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Iranian Chill Thread

Given that it is a chill thread, you may watch this rare video of Mohammed Reza's visit to Saudi Arabia during King Faisal reign. The visit took place in 1973. The video is in Farsi not in Arabic. Strangely, you will see at the very end that the Shah went to Madina to visit the Prophet's grave, and Baqie Cemetery (where Fatimah and 4 of her decedent Shia imams were burried). Then he went to Macca for apparently performing Umrah (though I heard the word Hajj being said during the video).


 
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Given that it is a chill thread, you may watch this rare video of Mohammed Reza's visit to Saudi Arabia during King Faisal reign. The visit took place in 1973. The video is in Farsi not in Arabic. Strangely, you will see at the very end that the Shah went to Madina to visit the Prophet's grave, and Baqie Cemetery (where Fatimah and 4 of her decedent Shia imams were burried). Then he went to Macca for apparently performing Umrah (though I heard the word Hajj being said during the video).
Why is that strange? At least in appearance, he had to respect religion and do some religious stuff every once in a while to keep the population calm. Though we all know he could care less about religion.

Back then, Iran Saudi relations were better. Though now, we have changed places, you have became for U.S what Mohammad Reza Shah was for them during his rule.
 
Why is that strange? At least in appearance, he had to respect religion and do some religious stuff every once in a while to keep the population calm. Though we all know he could care less about religion.

Back then, Iran Saudi relations were better. Though now, we have changed places, you have became for U.S what Mohammad Reza Shah was for them during his rule.

I knew before that he performed Hajj at some point of his life (when he may have had a brief period of spirituality that comes to most people). I am saying that it is strange because the visit was obviously political, and I thought he was a devoted secular who looked down to religion (like a fair number of his westernized and educated countrymen back then). But for getting the kind (and perhaps the naïve people's support) it is well worth it. And that's why he perhaps did it, and he is certainly not alone.

Otherwise, my recollection of the Pahlavis is that they are very secular folks (to say the least). His sister, Princess Shams Pahlavi, converted to Catholicism in 1940, and apparently remained Catholic until her death in the U.S in 1996.

His divorcee Soraya Bakhtiari has also converted to Catholicism after their divorce, and remained Catholic until her death in 2001. Both his son Alireza, and his daughter Layla committed suicide (not so common among those with belief). Layla herself was buried in a Christian cemetery in Paris (doesn't necessarily mean she converted, but it looks like it didn't mean anything to them to be buried in a Muslim cemetery nearby).

See the pics of Layla Pahlavi's grave below.

Layla Pahlavi Grave.png


Layla Pahlavi Grave (2).png
 
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Why is that strange? At least in appearance, he had to respect religion and do some religious stuff every once in a while to keep the population calm. Though we all know he could care less about religion.

Back then, Iran Saudi relations were better. Though now, we have changed places, you have became for U.S what Mohammad Reza Shah was for them during his rule.

Actually KSA has not changed places. It is still a status quo country as it was back then, depending on US for regime survival.
The only difference here is that Saudis are truly an apolitical people. Thats why they have not revolted against this feudal monarchy.
 
I knew before that he performed Hajj at some point of his life (when he may have had a brief period of spirituality that comes to most people). I am saying that it is strange because the visit was obviously political, and I thought he was a devoted secular who looked down to religion (like a fair number of his westernized and educated countrymen back then). But for getting the kind (and perhaps the naïve people's support) it is well worth it. And that's why he perhaps did it, and he is certainly not alone.

Otherwise, my recollection of the Pahlavis is that they are very secular folks (to say the least). His sister, Princess Shams Pahlavi, converted to Catholicism in 1940, and apparently remained Catholic until her death in the U.S in 1996.

His divorcee Soraya Bakhtiari has also converted to Catholicism after their divorce, and remained Catholic until her death in 2001. Both his son Alireza, and his daughter Layla committed suicide (not so common among those with belief). Layla herself was buried in a Christian cemetery in Paris (doesn't necessarily mean she converted, but it looks like it didn't mean anything to them to be buried in a Muslim cemetery nearby).

See the pics of Layla Pahlavi's grave below.

View attachment 155869

View attachment 155870

Yes I already said that he most probably did it for a show, not that he actually believed in philosophy of Hajj. Given the religious spirit of Iran's society back then, he wouldn't oppose religion explicitly. He wasn't anti-religion like Communists, but he certainly wasn't pro-religion either.
Actually KSA has not changed places. It is still a status quo country as it was back then, depending on US for regime survival.
The only difference here is that Saudis are truly an apolitical people. Thats why they have not revolted against this feudal monarchy.
Yes, that could be an important factor. Maybe one problem with us Iranians is that we are too involved with politics, and it messes with our heads sometimes.
 
I knew before that he performed Hajj at some point of his life (when he may have had a brief period of spirituality that comes to most people). I am saying that it is strange because the visit was obviously political, and I thought he was a devoted secular who looked down to religion (like a fair number of his westernized and educated countrymen back then). But for getting the kind (and perhaps the naïve people's support) it is well worth it. And that's why he perhaps did it, and he is certainly not alone.

Otherwise, my recollection of the Pahlavis is that they are very secular folks (to say the least). His sister, Princess Shams Pahlavi, converted to Catholicism in 1940, and apparently remained Catholic until her death in the U.S in 1996.

His divorcee Soraya Bakhtiari has also converted to Catholicism after their divorce, and remained Catholic until her death in 2001. Both his son Alireza, and his daughter Layla committed suicide (not so common among those with belief). Layla herself was buried in a Christian cemetery in Paris (doesn't necessarily mean she converted, but it looks like it didn't mean anything to them to be buried in a Muslim cemetery nearby).

See the pics of Layla Pahlavi's grave below.

View attachment 155869

View attachment 155870

I read somewhere that his son the current head of the Pahlavi family is a devout Shia Muslim though and has performed hajj. So perhaps a bunch of them got mad at Islam because the clerics removed them from power and abandoned the faith but not all. Interestingly he also volunteered to fight for the IRI during the Iran Iraq war but was turned down by the Iranian government.
 
I read somewhere that his son the current head of the Pahlavi family is a devout Shia Muslim though and has performed hajj. So perhaps a bunch of them got mad at Islam because the clerics removed them from power and abandoned the faith but not all. Interestingly he also volunteered to fight for the IRI during the Iran Iraq war but was turned down by the Iranian government.

Yeah I have read that too about his eldest son Reza (the last Crown Prince) who has named one of his daughters “Iman” (means faith in Arabic as most Muslims know). He is a politian so one can't really trust the motives, even if these motives are essentially dreams rather than reality.
 

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