Dictator of the
Month: November, 2005Dictator of the
Month: November, 2005
| Ruhollah
ibn Mustafa Musawi Khomeini Hindi
Take me to the picture gallery Fact Sheet Name: Ruhollah ibn Mustafa Musawi Khomeini Hindi
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Biography
Ruhollah ibn Mustafa Musawi Khomeini Hindi was born in the town of Khomein on 24 September 1902 to father Seyed Moustafa Hindi and mother Hajar; his family had a very long history of religious prominence and scholarship. His father died when he was only 5 months old, leaving his eldest brother Seyed Mourteza responsible for the family with their mother. Seyed Mourteza would later become known as Ayatollah Pasandideh. Khomeni would be schooled at home in the Koran until his entry into traditional religions schools. In 1920 his brother sent him to Arak (then Sultanabad) for better schooling until he finally went to Oom in 1923 to complete his first stage of madresh schooling. He was married in 1929, having 7 children, of which five would survive childhood. Khomeini through the 1930's and 1940's was not an activist but rather dedicated his time to religious study, despite Reza Shah's attempts to westernize Iran and suppress fundamentalism. In the 1950's, Khomeini became Ayatollah, which translates to a very high cleric among Shi'ite Muslims. He continued teaching Islamic science in Oom during the 1950's, continuing to abide by the fundamentalist leadership's stance on not attacking the Pahlavi regime until 1961, when the death of the highest Ayatollah in Oom (Boroujerdi), would create a power vacuum in Shi'ite leadership. Khomeini, already influential in Shi'ite leadership would begin to emerge accepted by growing numbers of followers as the leader of Shi'ite Muslims in Iran. By 1962, Pahlavi's regime began increasingly separating church and state, abolishing the law that public officials must be sworn into office on the Koran. In 1963 Pahlavi announced the White revolution to liberallise and westernize Iran further, including the extension of suffrage to woman and other women's right; this sparked fierce vocal denounciations of the Pahlavi regime by Khomeini, who alleged that the Shah was undermining the moral fabric of Iran. On 05 June 1963 Khomeini was arrested and jailed, sparking violent protests in the country that were swiftly quelled by Pahlavi. He was released from custody in April of the following year but again arrested on 04 November 1964 and promptly sent into exile from the Iran to Turkey. In 1965 Khomeini left Turkey for Iraq, remaining in Najaf and teaching until October 1978, when Saddam Hussein, after meeting with Pahlavi, would to have Khomeini deported to France, where he lived in Neauphle-le-Chateau. During these times, the Shah's control over Iran was slipping. Corruption in the country was rampant, with prostitution, drug addiction and other social problems apparent on the streets. Meanwhile the Pahlavi family, immeasurably rich, would do very little to better the position of the lower classes of Iran, although the middle and upper classes would thrive. Organised protests demanding the overthrow of his government would become increasingly common and violent, with the Pahlavi regime stepping in to brutally suppress the riots. Finally on 16 January 1979, with the revolution now openly occurring, the Shah and his family were forced to flee Iran, leaving designates to run the government. Khomeni flew back to Iran promptly, entering Tehran on 01 February, 1979; within 2 weeks, the imperial government would completely collapse, paving the road for Khomeni to take power. Khomeini would promise an Iran that would use the wealth of the country for the benefit of all. Basic utilities and services such as water, electricity, gas and oil would be made available to all Iranians for free, regardless of class. The vast oil riches of the country would no longer benefit the ruling classes, but would be put to work for everyone. The rights that women had gained under the Shah would continue to be guaranteed in the Islamic Republic. Moreover Khomeini promised unity between Sunnis and Shi'ites On 30 and 31 March, 1979 a referendum was conducted among the Iranian population, with overwhelming numbers voting to replace the Monarchy with an Islamic republic. Khomeini would go on to become Imam, the absolutely supreme religious leader of Shi'ites Iran. The new constitution made provisions for a president to act as head of state, and in fact on 04 February Abolhassan Banisadr assumed this role. Despite the formalization of Khomeini's power, Iran would remain in a state of chaos for some years to come. One of the most famous events associated with Khomeini's rule came on 04 November 1979, when a group of pro-Khomeini zealots stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took 63 American citizens hostage. 14 of these hostages would be later released, but the rest would be kept for 444 days. Originally this action would be justified as a reprisal against the US for not releasing the then-dying Shah into Iranian custody for trial; Khomeini would also justify the action by calling the embassy a "Spy Den", after the raid turned up numerous classified documents. A few hours after Ronald Reagan's inauguration to the US presidency on 21 January 1981 the hostages would be freed. Another notable event that occurred during Khomeini's rule was the attempted invasion of Iran by Iraq, in which Saddam Hussein boldly invaded his larger neighbour on 22 September 1980. Hussein's bets that the invasion would shatter the already chaotic Iran and cause Khomeini to be toppled did not materialize. In fact, the invasion would solidify Iranian support for Khomeini by rallying Iranians against a common foe, and Hussein was quickly beaten back and was forced to fight much of the war on the defensive on Iraqi territory. The War would rage on for 8 years, finally ending on 20 August 1988, but not before more than one million had perished. Moreover, Hussein fought with both biological and chemical weapons, inflicting extremely heavy casualties on the Iranians. Despite his unquestioned authority in government during the Iran-Iraq War, Khomeini's rule would not enjoy popularity with many Iranians. His cultural revolution of the 1980's, which entailed the Islamization of the country, and the burning or revision of texts contrary to the new fundamentalism, would terrorize the once-Westernised Persian country. Thousands who opposed the moves would be imprisoned and put to death by Khomeini. Moreover, his promises of free basic services for Iranians would never come to pass, and women's rights would be gradually undermined with time. Strict public dress codes were put in place and free speech was suppressed; opposition to the government was not tolerated, with transgressors tortured and/ or killed. Khomeini believed that the Western influences allowed into Iran in increasing amounts during the Pahlavi reign were corrupting the Iranian society. During his rule, relations with the USA and other Western countries were very poor, however relations with the Soviet Union were also not close, as he wanted to limit foreign influences on Iranian culture. Khomeini believed in the unification of Muslim countries politically under fundamentalist rule, a quite revolutionary concept that would never come to fruition. Khomeini died on 03 June, 1989 after suffering complications from internal bleeding, for which he had been hospitalized 11 days before. Original article by www.dictatorofthemonth.com written in September 2005. All rights reserved- (c) 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/1/newsid_2521000/2521003.stm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/K/Khomeini.asp http://www.allaahuakbar.net/shiites/beliefs_of_khomeni_the_leader_of_iran.htm
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/rkhomeini/ayatollah_khomeini.php
http://i-cias.com/e.o/khomeini.htm
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