انقلاب ایران ۱۳۵۷ — چطور یک ملت مدرن به یک تئوکراسی تبدیل شد
The 1979 Iranian Revolution was one of the most consequential events of the 20th century. A broad coalition — Islamists, Marxists, liberal nationalists, merchants, students, and clerics — united around opposition to Mohammad Reza Shah's authoritarian rule, SAVAK repression, and perceived American neocolonialism.
Ayatollah Khomeini, exiled in France, masterfully positioned himself as the revolution's leader. His concept of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) — giving a supreme religious leader total political authority — was not clearly understood by most revolutionaries. Liberals and leftists believed they would share power in the new state.
Within months of the revolution's success in February 1979, Khomeini systematically eliminated rival factions: executing thousands of leftists, imprisoning liberal nationalists, and establishing a theocratic constitution. The Islamic Republic proved more repressive than the Shah's regime — executing over 10,000 political prisoners in the 1988 massacre alone. Most revolutionaries later admitted they did not anticipate or desire this outcome.
The revolution resulted from opposition to the Shah's autocratic rule, SAVAK secret police repression, economic inequality despite oil wealth, perceived American neocolonialism, and the desire for democratic governance and social justice.
Most Iranians who supported the revolution wanted democracy, not theocracy. Khomeini's Velayat-e Faqih system — giving a supreme Islamic leader absolute authority — was not widely understood until it was too late to prevent its implementation.