Mohammad Reza Shah
Internet survey
January 5, 2000
The Iranian
Mohammad Reza Shah got the fifth highest number of votes (4%) in
The Iranian survey. "He infused Iranians with pride and revived our
culture," one voter wrote. See comments from voters below.
Back to the Iranian of the century main
index.
- Benevolent dictator
- Loved Iran
- Gutless
- Khodaa-Biaamorz
- Much good
- Sacrifice
- Progress
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Benevolent dictator
* My choice would be Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. He was the ruler of
Iran for over a third of the century and the interim autocrat between two
other long-serving despots. However, the late Shah was a benevolent dictator;
he gave lots of freedom to women and religious minorities. Moreover, the
rich got richer and the poor also got richer (though not as fast a pace)
in his reign. There was social freedom from 1941 until 1979, though political
freedom was scarce and nominal. That is still a lot more than I can say
about his predecessors and the couple of mollas who have been at the helm
since he was overthrown. Mehran A.
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Much good
* Despite the fact that I have been one of the proponents of revolution
(not the clerical type or the Islamic republic but one of the nationalists)
I should tell you that nobody did as much good for Iranian as the late
Mohamad Reza Shah. So I will call him the Iranian of the century. Robabeh Ghafar-Tabrizi
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Gutless
* My choice would be Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, because of the fact
that he was the last Shah of Iran. He was the man who brought Iran into
the 20th century, and also the man who let Iran be dragged back to the
14th century by being so gutless to stand up against Khomeini and foreign
governments. Havij@aol.com
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Sacrifice
* Who else would sacrifice a 2000 years of monarchy to prevent the bloodshed
of an uneducated, crazed mob? S.M.
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Loved Iran
* When he became a king, Iran was a very poor nation with a GDP similar
to that of Egypt. When his services to Iran were no longer welcomed, Iranians
lived like millionaires do today in America. I beleive that in his heart
he loved Iran and he was a devoted lover of that nation, but sacrifices
always have to be made, and sometimes leaders sacrifice the wrong things
for the right reasons. He did a lot for Iran, and his influence and thinking
behavior influenced my childhood, as well as the refelection of Iran that
I saw forever. If he were alive today, he would be proud of the Iranians
living abroad who have maintained their love of Iran within their hearts.
Myths@aol.com
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Khodaa-Biaamorz
* The Iranian of the century is Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the former Shah
of Iran. His reign was the best thing that happened to Iran in this century.
A time when Iranians were respected, their country was prosperous and constantly
making progress, was politically and economically stable, and Iranian families
were not torn apart and dispersed all over the world. He wanted the best
for Iran and Iranians. He infused Iranians with pride and revived our culture.
Nowadays he is known in Iran as "Khodaa-Biaamorz". Mohammad
Ali Yamini
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Progress
* For what he accompolished for our country to bring us to 20th century.
Manijeh Novini
