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Peter_deT t1_j1oico6 wrote

They overwhelmingly wanted the shah gone. What came after was not agreed.

I lived in Iran (teaching ) in 78, had Iranian friends and have tried to follow things since. Iran as a whole has several splits - it's basically all Shi'a, which is a fairly flexible branch of Islam (you choose your ayatollah and follow his teachings, but can switch - and it acknowledges the need to interpret the Koran and hadith in the light of modernity). But the urban middle and upper classes are all closely connected and look back to the pre-Islamic Persian past as much as to Shi'ism (if you are named Darioush or Kyroush then you're 'Persian', Hassan and Ali and Reza are Shi'a names).

The urban poor and rural people were offended by the Shah's corruption and over-riding traditional norms, and disturbed by his Westernisation. The middle and upper classes were outraged by the corruption and the abuses of the secret police, and also offended by the vulgar side of westernisation. They united against the shah after a couple of incidents. The established opposition politicians (people like Bazargan) were rejected when it became clear they were fence-sitters.

After the shah fled, it became a struggle between Khomeini (whose political theories were and are controversial), as the leader of the poor and the committed Shi'a - who wanted a Shi'a republic - and the middle classes who wanted something more like the Mossadegh period. Khomeini won. The new constitution was approved by referendum, with a high turn-out, despite calls from some opposition for a boycott (the margin is exaggerated, but it was widely endorsed). The Iraqi attack consolidated the regime.

Since then Iran has evolved from a petro-state to a mid-sized industrial power. Sanctions have spurred this - and also cemented a sense of grievance. Middle class protests break out every few years, and the politics continue to swing within a limited range.

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aaronupright t1_j1ti7zz wrote

Hassan, Ali and Reza are absolutely not “Shia” names. While the names are popular amongst Shias, they are also popular amongst Muslims generally.

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Peter_deT t1_j1whqp7 wrote

Just contrasting Iranian names (old Persian vs religious), not Muslim names generally.

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