The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iran
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
Reza Shah Pahlavi’s rise to power ended the 131-year reign of the Kajar dynasty and established the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925. Much to the chagrin of not only Muslim clerics, but also the general population, Reza Shah Pahlavi leaned heavily towards secular ...
... middle of paper ...
...perts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council; who are selected in part by the supreme leader. With the Iranian Revolution, the Islamic fundamentalists are staunchly holding the reins of power in a nation-state, and the world waits to see what happens next.
Works Cited
Ayoob, M. (2007) The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim
World. Michigan, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press
Milton-Edwards, B. (2005) Islamic Fundamentalism since 1945. New York: Routledge
Nasr, V.R. (2006). The Shia Revival. New York, New York: W.W. & Norton Company
Nesvaderani, T. (2010). Iran’s Youth: The Protests Are Not Over. United States Institute for
Peace; Peace Brief 36, 1-5 Retrieved from
http://www.ciaonet.org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/pbei/usip/0019110/f_0019110_16369.pdf
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...
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
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
Shah was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and died in
After its founding in 1979, Iran became a Theocratic Republic. It was originally a monarchy, but after much fighting, the last Shah (king) went into exile and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini established the Islamic Republic (Kagan, 2012a). In a theocratic republic, God is the supreme civil ruler of the nation. The people elect a supreme leader and president to oversee political and some civil laws, but the leaders must look to the Qur’an for spiritual and civil guidance (Theocratic, 2016). The supreme leader has the overall control in all matters to include the military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a military entity charged with protecting the revolution of 1979 and its achievements (Kagan, 2012). The state’s government is a multi-tier system with some checks and balance systems in place so that one group does not have total power. The first tier is the Islamic consultation assembly, a parliamentary group who creates and passes laws. The second tier is the Guardian Council. Elected by the supreme leader, this group is the approval authority for all of the parliament’s decisions. The Guardian Council also has the power to remove the Supreme Leader if they feel he is not worthy of the title. The Expediency Council is the last tier, which mediates decisions between the previous two entities. The
Ludwig, P. (1999). Iranian Nation and Islamic Revolutionary Ideology. Die Welt des islams. 39(2). 183-217.
Although the Iranian Revolution was both a political and religious movement in that it resulted in major shifts in government structure from an autocracy to a republic and that Islamic beliefs were fought to be preserved, it was more a religious movement in that the primary goal of the people was to preserve traditional ideology and in that the government became a theocracy intertwined with religious laws and desires of the people. 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 the “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 values, law and tradition from the government to boost the country’s economy (White Revolution, 2010).... ...
During the course of the centuries, Christianity has both flourished and declined in the Persian region. The flourishing, initiated by the first leaders of the Christian Church, has dissolved over time and has become oppressed by other beliefs and faiths, specifically Islam. Blood, sweat, and tears of many persecuted Christians saturate the arid lands, which Islamists primarily inhabit. Many of those Islamists live in direct antipathy to the Christian minority. The current Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, once said that “their (Christians) goal is to weaken the (Islamic) religion within the society” (“The Cost of Faith” 15). Many Iranians also feel this way, and have certainly not accepted the existence of a Christian minority within their country gently. From the Islamic conquest in the 7th century, to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranians have not let up on their subjugation of Christians. Indeed Christianity has witnessed various forms of deterrents to their religion, from the modern day imprisonments and executions to the ancient ways of leaders such as Shapur II, who would have them burned or fed to animals (Price 1). The government of Iran has acted severely towards Christians, subjecting them to harsh consequences for not turning from their religion, such as prolonged imprisonment and even ex-judicial killings. Despite all of this, many Christians living under these harsh conditions persevere and Christianity still receives new followers. Christianity in Iran has suffered and continues to suffer at the hands of a militant Islamic regime, and although this is nothing new, it receives little publicity in the West, something...
Robinson, B.A. (2002, October 14). Islam: Is it a religion of violence or of peace.
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
Traditional Islamic clerics opposed Reza Khan's policies because they sought to decrease the Islamic clergy's power and prestige. He initiated educational a...
G. Esposito, John L (2002) Islam; What Everyone Should Know. New York. Oxford University Press Inc.
After its founding in 1979, Iran became a Theocratic Republic. It was originally a monarchy, but after much fighting, the last Shah (king) went into exile and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini established the Islamic Republic (Kagan, 2012a). In a theocratic republic, God is the supreme civil ruler of the nation. The people elect a supreme leader and president to oversee political and some civil laws, but the leaders must look to the Qur’an for spiritual and civil guidance (Theocratic, 2016). The supreme leader has the overall control in all matters to include the military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a military entity charged with protecting the revolution of 1979 and its achievements (Kagan, 2012). The state’s government is a multi-tier system with some checks and balance systems in place so that one group does not have total power. The first tier is the Islamic consultation assembly, a parliamentary group who creates and passes laws. The second tier is the Guardian Council. Elected by the supreme leader, this group is the approval authority for all of the parliament’s decisions. The Guardian Council also has the power to remove the Supreme Leader if they feel he is not worthy of the title. The Expediency Council is the last tier, which mediates decisions between the previous two entities. The
Nationalism encouraged anti-global superpowers in the later 20th century as evidenced in the rise of Islamism fundamentalism, the Iranian Revolution, and the Solidarity Movement. After the Suez Crisis in 1956, Islamists feared that America would no longer support Israel and began to reject foreign influence. Extremists eliminated non-Muslim influences in the Middle East by enforcing Islamic Sharia law, and by using violence to achieve goals (Dove, 01/23/17). This demonstrates that Islamic fundamentalism was a factor of nationalism that brought change because Islamists united and went back to old order to get rid of American influence. While Islamic fundamentalism illustrated such change, it can also be seen in the Iranian Revolution. America tried to control Iran’s oil by placing the Shah in power of Iran.