It is common that after a change in power, Iran returned from the path of westernization to traditionalism. We figured out how reasonable this position is.

On the Internet you can see Collections Photos and Materialsclaiming that the 1979 revolution turned Iran from a secular and Europeanized country into a religious and repressive state. For example, c material on the portal "Historian" It is said that after the revolution, "all the women were replaced by light open dresses with mini-skirts for hijabs and a cadra." In another article It is alleged that "the people of Iran preferred westernization strict adherence to religious tradition and the political power of the Muslim clergy." Sometimes photos from Iran Included In generalizing collections that set the goal of describing changes in society under the influence of religion. Similar publications and collages common And outside the Russian segment of the Internet.

To understand the context of the images discussed, a rather thoroughly, by the standards of publication on the Internet, a historical excursion is necessary. In 1925, the ruler of Iran became Shah Reza, which marked the beginning of the new dynasty - Pahlavi. Over a year and a half of his reign (until 1941), significant changes have been taking place in the country in the social, economic and political spheres. In scientific work, the nature of these changes is often Determine as authoritarian modernization, as well as Compare With the transformations of the same time in Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Among the results of the transformations can be distinguished The construction of the state in Iran in its then European understanding (bureaucracy, systematization of taxes and tariffs, the annual budget, etc.), the emergence of a judicial system arranged according to European patterns, modernization of the army, etc. The country introduces mandatory wearing European clothing for men (exclusion should be confirmed by a special resolution), and in 1936 to women Forbid Wear all types of clothes corresponding to the Islamic dress code in public. Such measures (coupled with restrictions in the field of public religiosity) limited the authority of clergy traditionally powerful for Iran and caused protests (the most famous of them were the protests of Augustus 1935 in Gosharshad mosque).

In 1941, cut-shah under pressure The Allies of the Second World War is renounced in favor of his son Mohammad-Reza. The new shah cancels a number of the most odious prohibitions (in particular, allows wearing traditional clothes), declares a political amnesty and allows the critics of his father to the political life. In 1949 after attempts On him Forbidden The activities of the most powerful opposition force - the Communist Party "Tuda". The cleansing of the political field takes place after the CIA and Mi-6 organized in August 1953 revolution Against the Prime Minister of Mohammad Mosaddyk, who received great power against the background oil crisis and having wide support. From this moment, the strengthening of the power of the Shah begins: in 1957 the secret police were created Savak and announced the establishment of a two -party system, which was finally established by 1963 (as the Iranians joked, these two parties They were called “Yes, lord” and “I obey, lord”).

The transition to a bicepartican system is also explained by the need for political stability in the framework of a series of reforms, called "White Revolution". These transformations were to create a class of small owners in Iran, to allow workers to participate in the profit of enterprises, to significantly expand the rights of women. One of the main critics of reform is the future leader of the Islamic Revolution of Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini. He is arrested several times, after which they decide to deport from Iran. Khomeini continues anti-Shah activity from abroad. In Iran, traditional Shiite institutions are faced with a policy aimed at undermining their authority. In particular, the newly -minted clergy should receive theological education at universities in order to have permission for their activities (previously such permits were under the jurisdiction of Shiite seminaries).

Oil production and dizzying Rising prices after Judgment Day significantly increase Iran and open the way to the dreams of Shah about "Great civilization": The Iranian Empire under his management should become the same important force in the world as the ancient Achaemenid empire. In the last decade of the reign of Mohammad-Reza, the “personality cult” has increasingly intensified: he himself takes the title of Aryamehr (“the sun of the Aryans”), its portraits are located everywhere, and Savak followed by any criticism through a wide network of informants. Three events can be considered the crown of the “imperial ambitions” of Shah: Pompous celebration The 2500th anniversary of the Iranian monarchy In 1971, the transition to the Imperial Calendar instead of Solar Hijra and the dissolution of all parties and associations and the establishment of one ruling party instead of them "Tiles»In 1975.

At the same time, Mohammad-Rezu himself cannot be called, as, indeed, his father, a non-religious person. He committed The pilgrimage to Mecca, and also repeatedly talked about his religious experience. Mohammad-Raze said that since childhood I felt The presence of God, and also experienced visions of Ali - cousin and son -in -law of the Prophet Muhammad, extremely revered among Shiites. Important Markthat reports of such vision experience of Iranian monarchs are widespread. One of the biographers of Shah Martin Zonis Writesthat Mohammad-Raus believed that God protects and directs him throughout his life. Another question is that such statements were seen even by people close to him not as a manifestation of religiosity, but as a political tool for the legitimation of his power and an attempt to contrast his authority with the traditional authority of the clergy.

At the same time, in Iran, despite the limits mentioned above, the shis religious institutions continued to function and enjoy very popular. Labed System of donations guaranteed their existence regardless of the intentions of the state, and communications with other traditional institutions Provided Wide folk support. In particular, we are talking about “support for the bazaar”, that is, a situation where large merchants donate money to religious figures and institutions, and they, in response, use their authority to defend the interests of these merchants. Most religious figures (Becheti, Hamens, Mahdavi-Kani, Rafsanjani, Rukhani) participating in the Antihakh propaganda in the 1960-1970s, played an important role in the revolutionary movement, and later held large posts in the Islamic Republic.

During the censuses of the population conducted from 1956 to 1976, the vast majority of the population of Iran declared their belonging to Islam. With all possible distrust of official statistics (as, for example, in case with a modern census) is unlikely to be a “secularist” state, as often called Iran of the Pahlavi era, would publish data that 99% of its population are believers.

If you move from the analysis of political and social circumstances to the images themselves, which are designed to illustrate them, it is important to note that they are often extracted from the original context and are immersed in a new one, which has nothing to do with the original. This, for example, applies to family pre -revolutionary photographs like "Caspian girl", actively circulating according to a variety of Internet colo-collection. Researcher Amy Malek, discussing such photos, uses the term "Clickbeat Orientalism". She claims that family photographs from pre -revolutionary Iran, in a certain way arranged and posted on popular sites, serve as a kind of “genuine” evidence ”designed to emphasize the similarities and differences that frighten the audience and make them think about the dangers that modern Iranians of Western democracy.”

Indeed, these pre -revolutionary photographs, most often shot on the central streets of Tehran and other large cities of the country, create a distorted picture from the viewer, inviting him to make an obvious choice from a simple alternative. True, pre-revolutionary photos are unlikely to fit into such a black and white picture religious procession in the kashan, slums near Tehran (which exist to this day) or women in a hijab. In the same way, you can pay attention to the pictures of the Iranian province of the 1950s, Made INGE MORT (some of them are colorized), which are unlikely to be able to find funny women in dresses and mini-skirts.

Iran was and remains an extremely multi -flowed country. True, for the past 40 years, the perception of this multi-laying has been distorted due to the norms introduced after the Islamic Revolution, which legislatively consolidate compliance with the instructions of Islam, including in the field of clothing. These instructions Both women and men concern, but many observed them until 1979. During the revolution, religion again entered the public field, from which the monarchs of the Pahlavi dynasty tried to oust it, and Shiite symbols and rituals steel The most important tool for the legitimation of the current Iranian regime. The key visual difference for the external observer is by and large in the fact that after 1979 the possibility of choice disappeared in the field of clothing, but the possibility of choosing, oddly enough, appeared in the political sphere, where Installed Democratic, albeit with certain reservations, procedures and replacement power.