The Islamic Republic of Iran

Question 1

an elected body of senior clerics who are empowered to review the performance of the Supreme Leader and to remove or choose a replacement for him

Answer 1

Assembly of Religious Experts

Question 2

the largest minority in Iran

Answer 2

Azeri

Question 3

a minority in Iran, unrecognized by Iran’s constitution and persecuted in Iranian society, that teaches that God speaks to all people through all religions in different ways

Answer 3

Baha’i

Question 4

laws regarding any issues unrelated to doctrines or teachings of Islam

Answer 4

Civil Law (qanun)

Question 5

a member of a political faction that opposes modernization and secularization and seeks to preserve the theocracy of the Islamic Republic

Answer 5

Conservative (Iran)

Question 6

uprising that resulted in the construction of Iran’s first constitution and of both the Majlis and Guardian Council as new legislative institutions to check the power of the executive

Answer 6

Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1909

Question 7

the seizure of control of the state apparatus by the military

Answer 7

Coup d’etat

Question 8

Khomeini’s program to rid the country of Western and secular influences and produce a purer commitment to Islam

Answer 8

Cultural Revolution (Iran)

Question 9

a collection of leading Iranian officials gathered for the purpose of settling disputes between the Majlis and the Guardian Council

Answer 9

Expediency Council

Question 10

institutions now managing large state-owned enterprises that were created after the Islamic Revolution to manage property confiscated from the pre-revolution elites

Answer 10

Foundations (bonyads)

Question 11

a protest movement originating after many Iranians believed that the official results of the 2009 election were fraudulent

Answer 11

Green Movement

Question 12

a body of twelve officials, chosen by the Supreme leader and the Chief Judge, empowered to reject candidates from office and veto legislation from the Majlis if it conflicts with Shari’ah law

Answer 12

Guardian Council

Question 13

the seizure of the American embassy by students loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini; the American diplomatic staff was held for 444 days

Answer 13

Hostage Crisis of 1979-1980

Question 14

a series of mass demonstrations against the Shah that resulted in his deposal, followed by the creation of a new Islamic Republic, led by Ayatollah Khomeini

Answer 14

Iranian (Islamic) Revolution of 1979

Question 15

the concept, justifying clerical rule, espoused by Ayatollah Khomeini that Shi’a clerics hold responsibility over all aspects of society

Answer 15

Jurist guardianship

Question 16

the holy text of Islam believed by Muslims to have been dictated by God to the Prophet Muhammad

Answer 16

Koran

Question 17

Iran’s national legislature, elected by voters every four years and empowered to make laws that are not religious in nature and to pass the budget every year

Answer 17

Majlis

Question 18

leading Shi’a clerics who are eligible to become Supreme Leader until reforms in 1989 opened the selection to a wider pool of clerics

Answer 18

Marja

Question 19

Iranian government agency charged with censoring media deemed to be un-Islamic

Answer 19

Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance

Question 20

a nationalist party that briefly held power in the Majlis and advocated nationalization of Iran’s natural resources; its leaders were driven out in 1956 by Operation Ajax

Answer 20

National Front

Question 21

a covert operation by the United States in 1956 that discredited the National Front and restored support for the Shah’s rule

Answer 21

Operation Ajax

Question 22

Turkish conquerors who ruled Persia from 1794 through 1925

Answer 22

Qajar Dynasty

Question 23

a city south of Tehran where most of Iran’s major seminaries and leading clerics are located

Answer 23

Qom

Question 24

the largest ethnic group in Iran

Answer 24

Persians

Question 25

political factions in Iran that seek to build productive relationships with the West and support limited secularization and modernization of Iranian society

Answer 25

Reformist

Question 26

a country with a valuable natural resource that, by funding state operations through selling or renting rights to extract the resource to foreign companies or countries, creates a reliance on that resource to sustain the economy and the state's functions

Answer 26

Rentier state

Question 27

a political party created by the Shah of Iran in 1975 to serve as the dominant party in a one-party state

Answer 27

Resurgence Party

Question 28

the ruling monarch of Iran prior to the Iranian Revolution of 1979

Answer 28

Shah

Question 29

a system of law based on the principles of Islam

Answer 29

Shari'ah

Question 30

a sect of Islam that believes the hereditary heirs of the Prophet Muhammad are the rightful leaders and guardians of the Islamic faith; the dominant sect among Iranian Muslims

Answer 30

Shi'ites

Question 31

a sect of Islam that believes the chosen caliphate constitutes the rightful leaders and guardians of the Islamic faith; a majority of Muslims globally but an unrecognized minority in Iran

Answer 31

Sunnis

Question 32

Iran's head of state and most powerful chief executive, known as the chief interpreter of Shari'ah law

Answer 32

Supreme leaders

Question 33

a term referring to the reduced restrictions in Iran on freedom of speech and the press during the government of President Khatami (1997-2005)

Answer 33

"Tehran Spring"

Question 34

a left-wing communist party opposed to the rule of the Shah that was banned after 1956

Answer 34

Tudah Party

Question 35

a sect of Islam whose adherents believe that the twelfth descendant of the Prophet Muhammed, who disappeared mysteriously, will return to establish a perfect world

Answer 35

Twelver Shi'ism

Question 36

a program of reforms by the Shah meant to undermine support for leftist and communist parties; it provided benefits to peasants and encouraged westernization in certain areas of Iranian culture

Answer 36

White Revolution

Question 37

the official religion of ancient Persia; now a protected minority religion of modern Iran

Answer 37

Zoroastrianism