The 1979 Revolution and Modern Day Iran Research Paper

The 1979 Revolution and Modern Day Iran - Research Paper Example This paper gives a detailed analysis of the history of Iran from the time of the revolution of the 1979 to the modern day Iran. The Shah The Rise of the Shah Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi came to power in 1941 after the allied forces forced his father to abdicate the throne to him fearing that the father would cooperate with the Nazi Germany (Rehan, 4). By doing this the allied forces hoped to develop a great influence in the region. However, in the early 1950s the allied forces got a rude shock when Shah’s hold on power was challenged by the Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh. Under the country’s constitutional monarchy the prime minister had a lot of powers and Mossadegh took advantage of this power and nationalized Iran’s petroleum industry without the knowledge of the British and the US (Rehan, 4). This move angered the two countries and in 1953 they organized a coup de tat that deposed Mossadegh and established the Shah who had been forced to flee after the first coup attempt against Mossadegh failed. After the success of this second coup, Pahlavi Shah was allowed to return to power but as a de facto autocrat who was sympathetic to both the United States and the United Kingdom. Shah remained in power until 1979 when he was overthrown. The Shah’s policies When Pahlavi replaced his father on the throne, he wanted to carry on with his father’s reforms but failed to do so because of a contest for control of the government that erupted between him and Mossadegh. He became involved with the affairs of the government and opposed the prime minister, and as a result established himself as a very important ally of the west (Rehan, 4). For example, in 1976 he disregarded the Islamic tradition by changing the Islamic calendar to imperial calendar when he marked Cyrus’ birth as day one as opposed to Prophet Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina. Nevertheless, in the country Pahlavi advocated reform policies, culminatin g in the 1963 white revolution, which included eradication of illiteracy, land reforms and the expansion of voting rights to women (Rehan, 5). He also allocated oil revenues to various agencies and projects, and directly supervised the Iran’s security organizations and armed forces. The Effects on the Shah’s Policies on the People Although some of the shah’s policies were of great benefit to the country, most of them especially the white revolution policy received great oppositions. The policies provoked religious leaders and caused civil unrest in the country. The religious leaders were against the policies because of the fear of losing their traditional authority over the shah. The growing uncertainty of the shah’s rule also provoked the intellectuals who were seeking democratic reforms. His ties with the United States and the British was also strongly opposed by the Iranians and considered as anti-Islamic (Rehan, 5). The Revolution Causes of the Revolu tion The causes of the 1979 revolution are unclear and remain a subject of historical debate. However, as indicated in most historical books, the revolution occurred as a result of the people of Iran being fed up with the Shah’s rule which was characterized by corruption, ill-conceived modernization programs, suppression of civil liberties and western loyalties (World Savvy Monitor, par 5). The Shah was considered by many to be a puppet of the western power, oppressive, corrupt,