Khomeini, Ayatollah
(1902–1989), Islamic religious leader. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, an Islamic religious leader, was the architect of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Born to a cleric and property owner, Khomeini's name was originally Ruhollah Musawi, but he changed it to reflect his birthplace (Khomeini, a town south of Tehran). In 1920 Khomeini moved to Arak to study at a school run by Ayatollah Abd al-Karim Ha'eri. Two years later Ha'eri relocated to the Shiʿite holy city of Qom, and Khomeini followed him there. After completing his studies in ethics and spiritual philosophy, Khomeini taught Islamic philosophy and law. In 1929 he wed Khadijeh Saqafil, daughter of a well-known cleric, who bore him two sons and three daughters. Eventually his studies and publications resulted in his receiving the title of ayatollah ("likeness," or "sign," "of Allah"), one of the highest titles awarded clerics of the Shʿite sect of Islam.
Khomeini was imprisoned in 1963 for his speeches against Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and his policies; his arrest caused major disturbances, which the shah contained with force. Under public pressure Khomeini was released to house arrest in Tehran and a year later was exiled to Turkey. Khomeini spent a year in Turkey before moving to Iraq, where there are several Shiʿite shrines. In exile he further developed the concept of veleyet-e-faqih, or rule of religious jurisprudence, which he had outlined in a previous work. His lectures on this subject culminated in the publication of Hokumat-e Eslami (Islamic Government).
In October 1978 Saddam Hussein ordered Khomeini to leave Iraq. He went to Paris to organize opposition groups against the shah and returned to Iran in January 1979, when the shah was forced to leave the country. He oversaw the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 11 February 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini appointed an Assembly of Experts to review and revise a draft constitution prepared by the provisional government, to reflect Khomeini's principle of veleyet-e-faqih.
He became Iran's first faqih (religious leader), a position he held until his death. His policies as faqih were anti-American and left little room for opposition to the regime he had established, although he tried to maintain a balance between conservative and moderate factions in Iran. Khomeini hoped to export revolutionary Islam to other countries, but with little success. Moreover, his tenure coincided with the Iran-Iraq War, which brought enormous hardships to Iran. Khomeini's reputation rests not only on the creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran but also on his challenge to the Western notion that religion and politics should be separate.
Further Reading
Dorraj, Manochehr. (1990) From Zarathustra to Khomeini: Populism and Dissent in Iran. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Khomeini, Ruhollah. (1981). Islam and Revolution: Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini. Trans. by Hamid Algar. Berkeley, CA: Mizan Press.
Rajec, Farhang. (1983) Islamic Values and World View: Khomeyni on Man, the State, and International Politics. New York: University Press of America.
Roberts, Mark J. (1996) Khomeini's Incorporation of the Iranian Military Microform. Washington, DC: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.
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