From the Paper
"At the beginning of 1978, the Iranian government of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi appeared to almost all observers, inside and outside Iran, to be firmly in power, and likely to remain so for the indefinite future. That there was fairly widespread disaffection from the regime was evident, but the Shah had survived such disaffection before, and there was little reason to suppose that he would would not survive it again. He had extensive military and internal-security forces at his command, while his potential opposition was divided among groups with widely varying agendas and bases of support, ranging from the Tudeh (Communist) Party to militant Islamic groups. Between the ruthlessness of SAVAK, the Shah's internal-security organ, on the one hand, and the internal divisions of the opposition on the other, it seemed likely that the Shah would continue to suppress ... "

Abstract
In this article, the writer explains that the 'Iran hostage crisis' refers to the events following the seizure of the American embassy in Iran on November 1979 by militant students during which 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage with the Iranian regime's consent for 444 days in contravention of all diplomatic norms. The writer notes that the crisis had a profound effect on US-Iran relations reverberations of which can still be felt today in a highly strained relationship. The writer discusses that it also influenced the domestic politics of both countries in no uncertain terms: helping the radical Iranian clergy led by Ayatollah Khomeini to consolidate its power in the early days of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, and contributing to a large extent in the decisive defeat of President Jimmy Carter in the November 1980 US Presidential elections. This paper gives the background and a brief overview of the crisis, analyzes its causes and explains the effect it had on the Carter Presidency.

Outline:
Background
The Embassy Take-over
Surprise for the Americans
Options for the Carter Administration
The Effect on Carter's Popularity
The Disastrous Rescue Attempt
The October Surprise

From the Paper
" The actual seizure of the American Embassy took place on the morning of November 4, 1979 that had been proclaimed as the National Students Day to honor the students who had been gunned down by the Shah's police the previous year. Thousands of students gathered outside the embassy shouting the customary anti-Shah and anti-US slogans and at first, it seemed to be a customary demonstration which had become a routine since the Iranian Revolution until a large group of students poured through the main gate of the compound and started to scale the embassy walls. Despite the best efforts of the embassy staff to prevent the takeover, the students soon overwhelmed the sixty-five Americans inside the embassy and took them hostage. Even though both the captors and the hostages had expected the seizure to be a short-term affair, the crisis proved to be a long-drawn out affair that lasted for more than a year and was mainly responsible for reducing the Carter presidency to a single term."

Tags:Khomeini, pressure, embassy, Ayatollah

Abstract
The paper discusses how Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers considered the Iranian Revolution a triumph because they succeeded in overthrowing the brutal government of the Shah and establishing an Islamic Republic. The paper explains, however, that the revolution has been a tragedy for the Iranian people because fundamentalist Islamic rule has been just as repressive and brutal. The paper asserts that the revolution's only accomplishment was to replace one regime of tyranny with a different, just as brutal, regime.

From the Paper
"Khomeini and the ayatollahs intended from the very beginning of the revolution to establish a repressive Islamic government, but concealed this agenda in order to build widespread public support in Iran and minimize the risk that the United States would intervene in the revolution. Khomeini's duplicity at this time was crucial, for if the United States or moderate Arab states in the Middle East had known that Khomeini intended all along to establish a radical Islamic theocracy, it is highly likely that they would have considered it necessary to intervene militarily. (Viorst)"

Tags:Khomeini, ayatollahs, radicalism, power

Abstract
This paper provides a synthesis of opinions regarding Azar Nafisi's "Reading Lolita in Tehran", a work that is the author's memoir of trying to teach literature to women under the oppressive regime of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran. The synthesis describes how literature helps Nafisi and her students endure the oppressive and barbaric regime.

From the Paper
"In Azar Nafisi's "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books", the author provides an account of the oppressive conditions for women living under the barbaric rule of Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein. A college professor of English literature before being let go for her refusal to wear a veil, Nafisi opened her home to female students who immersed themselves in Western literature. As Nafisi writes; "...apart from literature, the political had devoured us." This synthesis will discuss Nafisi's work as a means of revealing..."

Tags:abuse, rape, execution, Lolita, The Great Gatsby, teaching, education, gender, sex, women, Koran

Abstract
This paper is a biographical overview of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. It begins with his birth, family and upbringing as a sheepherder. It covers his calling as a spiritual leader, his struggle against the dominant society, and the roots of the religion he founded. Finally, the paper criticizes some of the recent reinterpretations of Muhammad's teachings used to justify militant political motivations, such as in the case of Ayatollah Khomeini and Osama bin Laden.

From the Paper
"In time, Muhammad had developed a reputation for "honesty and trustworthiness" (Emerick 186) and moreover, he never developed a taste for "idol worship," which many during that time believed in. On pages 270-271, Emerick takes readers through Muhammad's early life, pointing out that his grandfather died a couple years after Muhammad's mother had died, and at that point he was given over to his grandfather's son Abu Talib. The young Muhammad thus had been orphaned three times by the time he was 10 years old (Emerick 271). And as was noted, Muhammad was raised a sheepherder; other boys his age grew up drinking, fighting, and paying visits to prostitutes."

Tags:Islam, Muslim, jihad

Abstract
The paper examines the Iranian Revolution, explaining that Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers considered the Iranian Revolution a triumph because they succeeded in overthrowing the brutal government of the Shah and established an Islamic Republic, but the revolution has been a tragedy for the Iranian people because fundamentalist Islamic rule has been just as repressive and brutal. The revolution's only accomplishment was to replace one system of tyranny with a different system of tyranny.

From the Paper
"Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers considered the Iranian Revolution a triumph because they succeeded in overthrowing the brutal government of the Shah and established an Islamic Republic, but the revolution has been a tragedy for the Iranian people because fundamentalist Islamic rule has been just as repressive and brutal. The revolution's only accomplishment was to replace one system of tyranny with a different system of tyranny. Khomeini and the ayatollahs intended from the very beginning of the ..."

Tags:Shah, Middle, East, tyranny, Islamic

Abstract
This paper compares the impact of leadership on the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It is evident that the leadership exhibited by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in Russia and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran were decisively important. The paper shows that without Lenin, it is unlikely that the Bolsheviks could have overcome the challenges facing them in 1917, and without Khomeini, it is unlikely that the Iranian mullahs could have overcome the challenges facing them in 1979.

Tags:lenin, and, khomeini

Abstract
This paper examines long- and short-term causes of the Iranian revolution, with emphasis on why Shia Islam became the vehicle for revolutionary aspirations. The paper presents the Iranian background and the growth of Western influence. It examines the rise of Islamic fundamentalism., the Shah of Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Tags:iran, revolution, shia, islam, shah, mossadeq, khomeini

Abstract
This paper examines U.S.-Iraq relations since the fall of the Shah . The paper explains that relations between the two countries since the Islamic revolution in Iran have been influenced by realpolitik, especially in terms of American foreign policy decisions since 1979. When the friendly government of the Shah of Iran was overthrown and Ayatollah Khomeini established a fundamentalist Islamic republic, the Reagan Administration felt compelled to prevent the spread of radical Islam throughout the Middle East by any means available, and consequently considered it necessary to provide covert military assistance to Saddam Hussein.

Tags:iraq, and, u.s.

Abstract
This paper explains that, in 1979, millions of Iranians succeeded in ousting Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1941-1979), the Shah of Iran. The author points out that, while the Shah was known as a 'darling to the West', he tried to authoritarianly modernize too rapidly and did not adapt his political institutions sufficiently to the economic and social changes he had brought about. The paper relates that, inspired by hopes for democracy, economic prosperity for all classes, gender equality and a leadership that would not allow Iranian culture to be swallowed up by Western values, many Iranian women joined the rebellion. The author reports that the world was surprised by the Iranian Revolution, which was led by Ayatollah Rudolph Khomeini in exile in Paris. The paper relates that the Muslims believed that the modern age was 20th century remake of the Jahiliyya of ancient times that had to be destroyed as Mohammed the prophet had destroyed its predecessor.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Background
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Let's take a look at the historical elements that lead up to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Post World War II created a very different world. Colonial (English, French, Dutch, and other) control of much of the Mid-East, Asia, Africa, South American (the Third World) was on the wane. Two superpowers emerged, the United States and the USSR (Russia). The USSR leaving regimes were based on a military government with socialist tendencies and a strong tribal, regional or ethnic minority base; this was the case in Algeria, Syria, Iraq, South Yemen and Egypt."

Tags:oil, jahiliyya, superpowers, dress, urban