ABSTRACT
The national referendum held in Iran soon after Imam Khomeini's repatriation in February 1979, resulted in the replacement of the two and a half thousand-year monarchy by an Islamic republic. The significance of Iran in the United States' South-West Asia defence policy was amply demonstrated by the CIA's involvement in the royalist military coup of 1953, which led to the fall of the Mossadeq government. In Iran the Mosque has historically served as a focus of opposition against the abuse of monarchical authority and/or an extreme degree of foreign influence in the country. Revolutionary propaganda and aids were diffused in mosque grounds in the form of recorded sermons and posters of Khomeini and so forth. The ulama were able to bankroll the revolution because they were financially independent and also had access to massive funds from the bazaar.
