US-weakened leftists let Khomeini seize leadership of Iran’s revolution

Evidence

The Iranian revolution was the product of deep discontent among workers, students, peasants, and traders (or bazaaris) against the Shah. The left played a role in the uprisings in the military as well as in the student protests. However, it failed to provide leadership for the movement as a whole for various reasons, including the part played by the United States in weakening the communists and other leftists. Iran’s workers, in particular its oil workers, were the key muscle that brought the Shah down but were unable to play an independent role. This allowed Ayatollah Khomeini to maneuver between various factions over the course of two years and finally to take power for the Islamic Republican Party. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 245

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s framing: the ‘Islamic revolution’ was not an Islamic movement at root but a mass worker/student movement that the left was prevented from leading — a materialist undoing of the myth of spontaneous Islamism. — connects to: The CIA overthrew Iran’s elected leader for nationalizing oil — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 209; Iran’s 1979 revolution redirected US fear from secular nationalism to Islamism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 246; The ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ discourse was born from a media-driven agenda around Khomeini’s Iran — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 219 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Iran’s 1979 revolution redirected US fear from secular nationalism to Islamism #expands (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 246