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Leader of the Ummah: Imam Khomeini |
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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 triumph of the Islamic revolution in Iran, which culminated in the ouster 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. The Imam possessed all the qualities and accomplishments required
to endear him to the Muslim masses of Iran as 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, an unusual capacity for stoic endurance
and establishing empathy with the suffering of the oppressed and downtrodden in
society, and extraordinary and spellbinding communication and oratorical skills.
The emergence of Imam Khomeini as the undisputed leader of the Islamic
revolutionary movement in Iran derived mainly from his unique personal
qualities. His spartan, ascetic lifestyle which eschewed worldly luxuries had
always been a reproach to the extravagance and greed of the corrupt, absolutist
and luxury-living Pahlavis. Of austere tastes, Imam Khomeini lived a modest and
frugal life both before and after the revolution, eating simple food, wearing
plain clothes, sleeping on the floor, and assiduously performing the nightly
prayers (Salaat al-Layl) and Qur'an recitation sessions day in, day out without
fail to the end of his life.
One of the most important achievement of the honorable Imam, at the level of the
Muslim world, was his role as the revivalist of the political and social
dimensions of Islam. From the time colonialism intruded the Muslim countries,
colonialists and hegemonic powers did their best to omit the political and
social dimensions of Islam: justice-seeking, freedom-seeking and
independence-seeking. In order to further dominate the Muslim nations and
exploit their resources, the hegemonic powers had to strip Islam of its
political dimensions and interpret it as submission to events, submission to
occupier and submission to the cruel and fierce enemy. Imam Khomeini (RA)
revived the forgotten facts of Islam: he waved the flag of Islam’s
justice-seeking and publicized Islam’s opposition to discrimination, class
distinction and aristocracy.
Multimedia
Pictures Gallery: Collection of Imam Khomeini Pictures
Audio: The Islamic Revolution from the Qur'anic Viewpoint by Ayatullah
Misbah Yazdi (English Translation)
Audio: Iran - A Nation Reborn by Ahmed Deedat
Audio: Convergence in Muslim Political Thought by Kalim Siddiqui
Audio: Iran in the mid-20th Century by Hamid Algar
Audio: Iran and Imam Khomeini by Hamid Algar
Audio: Pre-Revolution Iran by Hamid Algar
Audio: Islamic Revolution in Iran by Hamid Algar
Audio: Iran after the Islamic Revolution by Hamid Algar
Audio: The Thoughts & Path of Imam Khomeini by Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah (Arabic)
Articles & Scholarly Publications
Brief Biography of Imam Khomeini
Last Will of Imam Khomeini
Life of Imam Khomeini the departed, a matter of Divinity
The Years of Spiritual & Intellectual Formation in Qum
A Meeting with Imam Khomeini by Robin Woodsworth Carlsen
Imam Khomeini on Islamic Unity by inminds.com
The Greater Jihad by Imam Khomeini
The Fusion of
the Gnostic and the Political in the Personality and Life of Imam Khomeini by
Hamid Algar
Some aspects of Imam Khomeini's revolutionary leadership by Khalil Osman
Collection of Speeches by Imam Khomeini
General Principles of Imam Khomeini's Political Thought by Kazem Ghazi Zadeh
Imam Khomeini in history, by history, for history by Kalim Siddiqui
The spiritual, intellectual and charismatic qualities of Imam Khomeini that
transcended mere 'politics' by Zafar Bangash
Imam Khomeini: A
Short Biography by Hamid Algar - Full Length Text
The Disciplines of Prayer (Adabus
Salaat) by
Imam Khomeini - Full Length Text
Wine of Love - Mystical Poetry of Imam Khomeini by
Imam Khomeini - Full Length Text
Forty Ahadith by
Imam Khomeini - Full
Length Text
Light Within Me by Imam
Khomeini, Allama Tabatabaei, Shaheed Mutahhari - Full Length Text
Rays of the Sun: 83
Stories from the Life of Imam Khomeini - Full Length Text
Tranquil Heart - 43
Recollections of Imam Khomeini Relating to Prayers - Full Length Text
Imam Khomeini,
Ethics & Politics by Sayyid Hasan Islami - Full Length
Text
The Position of Women from the viewpoint of Imam Khomeini - Full Length Text
Islamic
Government: Governance of the Jurist by Imam Khomeini - Full
Length Text
Imam Khomeini (ra) on Exportation of Revolution - Full
Length Text
Imam Khomeini and the International System by Mansoor Limba - Full
Length Text
Call to Divine Unity - Letter to President Gorbachev by Imam Khomeini - Full
Length Text
Wise Sayings & Guidelines by Imam Khomeini - Full
Length Text
Hajj in the word and message of Imam Khomeini by Imam Khomeini - Full
Length Text
Palestine from the Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini by Imam Khomeini - Full
Length Text
Imam
Khomeini's International Quds Day: From Street Marches to Cyber Demonstrations -
by Mansoor Limba Full Length Text
Comments posted are the sole opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of AIM. |
