Islam in Iran
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1979 — Shah of Iran overthrown by fundamentalist Islamic revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini.

The Reasons for the Fall of the Shah:

• Ayatollah Khomeini did succeed in uniting all opposition to the Shah under the Islamic barrier.

1. Shah suffered from a lack of legitimacy (no real claim based upon inheritance or pop. support) / not a ‘de facto’ ruler.
2. Failure of his ‘White Revolution’ (attempt to confiscate property of the greatest landowners to distribute to the poor) à Shah was not willing to really push reform hard.
3. The breaking up of the power of the landowners (shifted hatred for landowners to the Shah)
4. His Pro-Western policies (closely linked w/ US) ß Shah had sided w/ foreign powers against his own people to strengthen his power (at the 1951 nationalist victory)
5. His western-style ‘reforms’: popular amongst minority of wealthy Iranians but mostly seen as an attack on traditional values.
6. His brutal methods including the use of the secret police (Savak).
7. Shah lost even the support of the prosperous middle class (failure to allow any real participation in the political process)
8. Corruption: didn’t deal w/ the corruption of the royal family.
9. Paid too little attention to the anti-US feeling, i.e.: willingness to provide oil for Israel
10. His pro-western policies angered other Moslem states who were willing to aid opposition to the Shah (i.e.: Syrian and Iraki aid)

The Creation of an Islamic State:

1. Creation of a position of a supreme leader (both head of state and chief justice, to be held by the most suitable religious leader)
2. President, elected directly by the people (four year terms)
3. Creation of a National Consultative Assembly (Majlis) elected by the people (similar to western type parliaments)
4. Council of Guardians: ensure that nothing was done against the tenets of Islam.

Ayatollah Khomeini was careful in his reforms to create an Islamic state to obtain popular support (March 1979: 98.2% yes to Islamic republic w/ 82% attendance)

Islamic Law brought in line with the Sharia (1982):

1. Banking and commerce to obey Islamic prescriptions
2. Women to wear veil and long dresses in public.
3. Polygamy reintroduced.
4. Contraceptives were banned.
5. Education adapted with segregation of the sexes.
6. Public beatings and executions became commonplace.
7. Opposition parties as ‘anti-Islamic’.

System of ‘parallel powers’ to maintain clerical control:

1. Revolutionary guards to crush civilian riots / Islamic courts to enforce Sharia
2. Komitehs (watchdogs guarding against unIslamic dress or sexual/social dissent) feared.
3. Expediency Council shadows the Majlis (can veto and stop Majlis from passing laws)

1. Minority groups persecuted.
2. At the referendum on the ‘Islamic state’ those who voted had their I.D. papers marked.
3. Freedom of press did not include ‘matters…detrimental to the fundamentals of Islam…’
4. Use of torture against opponents of the Gov.
5. Attempts to form political parties (as allowed by constitution) not encouraged.

The Effects of the Iranian Revolution:

1. The creation of a fundamentalist Islamic state caused a shift in the balance of power in a region of strategic importance.
2. Provided a model for a successful Islamic revolution.
3. Gov. in many Moslem states placed in difficulties b/c of the Ayatollah’s calls to Moslems to rise up against non-Islamic Gov.
4. Gov. of Moslem states w/ pro-western foreign policies had to moderate their policies
5. Led to a marked rise in international terrorism.
6. The violently anti-US policies of the Iranians led to a break in diplomatic relations.
7. Promotion of the concept of ‘Jihad’.

Islamic Unity

Koran says all Moslems are one nation and therefore present day boundaries between states are artificial. But attempts at Islamic Unity have been directed against the ‘enemies of Islam’ rather then to bring about unity in itself.

1. Major political differences between Moslem states (i.e.: S.A. is a conservative monarchy while Libya is ruled by a revolutionary who overthrew the king)
2. Religious differences: most Moslems are Sunni but Iran is largely Shia / differences between fundamentalists and modernists.
3. Few Moslem states are truly Islamic states.
4. Nationalism is a strong force, esp. in states which have recently obtained independence.
5. Divisions within Moslem society: gaps between the wealthy and the mass of the people.
6. Divisions between rich and poor states (oil producing vs. Poor states, although rich states like S.A. have use part of their wealth to promote Islamic causes)
7. There remains a great deal of western influence which undermines traditional Islamic values à very difficult to benefit from advanced western technology w/out accepting some elements of western culture.

Other Notes in this Category

1. Apartheid and the Dutch Reformed Church
2. Catholic Church in Latin America
3. Catholic Church in the 1990's
4. Christian Democracy : From Fascism to the CDU
5. Christianity in Politics
6. Islam and the state
7. Islam in Iran
8. Islam in Saudi Arabia
9. Orthodox Church in the USSR
10. Political Christ
11. The Position of Women in Islamic Society
12. Zionism and the State of Israel

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