Numerous symptoms led to the crumbling downfall of Reza Shah Pahlavi, ruler of Iran until 1978. One of these symptoms is rising expectations which can be seen during the 1960's and 70's. The rich Shah cleared the way for the land reform law, enacted in 1962. The land minority had to give up its land to the government, and among those stripped of land, were the Shi'ah Muslims. Iran's power structure was radically changed in a program termed the "White Revolution". On January 26, 1963, the White Revolution was endorsed by the nation. By 1971, when land distribution ended, about 2,500,000 families of the farm population benefited from the reforms. From 1960-72 the percentage of owner occupied farmland in Iran raised from 26 to 78 percent ("Iran" 896). As a result of the thriving economy, the income gap rapidly widened. Exclusive homes, extravagant restaurants, and night clubs and stree

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini represented much of the discontent of the religious sector of Iran. For speaking out against the Shah's autocratic rule, Khomeini was exiled to Turkey in 1963. In 1965, Khomeini moved to Iraq where he became the central spokesperson for refugee opposition to the Shah. On October 6, 1978, Khomeini was expelled from Iraq and moved to Paris, where he was accessible to a larger body of opposition forces. He was also accessible to the Western Press. Khomeini preached that he would displace the Shah and expel the foreigners. He also said he would enforce religious and traditional values, and redirect Iran's wealth away from large industrialization schemes and toward reforms needed by the common people.

As time progressed the weakness of the Shah became apparent. Waves of opposition began building after 1975, due to the formation of the Rastakhiz, the legal political party in Iran, and the banning of opposition political parties. It also became clear that the increased oil revenues following oil price increases were spent on arms and industrialization. In mid-1977 the religious leaders began demonstrating against the modernization brought on by the Shah. In November, several people were killed when police broke up demonstrations. As time went on, protests became more radical. The Shah became more of a dictator. As a r

Some topics in this essay:
White Revolution, Freedom Front, Shah November, Press Khomeini, Iranians Iranians, Shah Pahlavi, Ruhollah Khomeini, Shah Cottam, Shah October, Middle East, middle class, people killed, throughout 1970's, khomeini gained, opposition shah, white revolution,