There were many revolutions before the Islamic Revolution in Iran that took place in 1979. There have also been many other revolutions after the said Islamic Revolution in Iran. Yet, for some reason, the Islamic revolution in Iran stands in its own class. When it took place, the Islamic revolution in Iran was considered a big deal. And today, after more than 35 years, it is still considered a big deal. We are interested in figuring out why.
It emerges that there are several key reasons as to why the Islamic revolution in Iran was, and is still considered a big deal.
To my mind, one of the key reasons as to why the Islamic revolution in Iran was and is still considered a big deal has to do with the fact that it was a revolution where a monarchy was replaced with a theocracy. The trend had (and has) almost always been one where theocracies are the ones that are replaced with other forms of government. But in Iran, another form of government, namely a monarchy, was replaced with a theocracy! That is a big deal.
Furthermore, the Islamic revolution in Iran was (and is still) considered a big deal due to the fact that it is one of the few revolutions in which a pro-west leader has been replaced by an anti-west leader. Some scholars have, therefore, argued that the Islamic revolution in Iran served to show the west that it didn’t have the monopoly in the area of fomenting revolutions.
There is also the fact that the classic factors that normally induce revolutions were lacking in the case of the Islamic revolution in Iran. The military was quite well taken care of under the Shah regime. Iran was then doing quite well economically, and the distribution of the spoils seems to have been quite fair and equitable. There was definitely no element of peasant rebellion… Thus, the Islamic revolution in Iran is considered to be a big deal in that it took place in the absence of these factors. Therefore, the Islamic revolution in Iran teaches us that it is possible for a nation’s leadership to get everything right, and still end up being overthrown!