Iranians in the capital of Tehran refuse…
December 1891 CE
In a show of solidarity, Iranian merchants respond by shutting down the main bazaars throughout the country.
As the tobacco boycott grows larger, Nasir al-Din Shah and Prime Minister Amin al-Sultan find themselves powerless to stop the popular movement, fearing Russian intervention in case a civil war materializes.
Prior to the fatwa, tobacco consumption had been so prevalent in Iran that it was smoked everywhere, including inside mosques.
European observers noted that "most Iranians would rather forego bread than tobacco, and the first thing they would do at the breaking of the fast during the month of Ramadan was to light their pipes."
Despite the popularity of tobacco, the religious ban is so successful that it is said that women in the shah's harem have quit smoking and his servants refuse to prepare his water pipe.
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