Iranian Revolution Research Paper

The Islamic Revolution was a crucial moment in revolutionary history of Iran that happened in

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

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,

The reformation of the country of Iran toward Islam caused turmoil among the people because the drastic changes forced on the people were not easily accepted. One of the major changes is that

In the late 1970's, the world was hit with the events of the Iranian Revolution, a movement in which the Shah was overthrown in replacement with Ayatollah Khomeini. Causes for this movement included the economic, political, and socio-economic conditions in Iran before the Revolution. Economically, the Shah's hopes for the country ended up being their downfalls while politically, the Shah's ruling as a dictator prohibited the freedom of the Iranians. Socio-economically, the Shah didn't place much emphasis on religion, angering the majority of the population. The overthrow of the Shah led to the uprise of a religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, a figure supported by many. Unlike advice

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

Furthermore, the Shah purchased billions of dollars worth of weapons of security from the US. In 1979 the realm was overthrown by extreme Islam’s that were followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. The intention of the Iranian students was to display their displeasure against the Shah. Their demand was the return of the Shah for a trial followed by his death. In addition, they asked that the US stay out of their country’s affairs. Carter’s approach required the safeguarding of American hostages but also guaranteed an alliance with Iran. Carter’s tactics on the situation had devastating effects on his run for re-election (Hamilton, 1982).

During Satrapi’s early childhood, the traditions and history of Iran had been going through drastic changes. The Iranian Revolution was when Iran’s monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the revolution. ii

The life of women living in Iran changed drastically due to the Islamic revolution. As a result, Iranian women are manipulated by an oppressive government that rules in the name of the Muslim faith. The 1979 Islamic revolution and uprising was targeted at the removal of the Pahlavi Dynasty. The dynasty was ruled by two kings, Reza Shah then Mohammad Reza Shah, who was solely known as Shah. In 1979, the Shah fled Iran to escape the Islamic revolution and the life of many Iranians changed forever.

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.

The Iranian Revolution begins in 1979 during the tenure of Ruhollah Khomeni. He reinstates Shi’a Islam and public and private life are returned to strict Islamic values. Iran continues to be a mostly Muslim country with some religious minority groups (Christians, Jews, ect.).

Various factors influenced the 1979 Iranian revolution, but at the core of this significant event was Islamic fundamentalism. The Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, led this movement to end the thirty-seven-year reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, also known as the Shah of Iran (Diller 1991, p.152). The revolution was a combination of mounting social, economic, political and religious strains. The nation of Iran was never colonized, unlike some of its bordering countries, making its people intolerant of external influences. The Shah had gradually westernized and secularized his country, creating a strong American presence that was being felt

Khomeini became the new leader of Iran. With the change of leadership and system of governance came also a new constitution based on Islamic codes and law. (w.l.cleveland, M,bunton, A, history of the modern middleast, p.432)

Religion played a huge part in unifying the social groups Iran had. Ergo, the more a leader had on their side, the more numbers that leader had. During the Iranian Revolution, there “existed no separation between a man’s obligation as a believer and his duties as a citizen…”(Brandis, 8). However, the Shah stated religion was “unimportant to him as a ruler, whereas it was a concern among the people”(Üniversitesi) . His “rival” Ayatollah Khomeini, was arrested in an attempt to speak out against this policy. This led to a decrease in the Shah’s numbers, along with an increase of protests from the followers of Khomeini.