Iranian revolution , how its been institutionalized and its impacts.

1. Iranian Revolution (February 1978-79)
What is revolution?
A revolution is a fundamental change in political power or organizational structures
that occurs in a relatively short period of time when the population revolts against
the current authorities. Ideas play an essential role in all revolutions. Thoseseeking
change are motivated by new ideas about politics, the economy or society.
Revolutionary ideas are developed, adapted and articulated by important writers and
thinkers.
Introduction of Iranian revolution
Islamic Revolution of Iran, widespread uprising in 1978 and 1979 in which Islamic
fundamentalists and their supporters overthrew Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of
Iran. The revolutionaries, led by an exiled religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, dismantled the shah's secular (non-religious) monarchy and established
the Islamic Republic of Iran. The new republic rejected Western influences and was
guided by Shiite Islamic teachings.
The role of shah of Iran
The white revolution:
In 1963, the shah began a series of social, economic and political reforms known as
the White Revolution. The revolution gave more freedom to women and increased
secular education at the expense of religious education. These and other changes
challenge the dominant role of Iranian religious leaders, most of whom fear losing
their powerand moral authority during the White Revolution. Throughout the 1970s,
the shah continued to irritate traditional Shia Muslims, who made up a large part of
the population.
For example, the shah organized festivals in 1971 to celebrate the 2500th
anniversary of the pre-Islamic Persian Empire; this was seen as a direct rebuke to
the millions of Iranians who viewed the advent of Islam in the 7th century as the
founding date of modern Iran.

2. The rise of Ruhullah Khomeini
All of these factors contributed to the rise of Ruhollah Khomeini, who in the early
1960s was a relatively unknown Islamic ayatollah, or a holy man. Khomeini had
several assets that other leaders lacked. First, he was apparently fearless: in 1963, he
was the only religious to openly attack the white revolution of the shah. Second, he
spoke the language of the people, condemning the shah's "injustices" on behalf of
the "oppressed" masses. Third, and more importantly, Khomeini succeeded in
transforming Shia Islam into a mass ideology that has won over many groups.
In the past, Shia leaders have argued that although Shia Muslims are a just minority
who suffer under cruel leaders, it is not their role to overthrow the ruling regime and
create an Islamic state. In 1964, the shah exiled Khomeini from Iran. Khomeini
finally settled in the Iraqi holy city ofAn Nadjaf, from where he spread his messages
to his Iranian supporters. In 1978, the Iraqi government, fearing that the powerful
Ayatollah message would cause similar unrest in Iraq, expelled Khomeini. He then
went to France, from where he sent audio tapes of his revolutionary message to Iran.
The Revolution
In 1978, opponents ofthe shah had several bloodymeetings with his security troops.
The most notorious of these clashes took place on September 8, when soldiers shot
at 20,000 demonstrators in Tehran. Several hundred people were killed and
thousands more injured in what became known as Black Friday. Two months later,
young people took to the streets of Tehran, setting fire to shops, banks, liquor stores
and other symbols of Western "corruption". Tensions intensified in December with
the arrival of Muharram, the sacred month marking the martyrdom of Hussein.
One of the first Shiite leaders. Emboldened bythe force ofthe opposition, Khomeini
called on the Iranians to "startthe month of epic heroism, the month when the leader
of the Muslims taught us to fight against all tyrants". On December 10 and 11, the
two holiest days of the Shia calendar, a group of soldiers rebelled and attacked the
shah's imperial guard officers' mess. With that, his regime collapsed and the shah
fled Iran in January 1979. He died two years later in Cairo, Egypt.

3. Institutionalizing the Revolution
Many Iranians hoped that the new constitution would give them greater social
freedoms. Rafsanjani, elected president in 1989, encouraged these hopes. But while
the constitution partially diminished the religious authority of the wali faqih and
placed religious on an equal footing with politicians, it strengthened the powers of
the government to impose its decisions on society. Thus, the revolution was
institutionalized, but at the cost of much of its popular support.
The impacts of revolution
The impacts of the Iranian revolution not only affected Iranian internal society, but
also external society. After the revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran was formed,
in which religious education was compulsory for people, women are veiled when
they leave their homes. The impacts on Muslim countries in the Middle East who do
not want political changes in their system. The relationship between Iran and the
United States was very close, before the revolution, but after the revolution, the
relationship was not so good. The hostage crisis between Iran and the USA.