The Jewish Chronicle
On this day: Islamic republic established in Iran
April 1 1979: The Iranian revolution
February 1, 2011 09:06
April 1 1979: The Iranian revolution
February 1, 2011 09:06The Iranian revolution, which ended more than 50 years of the rule of the US-baked Pahlavi dynasty, started in January 1978, when disparate groups of religious scholars, students, nationalists and communists began demonstrating against the Shah.
The protests and strikes continued for the next year, paralyzing the economy and eventually prompting the Shah to take flight in January 1979. Two weeks later, Islamist figurehead and leader Ayatollah Khomeini triumphantly returned from exile and declared jihad on those who did not support him.
A month after Mohammad Reza Shah fled, the Iranian military gave in to the rebels and at the end of March the Iranian people backed the establishment of an Islamic Republic in a referendum. On April 1, the modern theocratic state of Iran was born, paving the way for the country as run by hardliners such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Although Khomeini decreed that Jews should be protected, anyone with any connection to Israel or Zionism was arrested or even executed, as in the case of communal leader and businessman Habib Elghanian.
