Jillian Lefler

 Known in the West as Ayatollah Khomeini.  Iranian politician and religious leader and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which tried to overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi  Shah of Iran

 In 1962, Khomeini got arrested by the shah's security for his outspoken opposition to the pro-Western regime of the Shah.  His arrest raised him to the upper status of national hero.  In 1964, he was exiled, living in Turkey, Iraq and then France, from where he continued to tell his supporters to overthrow the shah.  By the late 1970s, the shah had become very unpopular and there were many riots, strikes and mass demonstrations across the country.

 When Ha'iri died in the 1930s, the Ayatollah Boroujerdi succeeded him with the title of most important Islamic figure in Qom.  In doing this, Boroujerdi gained Khomeini as a follower.  Ha'iri and Boroujerdi believed that religion should not involve itself with government affairs.  While the leader of Iran, Reza Shah, lowered the powers of religious leaders and promoted a more secularized country, the most powerful religious figures in Iran remained silent and encouraged their followers to do the same.

 Ayatollah Khomeini established a theocratic rule over Iran in his 10 years of leadership.  He did not fulfil his pre-revolution promises but instead he started to marginalize and crushed opposing groups  He ordered establishment of many institutions to manage power and safeguard the cleric leadership.  During his early years in power he launched the Cultural Revolution in order to Islamize the whole country.  Many people lost their jobs, and lots of books were changed or burnt according to the new Islamic values.  He established the Islamic Judiciary system sentenced many Iranians to death and long-term imprisonment as they were against those radical changes.

 eini/ayatollah_khomeini.php eini/ayatollah_khomeini.php  meini meini  es/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml es/khomeini_ayatollah.shtml  -ruhollah-khomeini ruhollah-khomeini