The Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution is a very significant historical event. In 1977 when the Shah of Iran relaxed censorship laws, the country soon erupted into a series of demonstrations and dissents. Many writings of Ayatollah Khomeini had begun to circulate throughout Iran and many protest materials in general began to sweep through the country.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Iranians were unsatisfied with the dictatorship of the Shah, but when the protest materials surfaced they seemed to fan the flame of discontent. Many people began demanding more reforms, human rights, freedom and democracy.
When the crisis began, there were two groups of revolutionaries. The first movement was a religious one in which a return to society based on the Shari’ah and Ulama administration was demanded. The second movement was a liberal one which demanded grater democracy, economic freedom and human rights.
As the revolution proceeded to come to a head, the two groups united to form one.
On January 9, 1978, a group of students protested the visit of then American President Jimmy Carter and the attacks by the Iranian government on Ayatollah Khomeini. They demanded that Khomeini be allowed to return to Iran.
The Iranian police opened fire on the protests killing 70 students. This act sparked the preceding events into a full-blown revolution and set into motion a pattern that steadily destabilized the government and reduced its legitimacy in the eyes of the entire world, including Iranians.
In the traditional ways of the Shi'a, a commemoration of a martyr for forty days after they are killed is required. Because of this tradition, Iranians took to the streets to commemorate the fallen students and to protest the government.
On the fortieth day after the massacre at Qumm, the police once again opened fire on a crowd of citizens, killing more than one hundred Iranians. Again, on March 30th, the police opened fire in Yazd on another demonstration and more people were killed.
These events became an ongoing occurrence all over Iran.
It became very evident that the Shah was losing control. He appointed a new Prime Minister and attempted to allow the demonstrations to continue without violence. On September 8th, which is now referred to as “Black Friday” in Iran, troops fired on a Tehran demonstration killing several hundred people. On September 9th, the Shah declared martial law and began imprisoning as many opposition leaders as he could find.
Revolutionaries began changing their tactics from demonstrations to strikes. Starting in October, a long series of strikes which included oil-workers began to cripple Iran’s economy.
In November, the Shah turned the government into a military government to force the strikers to go back to work. The month of Muhurram was approaching and Iranians knew that the religious aspect of the month would cause a fueled explosion in the country.
When Muhurram began on December 2, it became very clear that the demonstrators and not the government were now in charge. They began to seize government buildings and assassinate government officials.
On January 16, 1979, the Shah fled Iran never to return. On February 1, Khomeini returned to his home country. When the Prime Minister fled the country on February 12, Khomeini declared Iran a new Islamic Republic.