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 civ-
ilizations; 
Whereas, in 1906, Persia had been under the rule of the 
Qajar Dynasty since 1781; 
Whereas the rule of the Qajar Dynasty was corrupt, authori-
tarian, 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 popu-
lace sought to counter this corrupt and oppressive au-
thoritarian 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, es-
tablished 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 al- 
din Shah, began to purge supporters of the constitution 
despite his pledge to respect the constitution; 
Whereas on June 3, 1908, Mohammed Ali Shah invited lead-
ers of the constitutionalist movement to the Imperial 
Gardens and imprisoned all but one who managed to es-
cape; 
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 depu-
ties; 
Whereas this attack unleashed protests and resistance in sup-
port of the Majlis and the constitution across Persia, 
which evolved into a revolutionary movement; 
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•HRES 967 IH 
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 Ira-
nians to this day; 
Whereas on July 17, 1909, Mohammed Ali Shah and a num-
ber of his supporters fled Tehran under the protection of 
Russian soldiers, and the Majlis held an emergency ses-
sion 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 Rev-
olution, a democratic movement had replaced an authori-
tarian 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 be-
tween secular and religious law; 
Whereas despite this success, for the next 15 years the Majlis 
met irregularly due to international circumstances, for-
eign 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 peo-
ple 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes and honors the 100th anniver-
sary of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution; 
(2) commends the Iranian people for their tra-
dition of constitutional rule and their historical will-
ingness to stand up for freedom and independence; 
(3) encourages friendship between the people of 
the United States and the people of Iran on the 
basis of shared values; and 
(4) recognizes that a strong understanding of 
Iranian history is critical to the development of con-
structive policy towards Iran. 
Æ 
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