AP Comparative Government - Iran

Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran

alliance of conservative parties shortened to Abadgaran; supports Ahmadinejad, centered in Tahran and been successful in elections

ayatollah

a high-ranking Shiite religious leader who is regarded as an authority on religious law and its interpretation and who has political power as well

Ahmadinejad

the Current president of Iran

Assembly of Religious Experts

this organization is a menifestation of the hold that Islam has on Iran. It is chaired by clerics with the equivalent of a masters degree in religion; this organization reserves the right to dismiss a leader if he is incapable of filling his duties which are implied to be religious in context

Basij

a loosely organized military that is formally part of the Revolutionary Guard, and it gained international attention in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election of 2009, when opposition candidate, Mir-Hussein Moussavi, accused the Basij of brutality as it contained the demonstrations and admissed dissidents; means "mass mobilization" in Persian, and it dates back to the Iran-Iraq War

bazaaris

Traditional merchants. They assisted the clergy in revolution and are part of the black market. After the revolution, they were granted some political access and power.

bonyads

Parastatal foundations made in part form assets nationalized after the Iranian revolution The objectives of them were to help the disadvantaged, such as war veterans and the poor. Over time however, they have become major economic players and often monopolies, controlling substantial assets and industries while operating independently of government oversight or taxation.

conservatives

Like to stick to the traditional ways of government and tend to oppose change

Constitution of 1906

The Constitution was modeled after western ones with direct elections, separation of powers, an elected legislature (the Majles), popular sovereignty and a Bill of Rights. It also created the Guardian Council.

Constitution of 1979

most important document that legitimizes the state today; written during the last months of Ayatollah Khomeini's life; forty amendments; highly complex mixture of theocracy and democracy; preamble reflects the importance of religion for the legitimacy of the state, affirming faith in God, Divine Justice, the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammud, the Twelve Imams, and the eventual return of the Hidden Imam

coup d'etat

A sudden overthrow of the government by a small group

dual society

A society and economy that are sharply divided into a traditional, usually poorer, and a modern, usually richer, sector.

"economics is for donkeys"

disdains the importance of economics for policymakers and affirming the superiority of religious, rather than secular leaders

equality with difference

policy towards women; divorce and custody laws now follow Islamic standards that favor males; women must wear scarves and long coats in public, and they cannot leave the country without the consent of male relatives; stoning of women; women are allowed education and entrance into some occupations

Etemad-e Melli Party

"pragmatic reformist" party formed by Medhi Karroubi (who finished third in the 2005 presidential election)

Expediency Council

administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader. It's supposed to resolve conflicts between the Majlis and the Council of Guardians. It's also a consultative council to the Supreme Leader

factionalism

policy towards women; divorce and custody laws now follow Islamic standards that favor males; women must wear scarves and long coats in public, and they cannot leave the country without the consent of male relatives; stoning of women; women are allowed education and entrance into some occupations

Farsi

the language of Persia (Iran) in any of its ancient forms

faqih

an expert in Islamic Law

fatwa

a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority

fundamentalism

Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect).

Guardian Council

This is the most powerful theological body in Iran. It consists of 12 members 6 clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and 6 judges appointed by the Majils. The importance of them is they have to approve all candidates and all legislation.

hezbollahis

Members of "The Party of God", an Iranian movement that happened during the Islamic Revolution. It's not a tightly structured organization, but a movement of loosely bound groups (most likely centered around a mosque).

hojjat al-Islam

literally "the proof of Islam." In Iran, it means a medium-ranking cleric.

Imam Jum'ehs

prayer leaders in Iran's main urban mosques; appointed by Supreme Leader, they have considerable authority in the provinces

import substitution industrialization

An economic system aimed at building a country's industry by restricting foreign trade

jihad

Islamic holy war

jurist's guardianship

Khomeini's concept that the Iranian clergy should rule on the grounds that they are the divinely appointed guardians of both the law and the people. He developed this concept in the 1970s.

Khamenei

He was the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989 and succeeded Ayatollah Khomeini after his death in 1989 as the Supreme Leader of Iran.

Khatami

Swept 1997 Iranian elections on a platform of reform and openness; appealed to a very young Iran, which began to revolt after 2 years of waiting for promised reform; still advocated greater tolerance and held more constructive diplomatic relations

Khomeini

Spiritual leader of world's Shi'ite Muslims until 1989. Was exiled after ordering Iran to rise up against western modernization. He believed that the purpose of the government was to apply God.

Khordad Front

coalition of reformist parties; the alliance of the Iranian Militant Clerics Society and the Islamic Iran Participation Front (reformist parties) that won the presidential election of 2000; the Second Khordad Front did not survive the Guardian Council's banning of many reformist candidates for the Majles election of 2004

laissez-faire

the doctrine that government should not interfere in commercial affairs

Majlis

Iran's parliament

maslahat

Arabic term for expediency, prudence, or advisability; now used in Iran to refer to reasons of state or what is best for the Islamic Republic

Mosaddeq

Iranian premier who nationalized British-owned oil fields in Iran, was arrested and replaced with the pro-American Pahlavi by the CIA

Mousavi

last prime minister of Iran; reformist president candidate in 2009 and his loss/the fraudulent election caused large protests; aka leader of the green movement

OPEC

an organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum

Pahlavi Foundation

a patronage system that controlled large companies that fed the pocketbooks of the shah and his supporters

Qajars

members of the dynasty that ruled present-day iran from the late 1700s until 1925

Qanun

no sacred basis; body of statutes made by legislative bodies; passed by the Majles; law made by the people's elected representatives

Qom

shia capital

Qu'ran

the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

Rafsanjani

President of Iran from 1989 to 1997; now he is Chairman of various councils, and tried in vain to gain a third Presidential term in 2005. Centrist, pragmatic conservative, free market; credited with much of Iran's reconstruction after the Iran-Iraq war.

reformers

people who work for change

rentier state

a country that obtains a hefty income by exporting raw materials or leasing out natural resources to foreign companies

Resurgence Party

created by Muhammud Reza Shah in 1975; declared Iran to be a one-party state with him as the head; replaced the Islamic calendar with a new one and gave himself a new title; created Religious Corps, whose duty was to teach Iranian peasants "true Islam"

revolution of rising expectations

revolutions are most likely to occur when people are doing better than they once were, but some type of setback happens

Revolutionary Guards

The militarized quasi-police force of the revolutionary government during the Iranian Revolution.

Safavids

A shi'ite muslim dynasty that ruled in Persia (Iran and parts of Iraq) from the 16th-18th centuries that had a mixed culture of the persians, ottomans and arabs

secularization

the activity of changing something (art or education or society or morality etc.) so it is no longer under the control or influence of religion

sharia

body of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life

Shiism

the branch of Islam that regards Ali as the legitimate successor to Mohammed and rejects the first three caliphs

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

Tudeh Party

Reformist organization known as the (Tudeh/ Masses)

Party. Was marxist in origin, appealed to labor legislation, land

reform, rights for women, and improved wages for lower level civil

servants. Had a pro soviet stance, but was not communist and did not

undercut the importance of religion.

Challenged Palavi Shah

valayat-e-faqih

"The Guardianship of the Jurist"; the religio-political ideology founded by the Ayatollah Khomeini

White Revolution

in 1962, the Shah's attempt to quiet the people from rebelling for economic and and political reform: creates land reform, profit, sharing, literacy corp instead of army and women's right to vote

Worker's House

interest group for factory workers that has a newspaper - support the Islamic Labor Party

Zoroastrainism

Animist Religion that saw material existaence as battle between forces of good and evil; stressed the importance of moral choice; righteous lived on after death in "House of Song"; chief religion in Persian Empire