The Modern Revolutionary Ethos of Iran

In the Encyclopedia of Political Revolutions, the chapter “Iranian Islamic Revolution (1979)” outlines a strong base for the modern revolutionary ethos in the country. It opens with the telling of early United States interference with its politics, as described on page 248: “The coup that saved the shah was the first major step toward the revolution that ended his dynasty. The shah lost legitimacy and was tainted as ‘America’s shah,’ irrevocably damaged his relationship with nationalists and intellectuals.” Based on this, the modern political turmoil and distrust of western powers in Iran makes much more sense. The chapter later states that the shah created SAVAK, his feared secret police, with CIA support in 1957. Washington also supported the White Revolution, “the linchpin of which was the distribution of land to the landless peasants” (Goldstone 248). This further divided the shah and the upper classes. In many ways, these actions created a civil war of politics that ended up being the Iranian nationalists against the western world and culture.

In The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, Hooman Majd discusses “feeling a tinge of pride in their nation’s rapid ascent to a position of being taken seriously by the world’s greatest superpower”, referencing Iran and the United States’ relationship (3). He also makes note that without the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran would likely not have much of a say in global affairs today. Later on page three, Majd states: “For two or three hundred years Iran had been, in all but name, a proxy of Western powers - specifically Britain and then the United States when it took over the mantle of empire after world War II.”  This ties in well with what I referenced in my first paragraph, in that it was a struggle of Iranian nationalists against the western influences exerted on it.

In a children’s story titled The Little Black Fish, the story exemplifies how modern revolutionary ethos is rekindled every so often in Iranian generations. According to the course reading list description, the author officially “drowned” after writing the book. Whether or not this is true, most Iranians believe the 28-year-old author, Samad Behrangi, was murdered by U.S.-backed SAVAK agents for challenging the Iranian regime. Just the simple fact that most Iranians believe this reason for the author’s death says a lot about their perception of the United States and its influence on the region.

Works Cited

Behrangi, S. (n.d.). The Little Black Fish.

Goldstone, J. A. (1998). Iranian Islamic Revolution (1979). In The encyclopedia of political revolutions (pp. 248-251). Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly.

Majd, H. (2008). The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: Understanding Iran and Iranians. New: Doubleday.