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Because this question has been edited many times I have to clarify that I am answering the version that asks: What caused the Iranian 1979 revolution to become Islamic? Short Answer (more suited for causal conversations in bars): It was easier to portray the Shah as anti Islamic ruler in league with the Western powers bent on destroying Islam in an Islamic ...

This seemed to have come from Persia's freedom from the Qajars and some nationalism on the part of Germany during WWII influencing the Shah's decisions. So it was originally changed in 1935 and not 1979, unless you are only referring to the Islamic Republic addition, which was done at the Ayatollah's will, more than likely. The name of the country in ...

Khomeini was in France because he had been expelled from Iran and then Iraq, and his aides had advised him to go to Europe, and because France granted him political asylum. He was at the time an aged and relatively obscure religious figure, a target of political persecution who had not been to his home country in well over a decade. They probably saw him as ...

There is a notion that superpowers have, well, super powers, and can bend history to their will. There is never a shortage of conspiracy theories involving foreign agents. The reality of course is that even great powers are constrained, and the idea that Carter's appearance in Iran sparked a revolution is at the very least too Carlylian for my taste. If ...

Iran was never a British colony. British actions may have inadvertently aided the Islamization of Iran, though the most critical time period appears to me to be the Mossadegh government ('51-'53), not the Second World War or prior. Also, you say I am sure that the Islamization of today's Iran is the result of Great Britain's policy on Iran before the ...

One of the recurring themes in history I find fascinating is the spread of sects. You'll often find that when a group wants to separate itself from a foreign power structure, it will embrace a fashionable herecy. For this reason, the old views generally are kept toward the religous culture's central seat of secular power, and the new ones become popular ...

The two situations were completely different: in 1943 Iran was largely occupied by the Allies (British and Russian) who thus had the final say in everything. Whereas in 1979 the Shah was toppled by a genuine revolution; at that stage there was nothing the US could have done for him. Perhaps if he had abdicated himself a few years before 1979 in favour of, ...

There are only approximately 20,000 Zoroastrians in Iran, which is about 0.026% of the total population. I would not say Zoroastrianism is strong in Iran in terms of the total population. The only way Zoroastrianism can be said to be strong in Iran is because it has the second-largest Zoroastrian population after India (~69,000). See List of countries by ...

According to Wikipedia it was the Alvids who started it: They were descendants of the second Shi'a Imam (Imam Hasan ibn Ali) and brought Islam to the south Caspian Sea region of Iran. Their reign was ended when they were defeated by the Samanid empire in 928 AD. According to this Wikipedia link Safavids were the ones who imposed it: Although ...

The U.S. and Iran were originally allies when the shah they supported was in power. the Iran hostage crisis and subsequent revolution changed this by removing the shah from power and installing the Ayatollah as the new leader of Iran who was fiercely anti American. Iraq was supported by the Soviets, however the Iran-Iraq War was taking place during the ...

It is not true. The name Iran is old enough and comes from Ayran which means the land of Aryans but Reza shah suspected westerners' motives in using the name Persia instead of Iran and tried to change the name to Iran again. Reza shah had extreme nationalist ideas and Nazi regime cheated him and abused these feelings in the second world war. Westerners ...

Like virtually every other country, Iran values having a culture that is not simply defined by its predominant religion. Iran, therefore, has a close attachment to its pre-Islamic (or better, non-Islamic) civilisation. Besides being a source of pride in its own right, this heritage also serves to differentiate the country and people from its surrounding ...

Let me have a go in answering this question. Why should the US help Israel in a war against Iran. There is no real military reason that would stop the US. You commented on the Iranian ballistic missils, So far, according to Obama, who would have nothing to gain by lying(1) the Iranian missiles are only capable of reaching Europe, not America. There for, the ...

The Safavid dynasty, which continuously ruled Iran from 1501 to 1722, made Shi'a Islam the official state religion. Over this period most Iranians converted to Shi'a Islam. Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, made conversion mandatory.

The answer to your question is that both the CIA and Canadians were responsible for the escape of the American diplomats. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Central Intelligence Agency, Al Jazeera, Ottawa Citizen, New York Times, Montreal Gazette, and many other sources confirm the story. Once the crisis started the CIA contacted the Canadians in ...

Don't know about the planes themselves but the composition doesn't arouse any suspicions in me - it looks like a typical "flight officers conferring before mission" photo op set piece. Also the guy in the middle in the top picture looks like a very authentic Iranian officer. To sum up, the pictures seem like the straight dope to me.

Recently the Islamic Republic of Iran labelled BBC Persian Television a key tool of “soft power” being used to stir up the demonstrations which have convulsed the country since the contested presidential elections in June 2009. Thirty years ago, the Shah of Iran regarded the BBC Persian Service radio as his “enemy number one” and held it responsible for ...

As a young foreign woman married to a Iranian in 1979 I agree with the statement below. I never wore Hijab anywhere in Iran till the Ayatollah' demanded we foreign woman who were NOT raised as moslems had to comply. Our freedoms were restricted not by choice and even when we supported the revolution at that time every Iranian no matter what he believed ...

Jimmy Carter was a human rights activist. As such, he was not totally compatible with the Shah (a human rights violator), even though the Shah was acting very much in American interests. As such, Carter's actual (as opposed to verbal) support of the Shah was lukewarm at best, even though he realized that the Shah was on "our" side. Jimmy Carter was also a ...