Throughout history, individuals have had a significant impact on the Essay

Throughout history, individuals have had a significant impact on the outcome of events and on the development of cultures and so - Essay Example The change had enormous effects on the political arena as both Iran and America severed all its ties with each other; capturing of American hostages by Iran for 444 days, American subsequent unleashing of Saddam Hussein which ultimately led to the disastrous Iran-Iraq War. Under his government the most evident change that occurred in Iran was the change in its societal system. Iran was considered one of the most liberal countries in the world but after his taking of power its social order changed from a relatively free to strict conservative order. Women, at one point, were allowed to go down the street without Hijab; after Khomeini came into power all that changed and Hijab was made compulsory for women. Other effects on the societal system were that Iran had relatively stable religious communities which were not prosecuted under the Shah’s dictatorship but now they were openly targeted because of the contradiction of their faith with Islamic faith. A prime example of this is the Jewish population of Iran; during the times of Shah, the Iranian population was close to 80,000 to 90,000 but after Khomeini came into power it decreased to merely 20,000.