Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , 1900-1989, Iranian Shiite religious leader. Educated in Islam at home and in theological schools, in the 1950s he was designated ayatollah, a supreme religious leader, in the Iranian Shiite community. Khomeini's criticisms of Reza Shah Pahlevi led to his exile in 1964. Settling in Iraq, Khomeini continued his outspoken denunciations, developing a strong religious and political following abroad, until forced to leave (1978) by Saddam Hussein ; he then moved to France. Following the revolution that deposed Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi , Khomeini returned triumphantly to Iran in 1979, declared an Islamic republic, and began to exercise ultimate authority in the nation. His conservative ideology opposed pro-Western tendencies. Khomeini's rule was marked by the Iran hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq War .

Bibliography: See biography by B. Moin (2000).

Khomeini, Ruhollah (or Ayatollah Khomeini) (1900–89) Iranian Shiite Muslim leader. After 16 years in exile he returned to Iran in 1979 to lead an Islamic revolution which overthrew the shah. He established a fundamentalist Islamic republic, supported the seizure of the US embassy (1979) by Iranian students, and relentlessly pursued the Iran—Iraq War (1980–88). In 1989 he issued a fatwa condemning Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses and offering a reward for his murder, which provoked criticism from the West. The Iranian government withdrew its support from the fatwa in 1998.

Khomeini, Ruhollah (1900–89) Iranian ayatollah (religious leader). An Islamic scholar with great influence over his Shi'ite students, he published (1941) an outspoken attack on Reza Pahlavi and remained an active opponent of his son, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Exiled in 1964, he returned to Iran in triumph after the fall of the Shah in 1979. His rule was characterized by strict religious orthodoxy, elimination of political opposition, and economic turmoil. In 1989, Khomeini issued a fatwa (death order) against the Anglo-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. He was succeeded by Hashemi Rafsanjani. See also Iran-Iraq War