Iran Vocab

Assembly of Experts

86 elected members (Mujtahids), all pro-Khomeini chosen through direct popular vote; in charge of electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran

bazaaris

Iran’s heterogeneous commercial/merchant class

bonyads

Charitable foundations that control large pieces of the economy w/o oversight or taxation

Expediency Council

advisory body for the leader with the power to resolve dispute over legislation; Supreme leader appoints their members.

advise in policy making

Green Movement/ Revolution

june 23, 2009; The protest after the flawed presidential elections.

Guardian Council

12 membered body of jurists; half appointed by supreme leader half by legislature (constitutional law exerts and Islamic law experts)

Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)

120,000 members; protect the republic from internal enemies (close ties with the supreme leader) protect the regime from a coup d’état

Islamic Cultural Revolution

1979; protests against the authoritarian regime and Ayatollah Khomeini taking control of the new Islamic Republic; "Islamize" universities and take out any western influence.

Majlis

Unicameral, Islamic Republic of Iran (parliament); 290 members; elected directly by the people; make laws, interpret legislation, appoint GC, and approve the budget.

Pahlavi

1925-1979; the Shah in a constitutional monarchy; lot of oil production and benefit for the shah in power; pro-westerner establishing the rentier state in Iran; Dictatorship and secularized Iran

rentier state

a state that regularly derives a substantial portion of its revenue from payments by foreign concerns in the form rent, exporting raw materials or leading out natural resources.

sanctions

represents the implementation of multiple legal authorities; prohibit the export of goods or services to Iran

some in the forms of executive orders

SAVAK

Secret Police

shah

title for the hereditary monarch of Iran

sharia law

Religious law with only senior clerics having the competence to interpret this

Shi’ite

Shia Muslims; the official religion of Iran; believes Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, should have led the Muslim community after Muhammad's death

subsidy

government payments to reduce prices and increase access to basic goods and services

payment given to individuals or businesses by the government

supreme leader

Ali Khamenei - chosen by the assembly of experts (but have a higher power than them), is the head of State and has the power of veto and judicial review.

Sunni

the minority religion; believe that the caliph of leader is to be chosen accepted leadership.

theocracy

A system of government under which a deity is seen as a the Supreme ruler, or the entity in which ultimate sovereign rests. (religion)

ulema

the educated class of legal scholars engaged in several fields of Islamic studies. educated in the sharia law

White Revolution

a series of reforms in Iran; an attempt to win support of peasantry with infrastructure improvements and health & education; this created a dual society between the elites and the poor.