Jake Peoples
English 1A
Stacey Knapp
*Revised after
3/14/2013
Roots of the Revolution
When a Country is in political crisis, it's religous leaders and community of believers to the state's conscious attitudes are vulnerable and likely to either revolutionize or resort to traditional ideas. Iranians have endured two-thousand, five-hundred years of tyranny and submission, therefore the majority of peoples haven't had much input in establishing government. First, the Iranians were suppressed by their own emperors, then came the Arab invasion from the West. After that, the Mongolian invasion from the East, and to this day they're being immensely effected by Modern Imperialism.Influenced by Western Ideas, clerics have emerged as champions of the common people and popular causes in Iran's recent history. Besides the clerics, there's also the Ulama, who represent the traditional Iranian power-elite and support existing social order.
The Ulama opposed Mohammad Mossadegh (Nationalist Prime-Minister) and his promises for fundamental changes in Iranian Society. Ulama involvement in politics throughout the 1960s-70s was motivated by by maintaining material interests and existing power-structure or hierarchy. They supported the Shah during the Oil Nationalization Crisis and even extended woman's suffrage in effort to limit the lower-class' input in politics. Merchants typically supported constitutional movement, although the existing government worked to their advantage in expanding trade as well as agricultural activities, so they opposed foreign involvement. The Revolution ultimately occurred due to an expanding economy, not because it was declining! Artisans as well as merchants were tired of competing with foreign competition, as a result they demanded a greater say when establishing National Policy.
In the book Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, there's a short statement that might have caught the reader's attention by demonstrating how a revolution functions in a very simple way. Marjane reveals how "The Revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don't turn, it falls"(10). At that point the reader should take a moment to ponder what the author meant by that. Everyone can relate to how a bicycle works, so I appreciate the way this statement illustrates an activity that we're all familiar with. Such a basic sentence explains the persistence and focus required in the action of riding a bike, as well as participating in a Revolution.
Nikki Keddie's overall view is that the economy as a whole and the majority of the population suffered as a result of the changes brought about by Iran's involvement in international trade. She explains how Iranian villagers became much more vulnerable famine and scarcity because of the changes in crop patterns in favor of cash crops. Nikki emphasizes that while some merchants benefited and in some cases thrived because of trade relations with the West, most did not(Iran,1486). For a small prtion of Iranians, the standard of living progressed and excelled during this time. Her main point that is repeated throughout her work is that Iranian entry into the world market was much more harmful than helpful to Iranian Society. Keddie reinforces the fact that Western Influence has dominated the Middle East and elsewhere in the third-world since World War II. She disagrees with imperialism in general and consequently opposes the United States' involvement in distant culture's governments(Iran, 1487).
Charles Issawi had a different outlook, and expresses the fact that by the mid-1970s, Iranians enjoyed a much better standard of living than when compared to twenty years earlier. Issawi states how after 1960, Iran's industrial growth was almost unmatched in history! Iranians were able to develop roads, railways, and airports at a surprisingly efficient pace(Iran,1489). Charles had a much more positive perspective when compared to Nikkii's Analysis. He shows how while the standard of living increased for the majority of Iranians, income-gaps steadily grew as well, proving how dysfunctional the "Trickle-Down Theory" is in reality.
In 1953, a Pro-American dictator attempted to modernize Iran ans forcibly remove Islamic Religion when ninety-percent of Iran's population was Muslim! One can imagine how ineffective that was trying to enforce laws upon a society that most disagreed with. The U.S. payed one-billion dollars to influence Iranians and arm them against opposing forces. Some say the Revolution was instigated by the U.S. who illegally intervened with Iran's government. Mohammad Reza Shah (1941-1979) invested in infrastructure and manufacturing of consumer goods to take advantage of Iran's rich resources. Since most Iranians were unaware of exactly how valuable their land was, the dictators have always been able to taken advantage of it without distributing the wealth among the populace. Shah consistently promoted large-scale agricultural and educational opportunities with hopes of progressing as an entire culture!
Works Cited
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Patheon, 2003. Print.
Bakhash, Shaul. "Iran." 1991. Iran. N.p.:n.p., 1991. 1479-496. Print.
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