Iranian Revolution
Siavash Ahmadi
You Say You Want a Revolution...
The Iranian Revolution took place between 1978 and 1979 within the country of Iran. The "revolution" refers to the events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Many of the older, more religious people of Iran were dissatisfied with the Shah’s rule and his increasing efforts to westernize their country. In addition to westernization, there were incredulous social injustices occurring and the exile of Ayatollah Khomeini caused a great uproar from the citizens of Iran. The first demonstrations against the Shah began in January of 1978. These demonstrations and strikes went on to August, and then December essentially paralyzing the country.
The people of Iran were greatly inspired by their Islamic beliefs. They were influenced by each other and their resilience to authority and unwillingness to back down. No matter what view a person has on religion, everyone can unanimously agree that when people come together for something they truly believe in, in this case their religion, there is very little that can stop them. These ordinary people were incredibly powerful and were able to bring a king down from his throne. They were so powerful because they were able to band together and stand up for their true beliefs. The uprising encouraged others to come along by standing for so many different positions. Even if someone did not agree with one stance, they had a multitude of other problems they could agree with. The uprising was also so encouraging to others due their incredible resilience to back down.
Eventually, after countless riots and the loss of a few lives, the Shah left Iran for exile in January of 1979. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran with a greeting from several million Iranian citizens. Khomeini was appointed as the new Supreme Leader of the country. After his arrival, guerrillas and rebel troops took the streets to fight against and troops that were still loyal to the Shah. On April 1st of 1979, the country of Iran voted by a national referendum to become an Islamic Republic and later approved a new theocratic constitution in which Khomeini became the Supreme Leader. Iran was evolving so quickly and becoming quite westernized and in an incredibly short amount of time, all that progress was lost and they became an Islamic Republic hindering the country’s growth and prosperity for years to come. The people of Iran during the revolution can be thought of as the proles in 1984. They were just ordinary people living very measly and quiet lives, but they became fed up with way their country was being run. They stood together and were able to bring the change they wanted for their home. In Iran they were becoming westernized and are now a very strict nation with very strict Islamic laws. In 1984, they are being limited from the rest of the world and are able to do much so they want to be free. It’s weird to see that in the book they wanted to progress, but in real life they essentially went back to their older ways.
Citation:
"Top 10 Revolutions Felt Around the World." Listverse. Listverse, 04 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.