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By Reda Samih
A participant in the 1979 Iranian Revolution holding a rifle with a red flower in its barrel standing in front of graffiti depicting Ayatollah Khomeini.
AP
SKPOST — It's not hard to come across a post of someone praising pre-Revolution Iran. The modernity, the progressivism, the secularism, the western influences, all are a sign to those who propagate such beliefs of a nation that was once spectacular. I have always been bothered by this oversimplification ever since I looked into the subject of the revolution. Are western influences a sign of a great nation? And even if so, did this secular culture actually affect all Iranians, or are we only getting a taste of upper-class, urban Iran? These are only two of many questions that must be asked before holding such a belief that the Shah's Iran was truly once a magnificent nation.
When considering this claim of Iran once being a great nation under the Shah, it is necessary to realize why the revolution had even occurred. The Iranian Revolution simply was not purely an Islamic Revolution, but rather, it had transformed into one. It's necessary to recognize that the central cause was not due to religion on its own due to the radical retaliation of the people that the clergy had not even initially supported. Of the groups within the clergy, followers of Khomeini were not the majority, and thus if the people were led solely by religion then they would be guided by clerics who had not been behind Khomeini at the time. It's clear then that the developmental Shi'i ideology had to present itself as a solution to the myriad of issues Iran faced.
Iranians before the Iranian Revolution
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The more Marxian class argument, as brought up by some, is also insufficient due to its lack of explanation on how this must be the cause for Iran, yet not be a cause for other nations to undergo revolution due to their far more extreme levels of inequality and poverty. Sure, Iran faced uneven growth that some could say was even grotesque which justifies it as one of the reasons for revolution, but it is not sufficient on its own for it is necessary to take the growth of Shi'i ideology into account when examining the reason for why this revolution occurred. This also does not take into account the opposition to the Shah's policies affecting religion from the general public, as well as figures who would wind up being negatively affected by the Shah's policies who were immensely influential, one such group being the clergy, which would wind up in the Shah even being called the modern Yazid.
But this all together shows the myriad of issues plaguing Iran under the Shah. The fact that such incredibly large issues can be discovered to exist under the Shah's Iran shows just to what extent Iranians were suffering in this supposed "great time for Iran," as some try to claim. This does not even take into account the brutal suppression by the Shah of those who were against his policies. His utilization of the SAVAK against political opponents and his refusal to modernize the political superstructure in Iran due to it being a challenge to the system he had ruled under, all show just how tyrannical of a regime Iran was ruled under during this time. Not to mention that Iran's initial government prior to the Shah was democratic, but overthrown in a 1953 coup backed by MI6 and aided by the CIA. It's clear that we must not glorify these times when Iran was led by a tyrannical leader. This is not to say the Islamic Republic is a government that is good nor preferential however, a bad government presently existing does not excuse the Shah by any means. He must not go down as a man that was bringing Iran forward solely because he was replaced by an Islamist regime, we must hold all leaders, historically and presently, to a standard that mandates they lead for the well-being of the people of a nation rather than for power. Thus, it is essential that we give no excuses for the Shah.
Abrahamian, Ervand. “Structural Causes of the Iranian Revolution.” MERIP Reports, no. 87 (1980): 21–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/3011417.
Mansoor Moaddel. 1994. Class, Politics, and Ideology in the Iranian Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press.
Randjbar-Daemi, Siavush. 2019. “‘Death to the Shah.’” History Today 69 (4): 28–45. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mat&AN=135190585&site=ehost-live.
Keddie, Nikki. n.d. The Iranian Revolution.
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