Pdf this paper intends to explore the role and key contributions that ayatollah. From october of 1977 to february of 1979, the people of iran called for the end of the monarchy but they didnt necessarily agree on what should replace it. Aug 17, 2009 remembering irans 1979 islamic revolution as part of a series of conversations marking 1979 as a seminal year in the muslim world, steve inskeep talks to iranian born journalist kasra naji about. Nov 25, 2019 from october of 1977 to february of 1979, the people of iran called for the end of the monarchy but they didnt necessarily agree on what should replace it. Two artciles, one by moojan momen, the religious background of the 1979 revolution in iran, and another by satya j. You will be quizzed on the major players and events of this revolution. The revolution of 1979 ended the westernization and modernization of iran, and set up a traditional government and society based upon the koran. The newsmagazine for teens tehran, iran s capital, was in a state of revolt on jan. Ruhollah khomeini returned from exile to lead the new islamic republic.
The revolution of february 1979 was a revolt of the society against the state. The iranian revolution was a conflict from roughly 1977 to 1979 that saw the prowestern shah pahlavi overthrown by a coalition of religious clerics, students, communists, and everyday citizens. Iranian revolution 1979 iranian revolution 1979 religious. Following the success of the revolution, the islamists instituted a theocratic dictatorship and wiped out the workers movement and the left. Soon after the islamic revolution in 1979, led by khomeini, only the austere black was allowed to decorate the streets of the iranian capital. In simple terms, the regime of muhammad reza shah pahlavi was overthrown by a coalition of opposition forces dominated by shii muslim fundamentalists. The iranian revolution, past, present and future iran chamber. How iranand the world around ithave changed in the four decades since a revolutionary theocracy took power irans 1979 revolution is one of the most imp. The iranian revolution of 1979, with its massive peaceful demonstrations and its funda mentalist islamic ideology, puzzled many western observers. The safavid dynasty ruled iran until 1722, when an afghan army invaded the country and captured isfahan.
Black friday is an adventure interactive drama video game developed and published by ink studios, with assistance from by nfusion interactive. Covering islam took as its point of departure the iranian revolution, which by then had been fully counterrevolutionized by the forces of the ayatollah. Religious elements of the 1979 islamic revolution amazon s3. Several events in the 1970s set the stage for the 1979 revolution. The iranian revolution of february 1979, by homa katouzian. I suppose we could talk about how economically the revolution and the subsequent events have been a disaster. James buchan read persian at oxford university and in isfahan in the 1970s and was for many years. Nevertheless, for the iranian world the advent of islam meant not liberation but defeat and conquest by an alien people. The iranian revolution past, present and future brought the safavids into direct conflict with the ottoman empire and led to two centuries of intermittent warfare between those two powerful states.
Sep 25, 2011 the iranian revolution also known as the islamic revolution or 1979 revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of irans monarchy and its replacement with an islamic republic. The 1979 revolution, which brought together iranians across many different social groups, has its roots in irans long history. Background and causes of the iranian revolution wikipedia. The 21 and 22 of bahman 57 12 and february 1979 were the days of the collapse of the monarchic system when domestic tyranny, and the foreign dominance that relied on it, were. Jun 18, 20 through the lens of our nightly news and today journalists, we see how the countrys politics were completely transformed in less than a year from ayatollah khomeinis return from exile and the. The iranian revolution was the islamic revolution that replaced the secular monarchy of shah mohammad reza pahlavi with a religious republic led by ayatollah ruhollah khomeini its causes continue to be the subject of historical debate and are believed to have stemmed partly from a conservative backlash opposing the westernization, modernization and secularization efforts of the. Edward said and the iranian revolution dissent magazine. The intensity of the iranian revolution of 1979 and the suddenness with which it appeared out of the blue surprised many people both in iran itself and in the rest of the world. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In january 2009, the foreign office released under the thirty year rule many documents pertaining to the last year of the revolution. Brief background information explains the underpinnings of the revolution and basic facts about islam. The iranian revolution 19771979 international center on. In some of its basic characteristics, the revolution did not conform to the usual norms of western revolutions, because the state did not represent just an ordinary dictatorship but an absolute and arbitrary system that lacked political legitimacy and a social base virtually across the whole of the society. Causes and consequences for regional stability leicester university dissertation.
The fundamental driving force behind the iranian revolution of 1979 was the rise of conservative positing of islam in a modernist version of it. Jun 18, 2019 the revolution was mostly nonviolent, although there were incidents of armed struggle. It was, for the first time after hundreds of years a revolution where people demanded the entry of religion into politics and not the opposite. Iranian revolution 1979 religious based revolution ayatollah a title of a religious leader khomeini descendant of the house of husayn judaism adonai yahweh torah written by prophets islam allah mecca mohammad visited by gabriel gave him the word of allah spoke in arabic lived in mecca quran koran written in arabic the literal word of god christianity. Iranian revolution of 1979 oxford islamic studies online. I could mention the estimates that if iran had kept on its pre1979 trajectory, its gdp would be the largest in the middle east today and. During the last twentynine years, enough evidence has been published to substantiate the unexpected. Iranian armed forces to quash the islamic revolution. Brief background information explains the underpinnings of the revolution and basic facts about islam, including the differences between shiite and sunni sects. The 1979 iranian revolution revisited a sociological explanation for its astonishing outcomes. On february 1, 1979, ayatollah khomeini returned to iran from exile. From an iranian writer who lived through the 1979 revolution.
As an iranian, the answer for this question is very obvious for me. The iranian revolution is a thorough history of the iranian revolution. A chador clad militia woman, armed with an uzzi sub machine gun, controls a demo against iraq. In this presentation, i hope to examine some of the factors that contributed to that revolution.
Through the lens of our nightly news and today journalists, we see how the countrys politics were completely transformed in less than a year from ayatollah khomeinis return from exile and the. The iranian revolution also known as the islamic revolution or 1979 revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of irans monarchy and its replacement with an islamic republic. In november 1979 students stormed that american embassy in tehran in protest at america allowing the shah into the country for medical treatment. Mar 06, 2018 what caused the iranian revolution in 1979. They, and other documents in the bbc written archive, allow for a serious scrutiny of the complicated relationship. The iranian revolution of 1979 has been described as one of the epochal. Remembering irans 1979 islamic revolution as part of a series of conversations marking 1979 as a seminal year in the muslim world, steve inskeep talks. The knot of history, which was broken after 1979, has once again been retied in iran. By looking at the historical, domestic, international, and socioeconomic factors related to the revolution, this case study examines the turbulent context of iranian society in the 1970s and the crucial role that religion played in shaping modern iran. Only foreign dignitaries were invited to the threeday party, whose extravagances recalled those of persian king ahasverus roughly 2,500 years previously. What do iranians think about the 1979 islamic revolution. Reza shah, the elder pahlavi, came to power during the 1920s after promoting the idea of. Iranian revolution, also called islamic revolution, persian enqelabe eslami, popular uprising in iran in 197879 that resulted in the toppling of the monarchy on february 11, 1979, and led to the establishment of an islamic republic.
One similarity in the leadership of kemal ataturk, gamal nasser, and shah reza pahlavi is that all these leaders. Nov 21, 2012 as an iranian, the answer for this question is very obvious for me. The acknowledged leader was ayatollah ruhollah khomeini. Iran s islamic revolution after the overthrow of the shah, an american ally became one of its biggest adversaries. Two of those books were from the azari poet samad behrangi. Celebrating its 35th anniversary, irans islamic revolution shocked the world and redrew the map of global alliances. View 1979 iranian revolution research papers on academia. The picture show the recent unrest in iran harkens back to the 1979 islamic revolution. I could mention the estimates that if iran had kept on its pre 1979 trajectory, its gdp would be the largest in the middle east today and.
The cia world factbook on iran andor the us department of. Irans islamist and pop cultures seems to mingle by loosing themeselves into each other anna mahjar barducci. The iranian revolution of february 1979 middle east. An historical interpretation of the iranian revolution jstor. Less than a year later, 66 americans were taken hostage at the u. The iranian revolution at 30 middle east institute. This subject will be covered in the second lecture. The iranian revolution past, present and future glittering achievements, the sassanid empire was characterised by extreme oppression of the downtrodden masses.
The revolution in iran thrust islam into mainstream discourse in america. Before the revolution western and secular influences on iranian society before the revolution. Its true that ayatollah khomeini was the leading opposition personality. He was appointed to the council of the islamic revolution in 1979, and between 1979 and 1981 he was a member of the majlis, serving as deputy minister of defense, commander of the revolutionary guard, and representative on the supreme council of defense. Islamic revolution in iran that would alter this country forever. The shah fled into exile in january 1979 and exiled cleric ayatollah. The iranian revolution put an end to the rule of the shah mohammed reza pahlevi, who had alienated powerful religious and political forces with a programme of modernisation and westernisation january 1979 saw the ussupported shah forced to leave the country after widespread demonstrations and strikes. In october 1971, the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the persian empire was held at the site of persepolis. Emphasizing the interaction between political organizations and social forces, ervand abrahamian discusses iranian society and politics during the period between the constitutional revolution of 19051909 and the islamic revolution of 1977 1979. The iranian revolution of 1979 was a pivotal moment in revolutionary history. The shah, iran s ruler for nearly four decades, had fled the country. Reza shah, the elder pahlavi, came to power during the 1920s after promoting the idea of 2,500 years of persian monarchy mohammadi 38. A multiclass opposition overthrew an autocratic ruler, leading to the establishment of a theocratic state. This concise but informative history chronicles how the iranian revolution of 1979 transformed iran from a monarchy to a fundamentalist islamic republic.
From his residenceinexile in neauphlelechateau on 12 january, 1979, ayatollah. Background to the revolution shah reza pahlevi, returning to iran after a weeklong exile due to the failled mohamed mossadegh coup detat. The iranian revolution of 1979 has been described as one of the epochal events of the twentieth century, inaugurating a period of islamic revivalism and struggles against modernization in. This is a clip from a documentary titled crisis in iran by the history channel with mike wallace. It was released in april 2016 for microsoft windows and macos, in june 2016 for ios devices, and in december 2016 for android devices.
The iranian revolution can only be victorious if it is based and guided by the lessons of the 5 classsics iof marxismleninism marx, engels, lenin, stalin, and enver hoxha. This quiz and its attached worksheet will help you measure your knowledge of the iranian revolution of 1979. The egypt riots and the 1979 iranian revolution, a note of. January 1979 saw the ussupported shah forced to leave the country after widespread demonstrations and strikes. Friedrichebertstiftung herausgegebenen buch the iranian revolution and the changing power. The iranian revolution of 197779 was the first in a series of mass popular civil insurrections which would result in the overthrow of authoritarian regimes in dozens of countries over the next three decades. There were, of course, many and varied factors and we are probably. The bbc persian service and the islamic revolution of 1979.
What are the main points of the islamic revolution in 1979. The iranian revolution opened a new chapter in the history of mass popular revolutions in the world. The iranian revolution 1977 1979 download pdf version by stephen zunes april 2009. During this era, iran experienced a harsh economic downturn, urban. In the iranian revolution of 1979, ayatollah sayyid ruhollah musavi khomeini ousted mohammad reza pahlavi, who succeeded his father as shah of iran in the early 1950s. Economic decline and revolutionary turmoil in the 1970s even though the peak of the revolution was in 1979, key preliminary events occurred throughout the mid 1970s. They felt that he was modernizing and westernizing their country to a degree. This outcome contrasts sharply with other modern revolutionary movements, which have been fought in the name of nationalism or socialism and which have concluded. Iranian revolution of 1979 revolution in which a coalition of forces opposed to the westernoriented pahlavi regime and dominated by shii muslim clerics overthrew the government of muhammad reza shah pahlavi. Ruhollah khomeini ruhollah khomeini centre greeting supporters after returning to tehran, february 1979. The iranian revolution a history and analysis of the revolution in which socialists aligned themselves with islamists to overthrow the westbacked shah.
He also served several times as general secretary of the islamic republic party. Time line of the iranian revolution 1963 1975 1961 1981 1965 19791941 1953 1970 1980 1964 1962 1978. The iranian revolution of 1979 was many years in the making. There was a revolution in iran in 1979 because the people of iran had become disenchanted with the rule of the shah. Gabriel, class analysis of the iranian revolution of 1979, are useful.
Specially, the part regarding the political transformation of the iranian society between two revolutions, i. Here is an overview of the events that led up to the iranian revolution, as well as the events in the revolution and the aftermath. My brother of 17yo was in shahs jail for having read three books. Toufan could only fulfill its revolutionary tasks of leading the proletariat and the peasants in the revolution for the seizure of political power and establishing the.
On 1 february, ayatollah ruhollah khomeini returned to iran following 14 years of exile in. However, its important to remember that the iranian revolution itself was more than a religious uprising. Ironically, 30 years ago iran was one of americas staunchest middle east allies, until a revolution in january 1979 toppled irans prowestern monarchy and brought to power an antiamerican shiite muslim cleric, ayatollah ruhollah khomeini. Demonstrations against the shah commenced in october 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance, and intensified in january 1978. This paper is a case study of the 1979 iranian revolution to explain why the outcomes of the revolution were basically at variance with the original demands of the initial uprising.
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