Reza Pahlavi’s policy towards the clergy between courtship and firmness By the researcher (1921-1936)

Abstract

 Reza Pahlavi, an officer in the Cossack Division, he led the military wing of the February 21, 1921 coup (the Whale Coup) and was able to attract various groups from the Iranian street, including the clergy. He had great ambition to reach the throne of power and realized that this could not be achieved except with the blessing of the clergy who had great influence on the Iranian street. So he began to court and get close to this group that supported his assumption of the Iranian throne, but the policy of courtship turned into a policy of violence after he was able to achieve his goal, and instead of the clerics being a source of stability for his rule, he began to see them as an obstacle to what he believed was the modernization of Iran, so he launched a major campaign against them in which he used excessive cruelty to the point that he confronted every action of theirs with force of arms. In the end, the clerics realized that Reza Shah was determined to annihilate them and weaken their role in the Iranian street, and in order to preserve their dignity and the continuity of their work, they resorted to working in secret through what is called taqiyya until the situation changed .