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The Iranian Revolution And Ayatollah Khomeini

        Iran is a country located in the Middle East. The main source
of income for the country is oil, the one object that had greatly
influenced its history. Iran's present government is run as an Islamic
Republic. A president, cabinet, judicial branch, and Majilesor or
legislative branch, makes up the governmental positions. A revolution
that overthrew the monarch, which was set in 1930, lasted over 15
years. Crane Brinton's book, An Anatomy of a Revolution, explains set
of four steps a country experiences when a revolution occurs.
Symptoms, rising fever, crisis, and convalescence are the steps that
occur. The Iranian Revolution followed the four steps in Crane
Brinton's theory, symptoms, rising fever, crisis, and convalescence
occurred.

        Numerous symptoms led to the crumbling downfall of Reza Shah
Pahlavi, ruler of Iran until 1978. One of these symptoms is rising
expectations which can be seen during the 1960's and 70's. The rich
Shah cleared the way for the land reform law, enacted in 1962. The
land minority had to give up its land to the government, and among
those stripped of land, were the Shi'ah Muslims. Iran's power
structure was radically changed in a program termed the "White
Revolution". On January 26, 1963, the White Revolution was endorsed by
the nation. By 1971, when land distribution ended, about 2,500,000
families of the farm population benefited from the reforms. From
1960-72 the percentage of owner occupied farmland in Iran rose from
26 to 78 percent. Per capita income rose from $176 in 1960 to $2,500
in 1978. From 1970-77 the gross national product was reported to
increase to an annual rate of 7.8% ("Iran" 896). As a result of this
thriving economy, the income gap rapidly widened. Exclusive homes,
extravagant restaurants, and night clubs and streets loaded with
expensive automobiles served as daily reminders of a growing income
spread. This created a perfect environment for many...