This study investigates the causes of the iranian revolution of 197879. Forty years ago, iran s ruling shah left his nation for the last time and an islamic revolution overthrew the vestiges of his caretaker government. The iranian revolution at 30 middle east institute. 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.
The iranian peoples revolution is only a point in the start of the revolution of the great world of islam. In simple terms, the regime of muhammad reza shah pahlavi was overthrown by a coalition of opposition forces dominated by shii muslim fundamentalists. The islamic revolution occurred in 1979, in the muslim majority country of iran. On february 9th, 1979, million of iranians came on to the streets of teheran to welcome the return of the religious leader ayatollah. Islamic revolution simple english wikipedia, the free.
He helped overthrow the much hated regime of the shah. Causes and consequences for regional stability leicester university dissertation. Suzanne maloney, editor of the new brookings press volume the iranian revolution at forty, discusses the enduring significance of the 1979 iranian revolution with brookings press director bill. At the first signs of escalating unrest in early 1978, neither iranian nor u. Revolution, reform, and the future of the islamic republic, suzanne maloney 5.
The iranian revolution of 1979 was many years in the making. Pdf this paper intends to explore the role and key contributions that ayatollah ruhollah played in the. After the shah of iran and his regime were overthrown by revolutionaries in february 1979, iran was in a revolutionary. A repressive theocracy had replaced an authoritarian monarchy. Iranian revolution the iranian revolution is considered the 3rd greatest revolution in history. The february 1979 iranian revolution was the largest urban mass uprising. The rise and fall of the iranian revolution of 1979. Middleclass iranians, leftist university students, and islamist supporters of ayatollah khomeini united to demand the overthrow of shah mohammad reza pahlavi. Chapter two provides a discussion of the historical background of the country and the role the clergy played in shaping its political development. This question is not only pertinent to the left in iran, but to the us left as well, in its relations to both the movement within iran as well as to the uprisings sweeping the middle east and north africa. The shah, iran s ruler for nearly four decades, had fled the country. The 1979 iranian revolution was a major landmark in iranian history. The islamic revolution of 1979 took place in a nonarab. Acting under the cover of a hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a cia agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six americans in tehran during the u.
Socioeconomic and political factors which contributed to the outbreak of this revolution are. And the end goal of the revolution was never a state, it was the expansion of the revolution. Embassy in tehran and the ensuing hostage crisis, have reverberated through decades of tense relations between iran and america. Iranian revolution by world history 101 teachers pay. The 1979 iranian revolutions enduring impact on the world. Just as islam increasingly became the catalyst for the 1979 revolution, it also acted as a unifying force for iranians throughout khomeinis tenure as supreme leader.
Today it is believed that less than 25,000 remain however far fewer jews practice openly as the iranian government recently released a survey stating that less than 10,000 jews remain in. The iranian revolution, past, present and future iran chamber. The article made mention of iran s national intelligence and security organization savak. Most popular iranian revolution movies and tv shows imdb. The iranian revolution of 1979 has been described as one of the epochal events of the twentieth. The multiple contexts of the iranian revolution in.
Reza shah, the elder pahlavi, came to power during the 1920s after promoting the idea of. The year that shaped the modern middle east new york. Its lessons for today kamran nayeri and alireza nasab achievements the february 1979 iranian revolution was the largest urban mass uprising since the 1917 russian revolution. 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. The iranian revolution of 1979, as all historical revolutions, did not happen in a. Religious elements of the 1979 islamic revolution september 30, 20 this case study investigates the social, economic, and political dynamics of 1970s iran that led the iranian people to accept, and then maintain, religion as the basis of a new political system after deposing mohammad reza shah pahlavi in 1979. Iranian revolution islamic revolution 1979 revolution protesters in tehran, 1979 participants people of iran ayatollah ruhollah khomeini location iran date 1963 1979 result overthrow of shah mohammed reza pahlavi establishment of the islamic republic of iran headed by vilayate faqih iran iraq war the iranian revolution. Iran shah reza pahlavi ayatollah khomeini iranian revolution islamic republic islamic fundamentalism. The revolution and the iranian revolution 2172 words 9 pages. The picture show the recent unrest in iran harkens back to the 1979 islamic revolution. By roger cohen tehran, iran s capital, was in a state of revolt on jan. In the years before the islamic revolution of 1979, iranians considered it a most hated and feared institution, primarily because of its regular use of arbitrary arrest, tortures, and executions against political opponents of the shah. The true story behind the secret mission to save six americans during the iran hostage crisis and the foreign ambassador who worked with the cia to bring them home hardcover.
Before the iranian revolution of 1979 it is estimated that there were 150,000 jews living in the country. The consolidation of the iranian revolution refers to a turbulent process of islamic republic stabilization, following the completion of the revolution. Islamist revolutionaries opposed the western secular policies of the authoritarian shah of iran mohammed reza pahlavi supporters of ayatollah khomeini organized protests in opposition to the authoritarian government of the shah. In iran, the revolution of 1979 and the rise of islamic fundamentalism resulted in a return to many traditional customs the revolution of 1979 ended the westernization and modernization of iran, and set up a traditional government and society based upon the koran. Summary of 1979 islamic revolution for dummies the iranian. 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. 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. During the same period, there were rankandfile attempts to form. The iranian revolution of february 1979, by homa katouzian. Including separate fillable pdf files for student answers and esubmission. The iranian revolution there are various parties that have different viewpoints and opinions of the revolution.
I can examine the iranian revolution of 1979 and analyze various perspectives on the how the revolution had both a positive and negative impact on iranian society. 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. Iran s islamic revolution after the overthrow of the shah, an american ally became one of its biggest adversaries. The 1979 iranian revolution council on foreign relations. The iranian revolution of february 1979 middle east. Background and causes of the iranian revolution wikipedia. The organs of the iranian state serve the revolution, not the other way around.
In simple terms, the regime of muhammad reza shah pahlavi was overthrown by a coalition of opposition forces dominated by. The aim is to present an explanation of the factors that led to the iranian revolution in 1979. The iranian revolution a history and analysis of the revolution in which socialists aligned themselves with islamists to overthrow the westbacked shah. Forty years ago, ayatollah ruhollah khomeini spearheaded a revolution that deposed a monarchy in iran. The effects of the 1979 revolution, including the takeover of the u. The iranian revolution also known as the islamic revolution was the revolution that transformed iran from a monarchy under shah mohammad reza pahlavi to an islamic republic under ayatollah ruhollah khomeini. 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. The iranian revolution opened a new chapter in the history of mass popular revolutions in the world. The safavid dynasty ruled iran until 1722, when an afghan army invaded the country and captured isfahan. The revolution of february 1979 was a revolt of the society against the state. Final document of the xv ministerial conference of nonaligned movement held. The rise and fall of the iranian revolution of 1979 nodo50.
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