Reza Shah

There are broadly two leading schools of thoughts on Reza Shah in Iran. The first belongs to the period before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, while the second has compiled since the revolution. The first which was propagated mainly by the state and contained in all the books and works of literature which were published during the Pahlavi era, portrayed Reza Shah as a patriotic soldier and a nationalist hero which rescued Iran from the ruin and the destruction which had mainly been brought by the ignorant, selfish and corrupt Qajar rulers. Reza Shah emerged as a hero, rescued Iran from the verge of disintegration and laid the foundation of a modern country. He single-handedly led Iran from instability and backwardness into modernity and progress.
The second interpretation in sharp contrast to the first one regards Reza Shah Rise to power as a British colonialist scenario. Since in the twentieth-century holding colonies had become unmanageable and unpopular, Britain decided to rule Iran indirectly through a dependent ruler named Reza Shah. The British helped Reza Khan a senior officer to rise to power and subsequently overthrew the Qajar Dynasty and established the Pahlavi rule with the now Reza Shah as his first monarch. The post -Islamic historical publications, TV serials, films, conferences and the entire educational system from primary schools to universities are merely the descriptions of Reza Shah's works and decisions which were against the Iranian national interests while benefiting the Western colonial powers notably the British.
This book in sharp contrast to both interpretations, particularly the enormous post-revolution literatures against Reza Shah argues that the rise of Reza Shah was, by and large, the product of Iran's internal social, political and economic conditions on the one hand, and Reza Shah's strong will and tremendous efforts which he spent to rise to power. His massive modernization program too was the desires of many educated Iranians and didn't relate to what the British might have desired. Finally, the book also examines some of his shortcomings.

Author: Sadegh Zibakalam
Publisher: H&s Media
Published: 06/01/2019
Pages: 300
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.67d
ISBN: 9781780837628
Language: Persian

About the Author
Zibakalam, Sadegh: - Sadegh Zibakalam is an Iranian intellectual, academic and writer. Born in 1948 in Tehran, he studied Chemical Engineering in the UK during the 1960s and the early 1970s. Because of his activities against the Shah's regime, he was detained by the SAVAK, the Iranian secret police, while visiting Iran in 1974. He was accused of anti-state activities and was kept in prison for more than two years. After being released from prison in 1976, he was refused permission to live Iran to finish his PhD and eventually came back to the UK ten years later and studied social sciences at the School of Peace Studies at Bradford University where he was awarded a PhD in 1989. He joined Faculty of Law and Political Science at Tehran University became a professor in that Department in 2007. Zibakalam has emerged as a thinker, and many Iranians widely read his writings. He has written more than 20 books mainly on contemporary Iranian social and political issues. In many of his writings, he challenges the official interpretations. In his most famous publication, How did we become what we are which has been reprinted 40 times and translated into Arabic, he challenges the state interpretation of the causes of ran's which blames it on Western colonialization and instead seeks it through Iran's history. Academic life hasn't been easy for Zibakalm. Two of his books, Reza Shah and The Birth of Israel were barred from publication by the authorities. He was also refused teaching at the Azad Islamic University which is run by conservative Islamic authorities. He is conversely popular in social media. His Instagram page has nearly a million followers, and 160 and 75 thousand people follow him on Twitter and Telegram, respectively. He also appears frequently on the BBC, Aljazeera, CNN and the other international media. Finally, Zibakalam has consistently defended freedom of expression, minorities' rights and political detainees. His writings on these issues often have angered the authorities in Iran charging him with anti-state propaganda. Though he hasn't been sentenced into prison, on several occasions, the court has sentenced him to fines. Because of his democratic stand on human rights issues, Professor Zibakalam was awarded the DW prize for freedom of speech in June 2018.

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