Ayatollah Khomeini

Portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini

Ayatollah Khomeini was born Sayyed Ruhollah Mustafavi Khomeini, 17 May 1900 in Khomein, Central Iran (then Persia),[1] – 3 June 1989 in Tehran; Persian: روح الله موسوی خمینی). He was also known as 'Imam Khomeini'.[2] Khomeini was the political leader of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the Iran–Iraq War from 1980 to 1989.[1]

Khomeini died of intestinal cancer and a heart attack[3] on June 3, 1989, in Tehran at the age of 89.

Political life

On June 5, 1964, Khomeini was arrested and sent into exile (kicked from his country).[1] He was exiled to Iraq, Turkey and then to France.[1] Khomeini gave many speeches in France against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. On January 16, 1979, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran. Two weeks later, on February 1, Khomeini returned to Iran.

He received a traditional religious education in Qom (city in Iran). When he lived in Najaf (a holy city in Iraq) for some years, he spoke about Islam ideas about Government. During that time, he refined his theory of velayat-e faqih ("government of the jurist").[4]

On February 11, 1979, Khomeini appointed his first own prime minister, Mehdi Bazargan. On March 30, 1979, a referendum took place in Iran and as a result, the monarchy was replaced with an Islamic Republic.[1] After the Islamic Revolution, Khomeini became Supreme Leader of Iran.

Rushdie fatwa

In early 1989 Khomeini issued a fatwā calling for Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie and "all those involved in the publication" of his book called The Satanic Verses.[5] This controversy centred on the novel's suggestion of the Quran containing verses about deception from the devil during the life of Muhammad. As part of the fatwa, Rushdie was stabbed on August 12th, 2022, resulting in him losing vision in one eye. The Japanese translator of Rushdie's book, Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed to death due to the fatwa, his body being found at the University of Tsukuba.

Gallery

Ayatollah Khomeini Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "BBC - History - Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989)". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  2. An Imam is a spiritual leader who is respected, and an Ayatollah Sayyed is someone who holds both a political and religious position of power.
  3. "Death of Ayatollah Khomeini — Appointment of President Khamenei as Khomeini's successor — Visit to Soviet Union by Rafsanjani". Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 35, June, 1989 Iran, Page 36724. Keesing's World News Archive. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  4. "Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com.
  5. 1989: Ayatollah sentences author to death. 14 February 1989. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/14/newsid_2541000/2541149.stm. 

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