Ayatollah Khomeini : Biography
Ayatollah Khomeini was the political and Religious
leader of Iran who held the highest office of his country until his death.
Very few people can boast of having an influential personality that
takes a nation by storm and reforms it completely to follow their line of
belief and actions – Ayatollah Khomeini is one amongst them. A prominent
political and religious leader of Iran, he lead the Iranian Revolution,
successfully overthrowing the last Shah leader, bringing upon a new Islamic
Constitution in the country and declaring himself as the Supreme Leader, a
position which accorded him the highest ranking political and religious
authority of the nation. Though born as Ruhollah Khomeini, it was through his
persistent perseverance and hard work that he attained the status of Ayatollah,
which is given only to Shi'ite scholars of the
highest knowledge. Internationally, he held the title of Grand Ayatollah while
in Iran, he was popularly referred to as Imam Khomeini. In addition to his political pursuits, he is known to have authored
more than forty books in his lifetime. American newspaper TIME awarded
Ayatollah Khomeini with the Man of the Year title in 1979 for his international
influence. Additionally, he was also described to be the ‘virtual face of Islam
in Western popular culture’. While his tactics earned him popularity among the
orthodox people, many criticized him for violating human rights.
Childhood & Early Years
- Born as
Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini to Sayed Moustafa Hindi and Hajieh Agha Khanum
in the village of Khomeyn, Markazi Province, young Khomeini was raised
primarily by his mother, as his father was murdered when he was just five
months old.
- Lively and
vivacious, he not only excelled in sports, but performed remarkably well
in academics as well. He attended a religious school where he learned
excerpts from Quran and soon became famous for memorising religious and
classical poetry
- Under the
guidance of Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi, he pursued his further
studies, first travelling to Arak and then following Yazdi to the city of
Qom. It was there that he studied Islamic law and jurisprudence in
addition to philosophy, literature and poetry.
- Upon becoming a leading scholar of Shia Islam, he took up the profile of a teacher - teaching political philosophy, Islamic history and ethics. It was during his time as a teacher that he came up with several works on Islamic philosophy, law, and ethics.
Career
- Following the
death of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Husayn Borujerdi in 1961, he became a
Marja-e-Taqlid (one to be imitated). Unlike his predecessors, he believed
in the importance of application of religion in the practical, social and
political issues of the day. He was also an arch-anti-secularist.
- In 1962, he
protested against the westernization pursued by the Shah, who launched the
White Revolution in Iran. He organized the ulama of religious scholars and
together with them, strongly opposed Shah and his plans, thus boycotting
the White Revolution.
- For his
defamatory speech against the Shah in which he accused the latter for
moral corruption and submission of Iran to America and revolutionary
actions, he was imprisoned in June 1963.
- Following his
imprisonment, riots broke out in Iran as people rallied for his release.
The event is recalled as Movement of 15 Khordad. Upon his release in 1964,
he returned to Qom.
- He continued to
attack Shah’s close ties with America and Israel. Though the government
did try to convince him to drop down the movement, he refuted and instead
continued attacking, which resulted in his arrest and deportment.
- He was deported
to Turkey where he lived for a year before moving his base to Najaf, Iraq.
In his fourteen years of exile, he drew upon a theory, called
wilayat-al-faqih, which stated how an ideal state based on true Islamic
principles and led by the clergy should be like.
- He began
teaching Iranian students at the local schools of Iraq. The videotapes of
these sermons were smuggled and made available in Iran as well. It was his
provocative speeches that made him the most influential leader in
opposition to the government of Shah.
- His growing
popularity and mass display of protest led to his deportment further to
Paris, where he spent the last few months of his exile. Meanwhile, the
mass protest and remonstration against the government eventually caused
the sabbatical of the Shah.
- Upon his return
on February 1, 1979 to the Iranian soil, he was unanimously appointed as
the new leader for Iran. Just after his return, he adopted a modified form
of wilayat-al-faqih and started to lay the foundation to build an ideal
Islamic state.
- He appointed
clerics to write the Islamic Constitution for Iran. Though he had the
major support of the people, few who belonged to the opposition group such
as National Democratic Front and Muslim People's Republican Party were
attacked and banned.
- With the
adoption of the new constitution of the Islamic Republic, he officially
became the ‘Supreme Leader’ or ‘Leader of the Revolution’. In 1979, when
the US gave refuge to Shah into the country, there was an outcry among the
Iranians who demanded for his return, trial and execution.
- To fulfil their
demand, the Iranians held about 52 American hostages at the US Embassy.
The event which was later recalled as the Iran hostage crisis lasted for
about 444 days, even after the death of Shah. The deadlock that the two
countries fell into only resolved when Ronald Reagan came to power in the
US in 1981.
- Another
powerful event that occurred during his rule was the Iran-Iraq War.
Lasting for eight years, the war was mainly declared to spread the ideals
and beliefs on which the new Iran had been built to other Islamic Nations.
- Though the
Iran-Iraq War helped Iran gain the lost territories due to invasion, it
resulted in the loss of a large number of lives and finally ended after
American military intervention and the forceful acceptance of a ceasefire
agreement
- During his
rule, a number of changes occurred including the institution of Sharia or
Islamic Law, introduction of dress code for men and women, banning of
Western movies and alcohol, and a reformation in the educational
curriculum which was Islamized.
- Meanwhile, his
doctrines and beliefs formed an important part of the curriculum in
schools and educational establishments. Anyone who protested against his
regime was prosecuted and killed. During his rule, almost all government
offices in the country were held by clerics who followed his line of
thoughts and beliefs.
- During his tenure, he released a fatwa against Indian-British author Salman Rushdie, for the latter’s book ‘The Satanic Verse’. The book which was a work of fiction is said to have depicted Prophet Mohammed as a false prophet and raised questions against Islamic beliefs.
Iran's Neuclear Research Station.
Personal Life & Legacy
- He married
Khadijeh Saqafi in 1929. The couple was blessed with five children,
including Mostafa, Zahra, Sadiqeh, Farideh and Ahmad.
- He breathed his
last on June 3, 1989, after suffering from illness. His death was mourned
by Iranians all over the country who flocked in large numbers to pay their
last homage to the Supreme Leader. A large mausoleum complex has been
built at the place of his burial.
Quick Facts
Famous as
Led the Famous Iranian Revolution in 1979
Nationality
Religion
Usuli Twelver Shia Islam
Born on
22 September 1902 AD
Birthday
Died At Age
86
Sun Sign
Born in
Khomeyn, Persia
Died on
03 June 1989 AD
place of death
Tehran
Father
Hajieh Agha Khanum
Mother
Mostafa Hindi Khomeini
Spouse/Partner:
Khadijeh Saqafi (m.1929 – will.1989)
Children
Mostafa, Zahra,
Sadiqeh, Farideh, Ahmad
Militant Islam enjoyed its first modern triumph with the arrival in power of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran in 1979. In this series of three programmes, key figures tell the inside story.
Former US president Jimmy Carter talks on television for the first time about the episode that, more than any other, led American voters to eject him from the presidency. Iran's seizure of the US embassy in Tehran and the holding of its staff for 444 days took more and more of Carter's time and energy. His final days in office were dominated by desperate attempts to secure the release of the embassy hostages. Those who sat in the White House with him, planning how to rescue the hostages, how to negotiate their release and, finally, wondering whether anything could be rescued from the disaster, all tell their part in the story.
Other contributors include former vice president Walter Mondale, ex-deputy secretary of state Warren Christopher and former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. The other side of the story is told by top Iranians: Ayatollah Khomeini's close adviser, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri; his first foreign minister, Ebrahim Yazdi; his negotiator with the US, Sadeq Tabatabai; and the founder of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Mohsen Rafiqdoust.
