The Iranian Revolution and the Shi`a Ascendancy
The Iranian Revolution and the Shi`a Ascendancy
The Iranian revolution is often called the Islamic revolution. According to Wright the revolution happened in 1979 with the overthrowing of the Pahlavi dynasty which had been the monarchy in power. Iran had been in the hands of the monarch for longer periods than characterized the colonization of other modern countries (Nars, 2007). After the monarch was overthrown it was substituted by the Islamic Republic. This new republic of Iran was governed by the revolution's leader Ayatollah R.Khomeini (Nars, 2007).
According to Nars (2007), the climax of the revolution began with demonstrations against the monarch at the beginning of 1978 although the demonstrations and protest had been going on for much longer.The demonstrations intensified and caused the functions of the country to come to a halt. The Shah left the country on exile at the beginning of 1979 having failed to reach and agreement with the protesters (Kahlil, 2009)2.
After the Shah left the leaders of the revolution ceased the opportunity to head to Tehran where they were supported by many people in Iran. There was little resistance offered by Shah's remaining troops. According to Nars (2007), shortly after the Iranians went through a referendum chose to be an Islamic country.This became official April 1979. Additionally a new constitution was also voted in making the new leader of the republic Khomeini.
The revolution has largely been viewed as surprising in world affairs. This is because it did not have the ordinary reasons to start and at the same time it occurred in an accelerated manner. Most of the people in Iran supported the revolution and the seemingly superior monarch army did not out rightly squelch the revolution (Nars, 2007).There was also a lot of support for the revolution outside the country. Movements and organizations in different parts of the world sought support for Iran against a harsh ruler (Nars, 2007).
There have been several reason cites for the cause of the evolution. According to Nars (2007) one of the cause is the change that had come as a result of the constitution after the 1909 revolution.Although the Constitution was meant to make the country more democratic and pursue the desires of the people, it fell short of that. As a result people wanted reforms so that the goals of the constitution could be met (Nars, 2007)3.
The changes that had been happening did not engage the country a s cohesive unit. According to Nars (2007), many felt that they needed something else that would unify the country more.The Islamic faith seemed to be the natural bond and was thought that by returning to the Islamic way the country would have a brighter future that was more united (Esposito, 1990).
The country had been Islamic since the sixteenth century (Keddie, 2003).As a result the Islamic faith was deeply rooted in the legal, social, political and religious life of the Iranians. Those who felt that an Islamic revolution was the solution got together, and started working on the revolution. When the last Shah came into power, he came with an agenda to improve the infrastructure and social services needed in the country (Keddie, 2003)5. Having been a military leader, he embraced modern developments and hoped to move the country in that direction (Keddie, 2003).
In addition he did not favor the Islamic daily life and aimed to restrict its practice altogether. The son of Reza Khan Mohammed Reza S. P. replaced his father supported by the British. He too shared his father's ideals for their country and continued in the same pursuits as his father. It was because of the Western influences that the Iranians felt was under way that they resisted the rule of the Shah and wanted to make Islam a concrete part of Iran as a country (Keddie, 2003).
In the beginning the changes that the Shah proposed had unsettled the ordinary life of the Iranians. There were big changes that interfered with their land, businesses and social life (Keddie, 2003). However many continued to be patient. However when the Shah began to attack the religion the stakes was raised.
According to Keddie (2001), the threat to Islamic faith was one of the most pressing reasons for the revolution. Since the Shah was the embodiment of this, it seemed natural that he had to go along with what he represented. The fact that people were ill prepared for the changes proposed and effected by the Shah did not help the matter and badly interfered with the practice of the Islamic faith (Keddie, 2003).The Shah did not entertain dialogue and many opposed to him on religious grounds were imprisoned. At the most basic level the Shah lost touches with the people and did not seem to cater to their desires. The more Islam was threatened the more the western ways the Shah was introducing appeared wrong (Keddie, 2003).The Shah did not attempt to find a middle ground and thus Muslims felt that to protect their faith and ultimately their country they had to join the revolution. To many, Shah did not seem to care about equal rights or justice and left many with little choice (Keddie, 2003).
According to Keddie (2003) the time was right for a revolution in the Islamic world. While other countries had seen changes with Asia departing from the Monarch rule and Africa departing from white rule, the Islamic world produced its own revolution in Iran making it the new world's last revolution (Keddie, 2003).While some have argued that the results of the revolution reversed the developments made in Iran, over time Iran has proved that its system can still bring about democracy of sorts. The governance has borrowed from the western world in addition to its Islamic system (Keddie, 2003).
Another reason that has been cited for the revolution is the reforms that the Shah instituted (Keddie, 2003).These reforms covered many issues and were meant to benefit the economy. However they did not win the favor of Iranians especially religious leaders. They were presented without dialogue with stake holders and were forced on the people without regard for their input.
In the same way the economic reforms were perceived as too strict. Clearly the Shah was on a mission to boosts the economy but he severally alienated his people (Nars, 2007).
However people were not ready for the pace at which his government worked. The religious leaders had their power threatened and in some cases taken away as they now had little say in family legal matters or education (Keddie, 2003)8. Because of the manner in which the reforms affected the people those in rural areas were particularly in opposition to the rule of the Shah. There was emphasis on technology and modern way of doing things thrusting traditions aside (Keddie, 2003).
Iranians were also opposed to the Shah's financial budget which concentrated on modernization programs and weaponry. As a result many started to protest as early as the 1960s. The Shah responded with exiles to those opposed to his rule. Many in the opposition like Khomeini started calling for the removal of the Shah as the only way to protect the country. This was mostly done through Islamic system like the mosque. In the next 10 years the Shah lost more favor with the people (Nars, 2007).
Additionally the government began its attack on Khomeini who had become popular with the people. Many others had been the victim of the government and torture and imprisonment had bee a regular treatment of those opposed to the Shah. This solidified the revolution movement and the country rallied around Khomeini.
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