muhammad reza pahlavi

• Article title: “The divisive legacy of Iran’s royal family”
• Trump administration has been whitewashing the human rights record of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• The Pahlavi dynasty reigned over Iran from 1925 to 1979
• Reza Shah Pahlavi, the founding father of the dynasty, was born as Reza Khan and came from a humble background
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, son of Reza Pahlavi, succeeded his father as the ruler of Iran
• United States and Britain orchestrated a coup in 1953 to oust Mossadegh and bring back Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• Pahlavi’s reign had advantages such as rapid economic growth, urban development, modernizing education system and social advancements for women. However, political repression by the state, backed by the feared intelligence agency, SAVAK, was a major disadvantage
• Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran in January 1979 and soon after it became the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Members of the political opposition were routinely jailed and tortured, among other abuses.
• The former crown prince, 59-year-old Reza Pahlavi, is based in Maryland
• Pahlavi died in 1980 and is buried in Egypt
• There are currently no members of the Pahlavi family in Iran
• Two of the shah’s children died as adults, one reportedly from suicide and another from a drug overdose
• Farah Pahlavi, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s third wife, is living in France
• Pahlavis probably retained some money when they left Iran, but it’s unclear how much, and their lifestyle doesn’t appear overly lavish
• Farah Pahlavi is remembered fondly by some Iranians who saw her as a supporter of Iranian culture and arts and a moderating force within the isolated monarchy
• For those “shown a rosy picture of the past with no mention of the human rights violations and poverty that played a role in fomenting the 1979 revolution, it’s only natural that these young Iranians would have certain leanings in favor of the past,” with regards to the pro-Pahlavi shows and documentaries that are aired
• Reza Pahlavi advocates for President Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach to Iran and advocated for regime change
• The former crown prince has no political prospects within Iran and matters “in the context of the U.S.”
• The political

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• At the height of his power in 1971, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi drew world leaders to a wind-swept luxury tent city, offering a lavish banquet of food flown in from Paris to celebrate 2,500 years of Persian monarchy in the ruins of Persepolis.
• The fall of the Peacock Throne and the rise of the Islamic Revolution in Iran grew out of the shah’s ever-tightening control over the country.
• While successfully riding rising oil prices in the 1970s, the shah failed to see that Iranians had begun to expect more as the country’s people moved from the countryside to cities like Tehran.
• As the crisis reached a fever pitch, the shah’s inability to act and poor decisions while secretly fighting what would be a fatal cancer doomed him.
• Born in 1919, Mohammad Reza Shah was the son of Reza Shah, then an army officer.
• Iran’s strong trade ties with Germany, Reza Shah’s push for neutrality in World War II and Western fears over its oil supplies falling to the Nazis ultimately led to a Russian-British invasion of the country in 1941.
• Reza Shah abdicated in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, at the insistence of the occupying British forces.
• His full embrace of autocratic power came after the political chaos of 1953.
• Out of these fears came TPAJAX, a CIA-backed coup plot to overthrow Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. The coup plot initially found one of its biggest problems to be the shah himself.
• When the coup appeared to have failed, the shah fled to Baghdad and on to Italy. But protests supporting the shah, fanned in part by the CIA, led to Mossaddegh’s fall and the monarch’s return.
• The shah felt the pressure with monarchs in Egypt and Iraq falling to nationalistic army officers. He focused on the threats from abroad by pouring money into his military.
• As Britain withdrew from the Middle East, the U.S. increasingly looked at the shah as a stabilizing force. He allowed U.S. and British spies to monitor the Soviet Union from secret bases in Iran.
• He also recognized Israel as a state in 1959, long before any Arab nation struck a peace deal.
• Meanwhile, he sought to industrialize and educate Iranians through his 1960s “White Revolution,” which included land reforms that angered Iran’s gentry and

• Iran had a prosperous and unique identity when the Pahlavi Dynasty was in power
• The Pahlavi Dynasty sought to make Iran a prosperous and civilized world superpower and end British and Russian aggression against Iran
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, tried to implement vast improvements within the country, modernizing the economy and modernizing Iranian social customs
• Iran being friends with the United States would’ve been possible if Khomeini, who was responsible for the 1979 Islamic revolution, did not instigate it in the first place
• Suggestions are made regarding how such an event could have been avoided, such as Khomeini being killed by agents of the shah’s government
• If the revolution had failed, then Iran today would have been a prosperous and civilized world superpower, allied with the U.S. and a major problem for Pakistan (which would then be surrounded by 3 enemies who are all allies of the U.S.), instead of sponsored by terrorists as it was in the OTL
• Iran would have probably still had nuclear warheads for self-defense
• The Saudis, UAE, and Bahrain would be enemies of Iran because of the disputes between them over the Persian Gulf in the past, which would make the Middle East more unstable
• Afghanistan would be ruled by the monarchy because they were stable under the monarchy, and Iran could potentially help overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan
• Monarchist Iran may help overthrow other regimes across the world, such as Ethiopia, in order to install monarchies
• Iraq may remain Baathist under Saddam Hussein, because Iran would not be seen as a problematic neighbor
• Iran may support anti-Assad forces in Syria or support Assad if concessions are made to Israel
• Iran-USSR relations would remain sour because of the bitter history between the two nations
• Iran may see China as more beneficial than India if they were in power
• Iran may be friendly with Pakistan because it is a fellow Muslim country and the most powerful Muslim country
• Iran may be less friendly with Turkey due to competition, but it would still be cordial

Comments:

• Saudi Arabia would be rivals with Iran but maintain a much more friendly relationship comparable to that with Jordan
• Iran’s relations with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia would worsen since they would be seen as legitimate Iranian lands
• Iran may restore the princely states of Mysore, Cochin, Travancore, Jammu, and Hyderabad as puppet states in its bid to keep

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• Topic: Views on Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and the Pahlavi dynasty
• Date: 3 years ago
• Subreddit: r/iran
• URL: https://i.redd.it/fcydmcrnruz41.jpg
• Title: “What is the current view regarding Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and on the Pahlavi dynasty as a whole?”
• Post score: 78 (83% upvoted)
• User questions:
  • Was secularism the main reason why the revolution happened?
  • Which book by Abbas?
• Comments:
  • Posted by a reddit user - 20 karma:
    • The Shah was a dictator who had ambitious visions for Iran.
  • Posted by a reddit user - 6 karma:
    • UAE, China, and Singapore have shown that dictatorship can work until a country reaches a certain level of education and wealth.
  • Posted by a reddit user - 1 karma:
    • Some people are too dumb to handle democracy, but it still smacks of a patronizing view towards the masses.
    • The Shah may have hoped to see democratic processes and institutions take over, but we’ll never know.
    • Tito’s Yugoslavia was a “good” dictatorship due to the friendship with a wonderful Serbian.
  • Posted by a reddit user - 15 karma:
    • The idealistic view of the history of the Pahlavi dynasty falls apart beyond surface level.
    • There’s no real support for monarchism, but the Shah had more freedoms overall compared to the current regime.
  • Posted by a reddit user - 1 karma:
    • The Shah was a corrupt Western puppet who oppressed, tortured, and killed people.
  • Posted by a reddit user - 4 karma:
    • The West was also involved in Iran’s history of human rights violations.
  • Posted by a reddit user - 8 karma:
    • The Shah pushed too far and too fast, causing every section of society to reach its breaking point.
    • He secularized Iran, giving power to women and taking power away from the clergy, which they hated.
    • He modernized Iranian society, reforming land and converting Iran from a feudal system of land ownership, which the wealthy hated.
    • Human rights violations occurred but were exaggerated.
    • The regime’s own report confirmed this, but it was buried to avoid justifying the horrors of the 1979 revolution and the massive human rights violations it caused.
  • References:

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• The webpage discusses whether the last Shah of Iran used religion as a legitimizing feature of his state.
• The author presents a common narrative of the Shah as a heavily secular leader attempting to modernize the country while being faced with constant criticism and opposition by the Shia clergy in Iran.
• The author wonders if this narrative is entirely accurate and questions if the Shah ever used faith as a legitimizing pillar of his rule in Iran.
• A commenter explains that Islamic clerics were generally hostile against the Shah because his dynasty started with the coup d’etat by military officer Reza Pahlavi.
• The policies of the Shah, highly focused on modernization, were highly unpopular among Islamic clerics and the religious population.
• The Shah’s ambitious land reform called “The White Revolution” shook the traditional power structure for Shia clerics and landlords, making them hostile against the Shah.
• The author also mentions that the Shah encouraged more focus on the greatness of ancient Persia, celebrating Cyrus The Great instead of traditional Shia saints or the Prophet Mohammad.
• The Shia establishment was a hotbed of anti-monarchy sentiment; the Shah could never have hoped to secure their support to bolster his legitimacy.
• A commenter provides insight on Iranian kingship and explains the concept of “Khvarenah” as the foundation of Iranian kingship since ancient times, from the Sassanid Empire to the Islamization of Iran. This concept confirms that monarchy as a system of government was divinely ordained, but it could be lost by bad rulers or difficult times, making it different from the Divine Right of Kings.
• The commenter explains that the Shah could not use religion as a legitimizing factor, and that he was heavily criticized for his actions by Islamic clerics and religious students. In return, the Shah’s regime was criticized for its violent reaction to public protests, and for being the exact opposite of the Islamic Republic that followed.
• Additionally, a commenter with a personal connection explains that the Pahlavi’s propaganda emphasized the concept of “Khvarenah” more than a “Divine Right” in the early modern European sense.
• The same commenter explains that Iranian kingship had a concept of leaders being accountable to God, even if they held no power over the king himself.
• Finally, a discussion about the accuracy and validity of the common narrative that paints the Shah as a secular leader ensues, with other commenters chiming in to provide further nuance and explanations.

Here are my detailed notes from the webpage mentioned above:

• The webpage consists of a Reddit post from three years ago about Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, along with an image of the Shah and his third wife Farah Diba.
• Some users expressed support for the Shah and hoped for his return to power in Iran, citing his leadership during a time of massive economic growth and military strength.
• Other users criticized the Shah’s westernization policies and mentioned corruption and human rights violations under his regime. One user referred to him as a “western puppet.”
• The Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, was also brought up and was compared to organizations like the FBI and CIA by one user who defended it against claims of corruption.
• A user recommended the book “Decadence and downfall: The Shah of Iran’s Ultimate party” for those wanting to learn more about the Shah.
• Some users expressed concern for the Shah’s safety if he were to return to Iran, especially considering the current regime’s opposition to him and the assassination of his brother.
• There was discussion of the potential for a return of monarchy in Iran, with some users believing it could happen given the current state of affairs in the country.
• Overall there was a mix of opinions on the Shah and his legacy, with some users viewing him as a positive force for Iran and others condemning his policies and actions.

• The webpage is a Reddit thread from 1 year and 4 months ago, with the title “Do you think the Pahlavi’s were genuinely religious, or did they just present themselves as Muslim’s for political security?” (10 points, 17 comments)
• The thread discusses the religiosity of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi and his family members, as well as the conflicting views of Reza Shah’s own personal beliefs.
• Some users point out that Muhammad Reza Pahlavi’s religiosity may not have been strongly perceived due to his efforts to secularize Iran, but that he was known to have gone on ziyarat to Imam Reza, made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and held majilis during Ashura, as well as having ulama at his coronation and Nowruz celebrations. (7 karma)
• There are varying opinions on the extent of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi’s religiosity. One user claims that he was a “believer in Islam and in God,” but less religious than the average person of his time, with beliefs that were not orthodox and more universalist in nature. Another user states that he was a “devout Shia Muslim,” with unverified stories of secretly visiting Imam Hossein’s shrine before the revolution, and that he was less of a hard secularist than commonly believed.
• Some users mention that Reza Shah was not religious at all, while others believe that he was religious in private, with one user citing Ashraf Pahlavi’s memoirs as evidence.
• Farah Diba’s religiosity is also briefly discussed, with one user claiming that she is a Shia Muslim, but with a family that was less religious than the average Iranians of her time. They recount a story of Farah being berated by a mullah for not wearing a veil, which caused her to associate organized religion with anger and intolerance. The same user states that Farah herself doesn’t seem to practice religion publicly and has made critical statements about how Islam is functioning in Iran. (2 karma)
• The thread includes some users asking for the source of the information in certain comments, with one user citing Abbas Milani as a source for information on Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, and another user citing the book “The Fall of Heaven” by Andrew Scott Cooper for information on Farah Diba.
• There are a few comments that attempt to make sense of the Shah’s dual identity of secularizing Iran while still maintaining religious beliefs, with one user suggesting that the Shah wanted to

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An analysis of the impact of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi's reign on Iran's modern history

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A summary of the life of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, including his reign, policies, and impact on Iran