53
cities rapidly, legal and commercial life were paralyzed.
108
The ulema supported radical groups’ demands for a
constitution, parliament and reform
109
and delivered their
message to the Shah via telegram. These telegrams to the
Shah proved effective due to exhortations
by foreign mission
representatives and other messages delivered by the ulema in
Iraq where Shiite centers were located in the Ottoman
lands.
110
Iraqi Shiite ulema in favor of reform supported the
Young Turks movements as much as it helped to transfer
Ottoman Empire’s first experience
with reform to Iran with a
religious undertone.
111
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah discharged grand vizier Ayn
ed-Devle in early August of 1906 and promised to open the
parliament. So the first parliament was opened in October
1906 after elections held in Tehran and without holding
elections in other parts of the country in accordance with the
election law dated 9
th
September 1906
112
. The majority of
first parliament members consisted
of artisans and merchants
as well as members of Qajar dynasty, land owners, the
ulema, a tribe chief and a representative of the non-Muslim
community.
113
The parliament formed a committee to draft a
constitution.
114
The constitution was inspired by 1831
Belgium Constitution, which was regarded as the most
developed constitution of the era besides 1876 Ottoman
Modern Iran, New Haven and London, 1981, p. 73. Based on a British
source, Venassa Martin indicates 5 thousand in July 24, 10 thousand in
July 27, 14 thousand on August 2,
Islam and Modernism- The Iranian
Modernism of 1906, New York, 1989, s. 92; Afary, 12 thousand on July
30, 14 thousand on August 2 and states that five hundred tents were set
up,
op.cit., p. 55; for 14 thousand Abrahamian,
op.cit.., p. 84.
108
M. Reza Ghods,
Iran in the Twentieth Century, Boulder, 1989, p. 31.
109
About intellectuals and students who received Western-type education
and expressed open criticism and demands during the sit-ins at the
embassy courtyard see Nazım’ül İslâm Kirmani,
op.cit.., Vol: III, p. 435;
Roy Muttahedeh,
Peygamberin Hırkası, İstanbul, 2003, p. 36.
110
Abdulhadi Hairi,
Shiism and Constitutionalism in Iran, Leiden, 1977,
p. 98. For fetwa and telegrams published by Najaf ulema, see Kirmani,
op.cit.., pp. 264- 269.
111
Hairi, pp. 87- 100.
112
For the election law, see Kirmani,
op.cit., pp. 514- 519; for the English
version consisting of 33 articles, see Browne,
The Persian Revolution, pp.
355- 361.
113
Consisting of 156 representatives, artisans and merchants were the
majority in the parliament. See Afary,
op.cit.., p. 64 et al; Mirverid,
op.cit.., Vol: I, p. 95- 97.
114
Ademiyet,
İdeoloji-ye Nehzat-e Meşrutiyet-e İran, Vol: I, p. 383 et al