Religious Forces’ Reactions to Coronation of Pahlavi II(With an Emphasis on Imam Khomeini’s Stances)

The coronation of Pahlavi II on October 26, 1967 was held at Golestan Palace some 26 years after inauguration of the king into the office. The delay in coronation of the new king was due to political and economic conditions in Iran in September 1942 and the occupation of the country by the allied forces as well as lack of required legitimacy on the part of the government. Strengthening his monarchical rule, especially after the August 19, 1953 coup, the Shah of Iran felt free to hold his coronation. After escaping multiple assassination attempts, with prince still a child, the Shah had his worries about the future of the monarchy. He wanted to grant Queen Farah the title of regent during coronation to guarantee attachment of monarchy to the Pahlavi reign in case of his death. Therefore, the ceremony was both for his coronation and for regency of Queen Farah. To that end, the Shah attempted to build legitimacy for himself through archaism. He was strongly opposed, however, by the religious forces who likened his reign to Bani Umayyad caliphate in their attempts to delegitimize his government. His opponents renounced his coronation and took steps against him for various reasons. This paper intends to find an appropriate answer to the following question: Why did the religious forces and Imam Khomeini oppose coronation of the Shah and what did they do to that end? This paper has been developed through a descriptive-analytical method while using library documents. Findings of the research work indicate that religious forces, headed by Imam Khomeini, opposed coronation for its contradiction with the principles of Islam, its heavy costs, and regency of Farah Pahlavi and expressed their opposition by hostile acts, demonstrations, and distribution of anti-regime leaflets.k