How did Reza Shah Pahlavi Transform Iran?

Answer 1

He argued that plans to modernize and Westernize Iran were insulting to Islam.

Answer 2

Vilayat al-Faqih
Ayatollah Khomeini described and promoted the argument of "Vilayat al-Faqih" (ولاية الفقيه), literally meaning "the Islamic Law Jurist State". This was the first major argument in favor of a Shiite brand of Islamism. Prior to this, Islamism, which is the intent to create a modern state in accordance with Islamic laws, was exclusively a Sunni-led and discussed enterprise. By incorporating Shiite Law with the Islamist political arguments, he was able to create the first modern Shiite theocratic movement. He promoted this argument quite strongly while he was in exile in Iraq and France. The argument on behalf of Vilayat al-Faqih became the galvanizing argument among conservative Iranians to lead to the overthrow of the Shah, who was a Westernized Secularist.

Role in the Government
After the Shah of Iran was deposed in January 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran and became part of the interim government led by Mehdi Bazargan. He skillfully played the more numerous communist and left-wing parties against one another in order to consolidate more power and advance his Islamist agenda. When Bazargan resigned in November 1979, Khomeini was able to effectively become the Supreme Leader of Iran.

Answer 3

Answer 1

This is a controversial issue in Iran. The regime would like the people to think that it was in fact the people and their support that brought Khomeini back and ended the tyranny of the Shah. That sounds very vain though as at the time of the revolution Khomeini was living in exile in France. The controversial issue for many Iranians is how was it that at the age of no internet, no satellite and no mobile phones, how was it that Khomeini's speeches and messages were delivered in the form of 'shabnameh' (night letters) to almost everyone's house every night?

The strongest debate going on in Iran now is that Khomeini and the Islamic revolution was aided by the west in an attempt to over turn the Shah. The Shah had apparently stopped taking orders from his patrons, in his last speech he held up a bottle of wine promising his people that in the near future he would be selling their oil in bottles instead of barrels. Some believe that was when the west decided they had to over turn him.

BBC was the surrogate mother of the Iranian Islamic Revolution by broadcasting every message, letter and speech of Khomeini from France. US told the Shah to leave the country when the protests were getting stronger and then Khomeini was brought back to Iran.

It seems Khomeini and his party outsmarted the countries that helped them to power. What they said before the revolution was completely different from the actions they took after it. Even the people who had fought and voted for the revolution were now unsatisfied. But then a big mistake triggered by the west united the whole country: Iraq attacked Iran one year after the revolution backed by western powers who provided the Arab country with arms and weapons.

Iranians, being very patriotic, forgot/ignored everything else to protect their country. The result was that after the 8 year war had ended, the Islamic regime was too well established to be changed and reformed. The people had been tricked into paying a very expensive price to be under another tyrannical regime. This one worse than the previous one as this one was using religion to justify every brutal action.

Answer 2

Shah had violated the constitution, condemned the spread of moral corruption in the country and submitted himself to the will of America and Israel.

On the afternoon of 'Ashoura (June 3, 1963), Ayatollah Khomeini delivered a speech at the Feyziyeh Madrasah denouncing the Shah as a "wretched miserable man", and warning him that if he did not change his ways, the day would come when the people would offer up thanks for his departure from the country.

On June 5, 1963, Imam Khomeini was arrested. This sparked three days of major protests throughout Iran and led to the killing of some 400 pro-Khomeini protesters. The Imam was kept under house arrest for 8 months and he was released in 1964.

In November 1964, Ayatollah Khomeini denounced both the Shah and the United States, this time in response to the "capitulations" or diplomatic immunity granted by the Shah to American military personnel in Iran. In November 1964, Imam Khomeini was re-arrested and sent into exile.

In early 1970 Khomeini gave a series of lectures in Najaf on Islamic Government, later published as a book titled variously Islamic Government or Authority of the Jurist (Welayat al-Faqih).

Imam Khomeini spent over 14 years in exile, mostly in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. Initially he was sent to Turkey on 4 November 1964 where he stayed in the city of Bursa for less than a year. Later in October 1965 he was allowed to move to Najaf, Iraq, where he stayed until being forced to leave in 1978, after then-Vice President Saddam Hussein killed his son Mustapha and forced the Imam out after which he went to Neauphle-le-Château in France where he stayed for four months.

Imam Khomeini became the most influential leader of the opposition to the Shah perceived by many Iranians as the spiritual, if not political, leader of revolution. As protest grew so did his profile and importance. Although thousands of kilometers away from Iran in Paris, the Imam set the course of the revolution, urging Iranians not to compromise and ordering work stoppages against the regime.

He sent letters to Iran which were copied and distributed among people.

Imam Khomeini is known to be a revolutionist to overthrew the Shah's monarchy by "pen and paper"

Answer 4

for about 300 years Iran was under king of western countries specially UK and USA .

after the Islamic Revolution Iran changed to a independent country and also an important country in Middle East .

after Islamic Revolution Iran started to support Hezbollah of Lebanon and stood against USA policies .

Answer 5

Answer 1

In the Iranian (or Islamic) revolution in 1979, Iran officially changed it's name from the Imperial State of Iran to the Islamic republic of Iran. Iran adopted Islam as state religion and the Ayatollah, an Islamic religious rank, the head of state or the Supreme Leader. Presidents and Members of Parliament and city counsels are elected by popular vote every four year. Iran today represents a successful practice of what it officially calls a Religious Democracy, a democracy guided by Islamic teachings supervised by a religious authority who in turn is appointed and monitored by a Council of Experts whose members are elected by popular vote.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected as president of Iran in 2005. He was a revolutionary president who ran in 2005 with the tried motto of "compassion", "justice" and "sincere service to the people". The motto was translated into domestic policies that targeted social justice. Decentralization of socioeconomic opportunities from major cities to the deprived provincial and rural regions, distribution of "justice shares" to low income citizens, and a subsidiary reform bill aimed at redirecting price subsidies from high-consumption families towards the lower-income families who deserved them.

Ahmadinejad also advocated a strong stance against Western pressures that was seen as stifling Iran's self-determination and technological progress.

During his term, Iran completed and industrialized its nuclear enrichment program aimed at civilian purposes. Despite relentless western Propaganda accusing Iran of pursuit of nuclear weapons, the International Atomic Energy Agency, an international organization responsible for supervision of Nuclear activities of member states have repeatedly confirmed that Iran inspected nuclear activities are peaceful.

[Please see the Discussion Section for a commentary on Answer 2.]

Answer 2

In 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected as president of Iran. He is a conservative Islamic president who continues the trend of cutting off Iran to the outside world.

Under his government, censorship laws, which had only extended to pornography and alcohol, expanded into censorship of movies with political themes (such as those that covered the Green Revolution), Western TV shows not deemed "in line with Islamic Values" like "Lost", Western books and Iranian books that are not deemed "in line with Islamic Values" like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Codeand Sadegh Hedayat's The Blind Owl. Further subjects also fell under scrutiny such as: Documentation of the Holocaust, Books about Unrecognized Religions (such as Baha'i, Hinduism, or Buddhism), and Reformist Shiite Clerics who opposed the more conservative government (such as Grand Ayatollah Montazeri).

People who disobey the laws gets punished harshly. Women who are convicted of adultery, individuals convicted of homosexuality, and individuals convicted of apostasy (leaving Islam), are hung. Literary dissidents are jailed. Many people, including Americans who accidentally crossed the border between Turkey and Iran, were imprisoned and sentenced to jail terms for being spies and were only released after Oman facilitated a US payment.

Ahmadinejad also ordered the continuation of the construction of nuclear power facilities to generate electricity for Iran. Many people around the world believe that this is also used to make nuclear weapons. Iran denies this but the International Atomic Energy Agency, the supervising watchdog has made clear that they are unable to see the most sensitive areas where they believe it is most likely that nuclear weapons could be fashioned. However, in the places that the Iranian government has opened up to inspection, they have found not evidence of nuclear weapons.

Before the Islamic revolution, Iran had close ties to the west and even to Israel, Iran was the second Muslim nation to recognize Israel. During WW2 trade routes in Iran were used by the allied forces to trade with Russia. This all changed after the Islamic revolution. Iran does no longer recognize Israel and has declared it the enemy of Islam. Iran refers to Israel as "the Zionist regime" or "the occupied land". Iran has also worsened relations to Europe and the US. Iran often calls the US "Big devil" and Israel "little devil".

Because of these threats the western world and Israel are very cautious with Iran.

Answer 6

He made Islamic law the law of the land. He followed a foreign policy that was strongly against the U.S. He also led his country in a long war against its neighbor Iraq.

Answer 7

Security. Railway construction. Bank. University. Isfahan Steel. Regular Army. Hospital. School. Technical College.

Answer 8

He argued that plans to modernized and Westernize Iran were insulting to Islam.