Imam khomeini

The Man Who Changed The Iran

Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini

By : Syed Aqeel Submitted To: Sir Syed Asad Raza

Course: Foundation of Leadership & Team Work, EMBA (2010-12) MSD GCU Lahore Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini By : Syed Aqeel

Introduction

Ayatollah Khomeini was the founder and supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The only leader in the Muslim world who combined political and religious authority as a head of state, he took office in 1979.

Imam Khomeini was considered a marja-e taqlid to many Muslims, and in Iran was officially addressed as Imam rather than Grand Ayatollah; his supporters follow this convention. Imam Khomeini was also a highly-influential and innovative Islamic political theorist, most noted for his development of the theory of velayat-e faqih (government should be run in accordance with traditional Islamic sharia).

He was named Times Man of the Year in 1979.


Imam Khomeini’s Basic Info

Name: Imam/Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini.

Born: May 17, 1900 , Town of Khomein (which is about 200 miles south of Tehran, Iran)

Died: June 3, 1989, Tehran Iran

Father: Mustapha Musavi was the chief cleric (those with religious authority) of the town and was murdered only five months after the birth of Ruhollah.

The child was raised by his mother (Hajar) and aunt (Sahebeh), both of whom died when Ruhollah was about fifteen years old.

The title Ayatollah (the Sign of God) reflected his scholarly religious standing in the Islamic tradition. His first name, Ruhollah (the Spirit of God), is a common name in spite of its religious meaning, and his last name is taken from his birthplace, the town of Khomein.


No revolution is possible without a revolutionary leadership. In any revolutionary situation, leaders play a crucial role in inspiring and guiding the struggle toward the assertion and realization of revolutionary change. The presence of a charismatic leader at the forefront of the revolutionary struggle, who rallies the aspirations of the discontented masses, is central to the generation of enthusiastic and loyal support for the revolutionary movement.

The victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran, which ended in the overthrow of the Shah in February 1979 and the subsequent laying down of the foundations of the Islamic Republic, owed a great deal to the leadership qualities of the late Imam Khomeini.

Revolutionary leadership


Imam Khomeini's revolutionary leadership

Imam Khomeini possessed all the qualities and accomplishments required to recommend him to the Muslims as a leader and an authentic hero in the Islamic tradition: exceptional personal integrity and unselfishness in lifestyle, the will and ability to be a strong leader, incredible courage and steadfastness in the face of great odds and hardships, extraordinary and spellbinding communication and debating skills.His Spartan lifestyle which avoided worldly luxuries. Imam Khomeini lived a simple life both before and after the revolution, eating simple food, wearing plain clothes, sleeping on the floor, and tirelessly performing the nightly prayers and Qur'an recitation sessions day in, day out without fail to the end of his life.


Another cornerstone of Imam Khomeini's revolutionary leadership was his ability and charisma to unite the disparate opposition to the established order around the highest demands: putting an end to Pahlavis dictatorship and to dependency on the west. In achieving this he maintained his finger on the pulse of the people, skillfully gauging the latent moods and dispositions prevailing among the Iranian masses who hated the authoritarian Pahlavis.



In fact, the most important quality of Imam Khomeini's leadership lies in his ability to mobilize the resources and skills of the Iranian masses towards the attainment of the desired revolutionary change. In this regard he displayed remarkable organizational skills and ability to utilize alternative modes of communication with the masses in the face of the total monopoly of political power and domination of the media by the Pahlavi regime.



In order to maintain contact with the natural source of strength of the revolutionary movement, i.e. the people, Imam Khomeini made use of an existing complex web of religious institutions, centered on mosques and universities. These institutions provided an effective medium of public communication to influence the formation of public opinion. Under his guidance, skillful organizational techniques were utilized by a network of revolutionary ulama’s in order to employ these institutions in mobilizing mass meetings and demonstrations. Hence, these institutions became the cores of an extensive grass-roots movement throughout the country.



Phases of Ayatollah Khomeini's life

Ayatollah Khomeini's life after childhood went through three different phases. • The first phase, Early life and education, from

1908 to 1962.• The second phase, Preparation for political

leadership, from 1962 to 1979.• The third phase, Founding the Islamic Republic

of Iran from 1979 to 1989.


The first phase Ayatollah Khomeini's life


Early life and education (1908 to 1962)

The first phase, from 1908 to 1962, was marked mainly by training, teaching, and writing in the field of Islamic studies. At the age of six he began to study the – Quran (Islam's holy book) – Elementary Persian, an ancient language of Iran.

Later, he completed his studies in – Islamic law – Ethics – Spiritual Philosophy

under the supervision of Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri-ye Yazdi, in Qom, where he also got married and had two sons and three daughters. Although during this scholarly phase of his life Khomeini was not politically active, the nature of his studies, teachings, and writings revealed that he firmly believed in political activism by clerics (religious leaders).


The second phase Ayatollah Khomeini's life


Preparation for political leadership(1962 to 1979)

The second phase of Khomeini's life, from 1962 to 1979, was marked by political activism which was greatly influenced by his strict, religious interpretation of Islam. He practically launched his fight against the shah's regime (the king's rule) in 1962, which led to the eruption of a religious and political rebellion on June 5, 1963. This date is regarded by the revolutionists as the turning point in the history of the Islamic movement in Iran. The shah's bloody crushing of the uprising was followed by the exile (forced removal) of Khomeini in 1964.Khomeini spent more than 14 years in exile, mostly in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. Initially he was sent to Turkey on 4 November 1964 where he stayed in the city of Bursa for less than a year. Later in October 1965 he was allowed to move to Najaf, Iraq, where he stayed until being forced to leave in 1978, after which he went to Paris, France.


Preparation for political leadership (1962 to 1979)

In early 1970, Khomeini gave a series of lectures in Najaf on Islamic government later published as a book titled "Hokumat-e Islami : Velayat-e Faqih"

This was his most famous and influential work, and laid out his ideas on governance as followings,• The laws of society should be made up only of the laws of God (Sharia), which cover "all

human affairs" and "provide instruction and establish norms" for every "topic" in "human life."

• Since Shariah, or Islamic law, is the proper law, those holding government posts should have knowledge of Sharia. Since Islamic jurists or faqih have studied and are the most knowledgeable in Sharia, the country's ruler (Guardian or Supreme Leader) should be a faqih who "surpasses all others in knowledge" of Islamic law and justice, (known as a marja), as well as having intelligence and administrative ability.

• This system of clerical (religious leader) rule is necessary to prevent injustice, corruption, oppression by the powerful over the poor and weak, innovation and deviation of Islam and Sharia law; and also to destroy anti-Islamic influence and conspiracies by non-Muslim foreign powers.

A modified form of this wilayat al-faqih system was adopted after Khomeini and his followers took power, and Khomeini was the Islamic Republic's first "Guardian" or Supreme Leader.


The third phase Ayatollah Khomeini's life


Founding the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979 to 1989)

Khomeini had refused to return to Iran until the Shah left. On 17 January 1979, the Shah did leave the country ("on vacation"), never to return. Two weeks later, on Thursday, 1 February 1979, Khomeini returned in Iran, welcomed by a joyous crowd of up to at least six million (source ABC News who was reporting the event from Tehran). On the Air France flight on his way to Iran, Khomeini was asked by Jennings (a news reporter): "What do you feel in returning to Iran?" Khomeini answered: "Hichi" (Nothing). This statement was considered reflective of his spiritual beliefs, and his non-attachment to ego.On February 11 revolutionary forces loyal to Khomeini seized power in Iran, and Khomeini emerged as the founder and the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.On March 30 and 31 1979, a referendum to replace the monarchy with an Islamic Republic passed with 98% voting in favor of the replacement.After assuming power, Islam was made the basis of Iran's new constitution and obedience to Islamic laws made compulsory.


Death and funeral

After eleven days in a hospital, Khomeini died at the age of 89 in Iran on June 3, 1989. Around 3.5 million people attended his funeral.

Khomeini is still a popular figure to Iranians and many Muslims. Each year on the anniversary of his death, hundreds of thousands of people attend a ceremony at his shrine at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery.


Conclusion

Imam/Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini is the only leader in the Muslim world who combined political and religious authority as a head of state. The leadership qualities of the late Imam Khomeini furnish a historic model for revolutionary praxis that will continue to inspire and guide the struggle of the Islamic movement in the future.


Thank you for your timeReferences

1. http://imam-khomeini.com2. http://www.notablebiographies.com3. http://hozourblog.wordpress.com/tag/imam-khomeini4. http://www.wikipedia.org5. http://www.iranchamber.com6. http://www.ya-hussain.com7. http://www.imam-khomeini.ir8. http://old.tehrantimes.com9. http://www.taghribnews.ir10. http://www.enotes.com11. http://www.the-boondocks.org12. http://www.tebyan.net13. http://www.crethiplethi.com14. http://uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.com

Imam khomeini

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