The Green Movement in Iran
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Before the presidential election of 2009, the color green in Iran had religious and social significance. The color green was used as a way to reference the Prophet Mohammad and protest Sunni Muslims among Shia Muslims, who were now the religious majority in Iran. The color green was also representative of hope and positive feelings for change in the upcoming months leading up to the election. The outcome of the 2009 presidential election in Iran would prove to be an extremely important time in the country’s history. From peacefully protesting to innocent civilians being struck down by a seemingly erratic and desperate government, Iranian people’s support for the Green Movement and what it stood
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On June 20th, Revolutionary Guards, paramilitary force Basij, and a paramilitary force by the name of Lebas Shaksi recognized for its civilian clothing uniform, were dispatched and many people were beaten, hospitalized, and shot. Neda Agha-Soltan was a spectator of the Green Movement protests that had been happening nearby, when a sniper on the roof of a house shot her in the chest and killed her. Portraits of Neda and her bloodied face soon became symbols of the movement that wanted political change and was instead met with violence.
From then on until the end of the year, supporters as well as other causes operating in the name of the Green Movement took to the streets during national holidays and tributes to protest. The motto often spoken at these protests was “Where is my vote”. During the fall protests, the main focus changed from the election of Ahmadinejad to challenging the system itself as well as Supreme Leader Khamenei. With the change of issues the motto changed as well. Some examples are ‘“Death to the Dictator” and “Khamenei is a murderer. His rule is null and void.”’ (Milani, Abbas. “The Green Movement.” The Iran Primer, 27 October 2010, Web). On September 18th, known as Jerusalem Day, instead of normally shouting “Death to Israel” protesters shouted “Death to Russia” as it was the first government to acknowledge the election of Ahmadinejad. On November 4th for the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover, instead
Both Iranian art and Iranian politics have undergone many drastic transformations during the 20th and 21th centuries. In the early 20th century, Iranian modern art was born. Reza Pahlavi took power, ending the Qajar dynasty. The new Pahlavi dynasty would only last 54 years, but under Reza Shah, Iran began the process towards westernization. The conflict between this rapid modernization and Iran’s strong cultural tradition affected the art of the period- visual culture blended western styles with Persian and Islamic imagery. The 1979 revolution brought a wave of traditionalism and Islamization to Iran, and art reflected this trend. Western influence was shunned, and more and more political and religious themes began to appear. During the turn
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 was an uprising by the common people of Iran who were upset about the doings of their Shah and his government. The Shah’s treatment of his own people can be characterized as unjust and cruel. After all, he severely limited the rights of groups whom he felt threatened his power to rule. He opposed the political rights of religious Shiite groups, which especially enraged Iranians, and led to the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. The Ayatollah was a religious leader who would overthrow the Shah and establish a proper Islamic State in the nation. Ever since, the so called Islamic Revolution has raised concern over the dangers that Iran may pose to the Western world. Nevertheless, the Iranian Revolution was a progressive movement that reflected the major concerns of Iranians towards corruption in government, all with the intention of removing injustices and enforcing rightful liberties and common needs.
In August of 1978 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini responded to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s declaration that there would be free elections in Iran with, “The people will not rest until the Pahlavi rule has been swept away and all traces of tyranny have disappeared.” Khomeini led the resistance movement against the Shah during the Iranian Revolution despite being in exile. The popular resistance to the Shah begins in January 1978, transforms into a revolution in September of 1978 and eventually leads to the Shah stepping down in January 1979 and Ruhollah Khomeini becoming the Supreme Leader of the new Islamic Republic. This paper argues that the events of Black Friday 1978 are the turning point in the Iranian revolution. Black Friday changed a religious protest movement into a revolution that demanded an Islamic Republic headed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to replace the Shah’s monarchy. To understand how Black Friday came to pass, the background of the event starting with the first protest in January of 1978 will be examined. This will show that Black Friday was the first non-religious demonstration, thereby changing a protest movement into a true revolution. Then the significance of Black Friday will be examined by exploring the fallout of Black Friday, how the revolution changed shape after this historic event. To conclude this paper the importance of Black Friday today will be examined by looking at how it
On June 12, 2009, a series of protests broke out after the results of the presidential election in Iran. The riots started in the capital city of Tehran, and quickly spread throughout the Islamic Republic. Protestors gathered in other major cities around the world, including New York City (Mackey). Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Iranians were protesting against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection, which was allegedly the result of electoral fraud.
Seemingly the death of intellectual life from the western viewpoint, the cultural revolution in Iran opened a new chapter in the country. As they denounced Western influences, they made way for a new wave of Islamic culture. The Cultural Revolution affected more than just the educational aspect of Iranian society, it also heavily affected its citizens. The Iranian Cultural Revolution was centered on the reformation of the education system in Iran, so the impact the cultural revolution had on Iranian students, educational institutions, and professors would outweigh any other.
When thinking of Iran the first thing that comes to most people's mind is a secluded country that supports terrorism located somewhere in the Middle East. However, like every country in the world, there is more than what news and social platforms portray. Iran has many exports some good some bad and there social classes, government, and economy are much similar to those of the United States. Even though there are negative things about Iran you can't hold the entire country accountable. Bad people will do bad things but every citizen should not fall under those perceptions.
Iran a place located east of Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and west of Afghanistan (“Where is Iran”). Iran is having a revolution with its people because Mohammad Khatami, fifth president of Ian lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the presidential elections held in June 2009, former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi accused the new president Mohammad Khatami of rigging the vote. Soon after the announcement that President Mahmoud Ahmadiejad rigged the election, Green Revolution started where thousands of young people of Iran storm though the streets to protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadiejad. But the revolution did not last very long all thanks to its military, Green Revolution was over and more than 500 young Iranians has been capture for
Before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the country was on course to becoming a westernized secular country. The Shah of Iran was more interested in developing the country along western model than anything else. People were left on their own to make decisions regarding moral issues. Religion was a private affair and people were free to practice their religion, as they wanted. People enjoyed personal freedoms comparable to those enjoyed in the west. They only thing they lacked was political freedom as all the power rested with the Shah. The elite controlled political power and anyone who wanted to join politics needed the sponsorship of the elites. The elites also controlled the economy largely because Shah appointed members of the
The emergence of the Islamic Republic in late 1970’s Iran demonstrates how middle class Iranian people purged themselves of the Pahlavi Dynasty in an effort to continue down a more righteous and egalitarian path. As a result, the country underwent a complete social upheaval and in its place grew an overtly oppressive regime based in theoretical omnipotence. In response to this regime, the very structure of political and social life was shaken and fundamentally transformed as religion and politics became inexorable. As a result, gender roles and the battle between public and private life were redrawn. Using various primary and secondary sources I will show how the Revolution shaped secular middle class Iranians. Further, I will show how the
Iranians deeply value their social and cultural traditions. The Persian revolution formed the basis through which the country evolved and foundation upon which its empires were established. The Islamic regime practiced by the country formed the basis through which the country’s sophisticated institutions were built. Shah seemed to champion for secularization and westernization (Axworthy,
However, the ideas had already spread throughout the Iranian people and religious protesting escalated continuously. People’s ideas of recreating a religious based government persisted to an unstoppable level. Khomeini, whom many protesters felt to be a hero, said in a speech in 1979, “Do not try to westernize everything you have! Look at the West, and see who the people are in the West that present themselves as champions of human rights and what their aims are. Is it human rights they really care about, or the rights of the superpowers? What they really want to secure are the rights of the superpowers. Our jurists should not follow or imitate them” (Ayatollah Khomeini: speech on the uprising of Khurdad 15, 2010). Based on this quote, the “voice” of the protesting Iranians was that westernization was not a good thing because the west does not care for human rights and freedoms of the lesser powers in the world and that the way to change for the better is to impose the Islamic values that already existed into society. In January of 1979, the Shah fled the country under the pressure of the people and Khomeini returned to Iran to be greeted as a hero (Bentley & Ziegler, n.d., p. 1117). Fighting erupted between Khomeini’s supporters and remaining military officials and on the eleventh of February the government fell. On the first of April, Khomeini proclaimed the beginning of the new Islamic republic (Islamic
This book, “Iran Awakening”, is a novel written by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. Ebadi weaves the story of her life in a very personal and unique way, telling the account of the overthrow of the shah and the establishment of a new, religious fundamentalist regime in which opposition to the government are imprisoned, tortured, and murdered. By simply reading the Prologue, one can see the love Ebadi has for Iran and her people. This love that Ebadi has for the oppressed of Iran is a theme that appears throughout the book and seems to be a large factor behind her drive to stand up for those who cannot stand up for
The green revolution is generally used to explain the application of modern, western-type farming techniques to less economically developed countries. The Green Revolution = == ==