The Goharshad Mosque rebellion () took place in August 1935, when a backlash against the westernizing and secularist policies of

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

of the Pahlavi regime erupted in the

Imam Reza shrine The Imam Reza shrine (; ) is a Shi'ite shrine, imamzadeh and mausoleum complex, located in Mashhad, in the province of Razavi Khorasan, Iran. The shrine contains the grave of Ali al-Rida, who is regarded as the eighth Imam in Shia Islam. Als ...

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The incident is described as a "genocide".

Background

The Shah's violent Westernization campaign against

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

society saw a spike in hostilities with the regime in the summer of 1935 when Reza Shah banned traditional Islamic clothing and ordered all men be forced to wear European-style

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a Coke hat, billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849 and commissioned by ...

s.Milani, Farzaneh (1992). ''Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers'', Syracuse, New York:

Syracuse University Press Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Domestic distribution for the press is currently provided by the University of North ...

, pp. 19, 34–37, Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2001). ''Great Britain and Reza Shah: The Plunder of Iran, 1921–1941'', Gainesville:

University Press of Florida The University Press of Florida (UPF) is the scholarly publishing arm of the State University System of Florida, representing Florida's twelve state universities. It is located in Gainesville near the University of Florida, one of the state's maj ...

, pp. 209–213, 217–218, Katouzian, Homa (2003). "2. Riza Shah's Political Legitimacy and Social Base, 1921–1941" in Cronin, Stephanie: ''The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921–1941'', pp. 15–37, London; New York:

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

;

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

, Katouzian, Homa (2004). "1. State and Society under Reza Shah" in Atabaki, Touraj; Zürcher, Erik-Jan: ''Men of Order: Authoritarian Modernisation in Turkey and Iran, 1918–1942'', pp. 13–43, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, Katouzian, Homa (2006). ''State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis'', 2nd ed, Library of modern Middle East studies, Vol. 28, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 33–34, 335–336, Beeman, William Orman (2008). ''The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other'', 2nd ed, Chicago:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

, pp. 108, 152,

Event

The event occurred in response to the de-Islamization activities by Reza Shah in 1935. Responding to a cleric, who denounced the Shah's " heretical" innovations, westernizing, corruption, and heavy consumer taxes, many merchants and locals took refuge in the shrine, chanted slogans such as "The Shah is a new

Yazid Yazīd (, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701–744), Umayyad caliph ...

," likening him to the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph. For four full days, local police and the army refused to violate the shrine. The standoff was ended when reinforcements from

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

region arrived and broke into the shrine, killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking a final rupture between Shia clergy and the Shah.Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs : Iran and the Islamic Revolution'' by Shaul, Bakhash, Basic Books, c1984, p.22

Toll

According to a report of the Research Institute of Baqir al-'Ulum, which may have deliberately exaggerated the numbers, the number of killed by Reza Shah's forces was between 2000 and 5000. According to a British report, which may have deliberately underplayed the numbers, the outcome of the event resulted in 2 Army officers and 18 soldiers killed; 2 soldiers executed on the spot for disobedience; 1 soldier committed suicide; there were 800-1200 dead among the villagers, 100-500 wounded and 800 arrested.

References

{{coord missing, Razavi Khorasan Province Conflicts in 1935 1935 in Iran Rebellions in Iran Mosque massacres in Asia Massacres in Iran Massacres in 1935 1935 murders in Iran Massacres committed by Iran Attacks on buildings and structures in Iran Massacres of protesters in Asia 1935 protests Protests in Iran August 1935 in Asia Anti-Western sentiment 20th-century mass murder in Iran 20th-century attacks on mosques Imam Reza shrine

Background

Event

Toll

See also

References