sonofthemountains asked: Wonderful blog so far - masha'Allah.
Anonymous asked: How does this revolution compare to the French revolution?
The French Revolution and the Islamic Revolution are extremely different.
The first obvious point of the difference between the two would be the death toll. The French Revolution was extremely violent and it is believed that the death toll is between 14,000. Iran on the other hand was not a very violent death and it’s believed that 3,000-60,000 people died.
The death toll is also a point of similarity. In both revolution opposition and the previous government was executed.
Many French were however randomly killed by civilians which is opposite to where Iranians died in protests.
The ideology between the French and Iranian revolution is also different. The French Revolution was a liberal bourgeois revolution whilst the Iranian Revolution was a cultural-religious, anti-arrogance revolution.
Before the France revolution the state was at it’s worse. It was in it’s worst condition and was virtually bankrupt. Before the Iranian Revolution Iran was in great form. It was financial and economically going well and had foreign reserves. Even though it is said that Iran had economic problems before the revolution it was still going extremely well in comparison to other countries.
The French had a crumbled and weak military from defeated wars which revolutionaries easily overthrew. Iran military was also easily overthrown like the french but unlike the french the Iranian military was going well with great technology and fit soldiers who were just slightly incompetent with being able to handle the situation correctly due to bad leadership.
The Iranian Revolution was mostly supported by the middle and upper classes whilst in the French revolution they were the opposing classes who were usually promptly executed.
Both the French and Iranian revolutions had main leaders. Robespierre and Khomeini. Robespierre would later be killed by his own ideology whilst Khomeini stayed Supreme Leader.
Anonymous asked: What extent was this revolution, revolutionary?
It’s only been 30 or so years since the revolution so it is still too early to fully comprehend how revolutionary it was. It is itself revolutionary in the nature of revolutions. It lacked all of the customary causes of a revolution. No one could predict accurately what was going to happen next in the revolution and no one would of predict that it was going to happen. It was the first time that a government was overthrown and was replaced with an Islamic Republic based on islamic values and teachings.
Anonymous asked: What changes occurred because of the revolution?
Iran became an Islamic Republic under the guidance of an extraordinary religious scholar from Qom.
Some say it was the most significant, hopeful and profound event in the entirety of contemporary Islamic history. It has encouraged more anti-western movements in the muslim worlds and Islamic insurgents rose in places like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syrian and Lebanon with the only lasting changes outside Iran is Iraq and Lebanon.
Others say that it was a time when for a few years we all lost our minds and were promised heaven but created a hell on earth. There were speculation that the revolution might change the world balance power more than any political event since Hitler’s conquest of Europe. Iran was thrown into war with Iraq and was also in the persian gulf war.
In Iran changes because of the revolution has brought more education and health car for the poor and the government promotion of Islam whilst eliminating secularism and American Influence from the government.
There is a rift between the revolutionary generation and younger Irans who find it impossible to understand what their parents were so passionate about.
Anonymous asked: What caused this revolution?
Causes of the Iranian Revolution were different to that of other revolutions. Unlike most revolutions that were caused by a defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military.
The people weren’t happy with the Shahs rule or the whole Pahlavi rule.
Religious figure Ayatollah Khomeini was exiled which contributed to the uprising of the people.
There was social injustice.
Policies and policy mistakes made by the shah such as his White Revolution which conflicted with the Shi’a muslim identity of Iran. He continued to disregard Islamic tradition and changed the calendar to an Imperial Calendar. He was also corrupt. He wasn’t able to gain supporters Shia’a religious leadership, leftist groups, or from anyone in general. He violated the 1906 constitution. The economy started to crumble from his over ambitious economic reforms in the 60s and other reasons. he neglected his people during the oil boom to play statesmen and then afterwards his self-confidence has crumbled and he was getting sicker from cancer. The Shah never tried to stop or please the opposition and just let it grow. His security forces didn’t know what to do against protests or how to control crowds without excessive violence. There was also the 40-day mourning cycle which is believed to have fed and accelerated the revolution.
Khomeini’s charisma and intelligence helped him rally the people against the Shah. He compared himself to the beloved Shi’a Imam Husayn ibn Ali and that Shah to his foe, the hated tyrant Yazid . This appealed to the people and encouraged them to fight against the regime.
Success of the modernist Islamists Abolhassan Banisadr and Ali Shariati in presenting an Islamic ideology that “appeared modern, liberal and appealing,” and in so doing won over much of the Iranian middle class. Who along with the liberals and leftists were over-confident in controlling the revolution and undermined Khomeini’s superior goals.
The Americans which helped caused the revolution failed to respond and stop it.
It’s believed that there was help from within the Iranian military as well.
There are doubts about the previously stated causes.
Anonymous asked: What was life like before the revolution?
Before the revolution the Shah was undertaking a program of modernisation and westernation known as the White Revolution There was an oil boom which lead to an increasing gap between the rich and the poor. People were outraged by American diplomats politically immunity, the wealth the Shah and his family were accumulating, the death of the popular and influential modernist Islamist leader Ali Shariati outraging his follows and making him a martryn to the SAVAK
Anonymous asked: What were 5 sites that played a role in the revolution?
There is only really 3 important sites in this revolution.
Most important site would be Tehran. Tehran is the capital of Iran and had the major demonstrations and protests held there. On September the 8th, 1978 also known as Black Friday Tehran became home of the clash between the government and protesters. 40-82 people died. The Shah had introduced martial law and banned all demonstrations securities forces and shot and killed demonstrators. This is seen as one of the few occasions when the shah had used force against protestors.
It also is the location of the US embassy where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. Demands were made for the Shah to be returned to Iran for trial.
Another important site would be the holy city of Qom/Qum. 5 people died in protest on January 9,1978 against the revolution. This was the first major protest against the revolution. This revolved around a “false” story about Ayatollah Khomeini.
Tabriz also played a role in the revolution by having demonstrations throughout the city. When a number of cities had marched to honor the fallen and protest against the rule of the shah on the 18th of February, 1978 Tabriz turned violent and state troops and tanks were brought in from nearby bases. 13 people had died.
One could say that the United States and Britain were important sites in the Iranian Revolution because if it wasn’t the influence from the U.S and the economic downfall caused by Britain people may not of seen the need to overthrow the Shah.
