Before the interactive oral, I thought Marji cared for religion. Marji herself claimed to be religious: “deep down I was very religious” (6.1). She also wanted to be a prophet and had discussions with God. I did not think Marji was secular or even minimally religious. During the interactive oral, one cultural and contextual consideration that was discussed was the Iranian revolution. During Mohammad Reza Shah’s reign, there were protests from both secular leftists who resented the Shah’s autocratic rule, specifically SAVAK’s cruel suppression of political opposition, and religious rightists. Protests continually gained momentum and fatalities during the anti-regime protests led to growth of the movement. The Shah fled from Iran in January
