How did religion and socio-economic factors challenges to reform under Essay

How did religion and socio-economic factors challenges to reform under the Qajars in Iran from the mid-19th to early 20th century - Essay Example This paper will discuss the manner in which religion and socio-economic factors challenged reform under the Qajars in Iran from the mid-19th to early 20th century. In any society, religion is an important aspect especially in development and reforms issues. In the Iranian society, between the periods of mid-19th century and early 20th century, reformation occurred in terms of nationality, identity, politics and the constitution. In these reformations, religion was an important aspect. Islam was the main and most famous religion in Iran and reflected the definite economic trends and the changes in class interests, property relations and social tendencies. Islam was an integral part of leadership, political, economic and social lives of people in Iran at this time. Thus, it influenced the type of reformation that occurred in the country. During the Qajar dynasty in Iran, the political leadership and governance of the country was a weak centralized regime that had strong provincial tribal forces and an independent religious establishment (Lapidus, 2002:65). European conquests, cultural influence and economic expedition made the state and society weak and encouraged constitutional revolution. However, Islam opposed the reformations that were introduced by the Europeans especially because the reforms were seen as a conflict of religious interest between Christianity from Europe and Islam that had existed in Iran for a good while. For instance, Europeans wanted women to be educated similarly to men, something that Islam was against because according to its customs, women were not the same as men, were not allowed to get an education but remain at home, and serve their families (Nomani & Behdad, 2006:127). The fact that the Qajars wanted to maintain a tenuous suzerainty enhanced the power of the religious establishments. The independence of the religious establishment hit the Qajars hard. The Ulama of Iran had a strong