Islamic Revolution of 1979
By: Bella Bryan
Summary:
- The Iranian Revolution is one of the major political events in the history of modern Iran
- The 1919 uprisings were aimed at getting rid of the Pahlavi Dynasty
- This dynasty had two kings: Reza Shah and Mohammed Reza Shah
- Shah - a title of the former monarch of Iran
- Reza Khan became Reza Shah and then attempted to turn Persia, which he re-named Iran in 1935, into a modern, secular, western-style state
- In 1953 the British and the CIA tried to help form a coup to remove Mohammad Mosaddegh
- In 1963, the Shah tried to institute what he called a White Revolution - top-down modernization led by the monarchy
- Khomeini did not approve of the Shah's "White Revolution" because reforms would grant more rights to women, neglect of the poor, and sale of oil to Israel
- Khomeini used guards and and strict courts to apply harsh laws. By 1979, several hundred people had been executed for defying Khomeini