Iranian Revolution

In a previous blog entry posted a few weeks ago, I spent a good deal of time musing about how Reza Shah's secularizing reforms eventually lead to the Islamic Republican government that hold power in Iran today. Up until class today, I knew very little about the Iranian Revolution that occurred in 1979. The history of the revolution is seemingly extremely complex and was in the works for many years before actually coming to full fruition. It seems to me, although Iranians had issues with their government since Reza Shah first overthrew the Qajar Dynasty, that Mohammad Reza Shah's "White Revolution" was a major catalyst of social revolt.

From what I understand--through the Cleveland reading and the documentaries shown in class--the White Revolution was intended to change the socio-economic climate in Iran to one that would more greatly benefit the country's people. Many of the reforms varied from Reza Shah's reforms because they were not all geared toward catapulting Iran into secularization and modernity. In fact, the reforms set in place by the White Revolution seemed much more focused on how to better life for Iranian citizens living in the country. Programs were established for needy mothers, water sources were nationalized, and measures were taken in order to combat corruption in the bureaucratic government system.

It was right after the failure of the White Revolution when Ayatollah Khomeini first appeared as a legitimate political activist and leader. When considering the question posed in class today--"did the Iranian revolution result from the citizens' desires or from the encouragement of Ayatollah Khomeini"--it is really a tough question to tackle. Citizens' irritation with the government (because of failed land reforms) arouse right around the same time Khomeini began speaking out in favor of a religious republic. I think that the Iranian people were unhappy with Mohammad Reza Shah's government because it did not support how they wanted to live their everyday lives, and were therefore susceptible to accepting leadership from Khomeini (even though their agendas were not necessarily synonymous).