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Almost all of Iran is made of Muslims, so the question is almost analogous to asking why Iranians revolted. 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.
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∙ 10y ago
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Fundamentalist Muslims in Iran were opposed to the shah because he had?
westernized Iran
What year did Ayatollah Khomeini come to power in Iran?
1979 with the overthrow of the shah's government.
Repressive pro-western ruler whose 1979 overthrow precipitated a crisis for the US?
Shah of Iran
The overthrow of the shah of Iran in 1979 resulted in a?
government run by Islamic fundamentalist leaders
Was the Shah of Iran a Muslim?
The Shah of Iran is a title for the Kings of Persia stretching back to antiquity, even preceding Islam. Some of the Shahs, such as those of the Parthian and Sassanid Dynasties were Zoroastrian. All Shahs of Iran after the year 800 C.E. were Muslim and All Shahs of Iran after 1550 C.E. were Shiite Muslims.
Where was Reza Shah the ruler of?
Reza Shah, full name Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last king of Iran. He ruled Iran from September 1941 until his overthrow in February 1979 by the Iranian Rebellion.
What did young islamic revolutionaries do in iran in 1979?
They overthrew the Shah and created the Islamic Republic of Iran.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.
What did Shah of Iran do to the Muslims?
He was in fact against Islam. it is better to ask what he did for destroying Islam. he was a puppet of enemies of Islam to control Muslims of Iran and keep them uneducated and poor and under control.
Who helped overthrow the shah of Iran?
The entire (with a few exceptions) Iranian Population rose up in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini was able to co-opt the populist movement to take over the post-revolutionary government.
What religion were represented in the population of Iran before the revolution?
Before the Islamic revolution, Islam was still the dominant religion, with most Muslims adhering to the Twelver Shi'a sect. The revolution was mainly to create an Islamic state and to overthrow the Shah, encouraging Islamic Unity.
Did the Shah of Iran know about the fundamentalist takeover in Iran?
Yes he did. First of all because the fundamentalistst chased him out of the country, and secondly because there had been continuous unrest and ever-larger demonstrations led by the fundamentalists against his regime during the year leading up to the Shah's overthrow.
1959 visit of shah of Iran to US?
shah of iran visited of america in 1950
