The 1979 Iranian Revolution
Tradition Versus Modernity
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 could be directly described as
the triumph of traditional authoritarianism, versus, Western imposed secularization.
During the 1970's, oil prices were high, and Iran was led by an authoritarian
Shah who sought western investment as a means to modernize his country.
During the Shah's reign, Iran became an ally of the US, utilizing 10 billion
in oil revenues to buy sophisticated US military hardware.
 While
the Shah envisioned military strength as a form of modernization, all
of his other policies, especially attempts at land reform failed miserably,
as sure as the reality at the time that Iran despite being an oil rich
nation was also dependant on oil imports. Furthermore, agricultural modernization
schemes relied on 'capital intensive agribusiness investments from the
West.'(151)
This resulted in 10-20% of oil revenues being allotted towards the financing
of food imports. Inherently the Shah's militarization-modernization program
impeded his country's economic growth and development. This also resulted
in increased class stratification in Iranian society. Ultimately, the
Shah was overthrown in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini.
 Khomeini
represented an established tradition in Shia Iran, of Mullah Patriarchs,
who had traditionally administered to local and regional justice disputes.
Since the Shah's secularization program was so uneven in its mode of economic
development that Khomeini's conservative faction was able to beat out
those Iranian moderates who favored limited modernization, more pluralism,
versus Ayatollaian Theocracy or the Shah's own brew of fascism.
The Iranian Revolution was indeed a multi-class revolution, led by students,
intellectuals, the middle class, oil workers, and displaced peasants all
affected by hyperurbanization. These competing groups all attacked secularism,
identifying it as a term synonymous to Western methods of imperialism.
In Iran after the revolution, Secularism came also to be associated
with leftisim, feminism, democracy, as something to be opposed as incompatible
to theocratic Islamic rule. Ultimately, it was meant to be a cultural
challenge to Western ideological values concerning 3rd world developmentalisim.
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