Why did fundamentalist Muslims in Iran overthrow the Shah in 1979?

Answer 1

Iranians in general were opposed to the Shah and opposed him from nearly every political perspective. These include:

• Some said that the Shah was not religious enough
• Some believed that the Shah's policies were too oppressive
• Some believed that the Shah was modernizing without preserving Iran's cultural heritage and others were angry that he was moving too slowly
• Some believed that the Shah was a sellout to foreign interests and others believed his foreign focuses were too narrow.
• Some believed that the Shah did not grant women enough rights and others thought that women had too many rights.
• Some believed that the Shah should have encouraged more middle class growth and others believe he should have put more capital into industry.
• Some wanted more privatization and others wanted more nationalization.

As concerns the specific reasons for the Iranian protests and the eventual revolution, they were numerous:

Wealth & Employment Issues: Most importantly was the wealth inequality between the Shah and the nobility and common Iranian citizen. There was immense poverty throughout the country and high unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and few protections for laborers.

Religious Conservatism: Most Iranians were religiously conservative (similar to the American Bible-belt as opposed to the Fundamentalists) and resisted the Shah's Westernization and Secularization movements in Iran. The Shah made clear that religion was not important to him as a ruler, whereas it was a concern among the people.

Puppet to Foreigners: The Shah was also seen as a Western puppet, especially when the CIA overthrew the Iranian President Mossadegh in 1953 to re-install the Shah of Iran and considering how Iran profited very little from its own petroleum.

Brutal Secret Police: The Shah had a notorious secret police called the SAVAK which harassed people and killed scores of others.

Authoritarianism: Iranians wanted to be in control of their own affairs. Iranians wanted some form of self-government or democracy. The Shah was an authoritarian who prevented people from expressing their own opinions.

Issue for Fundamentalists: Particularly in the fundamentalist camp, the fundamentalists in Iran felt that the Shah epitomized a Western culture of greed and materialism, because he tried to establish a more secular government. As with many rulers, he accumulated vast personal wealth. He also employed various means to suppress political dissent. It was ultimately the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini who in 1979 succeeded the Shah and established an Islamic religious government.

Note: The fact that these grievances existed does not mean that the Islamic Republic of Iran afterwards "fixed" these problems.

Answer 2

The main reason was that majority of Iranians are Shia Muslims and wanted a Islamic government of jurist and Shah was in fact an anti-Islam dictator.

Answer 2

Because they did not want to see Iran develop successfully since it is a main source of oil. So they determined it is much better to bring the ayatollahs to power instead of Shah.

Don't believe the media. Ayatollahs, like the Taliban, are handwork of the United States, the UK, and Israel.

Answer 3

Iranians in general were opposed to the Shah and opposed him from nearly every political perspective. These include:

• Some said that the Shah was not religious enough
• Some believed that the Shah's policies were too oppressive
• Some believed that the Shah was modernizing without preserving Iran's cultural heritage and others were angry that he was moving too slowly
• Some believed that the Shah was a sellout to foreign interests and others believed his foreign focuses were too narrow.
• Some believed that the Shah did not grant women enough rights and others thought that women had too many rights.
• Some believed that the Shah should have encouraged more middle class growth and others believe he should have put more capital into industry.
• Some wanted more privatization and others wanted more nationalization.

As concerns the specific reasons for the Iranian protests and the eventual revolution, they were numerous:

Wealth & Employment Issues: Most importantly was the wealth inequality between the Shah and the nobility and common Iranian citizen. There was immense poverty throughout the country and high unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and few protections for laborers.

Religious Conservatism: Most Iranians were religiously conservative (similar to the American Bible-belt as opposed to the Fundamentalists) and resisted the Shah's Westernization and Secularization movements in Iran. The Shah made clear that religion was not important to him as a ruler, whereas it was a concern among the people.

Puppet to Foreigners: The Shah was also seen as a Western puppet, especially when the CIA overthrew the Iranian President Mossadegh in 1953 to re-install the Shah of Iran and considering how Iran profited very little from its own petroleum.

Brutal Secret Police: The Shah had a notorious secret police called the SAVAK which harassed people and killed scores of others.

Authoritarianism: Iranians wanted to be in control of their own affairs. Iranians wanted some form of self-government or democracy. The Shah was an authoritarian who prevented people from expressing their own opinions.

Issue for Fundamentalists: Particularly in the fundamentalist camp, the fundamentalists in Iran felt that the Shah epitomized a Western culture of greed and materialism, because he tried to establish a more secular government. As with many rulers, he accumulated vast personal wealth. He also employed various means to suppress political dissent. It was ultimately the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini who in 1979 succeeded the Shah and established an Islamic religious government.

Note: The fact that these grievances existed does not mean that the Islamic Republic of Iran afterwards "fixed" these problems.

Answer 4

Other than hording wealth among the elite of Iran, denying people the rights to vote for their politicians, having a brutal secret police, depriving Iran of its natural oil wealth, being ultra-secularist, and appearing to be a puppet to foreign/Western interests, nothing comes to mind.

Answer 5

The Shah of Iran abdicated because he felt that he was no longer able to hold back the Islamic Revolution; it was too widespread. It had become apparent by Black Friday (September 8, 1978), that there would be a confrontation between the Shah and the Revolutionaries of all stripes. The Shah ultimately did not believe that he could effectively suppress the Revolutionaries.

The Shah's first place of exile was Egypt in early 1979, followed by Morocco, the Bahamas, and Mexico, each for a few months. However, he fled to the USA towards the end of the year for medical treatment. That is when Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini comes to ran and rose to power. He ordered an attack on the us embassy and the taking of American hostages in order to demand the extradition of the Shah (so that he could be tried by the Iranian people and executed). President Jimmy Carter was seriously considering handing the Shah back to Iran, but thankfully, Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt, accepted the Shah as a permanent exile in his country.

[See Discussion Section]

Answer 6

Answer 1

The Muslims of Iran had many objections to Shah Pahlavi. Iran is a nation with a large amount of money generated by oil exports, and the Shah failed to use that money to improve the standard of living of Iranians; there was particular concern during his reign about housing shortages. In addition, he lived a life of luxury which was very decadent by Islamic standards, and he exhibited little devotion to Islam. His secret police were known to abuse the population in an effort to maintain his power through fear. He enjoyed close relations with the US and consequently, made no effort to harm Israel, which was another US ally, even though Islam in general is committed to the destruction of Israel.

Answer 2

The overwhelming majority of Iranians were Muslims, so there is no really no difference between asking this question and asking why Iranians in general were opposed to the Shah. People opposed the Shah from nearly every political perspective. These include:

• Some said that the Shah was not religious enough
• Some believed that the Shah's policies were too oppressive
• Some believed that the Shah was modernizing without preserving Iran's cultural heritage and others were angry that he was moving too slowly
• Some believed that the Shah was a sellout to foreign interests and others believed his foreign focuses were too narrow.
• Some believed that the Shah did not grant women enough rights and others thought that women had too many rights.
• Some believed that the Shah should have encouraged more middle class growth and others believe he should have put more capital into industry.
• Some wanted more privatization and others wanted more nationalization.

If the intended question was "Why were Fundamentalist Muslims in Iran opposed to the Shah?", please see the Related Question below.

Answer 7

There is a supposition in this question that is partially incorrect, namely that the primary or most important people to overthrow the Shah were fundamentalist Muslims. This is not the case. The Iranian people, most of them traditional or secular Muslims revolted all across Iran. The Religious Fundamentalists were a minority of those Iranians who were protesting. When the Shah abdicated, there was an intent to create a Republic that represented the Iranian People. However, between April and October of 1979 (after the Shah had already departed the country and the Islamic Republic of Iran declared) the Ayatollahs were able to consolidate power and create the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran which vested the Religious Fundamentalists with political power.

Iranians in general were opposed to the Shah and opposed him from nearly every political perspective. These include:

• Some said that the Shah was not religious enough
• Some believed that the Shah's policies were too oppressive
• Some believed that the Shah was modernizing without preserving Iran's cultural heritage and others were angry that he was moving too slowly
• Some believed that the Shah was a sellout to foreign interests and others believed his foreign focuses were too narrow.
• Some believed that the Shah did not grant women enough rights and others thought that women had too many rights.
• Some believed that the Shah should have encouraged more middle class growth and others believe he should have put more capital into industry.
• Some wanted more privatization and others wanted more nationalization.

As concerns the specific reasons for the Iranian protests and the eventual revolution, they were numerous:

Wealth & Employment Issues: Most importantly was the wealth inequality between the Shah and the nobility and common Iranian citizen. There was immense poverty throughout the country and high unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and few protections for laborers.

Religious Conservatism: Most Iranians were religiously conservative (similar to the American Bible-belt as opposed to the Fundamentalists) and resisted the Shah's Westernization and Secularization movements in Iran. The Shah made clear that religion was not important to him as a ruler, whereas it was a concern among the people.

Puppet to Foreigners: The Shah was also seen as a Western puppet, especially when the CIA overthrew the Iranian President Mossadegh in 1953 to re-install the Shah of Iran and considering how Iran profited very little from its own petroleum.

Brutal Secret Police: The Shah had a notorious secret police called the SAVAK which harassed people and killed scores of others.

Authoritarianism: Iranians wanted to be in control of their own affairs. Iranians wanted some form of self-government or democracy. The Shah was an authoritarian who prevented people from expressing their own opinions.

Issue for Fundamentalists: Particularly in the fundamentalist camp, the fundamentalists in Iran felt that the Shah epitomized a Western culture of greed and materialism, because he tried to establish a more secular government. As with many rulers, he accumulated vast personal wealth. He also employed various means to suppress political dissent. It was ultimately the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini who in 1979 succeeded the Shah and established an Islamic religious government.

Note: The fact that these grievances existed does not mean that the Islamic Republic of Iran afterwards "fixed" these problems.