Name: Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini
Title: Imam Khomeini
Birth: 24 September, 1902
Death: June 3, 1989 (aged 86)
Region: Iran
Religion: Shia Islam
Main interests: Fiqh, Irfan, Islamic philosophy, Islamic ethics, Hadith, politics
Notable ideas: Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, Dynamic Fiqh
Works: Islamic Government, Tahrir-ol-vasyleh, Forty Hadith, Adab as Salat
Influences: Mulla Sadra, Abdol-Karim Haeri-Yazdi, Hassan Modarres,
Mohammad-Ali Shah Abadi
Influenced: Mohammad Beheshti, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Morteza Motahhari, Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi, Fazel Lankarani
Sayyid Ruhollah Mosawi Khomeini (24 September 1902 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran. Following the revolution and a national referendum, Khomeini became the country’s Supreme Leader—a position created in the constitution as the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation, until his death.
Khomeini was a marja or marja al-taqlid, (“source of emulation”), (also known as a Grand Ayatollah) in Twelver Shi’a Islam, but is most famous for his political role. In his writings and preachings he expanded the Shi’a Usuli theory of velayat-e faqih, the “guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)” to include theocratic political rule by Islamic jurists.
Named Man of the Year in 1979 by American newsmagazine, TIME, Khomeini was a “charismatic leader of immense popularity,” considered a “champion of Islamic revival” by both Shia and Sunni scholars. Beloved by millions of Iranians he was “the Imam, an ascetic spiritual leader whose teachings are unquestioned.” Both his return from exile and his funeral were occasions of great emotional outpouring for millions.
