Reza Shah

In preparation for our upcoming essays on Touba and the Meaning of Night, the past few class lectures, discussions and assigned readings have centered on Iran and it's drastic reforms during the beginning of the twentieth century. Many changes occurred during this time period, all in the name of modernity. In order to keep up with the innovations going on in Europe, Iran hoped to conform to the European standard of modernity. In order to ensure that Iran could essentially "keep up" with the innovations and progress in the West, Reza Shah drastically reformed many of the country's major institutions. Many changes centered on women, and changing their roles in society from not only wives and mothers, but also to students and active members of the workforce. In order to kickstart these changes for women, Reza Shah opened state sponsored schools for girls and forced all Iranian women to unveil. These changes and the overall desire to broaden womens' roles was precipitated by what is commonly referred to as "the woman question." Western powers suggested that Iran had trouble establishing modernity because of the way in which it treated its women. This suggestion was really a testament to the strong governing power Islam held in the country, and men were affected by modernizing reforms as well.


It is very clear that almost all of Reza Shah's reforms had to do with secularization of government and government institutions. What confuses me, however, is that modern day Iran is a very religious state. I know that all children born in Iran are automatically considered Muslim, and the country's governing system is essentially a theocracy. Religious leaders hold gratuitous amounts of power and religious law sets the foundation for most political laws as well. I don't quite understand where the principles set by Reza Shah's secularizing reforms changed to strict religious doctrine.