foucault-and-the-iranian-revolution-janet-afary
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Visits to Iran <strong>and</strong> Controversies with "Atoussa H." <strong>and</strong> Maxime Rodinson 71<br />
<strong>the</strong> shah to resign <strong>and</strong> leave <strong>the</strong> country. On November 6, <strong>the</strong> government of<br />
Sharif-Imami resigned. In a nationally televised speech, <strong>the</strong> shah reluctantly<br />
gave a measure of recognition to <strong>the</strong> <strong>revolution</strong>ary movement. He appointed<br />
General Gholamreza Azhari head of a new military government, but warned<br />
him that he did not want ano<strong>the</strong>r bloodbath in <strong>the</strong> streets of Tehran. Playing<br />
for time, <strong>the</strong> government now arrested a few prominent officials <strong>and</strong> also<br />
promised to change all laws that were " contrary to Islam" (cited in Menashri<br />
1980, 491). On November 8, National Front leader Sanjabi visited Khomeini<br />
in Paris, where he declared <strong>the</strong> monarchy "illegitimate" <strong>and</strong> gave conditional<br />
approval to <strong>the</strong> idea of an "Islamic government." Khomeini was now becoming<br />
<strong>the</strong> uncontested leader of <strong>the</strong> opposition to <strong>the</strong> shah, which weakened<br />
<strong>the</strong> position of more senior <strong>and</strong> more moderate clerics like Ayatollah Shariatmadari.<br />
During October <strong>and</strong> November, Khomeini's supporters in France were<br />
coaching him on how to soften <strong>the</strong> harshness of his Islamist discourse. He<br />
did so a bit, also calling for independence, freedom, <strong>and</strong> democracy in Iran.<br />
Among those who coached Khomeini in Paris was Bani-Sadr. For his part, <strong>the</strong><br />
shah warned ominously of <strong>the</strong> danger of a Communist takeover, a possibility<br />
that remained of serious concern to <strong>the</strong> United States. On November 26, only<br />
a few days before <strong>the</strong> month of Muharram began, government troops shot a<br />
group of protesters who had sought sanctuary at <strong>the</strong> Shrine of Imam Reza<br />
in Mashhad. Khomeini <strong>and</strong> three o<strong>the</strong>r Gr<strong>and</strong> Ayatollahs, Ayatollah Golpaygani,<br />
Ayatollah Marashi Najafi, <strong>and</strong> Ayatollah Shariatmadari, declared a day<br />
of national mourning. By late 1978, Khomeini began to put forward more<br />
forcefully his dem<strong>and</strong> for "an Islamic government." On <strong>the</strong> streets of Tehran<br />
<strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r major cities, support for Khomeini intensified. A novel strategy employed<br />
by protesters was to mount rooftops in <strong>the</strong> evening <strong>and</strong> chant "Allah<br />
o Akbar" (God is great). The loud vibrating noise was a tremendous blow to<br />
<strong>the</strong> morale of <strong>the</strong> soldiers, weakening <strong>the</strong>ir support for <strong>the</strong> shah.<br />
In December, <strong>the</strong> Pahlavi regime began to crack. On December 2, <strong>the</strong><br />
month-long Muharram celebrations began, <strong>and</strong>, as we saw in chapter 2, <strong>the</strong><br />
clerics deftly turned it into a massive mobilization against <strong>the</strong> shah. The religious<br />
mobilization reached its peak on December 10-11, when mass demonstrations<br />
involving hundreds of thous<strong>and</strong>s commemorated Ashura on <strong>the</strong><br />
streets of Tehran <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r cities. During <strong>the</strong>se days, strikes spearheaded by<br />
oil workers also brought <strong>the</strong> entire economy to a halt. On December 13, in<br />
his first public admission of defeat, <strong>the</strong> shah offered <strong>the</strong> prime ministership<br />
to <strong>the</strong> regime's most prominent secular opponent, Karim Sanjabi of <strong>the</strong> National<br />
Front. Sanjabi publicly spumed <strong>the</strong> offer. After several o<strong>the</strong>rs also declined,<br />
on December 28, Shapour Bakhtiar accepted <strong>the</strong> position. Bakhtiar