Iran on the Brink

Resisting Authority

Modern Iran traces its history to 1906 when the Qajjar dynasty tried to auction large portions of the country to other nations, primarily Russia and Britain. When the merchant class learned of these plans, they challenged the authority of the Qajjar shah (king). In response, he set up a parliament, or Majles, to write a constitution and establish formal authority between the royals and parliament. The job of monitoring national elections fell to local guilds, which set up councils, or anjumans, in numerous cities. After the elections, the anjumans began providing the infrastructure to deliver health and welfare benefits, collect taxes and build roads.

The activist, popular anjuman in Tabriz tried to reduce basic commodity prices over the objections of merchants and landowners. As the wealthy turned against these changes, in 1907 Tehran’s top cleric, Sheikh Fazlullah Nuri, proposed an amendment to impose an Islamic theocracy. The amendment “triggered a renewal of” Iran’s Constitutional Revolution – involving disenfranchised groups, such as peasants, artisans, traders, women and workers – and precipitated a general...