While Ansari argued that the shah sought to be perceived as a ‘revolutionary monarch’, the reaction to his ‘White Revolution’ by the religious sector of Iran exposes the opposition to the reform programme and suggests that his attempts were unsuccessful. For example, on June 1963 massive riots led by the religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini and the bazar community erupted all over the country against the shah’s programme. Khomeini denounced the government and its policies by speaking against the land reform, women’s emancipation and the developing hegemony of the shah. Therefore, as Ervand Abrahamian argued: “Khomeini’s denunciation had become more vociferous, as some of his disciples were openly calling the replacement of the monarchy with
