AP WORLD HISTORYCHAPTER 23

“INDEPENDENCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH”

Experiments with Culture:The Role of Islam in Turkey and Iran

Experiments with Culture

Common issue all across the developing world = how to balance older traditions with modernity and Western culture/outlooks Older traditions: Hinduism,

Confucianism, Islam, etc. Western outlooks: scientific

outlook, technology, capitalism, focus on material values, etc.

Good examples of two very different approaches to this issue = Islam in Turkey vs. Islam in Iran

Islam in Turkey

Turkey = new nation created out of the remnants of the Ottoman Empire

1st leader = General Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Wanted to transform Turkey

into a modern, secular (non-religious) state

Believed modernization required the removal of Islam from public life, leaving it only to the personal/private realm

Result = he ended the direct political role of Islam in Turkey

Atatürk: Political and Religious Reforms

Eliminated position of sultanAbolished the “caliphate”

systemClosed many Sufi

organizations, sacred tombs, and religious schools

Abolished many religious titlesDissolved Islamic courtsReplaced the sharia with

secular law codesEncouraged the celebration of

pre-Islamic Turkish culture

Entertainment at the Turkish Olympics

Atatürk: Social Reforms

Ordered men to abandon the traditional fez and wear brimmed hats instead

Women not forced to wear a veilEncouraged European-style

clothingAbolished polygamyWomen granted equal rights in

divorce, inheritance, and child custody

1934 = women granted the right to vote and hold public office

Public beaches opened to women

Mustafa

Atatürk

Modernization in Iran

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979

Promoted Iran’s modernization with his “White Revolution”

Redistributed land to many of Iran’s poor peasants

Granted women the right to voteInvested in rural health care and

educationStarted many industrial projectsOffered workers a share of

industries’ profitsBuilt a solid alliance with the

U.S.

Modernization in Iran: Growing Opposition

Local merchants = threatened by an explosion of imported Western goods and competition from large businesses

Ulama (religious leaders) = offended by secular education programs that bypassed Islamic schools, as well as state control of religious institutions

Educated professionals = found Iran’s dependence on the West disturbing

Rural migrants to the cities = faced rising costs and unemployment

Modernization in Iran: Growing Opposition

Mosques = became the main centers for this growing opposition movement Led by Shi’ite religious leaders Emerging leader of this

movement = Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini

In 1979 = massive urban demonstrations, strikes, and defections from the military forced the shah to abdicate the throne and leave Iran

The Iranian Revolution (1979)

Also known as the Islamic Revolution

Cultural revolution = exact opposite of Atatürk’s revolution and reforms in Turkey

Goal = increased Islamization of public life

New government = an “Islamic Republic” Technically included a constitution and

an elected parliamentIn reality = the ulama and other

religious leaders had dominant power Headed by Khomeini

The Iranian Revolution: Political Reforms

Purpose of government = to apply the law of Allah as expressed in the sharia

Judges not competent in Islamic law = dismissed

Secular law codes under previous shah = discarded

The Iranian Revolution: Educational Reforms

200 universities and colleges closed for 2 years while textbooks, curricula, and faculty were “purified” of non-Islamic influences

Elementary and high schools = now gave priority to religious instruction and teaching Arabic

40,000 teachers fired because not “devoted” enough to Islam

Pre-Islamic history and literature = abandoned

The Iranian Revolution: Women

1983 = all women required to wear a hijab – head-to-toe covering Militants/guards = enforced this Punishments for a “bad” hijab =

harassment, public lashings, or even imprisonment

Sexual segregation in schools, parks, beaches, and public transportation

Legal age of marriage for girls = reduced to 9 with parental consent; 13 (then 15) without it

Married women could not file for divorce or go to school

“Exporting” Islam

Khomeini wanted to spread Islam throughout the world

Wanted the replacement of insufficiently Islamic regimes in the Middle East

Appealed to Shi’ite minorities in Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq

Intensified the divide between the Shi’ite minority and the Sunni majority

1980-1989 = war between Khomeini’s Islamized Iran and Saddam Hussein’s highly secularized Iraq

Maintaining Economic Modernity in Iran

Oil revenues in Iran = fund its development

Early 21st century = Iran was pursuing nuclear power and (perhaps) nuclear weapons