This book reflects on the 1979 Islamic Revolution which saw the overthrow of the pro-Western Shah and the rise to political power of despotic religious fundamentalists. According to the UN, at least 1,639 people were executed in Iran in 2025. Seen through Western eyes, these spectacles of punishment, along with the suppression of women and ethnic minorities, brutal prisons, mandatory wearing of the Hijab, morality policing, and cruelty to animals make Iran seem an alien and barbaric society. This book, however, argues that Iranian society should instead be understood as the product of long-term cultural trends that began during nineteenth century Persia and thereafter were variously shaped by Western attempts to “civilize” and modernize the country, in conjunction with existing local religious and political forces. Their cumulative effects have been to bring about a central state, sensibilities, and interdependencies between citizens where there is a public tolerance of suffering and a celebration of pain—as seen most vividly in the regular public executions.

Maria Rasekh is a researcher in sociology.