At the start of my Introduction to Mass Communication class, I learned that I needed to choose a world issue topic to focus on, and I was pleased to realize that the current political situation in Iran was a topic choice. My interest was sparked by the fact that I grew up in Turkey with friends and family who were of Iranian descent and had lived in Iran earlier. Even before the start of this project, I was interested in learning more about Iran. When speaking with individuals who fled Iran during the conflict, the viewpoint and description vary from person to person; nonetheless, the final criticism is directed at the regime, and mostly everything else about their life experience is shared with fondness.
To understand how Iran became the way it is now, we have to understand what caused the revolution. The 1979 Islamic Revolution resulted in the toppling of the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. According to what I discovered via my study (1) and what I previously knew, this was caused by the conversation among Iranians about the cultural effects of the West as a result of reforms made by the Shah, as well as the emergence of a new elite class. There was widespread dissatisfaction with the idea that Iranian elites were enamored with Western culture and aspired to emulate it. Many Iranians believed that the US was allowed to pursue its interests at the expense of Iranians, which strengthened the anti-imperialist component of the revolution. The Islamic revolutionaries opposed to the Shah's modernization based on Western principles laid the groundwork for an Islamic Republic founded by Ayatollah Khomeini after the revolution.
According to reports and interviews that I have read and will link to (2), one of the earliest impacts of the revolution was freedom of speech and expression. Freedoms limited under the Shah were restored, but a new type of oppression quickly evolved. Individuals who had not already left the country, were members of the Shah's regime, or were anti-revolutionary were executed or imprisoned. Iran became chaotic as a result of the fighting. Not long after, the eight year long Iran-Iraq war began, when Iraq's ruler at the time, Saddam Hussein, launched an invasion after discovering Iran's weakness. Iran's 1979 constitution, enacted as part of the Islamic Revolution, is still in force today.
So, what is the current political situation in Iran? When studying Iran's contemporary politics, it is necessary to consider how it came to be the way it is today, how the Iranian people live today, the shift in women's rights since the revolution, Iran's culture and history, and the impact of Iran's politics on many other countries. We will study this further, as well as the current portrayal of Iranian politics in the media, during the following few weeks of this session, and find out!
Links/Sources:
Extra Links related to this post that I found interesting:
· 44 Days: The Iranian Revolution- David Burnett documented protests, deaths, altercations between troops and protesters, funerals, the departure of the Shah and his family, and Khomeini's arrival in Tehran beginning on December 26, 1978.
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