Axis of Evil: Ayatollah Khomeini Born Ruhollah Mousavi in 1902 near the village of Khomeini, Iran which he would later adopt as his surname, Ayatollah Khomeini would go on to become the most evil despot of all time. From the beginning, the roots of his malevolence were nurtured by his circumstances. His father, Seyed Moustafa Hindi, an Islamic scholar and prominent citizen of Khomeini, was murdered in his infancy, leaving him to be raised by his mother and aunt, who both succumbed to a cholera outbreak during his adolescence. Following their deaths, and the culmination of World War I, he left home to study at the Islamic seminary in Arak, and later Qom, under the guidance of Ayatollah Yadzi, a contemporary Shia authority. Khomeini himself soon became a leading Shia scholar, as he published numerous literary works and gave lectures at leading seminaries on his way to amassing a large and loyal following. In 1963, he was anointed as a member of the marja, the supreme legal authority within the Shia sect, forming a basis of power from which he would launch his political career (Algar). This could not have come at a worse time for Iran, as Mohammad Reza Shah was beginning to enact his “White Revolution” which sought to use the vast wealth that Iran had acquired from oil production to bring the nation out of feudalism, improve infrastructure, modernize the government, and give rights to women and religious minorities (Reynolds Wolfe). Khomeini vehemently opposed the Shah’s plan because of the perceived influence of the United States and Israel and insisted that Iran must be a theocracy under Sharia Law. Because of his views, he was exiled from Iran; however, he continued speaking out against the Shah’s regime for the full extent of... ... middle of paper ... ...th and early 20th centuries entwined a power struggle between Great Britain and Russia, which only intensified after the discovery of oil in Iran in 1901. Following this discovery, western nations systematically exploited Iran for its natural resources, and fought to install sympathetic governments in the hopes of acquiring better oil deals, culminating in 1953 with the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh by a combination of US and UK forces (Yergin). The continual fighting left Iran a political mess that was only rectified by Khomeini’s strong, Islamic government. Though he severely limited the power of the Iranian citizens, he increased the power of Iran within the Middle East, and world at large, as its strong military presence and large oil reserves empower the country to resist interference from countries that wish to take advantage of them.
Kinzer tells us that the Iranians celebrated their nationalism in taking control of their oil, but their success was a shock to the British multinational companies in Iran. They did not like the idea of Iran nationalization, so they plan a coup to overthrow the Prime Minister Mossadegh. But this plan failed and the British were disarmed and sent back to their country closing down their embassy in Iran. The British tried to present their case to the United State in a way that the United State would intervene. So they presented a case that Mossaghe is not only nationalizing the Iranians oil, he is also leading Iran into communism. This case stirred the American action and they feared if they assassinate Mossaghe, his seat will be open and communist ...
Not only did the religious history play a large role in Iran’s beliefs but also foreign invaders have been imposing their power on the Iranian region for thousands of years. Iran...
America and Iran had tricked the Soviets which left them very angry, and this inevitably led to the Cold War. But less than a decade later, America had done something which caused Iran to change their opinion of them. In 1951, Iran had recently elected a prime minister by the name, Mohammed Mosaddeq, which he nationalized the countryś petroleum industry, long the domain of the British-dominated AIOC. This move, however, pitted the two governments against each other in a bitter political fight. The Truman administration had tried to work between both sides, but Dwight Eisenhower had quickly concluded that Mosaddeq represented the problem rather than the solution to the crisis. They decided that they wanted him out and later he was kicked out and Mohammad Reza Shah took his place for the next twenty-five years. Shah not only gained access to sophisticated American weaponry, but also obtained tacit White House permission to forgo any serious effort at reform. Over the years, the internal resentment against the Shahś political and economic policies was building to a peak, but the depth of the problem escaped the notice of American
Prior to the Islamic Revolution, Iran was ruled by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and furthermore, not governed by religion. The Shah’s White Revolution launched a series of reforms in 1963 that are indicative of where women’s rights for Iran were heading prior to the Islamic revolution. The reforms included, giving women the right to vote, run for office and to become lawyers and judges. This large of a reform in regards to women’s rights, was far more drastic than anything Iran had experienced in the past, and the shock of these “extreme” measures, received a large backlash from over 90% of the population1, the Shia Muslims.
When Iraq invaded and occupied the country of Kuwait in August 1990, the Bush administration was faced with several dilemmas. From a foreign policy point of view, this action could greatly destabilize the balance of power in a part of the world that was vital to U.S. interests. The United States was dependant on a continuous flow of oil to drive its economic machine, which Kuwait supplied greatly. In addition, this move would put more power into the hands of a government that was not only unfriendly to the U.S., but a sworn enemy of the state of Israel, a strong U.S. ally. In addition to, the fall of communism had created what George Bush had described as, "A new world order," and would become the first major test of how the U.S. would handle its role as the sole remaining super power in this "new world order." There were many challenges facing the Bush administration as to the manner in which they would handle this first major international crisis. The Bush administration had to develop a consensus of the major remaining powers, and appear not acting alone in its response to President Saddam Hussein's actions of invading Kuwait. They also yearned to keep Israel from being involved so as not to alienate the remaining Middle Eastern nations. Lastly, they faced a domestic dilemma, in that much of the American public had significant reservations about involving U.S. troops involved in a foreign conflict. There remained a bad taste of Vietnam among the American public, and there were very mixed responses to American involvement in Somalia, Nicaragua, and Grenada. For the Bush administration, Hussein was not a merchant who could be bargained with, but rather an outlaw who would have to be defeated by force. The Bush administration was faced with a task of developing (more or less) overwhelming support from the U.S. people to take any action in Kuwait, which was accomplished by a dramatic public relations move to demonize Saddam Hussein in the eyes of the American people.
“An Enemy of the People”, a play written by Henrik Ibsen, is about a small town on the southern coast of Norway and how it perceives and accepts truth. The town is governed by Peter Stockmann and doctored by his younger brother, Thomas. The main conflict flares up between these two siblings and then spreads throughout the town as they both try to do best by the “community.”
First, the Shah, out-of-touch with what his people wanted, became the catalyst for massive xenophobic and anti-Western feelings to spread throughout the nation. By giving up traditional Islamic ideals and becoming sort of a “puppet” for the U.S. and the Western world, the Shah made a mockery of himself and of those traditional Islamic values, which were paramount in Iran. For many years, Iranians wrote letters to the Shah, voicing their discontent with many aspects of his rule — the spread of the Bahá’í Faith, the collapse of Islamic traditions, and the crumbling economy. The Shah, however, did nothing to fix these issues. Instead, he designed a political reformation movement, hoping to silence his opponents, to introduce personal rights for women, and to establish a sense of fiscal equality. This series of reforms, which appeared to be a blatant attempt to Westernize Iran, became known as the “White
symbolizes blatant racism. To others, it is seen as a savior of the black community.
Ludwig, P. (1999). Iranian Nation and Islamic Revolutionary Ideology. Die Welt des islams. 39(2). 183-217.
Throughout the 20th century, the United States tried to control Iran to ensure the exportation of oil to America. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came to power in 1941 and became allies with the United States. However in the 1950s, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh began to gain political power. Unlike the Shah, he was extremely against western influence in Iran. Mossadegh won national elections and he demanded more power. In order to retain influence in Iran, the CIA helped overthrow Mossadegh and bring Pahlavi back to power....
Under the Shah's son, Iranian citizens were often whipped, killed execution style, or went to prison for speaking out. Brainwashing people into believing, that the way to heaven was by obeying the Shah's rules and if they did not honor the Shah they would go to hell. After the deposing of the shah by revolution, the people of Iran elected a democratic leader.... ... middle of paper ...
The Iranian revolution of 1979 has been one of the most significant developments in the Middle East and the entire Muslim world since the early years of the 20th century. The revolution brought a big transformation in Iran’s sociocultural society by overthrowing a centuries old monarchical system and establishing an Islamic republic based on the rule of a Shi’a Jurisconsult. The Iranian revolution has a lot of impact on several Islamic countries. There are many revolutions took place in history and the Iranian revolution was one of them. The Iranian revolution turned Iranian society upside down and became one of the defining moments of the 20th Century.
Because of Mossadeq and his contributions to the nationalization of Iranian oil, Britain and the United States felt the need to a quick solution for the dangers that t...
Ayatollah Khomeini’s foundation to become the central figure and religious leader of the Iranian Revolution began in his childhood. He was born into a fairly wealthy Shi’ite Muslim family on September 24, 1902. His true name was Ruhollah Musavi, but he adopted the name of Khomeini after his place of birth. He never really knew his father because his father was murdered in 1903. When Khomeini was four years old, he began attending a local religious school and continued to attend it until he was sixteen years old. He then furthered his education at a theological college. He studied with Yazdi Ha’iri, a prominent Islamic scholar at the time. After he completed his college education, he became an Islamic teacher at Ha’iri’s school. After Ha’iri died, Ayatollah Boroujerdi took his place as the most important religious figure, and Khomeini became a follower. Khomeini preached against the continuing stray from traditional Islam in Iran and gained a group of followers. He gained the title of ayatollah, meaning a ‘sign of God,’ in the 1950s.
Iran lost the support of the US in 1979 after the hostage crisis in Tehran, Iran. In Tehran, “66 members of the US embassy staff were taken hostage by Khomeini’s supporters” (Steele 12). The hostages were held for 444 days (Steele 12). The aftermath of the crisis was the international isolation of Iran. The US being a superpower, drove similar responses in its allies. Iran had lost a majority of their allies, which would hurt them during the war. In addition to the loss of the support of the Western countries, the Arab countries were also against Iran and supporting Iraq. The Arab countries also shared Iraq’s trepidations about the Iranian rhetoric of “exporting Islamic Revolution” (Karsh). As reported by graduate Mr. Jacek, Iran was left to defend itself economically and militarily. The other superpower at the time, the Soviet Union, had a positive relationship with Iran in the beginning. The Soviet Union had been supporting Iran in the beginning of the war. The Soviet Union then carried out an invasion of Afghanistan, and Tehran opposed the Soviet role in the invasion of Afghanistan. Iran’s relations with the Soviet Union became problematic, which negatively affected Iran (Karsh). The war with Iraq slowed down Iran’s research. Near the end of the Iran – Iraq War, Iran started working with a rogue nation, North Korea. The countries partnered up to work