AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH KHOMEINI AND THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION, 1979 term paper

Ruhollah Khomeini (1900?–1989) was born into a devout Shiite Muslim family in rural Iran. Trained as an Islamic scholar, he taught and wrote extensively on Islamic philosophy. By 1960 he had been awarded the title Ayatollah, or supreme Shiite religious scholar. He had also become the leading political spokesman of Iran’s Shiite Muslim community. Because of his repeated criticism of Shah Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s ruler, Khomeini was forced into exile in 1964.

Khomeini’s criticism won greater Iranian popular support in the late 1970s, when the Shah’s heavy-handed repression of political opposition sparked a series of protests in Teheran, the capital of Iran. In January 1978, Khomeini’s supporters took to the streets of Teheran and clashed with police. Finally, on 16 January 1979, the Shah and his family fled Iran. On 1 February 1979, Khomeini returned to Teheran and was acclaimed as supreme religious leader of the Iranian Revolution. Ruhollah Khomeini (1900?–1989) was born into a devout Shiite Muslim family in rural Iran. Trained as an Islamic scholar, he taught and wrote extensively on Islamic philosophy. By 1960 he had been awarded the title Ayatollah, or supreme Shiite religious scholar. He had also become the leading political spokesman of Iran’s Shiite Muslim community. Because of his repeated criticism of Shah Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s ruler, Khomeini was forced into exile in 1964.

Khomeini’s criticism won greater Iranian popular support in the late 1970s, when the Shah’s heavy-handed repression of political opposition sparked a series of protests in Teheran, the capital of Iran. In January 1978, Khomeini’s supporters took to the streets of Teheran and clashed with police. Finally, on 16 January 1979, the Shah and his family fled Iran. On 1 February 1979, Khomeini returned to Teheran and was acclaimed as supreme religious leader of the Iranian Revolution. 3. Measured against other twentieth-century revolutions, how would you evaluate Khomeini’s Iranian Revolution?
4. Assess the Carter administration’s response to the seizure of the American Embassy and the taking of American hostages.
5. How effective was Khomeini as a leader in Iran’s war against Iraq?
6. Read The Satanic Verses (see Suggested Sources) and write a paper discussing Khomeini’s condemnation of Salman Rushdie for writing the book.

Research Suggestions

In addition to the boldfaced items, look under the entries for “Terrorism in the 1970s” (#78) and “The Iran-Iraq War, 1980–1988” (#85). Search under Abu al-Hasan, Bani Sadr, Cyrus Vance, and Hostage Crisis.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

Algar, Hamid, ed. and trans. Islam and Revolution: Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini. Berkeley: Mizan Press, 1981. An accessible collection of Khomeini’s writings from the exile period and the 1970s.

Harney, Desmond. The Priest and the King: An Eyewitness Account of the Iranian Revolution. London: British Academic Press, 1998. This is the daily diary of a British diplomat based in Teheran in 1979. Excellent coverage of the fall of the Shah and a useful bibliography.

Khomeini, Ruhollah. Khomeini Speaks Revolution. Translated by N. M. Shaikh. Karachi: International Islamic Publishers, 1981. Key statements of Khomeini on revolutionary government.

Shariati, Ali. Reflections of Humanity: Two Views of Civilization and the Plight of Man. Houston: Free Islamic Literatures Book Distribution Center, 1980. Dr. Shariati was the ideologue of Iran’s Islamic revolution. His writings enjoyed enormous influence with Iranian intellectuals.

Secondary Sources

Bakhash, Shaul. The Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution. New York: Basic Books, 1986. A concise explanation of Khomeini’s revolutionary agenda.

Bill, James A. The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-IranianRelations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. A clear and comprehensive study based on firsthand research in Iran during the hostage crisis.

Milani, Mohsen M. The Making of Iran’s Islamic Revolution: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic. 2nd ed. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Authoritative analysis of the causes of the revolution and Khomeini’s consolidation of power.

Pipes, Daniel. The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West. New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1990. A perceptive analysis of the connections between politics and censorship.

Ramazani, R. R. Revolutionary Iran: Challenge and Response in the Middle East. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. Written by the premier American scholar of Iran, this remains a standard interpretation.

Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. New York: Viking, 1989. Because of the many humorous references to Muslims and Islam, Khomeini considered this large, complicated novel blasphemous.

Schahgaldian, Nikola B. The Iranian Military under the Islamic Republic. Santa Monica: Rand Corp., 1987. A reliable survey complete with interviews with Iranian officers.

Sick, Gary. All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter with Iran.New York: Random House, 1985. A member of the Carter administration’s view of America’s failed policy.

Stoessinger, John G. Why Nations Go to War. 7th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Chapter 6 treats Iraq’s war with Iran.