Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah

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Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah
1902–1989

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shi'i Muslim cleric and instructor, played a central role in the Iranian Revolution of 1978 to 1979 and orchestrated the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khomeini first became a well-known public figure when he spoke out during the 1960s against the failings and policies of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), the shah of Iran, denouncing the government's corruption, repression, secularism, and alliance with the United States. Khomeini was further incensed when the government gave women suffrage and extended the legal privileges of Americans in Iran. Khomeini demanded the shah's resignation, after which the government soon deported Khomeini to Turkey.

The next year, Khomeini was expelled to Iraq, where he maintained contact with Iranians by smuggling into Iran cassettes of his sermons, through which he continued to condemn the shah's government. In 1978 Khomeini was deported to France, where it was easier to sustain these contacts. Throughout his years in exile, Khomeini increased his credibility and fame for his opposition to the shah due to both the wide circulation of his sermons and his network of former students who were rising in the religious ranks.

Meanwhile, living conditions in Iran had worsened throughout the 1970s despite Iran's massive oil reserves. Iranians increasingly blamed the failures of the shah's economic policies, government corruption, and repression for the status quo, and looked to Khomeini, whose charisma and religious rhetoric proved to be effective unifying mechanisms. In Iran's diverse political spectrum, the only commonalities among the various groups were their resentment of the shah and their shared cultural background, of which Shi'i Islam is a major part.

In 1978, as Iranians were increasingly frustrated with the government and pushing for reform, a government-owned newspaper attacked Khomeini with dubious accusations. Students and merchants in Qom, the city where Khomeini had received his training, protested spontaneously and the army ended the demonstration with force, killing some seventy students. At the customary memorial gatherings held after forty days, more demonstrating mourners were killed; the initial incident led to a recurrence of demonstrations and deaths every forty days. Khomeini encouraged the demonstrations from France via his students' networks and cassette distributions. By January 1979, the shah's military backing was collapsing and he fled the country; Khomeini returned to Iran two weeks later.

From the time of Khomeini's return until 1982, circumstances in Iran were precarious and chaotic. During this period, religious and secular sectors struggled for control of Iran's future, and an Islamic theocracy was only one of several alternatives. Khomeini launched a number of measures to root out the opposition, including the Islamic Republic Party, the Revolutionary Guards, and tribunals. Khomeini also established the Council of Guardians, a body that has veto power over all legislation, and installed himself as supreme leader.

Although the Islamic regime under Khomeini sought a comprehensive, severe Islamization of society, it has been forced to reverse or soften many policies. For example, despite Khomeini's efforts to curtail women's rights in the early 1980s, women have successfully campaigned to overturn many of these rulings and have secured some legal advantages that they lacked under the shah.

see also Iran.