Political Mobilization & Action in the Tobacco Movement of Iran (1891-92 A.D.)

This article focuses on the methods and apparatuses which were used in the mobilization of people in the Tobacco Movement for the better understanding of the modern social movements and their function. The question raised in the article is: what methods and apparatuses were used in the Tobacco Movement for the mobilization of the people’s protests? The hypothesis is that within the Tobacco Movement the communiqués, lectures in the Mosques, issuing of Fatwa (Shiite creeds), and telegraph messages were used for the mobilization of people. Also, the protests were canalized by marches, demonstrations and taking sanctuaries. Also, the brochures of the colonial administration were torn off by people. The article is based on library research based on a descriptive-analytical method. In this article, first, the methods managed to persuade people for uprising and also the quality of the formation of the protests are studied. Then, the methods that the protesters applied for the fulfillment of their demands are studied. The methods of protestations that are studied in this article are: sending letters of complaint, holding public demonstrations, taking sanctuaries and imposing religious sanctions. Also, the colonial administrators were not let in; the advertisements of the colonial administration were torn off, and the newspapers, lectures in the mosques, and communiqués were used as the methods of protestation.