In this interim period of "disaffected calm"the budding Iranian revival began to undermine the idea of Westernization as progress that was the basis of the Shah's secular reign, and to form the ideology of the 1979 revolution. Jalal Al-e-Ahmad's idea of Gharbzadegi – that Western culture was a plague or an intoxication to be eliminated,Ali Shariati's vision of Islam as the one true liberator of the Third World from oppressive colonialism, neo-colonialism, and capitalism; and Morteza Motahhari's popularized retellings of the Shia faith, all spread and gained listeners, readers and supporters.
Most importantly, Ayatollah Khomeini preached that protest, and especially martyrdom, against injustice and tyranny was part of Shia Islam, and that Muslims should reject the influence of both liberal capitalism and communism, ideas that inspired the revolutionary slogan "Neither East, nor West – Islamic Republic!"
first Islamic state
Iran's revolution began with a popular democracy movement and ended with the establishment of the world's first Islamic state.
Before the revolution Iran was ruled by Shah Reza Pahlavi. Power was clustered among a close network of the Shah's relations and friends.
During the 1970s the gap between Iran's rich and poor grew.
Distrust of the Shah's economic policy and resentment of his autocratic style fuelled dissent against his regime.
Opposition voices rallied round Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a shia cleric living in exile in Paris.
In January 1979, the Shah left Tehran for" vacation".
He was never to return.
All over Iran statues of the Shah were torn down by Khomeini supporters.
The revolution On the 11th February, tanks rumbled through the streets of Tehran amid rumours of an impending military coup.
However as the day wore on it became apparent that the army had little appetite for seizing power.
Revolutionaries stormed Tehran's main radio station and declared: "This is the voice of the revolution of the Iranian people!"
Prime Minister Bakhtiar resigned. Two months later Ayatollah Khomeini won a landslide victory in a national referendum.
He declared an Islamic republic, and was appointed Iran's political and religious leader for life.
In the following we review the headline of western newspapers on the first day after Islamic Revolution.
