Persepolis and Not Without My Daughter
Persepolis & Not Without My Daughter
The Iranian revolution of 1979 refers to the overthrowing of the last king of Iran. It was an Islamic revolution which attempted to replace Mohammed Reza Shah, with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution. Strong opposition against the Shah showed that the people wanted a religious ruler rather than someone they saw as an American puppet. Many Iranian people would think that the Shah was a ‘capitalist pig’ who ran a corrupt and repressive regime but tried to embrace western style democracy. In saying this, Iran was a very developed and modern nation during the Shah’s reign where students were educated together and westernization took over. The Shah, who was supported by many western powers, ruled Iran like a dictatorship. He oppressed his people, many of which were illiterate, and kept most of them in poverty which made him very unpopular. The people of Iran were living in an oil rich country, and yet poverty was not uncommon. They enjoyed freedoms unheard of in Saudi Arabia, yet were kept under the brutal force of the secret police, the Savak. On the other hand when Khomeini took over the government was a theocracy and ended all progression in Iran and forced his Islamic rules on the people. Iran became a completely different nation after Khomeini took power losing all its foreign industry and development. Khomeini believed that Iran was losing its origins and history to Americanization. He ruled using the Quran, the Islamic holy book. This meant new Islamic laws were imposed on people, a new dress code was coerced on woman while men had more freedoms displaying patriarchy in society. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press were ostensibly protected, at least as long as it did not contradict Islamic law. He expelled all other influences whereas the shah agreed with capitalism and modernization on the culture and economy. This caused Khomeini to cut off western influence
The Iranian revolution of 1979 refers to the overthrowing of the last king of Iran. It was an Islamic revolution which attempted to replace Mohammed Reza Shah, with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution. Strong opposition against the Shah showed that the people wanted a religious ruler rather than someone they saw as an American puppet. Many Iranian people would think that the Shah was a ‘capitalist pig’ who ran a corrupt and repressive regime but tried to embrace western style democracy. In saying this, Iran was a very developed and modern nation during the Shah’s reign where students were educated together and westernization took over. The Shah, who was supported by many western powers, ruled Iran like a dictatorship. He oppressed his people, many of which were illiterate, and kept most of them in poverty which made him very unpopular. The people of Iran were living in an oil rich country, and yet poverty was not uncommon. They enjoyed freedoms unheard of in Saudi Arabia, yet were kept under the brutal force of the secret police, the Savak. On the other hand when Khomeini took over the government was a theocracy and ended all progression in Iran and forced his Islamic rules on the people. Iran became a completely different nation after Khomeini took power losing all its foreign industry and development. Khomeini believed that Iran was losing its origins and history to Americanization. He ruled using the Quran, the Islamic holy book. This meant new Islamic laws were imposed on people, a new dress code was coerced on woman while men had more freedoms displaying patriarchy in society. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press were ostensibly protected, at least as long as it did not contradict Islamic law. He expelled all other influences whereas the shah agreed with capitalism and modernization on the culture and economy. This caused Khomeini to cut off western influence