Shaban Jafari ( fa, شعبان جعفری; 19 August 1921 – 21 March 2006), often known as Shaban the Brainless ( fa, شعبان بیمخ, Sha'bān-e Bi-mokh, links=no) or Shaban the Crown-Bestower ( fa, شعبان تاجبخش, Sha'bān-e Tājbakhsh, links=no), was a political activist and practitioner of
varzesh-e bastani
Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni ( fa, آیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای, "heroic sport") or varzesh-e bāstāni (; , "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics a ...
. A controversial figure in Iranian politics, he was instrumental in overthrowing Prime Minister
Mohammad Mossadegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...
's government in the
1953 Iranian coup d'état
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état ( fa, کودتای ۲۸ مرداد), was the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of ...
.
Following the coup,
Mohammad Reza shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...
seized power and governed as a dictator. Over time, the Shah's regime lost both popular support and confidence. By the 1970s, longstanding grievances against the Shah resulted in the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
which deposed him. Jafari, whose connection to the 1953 coup made him a target for the new Iranian government, fled to the United States where he remained until his death in 2006.
Biography
Shaban Jafari, often known as Shaban the Brainless, was a political activist who often resorted to thuggish tactics to scare his opponents into submission. He was also a practitioner of Iranian traditional sport (
varzesh-e bastani
Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni ( fa, آیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای, "heroic sport") or varzesh-e bāstāni (; , "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics a ...
) and was a frequent at Zoorkhaneh. During the
1953 Iranian coup d'état
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état ( fa, کودتای ۲۸ مرداد), was the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of ...
, he was often regarded as a leader of street fights for the
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
and against the popular
Mossadegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...
. Jafari's critics claimed that he received money from the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
intelligence agencies. However he rebuffed these accusations and maintained that he was in prison during the coup and could not have participated in it. Following the successful coup against Mosadegh the Shah implemented several mechanism to secure his regime, the most notable being the
SAVAK
SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prime ...
which was a
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
that spied on Iranian citizens. The Iranian government committed multiple instances of human rights abuses during this time. It was these human rights abuses coupled with the Shah's efforts to modernize Iran that began his downfall.
Support of the Shah collapsed by the late 1970s and Iranians began public demonstrations against the Shah's regime. Initially the Shah was successful in repressing these measures largely using the SAVAK to prevent dissent. However these measures proved ineffective by the end of 1978 the Shah was no longer able to maintain his grasp on power and the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
was underway. The following year saw the Shah make a desperate escape from Iran which he did on 16 January. With the Shah now out of the country, a new Islamic government led by
Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
rose to power and began prosecuting individuals who had connections to the Shah. Jafari was identified as a criminal for his involvement in the coup that brought the Shah to power. Khomeini's provisional government attempted prosecute him however it was unable to locate Jafari as he fled Iran and relocated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where he was given
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
. His later life was relatively calm and he died in
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
in 2006. He is buried in
Westwood Memorial Park
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue.
The cemetery was ...
, Westwood,
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, California, USA. A book of his memoirs was published in the United States by the Iranian-American journalist
Homa Sarshar
Homa Sarshar ( fa, هما سرشار; also Romanized as ''Homā Sarshār''; born 1946) is an Iranian-American author, activist, media personality, and award-winning journalist. She was a columnist for Zan-e-Ruz magazine and the Kayhan daily news ...
which became very popular among the migrant Iranians in other countries. It was especially popular to the Iranians who fled from the country, after the Islamic Revolution.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jafari, Shaban
1921 births
2006 deaths
Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States
Iranian emigrants to the United States
Iranian male athletes
20th-century Iranian politicians
Politicians from Tehran