Reza Esfahani

Reza Esfahani (Persian: رضا اصفهانی) was an Iranian politician who was a deputy to the agriculture ministry during Interim Government of Iran, and later served as a parliamentarian for a term.

Reza Esfahani
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office
28 May 1980 – 28 May 1984
ConstituencyVaramin
Personal details
Born1935 (1935)
Tehran, Iran[1]
Died2002 (2003) [1]

Before Iranian Revolution, he studied Islamic jurisprudence and was a preacher at Hosseinieh Ershad.[1] Described as a "radical" Muslim,[2] he was a harsh critic of capitalism and feudalism.[3] According to Keith S. MacLachlan, he was influenced by left-wing politics.[4]

Activities in agriculture ministry

Esfahani offered direct public access to his office, in other words, "simply sat on the floor of his office, opened the door, and handled the problems and grievances of the barefoot peasants".[5] He proposed a land reform program, eponymously known as "Esfahani's Land-reform", that brought private ownership of land under question.[6] The Revolutionary Council introduced it in April 1980, which "limited land ownership by small-scale farmers to three times the acreage sufficient to support a peasant family" and transferred mechanized farms to cooperative farms.[6] Landowners strongly stood against the plan and accused Esfahani of being a communist and conservative pro-land ulema questioned Esfahani's understanding of Islam.[7] Eventually Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the land reform to be stopped.[8]

References
  1. Iran Almanac and Book of Facts, vol. 18, Echo of Iran, 1987, p. 354
  2. Stanford M. Lyman, ed. (2016), Social Movements: Critiques, Concepts, Case-studies, Springer, p. 272, ISBN 9781349237470
  3. Intercontinental Press Combined with Inprecor, vol. 18, 1980, p. 730
  4. MacLachlan, Keith S. (1989). Internal Migration in Iran. Centre of Near & Middle Eastern Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. p. 20.
  5. Ali Farazmand, ed. (2009), Bureaucracy and Administration, CRC Press, p. 600, ISBN 9781420015225
  6. Valibeigi, Mehrdad (September 1993), "Islamic Economics and Economic Policy Formation in Post-Revolutionary Iran: A Critique", Journal of Economic Issues, 27 (3): 793–812, JSTOR 4226719
  7. Moaddel, Mansoor (August 1991), "Class Struggle in Post-Revolutionary Iran", International Journal of Middle East Studies, 23 (3): 317–343, JSTOR 164485
  8. Parsa, Misagh (1989). Social Origins of the Iranian Revolution. Rutgers University Press. p. 160. ISBN 9780230115620.
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