PART ONE: IRAN IN THE “LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY”: 1785–1911
CHAPTER 1: QAJAR RULE, SOCIETY, AND THE GREAT POWERS
Images from the Qajar Court and Courtiers, Daily Life, and Changing Times
1. The Month of Fasting (at Naser al-Din Shah’s Court)
2. Ramazan and Gambling
3. Two Instances of Bread Riots in Tehran
4. Schooling and the Role of Akhunds in Everyday Life
5. Coffeehouses in Tehran
6. Roads, Railways, and Changing Times
An Attempt at Diplomacy and Reconciliation in the Context of the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and Its Reception in Iran
1. Iranian Feelings Towards Russia and the Russo-Japanese War in the Words of a Reformist and Constitutionalist
2. The Russo-Japanese War as Reported in Tarbiyat Newspaper
The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 and the Reaction to It in Iran
1. The Text of the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907
2. The Reaction to the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention According to the Tehran Habl al-Matin
CHAPTER 2: REFORMS, ECONOMIC CONCESSIONS, AND EXPRESSIONS OF DISSENT
The Concession for the Tobacco Monopoly and Its Aftermath
1. The Text of the Concession for the Tobacco Monopoly, March 8, 1890
2. Asking Legal Advice from His Excellency, Ayatollah Mirza-ye Shirazi, Regarding the Smoking of Water-Pipes
3. The Text of Naser al-Din Shah’s Letter Confirming the Annulment of the Tobacco Concession
Seyyed Jamal al-Din Asadabadi in Iran
1. Seyyed Jamal al-Din through the Eyes of a Reformist and Constitutionalist
2. The Expulsion of Seyyed Jamal al-Din Asadabadi from Iran
3. Excerpts from Mirza Reza Kermani’s Cross-Examination
Regarding Injustice, Seyyed Jamal al-Din, and the Assassination of Naser al-Din Shah
Expressions of Reform, Social Criticism, and Dissent
1. The Book of Reforms
2. The Book of Ahmad
3. The Travel Diary of Ebrahim Beg
CHAPTER 3: CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONALISM: DEBATES AND DEVELOPMENTS
The Decree Granting a Constitutional Government in 1906
The 1906 Constitution (Fundamental Laws) and Its Supplement
1. The Fundamental Laws of December 30, 1906
2. The Supplementary Fundamental Laws of October 7, 1907
Newspapers, Freedom of the Press, and Censorship
1. “Two or Three Sensible Words on the Responsibility of Journalists and the Press,” Neda-ye Vatan, August 25, 1907
2. “The Discussions of Molla Nasreddin with Shaikh Bohlul,” Neda-ye Vatan, January 3, 1907
3. “Half an Hour at the Dar al-Fonun,” Sur-e Esrafil, June 6, 1907
Women “Going Public”
1. “The Letter of One of the Ladies,” Tamaddon, April 30, 1907
2. “The Letter of One of the Ladies,” Habl al-Matin, September 1, 1907
3. “Statement of Purpose of a Women’s Weekly,” Danesh, September 14, 1910
Contending Views Regarding Constitutionalism
1. Shaikh Fazlollah Nuri and His Objections to Constitutionalism
2. Mirza Mohammad Hosayn Na’ini and His Arguments in Favor of Constitutionalism
Expressions of Disillusionment with the Constitutional Experiment
1. The Hanging of Shaikh Fazlollah
2. “The Lack of Progress towards the Objectives of the Nation,” Amuzegar, July 18, 1911
PART TWO
1911–1978
CHAPTER 4: WAR, COUP D’ÉTAT, HOPES, AND DISILLUSIONMENT
The 1919 Anglo-Persian Agreement and Reactions to It
1. The Text of the 1919 Anglo-Persian Agreement
2. Critique of the 1919 Anglo-Persian Agreement According to Yahya Dawlatabadi
Expectations and Initial Optimism in the Early Years Following Reza Khan’s Coup d’État
1. “Proposals Once Again,” Nameh-ye Banovan, June 12, 1921
2. An Account of a Meeting between Iran-e Javan and Reza Khan in the 1920s
Unveiling and Its Consequences
1. Reza Shah’s Statement on the “Day of Unveiling, January 8, 1936”
2. The Experience of Mandatory Unveiling
3. Sadiqeh Dawlatabadi’s Speech Regarding the Veil, October 1944
Years of Increasing Autocracy in the 1930s
1. Disillusionment with Reza Shah in the Words of `Ali Dashti
2. Bozorg Alavi and the “Group of Fifty-Three”
CHAPTER 5: STATE-BUILDING, THE POLITICS OF MODERNIZATION, AND ITS DISCONTENTS
The 1940s and the Tudeh Party
1. Excerpts from the Political Memoirs of Khalil Maleki
2. Excerpts from the Memoirs of Maryam Firouz
The Electoral Law of 1952 and the Question of Women’s Enfranchisement: The Letter of Sadiqeh Dawlatabadi to Mohammad Mosaddeq (ca 1951)
Mohammad Mosaddeq and the Nationalization of Iranian Oil: Mohammad Mosaddeq’s Testimony at the Hague Tribunal Defending the Nationalization of Oil in Iran
Perspectives on the White Revolution
1. The Statement of the National Liberation Movement Regarding the
White Revolution
2. Mahmoud Enayat on the White Revolution
3. Ayatollah Khomeini on the White Revolution
The Women’s Organization of Iran and the Parameters of Its Activities in the 1970s
The Establishment of the Rastakhiz Party
CHAPTER 6: INTELLECTUALS, ISLAM, AND THE SEARCH FOR “CULTURAL AUTHENTICITY”
Jalal Al-e Ahmad
1. Excerpts from Occidentosis
2. Excerpts from On the Service and Betrayal of Intellectuals
Ali Shariati
1. Excerpts from Return to the Self
2. Excerpts from Red Shi’ism
Mahmoud Taleqani
1. Excerpts from Islam and Ownership
Third-Worldism and Cultural Authenticity
1. Manuchehr Hezarkhani on the Question of Culture in the Anti-Imperialist Struggle
2. Excerpts from Khosrow Golesorkhi’s Self-Defense at His Trial, January 1974
PART THREE
THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: 1978–1979
CHAPTER 7: THE MONTHS LEADING TO THE 1979 REVOLUTION
“Iran, and the Colonialism of the Red and the Black,” Ettela’at, January 7, 1978
“I, Too, Have Heard the Voice of Your Revolution”: The Text of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s Address to the Nation, November 5, 1978
The Proceedings of the Council of the Commanders of the Royal Armed Forces, January 29, 1979
“Why Do I Oppose the Islamic Republic?” Ayandegan, January 15, 1979
PART FOUR
IRAN TODAY: 1979 TO THE PRESENT
CHAPTER 8: DEFINING THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic
1. The 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic
2. The 1989 Amendment to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic
“Accepting the UN Resolution Is More Deadly to Me than Drinking a Cup of Poison!”: Ayatollah Khomeini’s Statement on Accepting a Ceasefire with Iraq According to UN Resolution 598, July 20, 1988
The Open Letter of the Commanders of the Revolutionary Guards to Mohammad Khatami, July 1999
“The Danger That Threatens [Both] the ‘Islamic’ and ‘Republican’ Components of the Islamic Republic,” March 31, 2014
CHAPTER 9: VOICES OF REFORM AND SOCIETAL TRANSFORMATIONS
Voices of Reform
1. “The Official Reading of Religion: Crises, Challenges, Solutions: An Interview with Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari,”
Rah-e no, August 1998
2. “Revolution and Reform,” Neshat, 1999
3. “The Movement for Human Rights,” Jomhuriyat, July 14, 2004
About “One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws”
Women and Cinema
1. An Interview with Rakhshan Bani-E`temad
2. An Interview with Pouran Derakhshandeh
CHAPTER 10: THE TENTH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND ITS AFTERMATH
“Goodbye the World Cup; Hello Mr. Ahmadinejad!” E’temad-e melli, June 20, 2009
The Open Letter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to Seyyed Ali Khamene’i Regarding the Tenth Presidential Election, June 2009
Letters from Prison
1. Nasrin Sotoudeh to Her Three-Year-Old Son, Nima, March 2010
2. Masoud Bastani to His Wife, Mahsa Amrabadi, September 2013
The Nuclear Deal Between Iran and the P5+1 Group
1. “An Agreement Beyond a Single Issue,” Sharq, July 15, 2015
2. “The Era of Sa’dabad Is Over,” Vatan-e Emrooz, July 16, 2015