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  • The Iranian Revolution: The Islamic Revolution That Reshaped the Middle East

  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Jim D Johnston
  • Length: 1 hr and 40 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

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The Iranian Revolution: The Islamic Revolution That Reshaped the Middle East cover art

The Iranian Revolution: The Islamic Revolution That Reshaped the Middle East

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Jim D Johnston
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Summary

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 has been described as an epochal event, called the peak of 20th century Islamic revivalism and revitalization, and analyzed as the one key incident that continues to impact politics across Iran, the Middle East, and the even the world as a whole. As a phenomenon that led to the creation of the first modern Islamic Republic in the world, the revolution marked the victory of Islam over secular politics, and Iran quickly became the aspiring model for Islamic fundamentalists and revivalists across the globe, regardless of nationality, culture, or religious sect. 

When Ayatollah Khomeini was declared ruler in December 1979 and the judicial system originally modeled on that of the West was swiftly replaced by one purely based on Islamic law, much of the world was in shock that such a religiously driven revolution could succeed so quickly, especially when it had such sweeping consequences beyond the realm of religion. Revolutions are nothing new, but most revolutions, especially those in the West, have tended to remain secular. Even when religious ideology and themes were present, as in the English Civil War of the 1640s, these were not dominant driving forces behind the revolution, nor were they a significant factor in its immediate results. Even outside the West, this has mostly proven to be true; the nationalist revolution and war for independence in Turkey, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was a battle for separation of church and state that called for democratic principles of equality, and the result was the formation of a modern and secular Turkey.

©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2018 Charles River Editors

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Wikipedia style story

As someone who lives in a country that is going in the same direction now as Iran did in the late 70s, I wanted to get some deep understanding of the reasons behind religious indoctrination of societies from this book. Unfortunately, this story provides very little details for the reasons behind the Islamic revolution and why secular opposition failed to see what is coming after the fall of monarchy.
One could read a Wikipedia article about the revolution and get more insight.
This story should have focused on the reasons for failed secularisation, failed modernisation of society, etc. But instead it listed events and dates like a bad history textbook.
Very disappointed.

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