The final draft of Answer to History was completed by the Shah just days before he died on July 27, 1980. Completing it was, in the Shah's words, "a race against time." In it, he shows how the United States, once the most powerful country on earth, found itself hostage to the whims of Iran, a land few Americans knew much about. In telling his own story, the Shah shows clearly that Iran has become a battleground between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which for over half a century has pursued goals with increasing success. In the "slide into chaos" precipitated by the Khomeini regime, the Shah saw the ultimate beneficiary being the U.S.S. R., which will reach the apogee of its strength no later than 1983, with the West facing "a decade of harrowing danger." Answer to History begins with what really happened during the Shah's period of exile in the Bahamas, Mexico, the U.S., Panama, and finally Egypt. It goes on to cover all of the momentous experiences of the Shah's reign, a book full of heroes and villains, with many surprises for the American reader as to who the villains really were and are. The Shah discloses backstage developments in today's politics of oil... The Shah show how the interplay between the Black and the Red - the 14th-century clergy and the Tudeh Party loyal to the Soviets - blocked for their own purposes his proudest the White Revolution in which the Shah introduced land reform, worked toward the liberation of women, and raised the standard of living of his people, providing disparate ethnic groups with pride in the 2,500 year-old culture of Persia. When the enemies of his reign took to the streets, the Shah felt the he reacted not too strongly, but not strongly enough.... In his Answer to History he reveals the forces that betrayed him, and left the U.S. without an economically and militarily strong ally in a critical part of the world. --- excerpts from book's dustjacket
(Former) Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia (Persian: 賲丨賲丿乇囟丕 卮丕賴 倬賴賱賵蹖 ; [moh忙m藞m忙d re藞z蓲藧 藞蕛蓲藧he p忙hl忙藞vi藧]), ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979. He was the second and last monarch of the House of Pahlavi of the Iranian monarchy. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi held several titles: His Imperial Majesty, Shahanshah (King of Kings, Emperor), Aryamehr (Light of the Aryans) and Bozorg Artesht膩r膩n (Head of the Warriors, Persian: 亘夭乇诏 丕乇鬲卮鬲丕乇丕賳).
The young prince came to power during World War II after an Anglo-Soviet invasion forced the abdication of his father Reza Shah. During his reign, the Iranian oil industry was nationalized under Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, and Iran marked the anniversary of 2,500 years of continuous monarchy since the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. The Shah's White Revolution, a series of economic and social reforms intended to transform Iran into a global power, succeeded in modernizing the nation, nationalizing many natural resources, and extending suffrage to women.
A secular Muslim himself, the Shah gradually lost support from the Shi'a clergy of Iran, particularly due to his strong policy of modernization, secularization, conflict with the traditional class of merchants known as bazaari, and recognition of Israel. Various additional controversial policies were enacted, including the banning of the communist Tudeh Party, and a general suppression of political dissent by Iran's intelligence agency, SAVAK. Amnesty International reported that in 1978 Iran had as many as 2,200 political prisoners.
Several other factors contributed to strong opposition to the Shah among certain groups within Iran, the most notable of which were the U.S. and U.K. backed coup d'茅tat against Prime Minister Mosaddegh in 1953, clashes with Islamists, and increased communist activity. By 1979, political unrest had transformed into a revolution which, on 16 January, forced the Shah to leave Iran. Soon thereafter, the Iranian monarchy was formally abolished, and Iran was declared an Islamic republic.
Answer to History = Reponsea L'historie, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Mohammad Rez膩 Pahlavi鈥�, 26 October 1919 鈥� 27 July 1980), known as Mohammad Reza Shah, was the Shah of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979.
Mohammad Reza Shah took the title Sh膩hansh膩h ("Emperor" or "King of Kings") on 26 October 1967.
He was the second and last monarch of the House of Pahlavi of the Iranian monarchy.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi held several other titles, including that of 膧ry膩mehr (Light of the Aryans) and Bozorg Artesht膩r膩n (Head of the Warriors).
His dream of the Great Civilization in Iran led to a rapid industrial and military expansion as well as economic and social reforms.
This is the last testimonial of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran. He begins his narrative by a concise history of Iran, her kings and dynasties and arrives to his father Reza Shah Pahlavi and later his own reign, accounting his accomplishments, the obstacles he encountered and his fulfilled and unfulfilled dreams. He dedicates this political memoir to the memory of all those Iranian men and women who have suffered and died for their country. The book is originally written in French (Reponse a l'histoire), but I chose to read it in Farsi.
Some years ago, during a transitional time in my life, I worked in a book store. This was a bit like living in Disney Land. It was in the days before Internet book searches and online bookstores so finding treasurers was not so easy. The store owners I worked for would often acquire book collections from desert inhabitants who had moved on, passed on or changed interests. I would often stalk these titles, looking for the unusual, the different opinion, or the story as told by an observer rather than an interpreter. This book was one such book.
I have a quirky view of current events; I tend not to think too deeply about what I find in common media. When I was fairly young I was involved in a fatal accident. The one newspaper article I was able to convince myself to read had so many errors it appeared as though it was a report on a different accident. That instance only strengthened my belief that it is nearly impossible for someone to write a truly objective and accurate account of any event, even if the writer is not emotionally involved in some way. Thus, I seek out different perspectives on ideas and events. Answer to History brought me an amazing perspective on the 鈥渕odernization of the Persian peoples.鈥�
Most of what we hear of the Shah鈥檚 regime has to with secret service goons, torture, and a host of unsavory things supposedly, and perhaps probably, propped up by the western governments. The point of view from inside the mind of this leader is quite different. Few know of the balancing act he tried to master between the demands of the western world and the pressures of his northern neighbor. He knew the geopolitical dynamics of his region of the world as few others did. Even fewer know of the huge sums of money spent from his family鈥檚 trust to create housing, provide education and medical care and to give the people in the street a chance at learning what they needed to know to self-govern. As much as he truly loved his country, and for all he tried to accomplish for it, the man just flat ran out of time.
This book is written in the last days of his life while he was in Exile in Egypt dying of cancer. It is provocative and soul searching. It also should give policy makers pause when they are thinking about involving themselves in another country鈥檚 affairs; or suddenly lose the political will to finish what they started.
The Shah is one of the most stigmatized leaders of the late 20th century. The west considers him as a dictator, not a monarch, whose brutality paved the way for the Islamic revolution, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. However, reading Pahlavi's own accounts and closer analysis of him, we find a much different picture.
We find a man, forced to lead his nation after his father is deposed for his neutrality in WWII that is not industrialized or modern. Yet by the revolution, we see that Iran had emerged from poverty and suzerainty to become educated, industrialized and growing economically, and the undisputed major power in the region. Yet, the Shah's downfall was his insistence on fulfilling his dream of modernization through paternalistic means, in which he had to curb the fiercely traditionalist mullahs and radical communist elements while trying to placate the liberal youth. Ultimately we see that he failed, and the youth were driven into the arms of the mullahs.