IRAN: The Shah vs. the Shi'ites

Conservative Muslims are joining students in attacking his reign

Oil-rich Iranians can afford homes abroad, Swiss bank accounts and a seemingly endless supply of imported goods. But the big question now facing the country as a whole is how much political freedom will it decide it can afford.

After 25 years of autocratic and often oppressive rule, during which he sought to make his feudal nation a modern society, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi began taking tentative steps toward political liberalization in 1976. He reined in Iran's notorious security police agency, SAVAK, eased...