...The Iranian Revolution and its contribution to Islamic Political Revival Sisy M. Orobitg INR3274: International Relations of the Middle East Professor Alla Mirzoyan December 8, 2008 The Iranian Revolution and its contribution to Islamic Political Revival The Pahlavi Dynasty was for many Iranians a constitutional monarchy turned corrupt that plagued them with economic frustrations, rising unemployment and an overwhelming feeling of anxiety that began during 1975s oil crisis. Lack of government accountability and increasing political unrest among the middle class exacerbated the crisis and allowed the religious clergy to take advantage. Thus, this disillusionment with the governing monarchy paved the way to a revolution that has proven to be unprecedented. The advent of a new Islamic revival proved successful upon the birth of the Iranian Revolution and with the overwhelming consent of its people came the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as its ruler. With a new political mind-frame, came an authoritarian regime, which volubly conceded to no one, and consolidated itself through each governing tenet. The resilience of this regime brought about terror.( Mehran Kamrava; A Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War (2005)) The author of this new political revival which has impregnated into other areas of the Arab World is The Iranian Republic. All Western world influences that attempted...
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...with Iran Impact the Iranian Regime’s Behavior and Change the Regional Dynamic in the Middle East? Mike Maleki December 06, 2014 Illustrated by Paul Combs of the Tribune Media Services. Many in the West have expressed concern about a possible failure of the P5+1 countries – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – to secure a comprehensive deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program. These concerns, however, represent a somewhat myopic view of the bigger picture concerning Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A thorough look at the Iranian regime’s domestic and foreign policies reveals that a nuclear deal would, in fact, have very limited effect on the behavior of Iran’s authoritarian theocracy and change very little about the dynamics in the 1 Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution changed the balance of power in the Middle East. Following the revolution, Iran, a pillar of the US’ regional Cold War policy, became increasingly isolated as it quarreled with its majority Sunni neighbors for influence and sought to export its Islamic revolution as far as to Europe.1 However, Iran attempted to overcome its isolation as a Shiite and majority Persian state by tempting the aspirations of the region’s Arab population with its support for radical anti-Israel/anti-US regional movements, thus successfully establishing a web of proxies and surrogates – the so-called “axis of resistance.” Furthermore, since 2003, the Iranian regime has effectively...
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...The Iranian Revolution was a symbol of anti-imperialism, anti-industrialization, and a return to anti-western society. Starting in the early 20th century, the Pahlavi dynasty took control of Iran with the goal of modernizing the country. Citizens did not like the western influence, the rapid change, and many felt forgotten. They turned to intellectuals and religious scholars to remedy the situation and topple the Shah. The Iranian Revolution started as a left-wing movement to end political oppression and western influence, but resulted in a conservative, religious government more repressive than before. It was caused by long-standing anger at western dependence, rapid economic growth, and government brutality. It was carried out by an alliance...
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...Persepolis is a memoir written by Marjane Satrapi. Marjane writes a story that describes her life in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Persepolis represents a unique life of a child in Tehran, Iran and the actions she took in order to survive the political upheaval her country was facing. Iran having the Islamic Revolution in 1979 was the end of the old and start of the new. Many changes that took place in Iran during this time period such as mandatory laws stating that women wear veils and how all games, alcohol, and parties were banned. Life in Iran had dramatically changed in just a few years during this time period. The Islamic Revolution and the war that followed the revolution are important in history because they show the causes and effects of war and how it can destroy a country and provoke tyranny and injustice. During the time of revolution there is the loss of government, creating a hostile environment in a society. The events described in Persepolis also inform others of the chaos Iran has gone through to get to its current state. In January 1979, the Shah left Iran; he died abroad several years after. On February 1, 1979, exiled religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from France to lead a revolution resulting in a new, theocratic republic guided by Islamic principles. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini back in Iran after 15 years in exile in Turkey, Iraq, and France, became Iran's national religious leader. After Khomeini's death on June 3, 1989,...
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...The Iranian revolution was surrounded by the imagery and representation of the religion Shiism Islam. The religion served as the fuel filling the revolution. “Ideology is not simply a set of ideas in people's minds or in an accomplished text. Ideology can be observed in people's attempts to formulate their strategies of action and in the activities and artifacts of its producers (Wuthnow 1989, p. 16 as cited in Moaddel, 1992).” Wherefore, ideology is best theorized using concepts, principles and customs to provide answer to problems “in a particular historical episode” (Moaddel, 1992). According to Homa Katouzian, the 1979 revolution was an uprsing against the state in particular the Shah regime. For him, the revolution imitate the common...
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...Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the shah of Iran for about from 1941 to his overthrown by the Iranian revolution on February 11, 1979. He took the title of the shah from his father who was the last shaw. Iran was a poor and uncivilized country and when Russia wanted to move forward the completely control of the country the Unites States helped to gave him back the throne and power of his country. Pahlavi wanted to Westernize his country and transformed his country in a modern Iran. The shaw had suffered a lot of criticism because many believed that the Westernization did not follow the Islam religion. Also the lower class were discontented by the unfair conditions of how the corrupted government was working toward them. Another aspect that...
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...Palestine and other parts of the Middle East. Second, is to become a voice of innocent Lebanese citizens and to show that Israel is not invincible. Another goal is to participate in Lebanese politics and influence Lebanon’s domestic and foreign policy to help better the region. Hezbollah also wishes to present a true picture of Islam. They believe it is a religion that is logical, practical and in accordance with modern day requirements. Finally, Hezbollah’s last goal is to work for the social and economic development of Lebanon through services in the fields of health, education, agriculture and any other charitable services (“Palestinian Facts”). Hezbollah emerged as a reaction to two major events in the Middle East, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon. Both these events fueled the emergence of Hezbollah and united many Shiite Muslims for a common cause based on ideology and resistance. Prior to 1979, the Shah of Iran was a great ally to the West. However, many opposed the Shah’s western alliances and ideals and many hosted demonstrations and protests against his rule. The opponents of the Shah united with the...
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...notion that Khomeini was at times connected to the Mahdi is representative of how influential and powerful he quickly became following his persuasive speech on Ashura in 1963. Indeed, he used this symbolic day as an opportunity to appeal to the emotions of Iranians through Karbala references: “If the Bani Umayyad and the regime of Yazid ibn Mu’awiya were at war with Husayn, then why did they commit such savage and inhuman crimes against defenseless women and innocent children on the day of Ashura? What were the women and infants guilt of?” By reminding Iranians of their own struggles under the Shah through deeply symbolic language, especially during the month of Muharram, Khomeini strategically connected with the people on a personal level. He was not a distant ruler like the Shah or foreign governments; he was...
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...Europe’s relationship with Iran for much of the century leading up to 1950.”[2] In understanding Iran’s flux of identities throughout the 20th century, several notions must be clarified. Firstly, Iran is not an Arab nation nor have they adopted Arabic language or culture. Secondly, the Shi’a minority in Iran, and their lingering divergence in beliefs compared to that of the Sunnis and the West has always been an issue with respect to their distinctiveness as a nation. That being said, Iran’s inability to sustain a lasting individuality is directly related to the differing identities proposed by Iranian leaders throughout the 20th century. In the following article, I will distinguish between the secularization and modernization proposed by Reza Shah Pahlavi; the period of ambiguity in political identity and subsequent authoritarianism adopted by his son; and the role of the Islamic revolution in revitalizing religious unity. Iran was fortunate enough to...
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...Modernization, unveiling and clash with the citizens…………………………5 The second Pahlavi period- Muhammad Shah…………………………..10 After The Islamic Revolution …………………………………………….14 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..19 References…………………………………………………………………..21 Introduction It has been more than 30 years since the victorious Islamic revolution transpired and sought the citizen supported and the forceful death of the Pahlavi dynasty which was ruled, with a denied democracy, under Mohammed shah and his father, Reza shah who were both put forth by the British. Due to the controversial media’s coverage, its western influence and lack of justice, there remains a bitter taste in the mouth of feminists in regards to women’s rights under the newly born Islamic state. In this paper, I will be examining and shedding light on these issues, as well as comparing the current and past roles of women, the differences between the Islamic and Pahlavi imposed laws on these women all within the confines of the diverse domains of Iran, while taking into consideration and presenting the social and political impact that the Pahlavi regime had on women’s movements and how they developed through the years. In order to completely comprehend the differences in a woman’s life during the Pahlavi period and after the revolution, we will be looking at the history of Iran’s political systems and their rise to power, the two Pahlavi periods and their...
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...Iranian Hostage Crisis Lance Richard Mr. Gaspard English IV April 26, 2013 Iranian Hostage Crisis Can anyone imagine being in captivity for four hundred forty-four days. Away from family and friends, wondering what is going on in the outside world.The Iranian Hostage Crisis was a horrid time for fifty-three Americans who were held hostage in the worst conditions of there lives against there will. The living conditions and time spent in captivity took a mental and physical toll on the Americans involved. The hatred among the United States and Iran grew significantly during the time of the crisis. The Iranian Hostage Crisis was the greatest contributor to negatively impacting the economy and US's realtionship with Iran. The Iranian Hostage began on November 4, 1979 and lasted for four hundred forty-four days until January 20 1981. In 1977 the stage was set for the revolution and the virtual severance of ties between Iran and the United States (Gorman 1181)The seizure of the American embassy was initially planned in September 1979 by Ebrahim Asgharzadez (“Iranian Hostage Crisis” weebly). The takeover was orginally suppose to be short-term but US didnt follow the demands of Iran. In the words of Asgharzades, “We intented to detain.... for a few days, ,aybe one week, but no more.”(Gorman 1184) Asgharzadez consulted with the heads of the Islamic associations of Tehran's main universities. “Our aim was to object the...
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...could. In my opinion scandals are not useful in serving the purpose stated by the prompt because anything exaggerated is not truth. The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution or 1979 Revolution), refers to events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, is one of the many instances where a reformer proved to be more successful in focusing the attention of people that no scandal would have ever been able to achieve. It was Khomeini who preached that revolt, and especially martyrdom, against injustice and tyranny was part of Shia Islam, and that Muslims should reject the influence of both liberal capitalism and communism with the slogan "Neither East, nor West – Islamic Republic!" This idea of rule by Islamic jurists was spread through his book Islamic Government, mosque sermons, smuggled cassette speeches by Khomeini, among Khomeini's opposition network of students (talabeh), ex-students (able clerics such as Morteza Motahhari, Mohammad Beheshti, Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Mofatteh), and traditional businessmen inside Iran. in my opinion no scandal can ever focus the attention of people like a leader like Khomeini did. Like the Iranian Revolution, Lawyer’s Movement in Pakistan is another example where a national leader was able to capture the attention...
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