Social and Cultural Issues That Lead to the Iranian Revolution

Social and Cultural Issues that Lead to the Iranian Revolution In the mid 20th century, the people of Iran were going through many changes. In 1953, a coup was organized and with Britain and America’s help, Muhammad Mossedeq was arrested and taken out of power. With Reza Shah as the main authority in the country, he acts as a puppet to Western influence. Shah reigned through fear and force with the help of the State Information and Security Organization (SAVAK). The Shah fled Iran to the United States because of the followers Ayotollah Khomeini rounded up against him in 1979, giving the Iranian population a fresh look at things. Thus, through all of these drastic changes within society, culture and government power, Iran experienced an Islamic revolution in 1979. This revolution had been a long-time coming given that the last few decades angered the people of Iran to the point where violence was their answer. Because of the political, economical and especially social tensions built up over time, a two day street fight is what ended the 2,500 year old monarchy. After Mossedeq was overthrown by the military coup sponsored by the CIA in 1953, Muhammad Reza Shah was the sole power-holder. With this, the Shah was very easily influenced by Westerners, mainly the United States. He chose to rule by instilling fear into people and kept them in check through the SAVAK (L 5/9/12). The SAVAK was organized in 1957 and those who were in it were ordered to arrest anyone in opposition to the shah. There were no exceptions in society to whose life was in danger. If there was any resistance by a person, the SAVAK would take care of this. Obviously, the shah was not setting a good tone for himself and was not gaining any followers that he did not previously have. The SAVAK was responsible for a fire that was set to a cinema that was believed to hold people who opposed the Shah in August 1978 (L 5/9/12). Reza Shah intended to hide that he was responsible for the fire by taking a