The Iranian Revolution (Persian: انقلاب ایران, translit. Enqelāb-e Iran; also known as the Islamic Revolution or the 1979 Revolution)[3][4][5][6][7][8] refers to events involving the overthrow of the 2,500 years of continuous Persian monarchy under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States,[9] and eventual replacement with an Islamic Republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution,[10] supported by various Islamist and leftist organizations[11] and student movements.
Demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance that included both secular and religious elements[12][13][14] and which intensified in January 1978.[15] Between August and December 1978, strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country. The Shah left Iran for exile on 16 January 1979, as the last Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and Shapour Bakhtiar who was an opposition-based prime minister. Ayatollah Khomeini was invited back to Iran by the government,[16][17] and returned to Tehran to a greeting by several million Iranians.[18] The royal reign collapsed shortly after on 11 February when guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting, bringing Khomeini to official power.[19][20] Iran voted by national referendum to become an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979,[21] and to approve a new theocratic-republican constitution[12][13][22][23] whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country in December 1979.
The revolution was unusual for the surprise it created throughout the world:[24] it lacked many of the customary causes of revolution (defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military),[25] occurred in a nation that was experiencing relative prosperity,[16][23] produced profound change at great speed,[26] was massively popular, resulted in the exile of many Iranians,[27] and replaced a pro-Western authoritarian monarchy[16] with an anti-Western authoritarian theocracy[16][22][23][Note 1][29] based on the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (or velayat-e faqih). It was a relatively non-violent revolution, and it helped to redefine the meaning and practice of modern revolutions (although there was violence in its aftermath).
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An Islamic republic is the name given to several states that are officially ruled by Islamic laws, including the Islamic Republics of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan first adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty. Afghanistan adopted it in 2004 after the fall of the Taliban government. Despite having similar names the countries differ greatly in their governments and laws.
The term "Islamic republic" has come to mean several different things, some contradictory to others. To some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East and Africa who advocate it, an Islamic republic is a state under a particular Islamic form of government. They see it as a compromise between a purely Islamic caliphate and secular nationalism and republicanism. In their conception of the Islamic republic, the penal code of the state is required to be compatible with some or all laws of Sharia, and the state may not be a monarchy, as many Middle Eastern states are presently.[citation needed]
Iran officially uses the name "Islamic Republic" in all governance names referring to the country, e.g. Islamic Republic of Iran Army, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting etc., as opposed to for example its equivalents in Afghanistan, which are called Afghan National Army and Radio Television Afghanistan. Also, Iran, unlike the others, uses it as part of official acronyms, i.e. 'IRI' for "Islamic Republic of Iran".
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