Reza Shah Pahlavi, prime minister and then first sultan of the former Imperial State of Iran, was instrumental in creating a more modern Iran. Though most IR scholars would hesitate to call today's Iran "modern," the transformations Reza Shah put Iran through in the 1920s was an attempt to improve the society and bring the country into the new century. Back then, this was a monumental and dramatic change.
Reza Shah’s rise to power in the 1920s marked a beginning of authoritarian reforms that would forever change the face of the country. Reza Shah, originally a colonel in the Cossack Brigade, became the respected prime minister of Iran in 1923. He aimed to bring similar reforms to Iran as Kemal Ataturk had brought to Turkey. Reza Shah took complete control of the Iranian political system, making the Majlis’ elections essentially null and void (the Majlis being the political assembly in Iran at the time). Reza Shah enforced the banning of trade unions, the abolition of opposition parties (as well as the arrest of officials with whom he was discontent), and the use of censorship. Though these measures may differ from most Western ideals, Reza Shah actually sought to reform Iran in the likes of Westernization.
Reza Shah’s idea of modernization was mirrored in his efforts to bring authority to tribal leaders, by forcibly disarming the tribes and confiscating their land. Though these measures were effective, they ultimately led to the poverty of these tribes. The Shari’a judicial system was bypassed, making room for new secular legislation. In 1932, a law was passed that abolished the Ulama’s right to register legal documents. In 1939, all waqf lands were seized (waqf meaning a religious endowment in Islam, often used for religious and/or charitable purposes). Reza Shah also attempted to centralize tax collection and finance by hiring an American financial expert, Dr. Millspaugh, to reorganize the finance and tax collection of Iran in 1922.
Education reform was another accomplishment of Reza Shah’s reign. As a result of the regime devoting more funds to education, the number of enrolled students rose dramatically. Tehran University was opened in 1935, each year offering one hundred scholarships to study abroad at European universities. Unlike in Turkey, madrassahs were not abolished. Instead, in Iran, the number of students enrolled in madrassahs increased as well. Reza Shah tried to implement a modern, nationalist attitude in Iran, not quite accounting for the diversity in ethnic groups occupying the country. Students in schools around the country were taught to form patriotic attitudes. Reza Shah favored the banning of minority languages and even restricted the use of some Arabic and Turkish words, in favor of the national language, Persian. Though Iran fostered a flourishing industrialst era, the rural areas and agricultural development left something to be desired.
In 1936 the Ulama in Iran were snubbed by means of a new law enacted that stated all judges in the new state courts were to have a degree from the Tehran University Faculty of Law or from a foreign university. The Ulama had their own means of education; they were Muslim legal scholars who were already well-versed in many fields of Islamic studies. The reforms in Kemal Ataturk’s Turkey seemed to be more for the benefit of the Turkish people and for the benefit of the country; he wished to build popular sovereignty in the constitution. The reforms of Reza Shah seemed more aligned with building his personal power and that of his son, whom he wished to rule after him.
Iran’s neutrality during World War II (though the country possessed a well-known pro-German attitude) was a cause for concern in the west. Iran was occupied by British and Russian forces, who took advantage of its vast oil resources. The United States left civilian and military personnel in Iran after the war, who then established influential positions in Iranian government.
Thus, reforms in the fields of financial administration and military organization were established, a move that still influences U.S.-Iranian relations today.
In a political climate which focuses so heavily on Iran's nuclear program, its human rights abuses, and the rhetoric of its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it is important to take a take back and reflect upon the history of this country, rather than focusing all attention on issues of today- pertinent and dire though they may be.
-Elizabeth Dovell
Hi ! Good article do you have a list of references used?
ReplyDeleteHi ! Good article do you have a list of references used?
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