|
qkg:contextText
|
Both Pahlavi kings tried, at different times and with different methods, to de-emphasise the Islamic character of Iran. To achieve this they both encouraged the revival of Iran's pre-Islamic "Aryan" past. During the 1930s Nazi Germany, acting through Iranians who had studied in Berlin, played a crucial role in portraying Iran as an "Aryan nation" humiliated by successive waves of invasion. In 1936 the Reich formally recognised Iran as the "homeland of the Aryan race" and Iranians as 'Aryans by blood and culture'. This meant that Germans were free to marry Iranians and many did. (p. 192) (it) |
