The Iranian History 1936 AD

 

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Reza Shah Bans Veil

Jan, 8, 1936 AD

Aramgah Reza Shah's Mausoleum in Rhagae which was buldozed to the ground after Ayatollah Khomeini took power in 1979It's commonly believed that one of major mistakes of Reza Shah was to use force to lift the veil of Iranian women. Following a path he'd observed and liked in Turkey, he wanted to modernize the look of Iranian people. First a law obligating men to wear suits and a chapeau passed the parliament in Dec, 27, 1928. Females from the royal and elite family began to appear in modern dresses in public. Iranian women were used to wearing a scarf or veil for centuries and this sudden change created outrage in families. Then in 1935, female students of Tehran University were asked to go to their classes without covering their hair. Under the dictator's regime, every voice of dissent was brutally silenced and soldiers raided a public gathering in the Goharshad mosque in Mashhad killing around 2500-5000 people and arresting 1500 participants.
Finally, on Jan, 8, 1936, during a graduation ceremony, Reza Shah announced the law according which wearing hijab or Islamic veil became against the law, thus; the veil was officially outlawed. From that day, the police was ordered to use force to take the veil off the head of women on the street. This act was indeed against basic human rights which backfired and people became strangers to their regime. Moreover, an aggressively masculine society was not going to change its attitudes towards women overnight. This in fact should not undermine the fact that during Reza Shah, improved status of women was a significant development in the history of Iran compared to other neighboring nations.
The same paradox appeared after the regime changed in 1979. Despite all promises given to leave people decide on what they should wear, the police patrol streets of Iran enforcing some sort of Islamic dress code which has drawn an ire, creating a wrong image of Islam in modern times. (Updated: Oct, 19, 2008)





Relations With The U.S.A. Suspended

Feb, 16, 1936 AD

Book Cover: Iran and the rise of Reza Shah by Cyrus Ghani: From Qajar collapse to Pahlavi powerReza Shah ordered suspension of diplomatic relations with the U.S.A. after a senior Iranian diplomat was arrested by the American police. Mr. Ala, head of Iranian diplomatic mission to U.S. reported that while driving in Washington he was stopped by a police officer for violation of the speed limit. He refused to accept the ticket issued by the officer stating that he had diplomatic immunity. Nevertheless, he was taken into custody and kept for hours at a police station. Reza Shah considered this as an insult and called for return of all Iranian diplomats and embassy staff from Washington while ordering the Americans to leave Iran. After this event, the two countries did not have diplomatic relations for quite a while until gifts and mediations broke the ice and relations were normalized. Then again, After the U.S.A. embassy was seized in November 1979 and American diplomats were taken hostage, the two countries broke diplomatic ties and limited relations to secret meetings on secret issues. (Updated: Feb, 16, 2008)





Thrusting U. S. Into Diplomatic Limbo

Mar, 31, 1936 AD

The royal court of Ahmad Shah, the last Qajar king (third from right) and Reza Khan (third from left) who was later to establish Pahlavi dynastyReza Shah Pahlavi, now calling himself the King of Kings ordered the Iranian legation in Washington and the Iranian consulates in Manhattan and Chicago permanently closed, thus thrusting the U. S. into a diplomatic limbo. The political outrage started after his majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary to the U. S. Ghaffar Khan Jalal Ala was handcuffed and arrested by a local police officer. His car was stopped for speeding in Elkton, Maryland. Despite the fact that he produced his diplomatic credentials, Ghaffar Khan was manacled and taken to the court. The judge immediately ordered his release. Not satisfied by an apology from Maryland's Governor, and the dismissal of the officer, Reza Shah recalled Ghaffar Khan and ordered cutting diplomatic ties with the U.S. This action was partly attributed to what was considered the disrespectful and humiliating treatment of himself and his country in the U. S. press.
Meanwhile Britain was curiously keeping an eye on a trade worth of $85,000,000 between Iran and the U.S. The British media kept running studio portrait of Reza Shah, declaring him of a very noble Persian family of the purest element of the Iranian race. The fact still remains intact; Reza Khan was only a Cossack officer in charge of the moles before being chosen by the British general Ironside in 1921. He was simply dismissed and died in exile in 1944. (Updated: May, 4, 2008)





Sheikh Khazal Dies In Custody

Aug, 5, 1936 AD

Boats by the Sheikh Khazal PalaceWhen Majlis rejected to ratify an agreement which gave exclusive oil rights to the British, Percy Loraine became ambassador to Persia. He had served in Tehran from 1907 to 1909 and knew both Turkish and Persian. The British made a treaty with Sheikh Khazal, the governor of Khuzestan and assured him financial and military support against the central government. Sheikh Khazal formed an alliance with the Bakhtiari, Lor, and Khamseh tribes and dominated the eastern and northern regions of Khuzestan before staging an uprising in 1921, thus creating the greatest challenge to the newly formed government of Tehran. The British planned to create as many puppet Sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf as possible.
Reza Khan did not give in. He sent his military commanders to the region in January, 1925 and asserted the state authority with a royal order. In April, General Fazlollah Zahedi was appointed to start negotiations with Sheikh Khazal. The Iranian delegate was spending the night in a yacht anchored on Arvand river near Khorramshahr, when Later that night, a gunboat approached and Iranian special forces silently boarded the yacht. They immediately took the guards under control and arrested Sheikh Khazal. After taking him to the military base in Ahvaz, he was sent by car to Tehran.
Reza Shah proclaimed king in April, 1926. He quickly liquefied Sheikh Khazal's properties and abolished the Sheikhdom of Arabestan which was to be thereafter called Khuzestan. Sheikh Khazal was given a luxurious residence in Tehran but he was ordered not to leave the city. Although the British started speculating about his death in 1936 at the age of 73, they knew their petro-political plans had failed and dreams of a Sheikhdom were shattered. (Updated: Jun, 28, 2009)





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