IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 967 

Recognizing and honoring the 100th anniversary of the Iranian Constitutional 

Revolution. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2006 

Mr. BLUMENAUER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and honoring the 100th anniversary of the 

Iranian Constitutional Revolution. 

Whereas Iran is home to one of the world’s great ancient civilizations; 

Whereas, in 1906, Persia had been under the rule of the 

Qajar Dynasty since 1781; 

Whereas the rule of the Qajar Dynasty was corrupt, authoritarian, and weak in the face of competition between the 

British and Russian Empires for control and influence in 

Persia; 

Whereas, by the turn of the 20th century, the Persian populace sought to counter this corrupt and oppressive authoritarian rule and to secure national sovereignty by 

codifying a written code of laws; 


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•HRES 967 IH 

Whereas by January 1906, diverse sectors of Persian society 

united to form a protest movement against the foreign 

manipulation, oppression and corruption that marked the 

rule of Mozafar al-din Shah; 

Whereas, on August 5, 1906 this protest movement forced 

Mozafar al-Din Shah to issue a decree creating the first 

representative parliament, the Majlis, in the history of 

Persia; 

Whereas, on December 30, 1906 the parliament ratified and 

Mozafar al-Din Shah signed Persia’s first Constitution; 

Whereas the constitution of 1906 limited the power of the 

Shah and his ministers, gave administrative autonomy to 

the provinces, granted limited suffrage to adult men, established the groundwork for a new secular legislature, 

and guaranteed freedom of the press; 

Whereas, following an assassination attempt in February 

1908, Mohammed Ali Shah, who succeeded Mozafar aldin Shah, began to purge supporters of the constitution 

despite his pledge to respect the constitution; 

Whereas on June 3, 1908, Mohammed Ali Shah invited leaders of the constitutionalist movement to the Imperial 

Gardens and imprisoned all but one who managed to escape; 

Whereas on June 24, 1908, Mohammed Ali Shah ordered the 

Persian Cossacks Brigade, led by Russian Colonel 

Liakhov, to bomb the Majlis and arrest all of its deputies; 

Whereas this attack unleashed protests and resistance in support of the Majlis and the constitution across Persia, 

which evolved into a revolutionary movement; 


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Whereas the constitutional revolutionaries were joined by 

Howard Baskerville, a Presbyterian missionary from the 

United States, who was killed in battle on April 19, 

1909, and continues to be revered as a martyr by Iranians to this day; 

Whereas on July 17, 1909, Mohammed Ali Shah and a number of his supporters fled Tehran under the protection of 

Russian soldiers, and the Majlis held an emergency session to reenact the constitution, depose Mohammed Ali 

Shah, and name his son Ahmad Mirza as his successor; 

Whereas, at the conclusion of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, a democratic movement had replaced an authoritarian government with a constitutional monarchy and 

established a representative body and the rule of law to 

check the power of the ruling Shah; 

Whereas, since the Constitutional Revolution, Iranian politics 

has often been marked by struggles against authoritarian 

rulers and foreign interference, as well as tensions between secular and religious law; 

Whereas despite this success, for the next 15 years the Majlis 

met irregularly due to international circumstances, foreign interference and internal power struggle; 

Whereas under government of Mohammed Mossadegh, the 

Iranian political system became increasingly open and the 

influence of the Majlis grew until American and British 

intervention in 1953 reestablished the monarchy, severely 

undermining Iranian constitutional democracy; 

Whereas the Constitutional Revolution demonstrates that 

democratic self-government is not foreign to Iran; 

Whereas the cooperation of Iran is an important factor in the 

successful resolution of many challenges in the Middle 


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•HRES 967 IH 

East and Central Asia, including the stabilization of Iraq, 

progress in Afghanistan, and victory in the war on terror; 

Whereas public opinion in the United States respects the people of Iran and their rich culture and history; and 

Whereas public opinion in Iran supports better relations with 

the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes and honors the 100th anniver3 sary of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution; 

4 (2) commends the Iranian people for their tra5 dition of constitutional rule and their historical will6 ingness to stand up for freedom and independence; 

7 (3) encourages friendship between the people of 

8 the United States and the people of Iran on the 

9 basis of shared values; and 

10 (4) recognizes that a strong understanding of 

11 Iranian history is critical to the development of con12 structive policy towards Iran. 

Æ 


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