The discovery of oil reserves in the Persian Gulf marked the beginning of the evolution of Iran to a modern industrial nation. (Document A) As the demand for crude oil skyrocketed, the wealth generated by Iran soared. The distribution of this wealth became a matter of contention. Additionally, with the transformation of Iran to an industrial nation, the introduction of western culture posed a problem for the strict Islamic community. The Iranian Revolution was a result of the economic, political, cultural and religious conflict that occurred within its borders. Before 1953 foreigners, more specifically the British, and the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlevi, were the benefactors of the wealth generated by oil production. In 1953 Prime Minister Mosaddegh confronted the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and took control of oil production in Iran. His intent was to use the oil production profits to improve the lives of the Iranian people. The British response was a blockade of the Persian Gulf in conjunction with an economic boycott. This brought oil production to a standstill. Winston Churchill, The British Prime Minister, turned to the United States President, Dwight David Eisenhower, to intervene. Churchill suggested to Eisenhower that Iran was close to aligning with the Soviet Union. The U.S. policy of containment meant that the U.S. would step in to avoid the spread of Communism. (Prior Knowledge) Operation Ajax, a joint effort by the CIA and MI6, caused the Shah to dismiss Mosaddegh which caused many Iranians to hate America. (Document A) The Shah used the wealth generated by oil production to westernize Iran, giving women more rights, peasants an opportunity to own land, and better health care and education. (Document D) The S... ... middle of paper ... ...d the Shah. (Document D) The hatred of the United States remained even after the death of Khomeini with radical Islamics declaring war on the west in the form of terrorism. (Prior Knowledge) The Revolution in Iran has had far reaching consequences in the Middle East and affects the political and cultural world as a whole. The war on terror has become a major component of the military efforts of the United States. The westernization of Iran and the large presence of American advisors during the reign of the Shah caused a religious backlash that changed the face of the government of Iran. It essentially became a religious dictatorship that opposed all things American. The Revolution that changed Iran was a direct response to the economic, political, cultural and religious values that occurred under the Shah that stood as an affront to the Shiite Islamic religion.
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 ...
In All The Shah’s Men there seems to be a very strong hatred for all foreign powers, including the United States, taken by the citizens of Iran. I believe that this ultimately occurred because of the impatience of certain government officials in Washington D.C., and also in Great Britain. If only there could have been better communication between countries, I feel that there would have been a solution reached. The stubbornness of the British for the most part, led to many lives being lost, and a feeling of perpetual disgust being shown towards the United States for their involvement. Although the British were our allies and we did have an extreme fear of communism taking over the free world, this coup was disorganized, forced along too quickly, and put forth without any guidance or strong evidence, which in the end proved to completely defy what the United States was trying to impose on the world, and what Mossadegh was trying to give his people; freedom and democracy.
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
The introduction to Persepolis gives a great deal of background information to the unrest in Iran leading up to the Islamic revolution. Iran had been in a state of unrest for “2500 years” (page11). Iran was ruled by foreign nations and exploited by the western world for its rich expanses of oil. In 1951 the prime minister of Iran tried to take back his country’s wealth by nationalizing
...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.
Ludwig, P. (1999). Iranian Nation and Islamic Revolutionary Ideology. Die Welt des islams. 39(2). 183-217.
Although the Iranian Revolution was caused by combination of political and religious motivations and ideas, the desires of the people supporting the movement were more dominantly religious ideas that were wished to be imposed in society and in a new government. The Shah, or king, of Iran at the time was Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who had developed relations with nations in “western” world, specifically with the United States. The United States supported the White Revolution, which was a series of social reformations the Shah made to remove Islamic v...
The Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 created a lasting affect on the societal role of women through modern day Iran. Women in Iran before the revolution were not entirely treated equal to men, but despite some cultural perceptions of women being inferior to men, they had made progress to become socially equal under the Shah. Several misconceptions and theories have been published and studied to show the inequality of women versus men because of Islam. However, contrasting theories have also been made to show that inequality has little to do with the religion, but instead with the forceful nature upon which it was implemented in the revolution. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the Islamic and political history of Iran and its social implications over Iranian women.
...ed to nationalize the Suez Canal through which three fourths of all European oil is passed. After several months of negotiations Britain, France and Israel attacked Egypt and retook the canal. United Nations condemned their actions and forced them to give up the canal to Egypt once again. As a result of the Eisenhower convinced Congress to approve the Eisenhower Doctrine that would “assist any nation in the region that required aid against aggression from any nation controlled by International Communism.” The Eisenhower administration was very careful not to alienate any Middle Eastern countries that could provide the country with a steady supply of oil and this affected his foreign policy and the policy of containment.
In 1952 during the Cold War, Iran was under the rule of their prime minister, Muhammad Mossadegh, who wanted to nationalize the country's oil industry. Iran had been a large producer of oil and its industry, controlled by Britain and America, was thriving. Britain and American corporations were not in favor of Mohammad Mossadegh’s newly developed oil policies, so they made a secret plan to overthrow him. They were successfully able to overthrow Muhammad Mossadegh, and in 1953 a new government was developed and controlled by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iran's new leader. The US has supported the Shah For twenty-six years and he became a central alley between the US and Iran. The Shah received military and political support from the US, and
The Islamic revolution in Iran came from discontent for westernization and secularization in Iran. It was the Iranian supporters of Khomeini rebelling against shah and his westernized approach and dictatorship of the country. The Iranian felt as if Iran’s leader the Shahan shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Aryamehr was too westernized and was contaminating Iran with modernization and also creating a separation of democracy and religion. Also, powerful and entrenched groups in Iran did not like how shah imposed his westernize reforms (Goldschmidt, 2013). They were also dissatisfied with the allowance of United States interference or influence to curb the groups they viewed as blocking Iran’s modernization. This included landlords, ulama and bazaar
Iran had suffered and prospered through many different rises of power in the 20th century; these changes caused anger in the Iranian people. The time leading up to the revolution was characterized a fight for power between the Western influences and the Islamic people. In 1979 the people of the Iran led by Ruhollah Khomeini considered to be an enemy of the state. He was born in about 1900 in the town of Khomein. He was raised in the tradition of Shiite Islam; because of the death of his father he became more spiritual and faithful. On March 31, 1961, Ayatollah Boroujerdi died and Khomeini was in a position to take up the mantle left by the late religious leader. After publishing his writings on Islamic science and doctrines, many Shi'ite Iranians began to see Khomeini as Marja-e Taqlid (Biography channel website ). He wanted to start the first “government of God” (Berlatsky 26). He was thought to be a threat to the Shah decided that they had enough of his attempts to overthrow the government; he had been exiled for 14 years. With him as the leader of the Islamic uprising people flocked to his side to support. The placement of he Shah by America in the 1960’s was their final straw. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 has been described as one of the most notable events of the twentieth century; it began a period of time in which the Islamic culture was fighting against the modernization in many nations where Islam was the main religion. There is a huge difference between an unsuccessful revolution in which the beginners of the revolution are diminished and their demands not met. But when it is look at, the Iranian Revolution is seen as successful revolution in which all the needs of fight...
In February of 1979, Muhammad Reza Shah was in exile and Ayatollah Khomeini arrived as the triumphant leader of a revolution. Throughout the remainder of the year, the execution of former prime ministers, SAVAK agents, and high- ranking military officers took place. Muhammad Reza Shah’s regime was no longer in power and the Iranian Revolution was in full effect, but what caused this rapid shift of power? In the years leading up to the revolution, the Shah implemented the White Revolution in attempts to modernize Iran. The White Revolution was an attempt to turn Iran into an economic power, however; it went against many of the core beliefs of Islam. The White revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s caused the Iranian revolution because it marginalized
Shah was the Supreme leader of Iran. The vast majority of people did not agree with his economic decisions and as a result he was overthrown by his people. His bad financial decisions led to high levels of inflation and a low standard of living. Wikipedia stated that, “Shah was perceived by many Iranians as beholden to if not a puppet of a non-Muslim Western power (the United States).”(Wikipedia; Background and causes of the Iranian revolution).
A series of complex events beginning in the Pahlavi dynasty provoked the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and Iranian nationalist, Mohammad Mosaddeq, fought for popular support and government control in the early 1950s. Mosaddeq’s popularity greatly increased to the point that the Shah had to promote Mosaddeq to the position of prime minister. He then passed a law that nationalized the property of foreign oil companies. The Shah tried to dispense with Mosaddeq in 1953 but instead was forced to leave the country by Mosaddeq’s proponents. Mosaddeq’s opponents and the United States helped restore the Shah to power through a military coup, causing him to begin a reversal of Mosaddeq’s policies.