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63 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Zoroastrianism |
Persian religion |
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Wokers' House |
interest group for factory workersits coalition was broken up by the Guardian Council's banning of reformist candidates in 2004/05 |
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White Revolution |
The term used by the shah to describe reforms in Iran between the end of World War II and the downfall of his regime in 1979 |
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white coup |
the bloodless coup of reformists of Ahmadinejad |
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Tudeh Party |
the pro-Soviet communist party of Iran between 1941 and 1953 |
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theocracy |
A government controlled by religious leaders |
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Supreme Leader |
The country's most powerful political figure, who has the authority to overrule or dismiss the president, appoints members of the Guardian Council, and has personal representatives in the army, universities, etc. |
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Sunni Muslims |
Majority of the Muslims; believe succesor of Muhhamad can be an elected caliph. |
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statists v. free-marketers |
statists- believe that the government should take an active role in controlling the economy - redistributing land and wealth, eliminating unemployment, placing price ceilingsfree-marketers- want to remove price controls, lower business taxes, encourage private enterprise, and balance the budget |
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Shiism |
One of the two main branches of Islam. Shiites recognize Ali, the fourth caliph, and his descendants as rightful rulers of the Islamic world; practiced in the Safavid empire |
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sharia |
Islamic LawBody of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life |
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secularization |
A process of removing institutions such as education and government from the dominance or influence of religion |
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Safavid Empire |
Shi'ite Muslim dynasty that ruled Persia between 16th and 18th centuries |
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Hassan Rouhani |
President of Iran |
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Reza Shah |
A powerful military dictator of Iran who initially tried to model Iran after European ideals but subsequently turned into a tyrant due to lack of support from rival government officials and the illiterate majority of Iranian people. |
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Revolutionary Guards |
The militarized quasi-police force of the revolutionary government during the Iranian Revolution. |
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revolution of rising expectations |
a theory (1) which states that revolutions typically occur when a period of improvement (1) is interrupted by some economic crisis (1) or sudden downturn (1) |
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Revolution of 1979 |
events involving overthrow of Iran's monarchy and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution |
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Resurgence party |
created by Muhammud Reza Shah in 1975; declared Iran to be a one-party state with him as the head; replaced the Islamic calendar with a new one and gave himself a new title; created Religious Corps, whose duty was to teach Iranian peasants "true Islam" |
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rentir state |
state that rents out its land for other countries usage. Nigeria and Iran. |
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reformers v. conservatives |
conservatives want to keep the regime as it is, under the control of the clerics and sharia lawreformers would like to see more secularization and democracy |
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Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani |
Second president of Iran after the 1979 Revolution. Tried in vain to gain a third Presidential term in 2005. Centrist, pragmatic conservative, free market; credited with much of Iran's reconstruction after the Iran-Iraq war. |
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presidential election of 2005, 2009 |
05 Rasfanjani v Ahmadinejad 09 Ahmadinejad v Mousavi |
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Persian Empire |
Ancient Middle Eastern empire comprising modern day Iran. The Perisan Empire dominated the Middle East from the middle of the 6th century BCE to about the end of the 5th century BCE, Its greatest ruler was Dairus I. Persia was later conquered by Alexander the Great. |
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People of the Book |
A term applied by Islamic governments to Muslims, Christians, and Jews in reference to the fact that all three religions had a holy book |
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para-statals |
A company or agency owned or controlled wholly or partly by the government. Common in both Mexico (Pemex for example) and Nigeria. Usually inefficient as there is a lack of competition for the goods or services they provide. |
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Pahlavis |
The ruling dynasty of Iran from 1925-1979. During this time Iran experienced political secularization, the Majles lost power, and the government became more authoritarian. |
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Pahlavi Foundation |
Tax-exempt, patronage system that controlled large companies that fed the pocketbooks of the shah and his supporters. |
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Qom |
shia capitala desert city south of Tehran; reflects the differences among clerics and scholars in the seminaries; a seminary cityholiest city in Iran; policy-making |
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Qajar Empire |
Turkish group; moved the capital to Tehran and retained Shiism as the official state religion; Shia clerical leaders could claim to be the main interpreters of Islam, so the separation between government and religion widened; encouraged the Constitutional Revolution |
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qanun |
no sacred basis; body of statutes made by legislative bodies; passed by the Majles; law made by the people's elected representatives |
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National Front |
Political party in Iran following World War II, which opposed the monarchy and favored greater Iranian control over natural resources. Outlawed after Operation Ajax. |
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Muhammad Reza Shah |
Became Shah of Iran in 1941. Supported the overthrow of Mosaddiq in the 1953 coup. Was a strong proponent of Western based economic and social reform, announcing the White Revolution reforms in 1963. He was viewed as a vehicle for Western influence and in 1975 he ended the two-party system and instituted a one-party authoritarian state. |
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Mir-Hossein Mousavi |
in reality, won the election against Ahmadinejad in summer 2009, but Ayatollah rigged the election so he lost |
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Muhammad Mosaddeq |
Iran's prime minister. His two goals were to establish constitutional government in Iran and to free Iran from foreign interference. He tried to limit the power of the shah and to strengthen the Majles. |
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Majles Election of 2004, 2008 |
Guardian Council banned thousands of candidates from running. Majority Conservatives |
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Majles |
Iran's unicameral parliament, consisting of 290 elected representativesMembers are directly elected every 4 years. They introduce and pass legislation. They also have the power to impeach ministers and the president. |
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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini |
Shi'ite philosopher and cleric who led the overthrow of the shah of Iran in 1979 and created an Islamic republic. |
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Muhammad Khatami |
President from 1997-2005. Reformist who aimed to end freeze in relations between Iran and the West. Believed in a "dialogue among civilizations" that fostered positive relationships with other countries. |
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei |
Supreme Leader of Iransuccessor to Khomeini, but lacking in the same magnetism of personality and academic credentials |
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Jurist's guardianship (velayat-e-faqih) |
Term for the principle that leaders have authority over all the people. Khomeini claimed that clerics have authority over the entire community |
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Islamic Society of Engineers |
The Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran; alliance of conservative parties and is shortened to Abadgaran; sponsored by Ahmadinejad, who won the presidential election in 2009 |
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Islamic Iran Participation Front |
one of the members of the reformist Khordad front |
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Iranian Militant Clerics Society |
left wing pro-reform party led by Muhammad Khatami |
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import substitution industrialization |
An economic system that attempts to strengthen a country's industrial power by restricting foreign imports. |
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imams |
Muslim religious leadersspiritual leaders of Shi'ah Islam, said to be direct descendents of Muhammad |
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Hidden Imam |
12th descendant of Ali who disappeared as a child |
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head of state, head of government |
head of state- supreme leader (holds ultimate power) head of government- president |
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Guardian Council |
This is the most powerful theological body in Iran. It consists of 12 members 6 clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and 6 judges appointed by the Majils. The importance of them is they have to approve all candidates and all legislation. |
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fundamentalism |
Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect). |
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faqih |
an expert in Islamic Law |
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The Executives of Construction Party |
Political party established by founders of Rafsanjani's cabinet. As his supporters, they were willing to criticize Ahmadinejad |
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equality-with-difference |
policy towards women; divorce and custody laws now follow Islamic standards that favor males; women must wear scarves and long coats in public, and they cannot leave the country without the consent of male relatives; stoning of women; women are allowed education and entrance into some occupations |
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"economics is for donkeys" |
disdains the importance of economics for policymakers and affirming the superiority of religious, rather than secular leadersquotation by the Ayatollah, intended to discourage active economic study and policy |
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Cultural Revolution |
Endorsed by Shia leader during the founding of the Islamic Republic. Goal is to purify shah's regime. |
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Constitutional Revolution of 1905-09 |
Begun in 1906, the first attempt to bring anything like democracy to Iran |
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Constitution of 1979 |
most important document that legitimizes the state today; written during the last months of Ayatollah Khomeini's life; forty amendments; highly complex mixture of theocracy and democracy; preamble reflects the importance of religion for the legitimacy of the state, affirming faith in God, Divine Justice, the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammud, the Twelve Imams, and the eventual return of the Hidden Imam |
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bonyads |
Parastatal foundations made in part form assets nationalized after the Iranian revolution The objectives of them were to help the disadvantaged, such as war veterans and the poor. Over time however, they have become major economic players and often monopolies, controlling substantial assets and industries while operating independently of government oversight or taxation. |
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Baha'i |
Started in Iran in 1800s. Bahai is based on two people. Bahai doesn't take the Qur'an literally. They don't believe in angels or devils. heaven or hell are not places they are condition of the soul. All religions come from the same source. |
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Basij |
a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Khomeini; consists of young Iranians who've volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits. It gained international attention in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election of 2009, when opposition candidate, Mir-Hussein Moussavi, accused the Basij of brutality as it contained the demonstrations. |
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"axis of evil" |
A group of nations accused by the Bush administration of sponsoring terrorism and threatening to develop weapons of mass destruction |
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Assembly of Religious Experts |
this organization is a menifestation of the hold that Islam has on Iran. It is chaired by clerics with the equivalent of a masters degree in religion; A.R.E. reserves the right to dismiss a leader if he is incapable of filling his duties which are implied to be religious in context |
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Ahmadinejad Mahmoud |
President of Iran |