Deck 18: The Iranian Revolution and the Revival of Islam

Question 1

Which of the following was NOT a result of the Iranian revolution of 1979?

A) Islamist political movements gained popularity throughout the Middle East
B) Iran became a republic
C) Secular laws were replaced with Islamic codes of law
D) The United States became a close Iranian ally

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What was the core message of the Freedom Movement's ideologue Ali Shari'ati?

A) It was through Marxist teachings-and not Islam-that Iranians could overcome the shah's oppressive regime and make a better Iran
B) Shi'ism was an activist faith that required its adherents to oppose injustice and to assert their cultural heritage in the face of Western models of development
C) The religious scholasticism provided by the ulama would be the saving grace of a state previously enamored with the West
D) Iran must not look to the United States, but to France for its political model

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements about Vilayati-i Faqih is not true?

A) It means "governance of the jurist"
B) It was devised by Ayatollah Khomeini to allow the clergy to become the political leaders of Iran
C) It was the traditional form of Shi‛ite government
D) It was designed to ensure that shari‛ah law would become the basis of administration and government

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When leading ayatollahs and opposition members called for Iranians to observe a day of mourning for the deaths of student protestors in Qum in 1978, they effectively ____________________________.

A) carried out the desires of the shah
B) fused the rhythm of political protest with the framework of Shi'a Islamic rituals, thus granting the religious establishment implicit authority to guide and direct the protest
C) absolved the shah's regime of any wrong-doing
D) dismissed the concerns of the families of the students, who were proponents of the shah and feared facing charges for the opposition movement's activities

Question 5

The rise of political Islam in the Middle East is usually explained as a reaction to which two events?

A) The defeat of Arab nationalism in 1967 and the success of the Iranian revolution in establishing an Islamic republic
B) The return of Khomeini to Iran and the removal of Muhammad Reza Shah from power
C) Israel's success in 1967 and the rise of Nasser's brand of nationalism
D) Black Friday and Black September

Question 6

Which of the following is true of the Council of the Islamic Republic?

A) It was composed mainly of members of the ulama and subject to guidance by Khomeini
B) It was the supreme administrative and legislative body in the country
C) It had the power to veto policies proposed by the Prime Minister, Mehdi Bazargan
D) All of these answers are correct

Question 7

It was Ayatollah Khomeini's long-held belief that a truly Islamic state could be ensured only by the _______________________.

A) governance of the people
B) establishment of Sunni Islam within all societal spheres: economical, political, and legal.
C) governance of the religious establishment.
D) revolution of the people.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an example of how the "Islamization" of Iran impacted women?

A) By 1980, a dress code requiring all women to wear a hijab was introduced
B) By 1981, women lost the right to initiate divorce
C) By 1981, women lost the right to vote
D) By 1981, women were prohibited from studying law, medicine, and engineering in university

Question 9

What was the driving force behind the Islamic resurgence during the 1970s and 1980s?

A) A renowned rejection of change within the Muslim world
B) Fundamentalism
C) A rejection of the Middle East's dependence on Western models of development
D) All of these answers are correct

Question 10

In 1980, which country attacked Iran partly due to the threat it felt by the Iranian revolution?

A) Egypt
B) Iraq
C) the United States
D) Afghanistan

Question 11

Which of the following groups was not one of the main participant groups in the Iranian Revolution (1979)?

A) Bazaaris
B) Students
C) Urban professionals
D) Muslim Brotherhood

Question 12

Which of the following most accurately describes "Irangate"?

A) An ancient gate of Tehran through which Ayatollah Khomeini entered the city when he returned in 1979
B) A secret arms deal between Iran and the United States (1985-1986)
C) The United States' blockade of Iran after the Iranian Revolution
D) Ayatollah Khomeini's attack against the Iranian monarchy

Question 13

Which of the following statements most accurately describe the ideas of Ali Shari‛ati?

A) He opposed Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamist ideology, asserting that Iran must remain a secular country divorced from Islam
B) He advanced a reformist doctrine that combined elements of Marxism, Shi'ism, and Iranian patriotism
C) He believed that Iran had gone astray in the first half of the twentieth century because its people had stopped listening to the wisdom of the ulama
D) He denounced the "secular faith" of the Freedom Movement

Question 14

What event helped trigger the transformation of the opposition to Muhammad Reza Shah from a moderate reformist movement into a popular Islamic revolution?

A) A scandalous attack against Ayatollah Khomeini published in a government newspaper
B) The exile of Ayatollah Khomeini to Turkey
C) The triumphant return of Ayatollah Khomeini from exile
D) The publication of Vilayati-I Faqih: Hukomat-i Islami

Question 15

How did Ayatollah Khomeini tend to use the enormous powers that were constitutionally mandated to him as the supreme Islamic jurist?

A) He established a direct personal dictatorship
B) He created the Islamic Republic Party as a façade party through which to rule with no opposition
C) He acted as a guide, offering decisions on major questions and avoiding involvement in routine administrative matters
D) He micromanaged the entire government, playing off rival factions so that no other centers of power could develop

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a reason that the Freedom Movement came to endorse Khomeini's camp as the forefront of opposition?

A) Sense of alienation among recently urbanized workers made many urban workers receptive to protest couched in Islamic terms
B) Like Khomeini, Freedom Movement leaders called for a government based on Islamic law
C) The shah's brutal crackdowns made Khomeini's radical anti-Western, Islamic rhetoric attractive to the masses
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 17

Which of the following accurately describes the significance of Muharram?

A) It is a Shi'a religious holiday and the most important ceremony in the Shi'a calendar
B) It is the customary period of ritual mourning for the martyrdom of Imams Ali and Husayn
C) The coinciding of demonstrations against the shah with this holiday in December 1978 helped consolidate support for Khomeini and, ultimately, the Islamic Revolution
D) All of these statements are true of Muharram

Question 18

Which of the following leadership positions are chosen by popular vote?

A) members of the Majlis
B) Supreme Islamic jurist
C) Revolutionary Guards
D) Council of Guardians

Question 19

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the significance of Bani-Sadr?

A) Bani-Sadr was personally close with Khomeini, and was the first to be elected president of the Islamic Republic
B) Bani-Sadr quickly became politically isolated among the religious establishment and was impeached in 1981
C) As president, Bani-Sadr was faced with a crisis in which youthful supporters of Khomeini took US foreign service personnel hostage
D) The secular middle class viewed Bani-Sadr as an instrument of the religious establishment because of his close ties with Khomeini

Question 20

Which of the following best captures the relationship between ulama and the new Islamic Republic's land reform measures?

A) The ulama and urban working classes were unified in support of land reform during the 1980s
B) Despite opposition of some ulama, the government successfully redistributed land in the countryside during the 1980s
C) Large land-owning ulama worked to successfully undermine much of the land redistribution with rulings that emphasized Islamic jurisprudence in support of private property
D) The ulama worked on behalf of peasants to call for more equitable land distribution

Question 21

A recession in 1978 was the direct result of the shah's new economic policies. Unemployed urban workers were receptive to the calls for protest, and joined the students and merchants in demonstrating against the regime.

Question 22

Black Friday was significant because it "placed a sea of blood between the shah and the people."

Question 23

The 1979 Iranian revolution brought an end to both the shah's regime as well as the Pahlavi dynasty.

Question 24

After the 1979 Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini obtained the most powerful position in the government-the Supreme Islamic jurist.

Question 25

Ayatollah Khomeini thought it was disrespectful to rally the Iranian people against the shah by using Islamic symbols and slogans.

Question 26

The 1970s were marked by authoritarian regimes, petroleum powers, tensions within the Middle Eastern states, and a resurgence of __________________-based political activity.

Question 27

The two most important opposition parties to emerge in Iran prior to the revolution were the militant wing of the ulama and the liberal __________________.

Question 28

In addition to facing opposition from secular-minded moderates, Khomeini's consolidation of power in the Islamic Republic was confronted with __________________.

Question 29

During the late 1980s, Iranian politics developed a pattern of _____________________, centered on Khomeini's personal charisma and his constitutional powers as supreme Islamic jurist.

Question 30

A significant component of the Islamic resurgence was a demand for the return of the __________________ legal code.

Question 31

Describe the shah's activities that preceded the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Question 32

Why did Khomeini's program for the ousting of the shah and the establishment of a government run by the ulama gain support?

Question 33

How did the culmination of the revolutionary protest movement in December 1978 in Iran correspond with religious martyrdom?

Question 34

Describe the process through which universities in Iran underwent "Islamization."

Question 35

What were the two intertwining sentiments at work in the Iranian revolution?

Question 36

What effects did the dramatic rise in oil prices in 1973 and 1974 have on Iran and Iranians?

Question 37

Briefly explain Ayatollah Khomeini's foreign policy formulation, "neither East nor West".

Question 38

What effects did the reforms of Ayatollah Khomeini have on the rights of women in Iran?

Question 39

Briefly describe how religious tradition was used to fuel protests during the Iranian Revolution and maintain momentum.

Question 40

Identify and explain the significance of Vilayati-i Faqih (Government of the Islamic Jurist).

Question 41

The Iranian Revolution has been described as "one of the greatest populist explosions in human history." How accurate do you believe this statement to be?

Question 42

What factors led to the growing prevalence of political Islam in the 1970s and 1980s.