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John YangRed 1

Iran Vocabulary

1) Assembly of Religious Experts a group of 86 male clerics whos roleis to appoint the Leader; they must be approved by the Guardian Council

and are allowed to serve two 4-year terms

2) BahaI a minority religion that is discriminated against in Iranianculture; its a mix of several religions

3) Bazaars a marketplace in an Iranian city

4) charismatic authority type of leadership that comes from the strongand popular personality of a leader

5) Constitution of 1979 constitution that incorporated democratic

values and created the Islamic Republic

6) equality-with-difference the term used to describe the status ofwomen in Iran

7) expediency council the council that acts to mediate differencesbetween the Majles and the Guardian Council

8) Faqih a high ranking Islamic leader who is permitted to issue fatwas

9) Farsi the primary language of most Iranians

10) Fatwa - A ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognizedauthority; usually by a high ranking official like a Faqih

11) Fundamentalism strict maintenance and obedience of the

fundamental doctrines of some religion

12) Globalization the process of intermingling and connections betweenpeople all around the world

13) Guardian Council a governmental body that consists of 12 male

clerics; they act as interpreters of the constitution, supervising elections,and approving candidates to different bodies of government

14) Hezbollahis A radical political and military organization that aroseafter the Israeli invasion of Lebanon

15) hojjat al-Islam an Islamic title that refers to middle-ranking clerics

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16) imams title given to various Islamic leaders; especially those who aredescendants of Muhammad

17) jihad a holy war; a struggle for the sake of islam

18) Khordad Front a group that consists of members having a commonreformist ideal

19) Majles the legislative body of Iranian government; consists of 290people

20) National Front an Iranian political party that supports secularism,nationalism, and liberalization

21) OPEC Organization of petroleum exporting companies; controlsmiddle-eastern oil prices

22) Qajar Empire empire ruled by Iranian royalty from the late 18th to

early 20th centuries; spread Persian culture throughout its lands

23) Pahlavis dynasty ruled by 2 hereditary rulers; ruled from 1878-1979and promoted secular and western ideas

24) People of the Book people of any other religion mentioned in theQuran

25) Provision of Public Policies the ability of a government to provide forits people

26) rentier state a state that collects most of its revenue from exportsand receiving rent on things like domestic oil fields

27) Revolutionary Guard a branch of the Iranian military that was formedafter the Iranian revolution

28) Revolution of 1979 the revolution that founded the Islamic Republicand ended Pahlavi rule

29) Safavids people of 16th through 18th century Iran who ruled accordingto Shiism

30) Secularization the division of religion and government in a state31) shariah law of islam

32) Sunni largest sect of islam but a minority in Iran; believe in givingpower to Muhammads descendants

33) Supreme Leader the religious leader of Iran; acts as head of state

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34) Tehran Spring refers to the green movement; questioned theintegrity of ahmadinejads 2009 victory

35) Theocracy a form of government in which religious leaders rule withlegitimacy based upon the will of god

36) Tudeh Party Iranian communist party; pro-soviet and anti-imperialist

37) Twelver Shiism refers to the Shiites that believe the 12th Imam willreappear

38) Ulema body of religious experts in sharia law

39) velayat-e faqih (jurists guardianship) idea that states that highranking clerics are best suited to rule muslim society

40) White Revolution a series of reforms launched by Reza Shah thatattempted to strengthen the agricultural classes; bloodless revolution

Key Figures

1. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the current and 6th president of Iran.

2. Moussavi Mehdi Karroubi an Iranian reformist politician that is

currently the chairman of the national trust party

3. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previous president and current Supreme

leader of Iran.

4. Reza Khan the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. Also allowed for the

incorporation of many democratic ideals under his rule.

5. Mohammad Khatami The fifth president of iran and a leader of the

green movement.

6. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leader of the Iranian revolution and

previous supreme leader.

7. Muhammed Mosaddeq prime minister of iran that was overthrown by

a coup by a coalition of british and American intelligence agencies

8. Mir Hussein Moussavi the last prime minister of iran.

9. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi son of reza shah and last ruler of the

Pahlavi dynasty.

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10. Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi raRafsanjani fourth president of

iran and currently the chairman of the expediency council.