Some times criticism was aimed discretely or openly at high-ranking authorities or at the Shah himself through censuring the economic, social or cultural conditions of the country. Criticism of the Shah's regime was also carried out through religious metaphors and recitation of concepts that were familiar to the Muslim audience through comparing the role and manner of Yazid and Imam Hossein, or within the framework of general theories about tyrannical regimes. The most extensive confrontation with the monarchy took place between 1976 and 1978 during which the uprising was bloodily crushed on June 5, 1977. Among the critics of the monarchy, those abroad faced lesser restrictions, although there were others in Iran who accepted the risk of imprisonment, torture and even death, but continued their protest.

2 - Criticism of the West

While censuring the Pahlavi regime, religious thinkers sometimes criticized Western political and ideological tenets. There were two reasons for this attitude. On the one hand, the West was viewed as the main supporter of the monarchy in the Middle East and in the international arena; the Western political, military and even security backing of the Shah's regime was evident to every one. On the other hand, the Western cultural, ideological system, especially in the realm of morality and theology, had always been questioned by religious thinkers. These objections were justified by the increasing moral decadence which was threatening the youth and all of the society

 What projected the Western thought and behavior as a threat among the Iranians was the spread and adaptation of negative elements of the Western culture and civilization. The subsequent belief that this trend was deliberately encouraged by the monarchy to destroy our cultural and ethical foundations, had doubled the social sensitivity.

Source: islamic-revolution