Pahlavi Hopes of Some Iranian Americans

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“Pahlavi Hopes of Some Iranian Americans” in 2014 by Michael Craig Hillmann In early January 2014, a series of Facebook postings reached me presenting images and commentary about the head of the “House of Pahlavi,” “Crown Prince” Rezā Pahlavi (b. 1960), his daughters “Princess” Nur Pahlavi and “Princess” Iman Pahlavi, and expressions of support for Rezā Pahlavi–whom some Iranians have long called nim-pahlavi [half a pahlavi gold coin]–as Iran’s future leader, monarch if things turn out that way. The Iranian American authors of these postings voice support for democratic principles, while arguing that Iran needs a strong leader, for example Rezā Shāh Pahlavi II. These Iranian Americans also energetically mock the Muslim Prophet Mohammad (d. 632), his son-in-law Ali (d. 661), and Ali’s younger son Hosayn (d. 680), and ridicule the Koran. In short, they hold Islam responsible for the reprehensible behavior of the Islamic Republic in its 35-year history (nine years longer than Mohammad Rezā Pahlavi’s post-Mosaddeq, America-supported reign from August 1953 to December 1978). They further hope that Islam might disappear from Iran when the Islamic Republic there collapses. In fact, they would apparently legislate the faith of the vast majority of Iranians out of Iranian existence. More generally, they see people of faith, whatever faith, as ignorant, narrow-minded, and incapable of intellectual growth and impartial judgment. Among the many issues that the Facebook images and commentary and You Tube attacks on Islam raise, the one that seems most amenable to summary and analysis is the notion that Rezā Pahlavi should lead or rule a post-Islamic Republic Iran. Rezā Pahlavi (b. 1960), like his brother, his father, and his grandfather, is named after Emām (= Imam) Rezā (d. 818), the 8th Shi’ite Muslim Imam who died and is buried in a city thereafter renamed because of him, the Arabic loanword “mashhad” denoting the burial place of a shahid or martyr. Some years back, the province in which Mashhad is located was divided into three provinces with these names: Northern Khorāsān, Razavi [= pertaining/ belonging to Imam Rezā] Khorāsān, and Southern Khorāsān. The new name Razavi Khorāsān is particularly grating to anti-Muslim Iranians for whom it is infuriatingly inconceivable that the Arab Rezā could be so honored instead of Ferdowsi (940-1020), author of the Iranian national epic called Shāhnāmeh [Book of Kings] (1010) who was born, lived, and died not far from Imam Rezā’s burial place. As for those other “Rezās” in Rezā Pahlavi’s immediate family, online reports announced the suicide of his younger brother ‘Alirezā Pahlavi in early January 2011. His younger sister Laylā had reportedly committed suicide ten years earlier. Rezā has another sister called Farahnāz, who reportedly is unwell and reportedly lives in seclusion, and a half-sister called Shahnāz. Shahnāz is the daughter of Pahlavi Hopes. Hillmann, 2014-2021.1


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