Iranian Revolution (1979)

Today's Golden Oldie is a cartoon that I drew thirty years ago this month.

At the end of January 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini had returned to Iran. The country was then rocked by ten days of student riots and demonstrations.

Today's Dry Bones cartoon was done during what is now called the "Ten-day Dawn" -- the days leading to the collapse of the Shah's regime on February 12, 1979.

The following is an official Iranian interview with Iranian Defense Minister Defense Brigadier on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the "Ten-Day Dawn":

"at the time of the revolution I was only a 22-year-old student, and our love for Imam [Khomeini] had drawn us to the scene, as we wanted to see our land governed by Islamic laws. That was our main objective, to see an Islamic Iran.

What we have achieved today was like a dream to us back then, and we could not even imagine that it would one day become reality. God delivered on his promise; that is 'to guide those who work for his cause'. Today, we stand witness to the deliverance of God's promises in various political, cultural, industrial and other fields.

Today the Iranian nation has become a role model for the freedom-loving people of world." -more

* * * The punchline of the cartoon refers to the Chinese Communist use of student violence in 1966 to intimidate, brutalize, and force a radical transformation of Chinese society, and which was called the Cultural Revolution.