Word: shied
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...late. The plan required him to accept the dictates of the long ignored 1906 Iranian constitution, and, in effect, begin to restore Iran to the constitutional monarchy it once was on paper. He would turn over control of the national budget to an appointed Cabinet. A panel of Shi'ite mullahs, his most vociferous critics, would be given the power to veto new laws that were not in conformity with Muslim doctrine. The Shah, however, would retain command of his 280,000-man army, and this was a condition that few Shi'ites, or few other Iranians...
...Monday, the Shi'ite Muslim day of mourning known as Ashura, the parades were much more hostile, with thousands chanting "Death to the Shah!" By tradition, the faithful demonstrate their sorrow over the slaying of Husain, the grandson of Muhammad, in the 7th century A.D. by flagellating themselves with chains. But this year the Ashura ceremonies were in reality political parades led by turbaned mullahs. When asked what had happened to the ancient observance that had dominated the day of mourning for more than 1,300 years, one young marcher in Tehran replied: "We have more important things...
...demonstrations subsided, the struggle between the regime and its opponents became increasingly one of rumor and propaganda. At one point, word spread through Iran's Shi'ite Muslim community that Ayatullah (Sign of God) Qumi of Mashhad had dreamed that he had been visited by Imam Reza, a saint of ancient times. In the dream, Reza complained that Shi'ite Leader Ayatullah Khomeini had been turning Muslim against Muslim and that his teachings were thus running counter to Islamic law. Among the faithful, many were stunned; others dismissed the report as a government trick...
...strict Shi'ite, Amini believes what he hears on the Khomeini cassettes. "The Shah must go," Amini says, "and a government faithful to the Koran must replace him. The army must change too. It has too much arrogance." He believes "Iran must be Iranian. Too much Iranian money ends up in America. Too much Iranian oil ends up in Israel, to be used against our Muslim brothers...
...demonstration came near the climax of the holy month of Muharram, on which Iran's devout Shi'ite Muslims traditionally take to the streets in a frenzy of self-flagellation to mourn the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husain, who was martyred in the 7th century. This year the critical days, Sunday and Monday, had a special meaning: they were to be the occasion for mass protests against the Shah. From his headquarters outside Paris, Khomeini called again for a general strike and the Shah's downfall. "Paralyze the regime," he urged the faithful. "Flee your barracks...