History Unit 3B Flashcards

Causes of the Iranian Revolution

• The White Revolution

• The shah’s mistreatment of the Iranian people

• Connections to the United States and Israel

• The shah’s lies and deception

The White Revolution

• Modernization

• Westernization

• Capitalism

Impact on the economy:

• Increased disparity of wealth

• Rapid inflation

• Labor strikes

• Unrest by landlords and merchants

Shah’s mistreatment of the Iranian people

• Savak—secret police—torture

• Protestors, communists

Connections to the United States and Israel

• The Iranians were unhappy with the shah’s relationship with the United States

• The shah had supported the creation of Israel by association. The fundamental muslims in Iran did not like this.

The shah’s lies and deception

• Lied about massacres

• Blamed burning of the Rex Cinema on religious fanatics (many thought it to be the shah)

Iranian Revolution of 1979

Also known as the Islamic Revolution or “The year that shook the world”

Events in the Iranian Revolution of 1979

• The groups that opposed the shah did not have a cohesive political ideology

• Far right wing clergy—theocracy, nationalists, and far left wing groups such as communists

• All groups wanted a more independent Iran

• The revolution was: a movement against westernization/modernization, a movement to remove the shah

Government style shift

• Ended the monarchy

• 1953: had been reestablished through a coup that US and UK orchestrated to maintain control in the region: oil

• Created an Islamic Republic after revolution

Islamic Republic

• Theocracy: a system of government where religious leaders rule in the name of their god

• constitution: executive, parliament, judiciary

• Branches of government are overseen by clergy members

Immediate/short term cause of the revolution

• Tehran newspaper article that made slanderous remarks against Khomeini

• Led to protests—young madrasah (religious school) students and unemployed recent immigrants from countryside

Shah’s response to protests

• Made some concessions

• Implemented repression—many killed by government forces in protests

• Fueling violence in a society that revered martyrdom (being killed for a cause)

Protest developed…

out of death during protest—vicious cycle of protest/death

Regime imposed martial law

• Government workers went on strike

• Oil workers began to strike

Shah appoints a prime minister and goes on the run

• Shah and family fled Iran-said they were going on vacation

• Prime Minister incapable of compromising with protestors

Khomeini arrives in Iran

• Ten days later Iran’s armed forces declared neutrality

• Prime minister went into exile in France

• Khomeini takes power/declares Iran an Islamic Republic

Political power

• Revolutionary group was split after the change in leadership was implemented

• Included: far right wing clergy

• Excluded: left wing groups/communists, nationalists

Fundamentalism implemented through new government

• Fundamentalism: a form of a religion, especially in Islam or protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture

• A fundamentalist Islamic Republic was created

Family Protection Act 1967

• Guaranteed rights to women in marriage

• Made void under the Islamic Republic

• Mosque based revolutionary bands known as komitens patrolled the streets enforcing Islamic codes of dress and behavior and dispatching impromptu justice to perceived enemies of the revolution

Iran against western influence

• Most supporters of the revolution were primarily in favor of a more independent Iran

• Militias and clerics opposed any western influence

• Many of the western educated elite in Iran fled to other countries

• Iran hostage crisis-demand the return of the shah from the US to Iran

International Impact

• US lost a key ally (Iran) in the Cold War

  • Emboldened the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan in 1979

• Iran-Iraq War (U.S. support Saddam Hussein in preparation for this war)

International impacts after 1980

• More conflicts/controversy develops

  • Kuwait—1991

  • 2 Gulf War

  • Emergence of Al-Qaeda

  • 9/11 terrorist attacks

SAVAK

secret police of the shah in Iran

Why was the Revolution of 1979 also referred to as the Islamic Revolution?

This was because an Islamic Republic was created after the revolution.

How does the concept of martyrdom factor into the events of the Iranian Revolution?

The shah implemented repression–many killed by government forces in protests. Fueled violence in a society that revered martyrdom (being killed for a cause)

Did all of the people in Iran like the White Revolution and its impacts on society?

• The White Revolution involved modernization, westernization, and capitalism.

• Many Iranians opposed the White Revolution because of its western influence, especially Islamic fundamentalists and revolutionaries

• Some did not like the capitalism

• Many did not like it because of its impact on the economy, which created an increased disparity of wealth, rapid inflation, labor strikes, and unrest by landlords and merchants

What was the immediate (short-term) cause of The Iranian Revolution?

• Tehran newspaper article that made slanderous remarks against Khomeini

• Protests–young madrasah (religious school) students and unemployed recent immigrants from countryside

Which group was the Rex Cinema Fire blamed on although people "knew it was the Shah"?

It was blamed on Islamic fanatics

Did the revolutionaries in Iran want to maintain a close relationship with the U.S.?

• They did not

• The Iranians were unhappy with the Shah’s relationship with the United States

• The shah had supported the creation of Israel by association. The fundamental muslims in Iran did not like this.

What was the role of the Western-educated elite in Iran after the revolution?

Many of the Western-educated elite in Iran fled to other countries, so they had no role

What was the MAIN reason for the Iran Hostage Crisis?

Demand the return of the shah from the U.S. to Iran

What international conflicts and controversies developed after 1980 that can be related back to The Iranian Revolution of 1979?

• Kuwait–1991

• 2 Gulf Wars

• Emergence of Al-Qaeda

• 9/11 terrorist attacks

In the new Islamic Republic of Iran, people from which revolutionary group could serve in positions of power (in the new government)?

• Islamic clergy

• Was a theocracy: a system of government where religious leaders rule in the name of their god

• Branches of government are overseen by groups of clergy members

Most supporters of the Iranian Revolution had varied goals, but all were largely in favor of two things.  What were they?

A movement against westernization/modernization and a movement to remove the shah (all groups wanted a more independent Iran)

What countries were responsible for the “coup” that led to the reinstatement of the Shah in Iran in 1953?

U.S. and UK

How did women’s rights in Iran change due to the creation of the Islamic Republic?

• Women had to cover their hair with the veil

• The Family Protect Act 1967 (revised 1975)

  • Guaranteed rights to women in marriage

  • Made void under the Islamic Republic

• Mosque based revolutionary bands known as komitens patrolled the streets enforcing Islamic codes of dress and behavior and dispatching impromptu justice to perceived enemies of the revolution

Who became the leader at the end of the Iranian Revolution?

Ruhollah Khomeini took power and declared Iran an Islamic Republic.

Which country felt “emboldened” to move into the Middle East after our loss of Iran as a strategic ally in the Cold War?

Emboldened the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan in 1979

What style of government did Iran have before the Iranian Revolution?

Had a monarchy with a shah

Describe the Islamic Republic of Iran.  How was the government structured?

• Created an Islamic Republic after revolution:

  • Theocracy: a system of government where religious leaders rule in the name of their god

  • Constitution: executive, parliament, judiciary

  • Branches of government are overseen by groups of clergy members