Ruhollah Khomeini

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini
روح‌الله خمینی
1st Supreme Leader of the Lafari
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 July 2033
Preceded by	Office established
President	Ahmad Khomeini
Prime Minister	Ali Akbar
1st Supreme Leader of Dabiristan
In office 24 July 2031 – 13 July 2033
President	Ahmad Khomeini
Prime Minister	Kazim Al-Rizvi Ali Akbar
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
1st Supreme Leader of Western Dabiristan
In office 6 July 2031 – 24 July 2031
President	Ahmad Khomeini
Prime Minister	Basim Al-Tabatabaei Muhammad Al-Deen
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Sayyid Ruhollah Mostafavi Mousavi Khomeini (1953-03-19) March 19, 1953 Qom, Salmanid Sultanate
Political party	Islamic League
Spouse	Khadija Khomeini
Children	Ahmad Khomeini
Parents	Sayyid Abdolhassan Khomeini (father) Aminah Khomeini (mother)
Personal
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Twelver Shiʿa
Creed	Usuli
Notable idea(s)	Khomeinism and Clerical Guardianship

Syed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, more commonly known as "Ayatollah Khomeini", is a Lafarian politician and religious leader. He founded the Islamic Republic of Western Dabiristan and the Islamic Republic of Dabiristan following the end of the Second Dabiristani Civil War. Khomeini served as the Supreme Leader of both of these nations. He held the position till the 13th of July, 2032. The Islamic Republic of Dabiristan, as well as the Islamic Republic of Safarastan and the Emirate of Urattobristan, formed the Islamic Federation of the Lafari under Khomeini's guidance. Khomeini has continued to serve as Supreme Leader for the Islamic Federation of the Lafari.

Khomeini was born in Qom, Dabiristan. Khomeini studied the Quran and other Islamic scriptures very early, making him extremely religious. His father had passed away shortly after his birth. This meant his studies were assisted by his brothers and his mother instead.

Khomeini is a high-ranking scholar in Shi'a Islam. He holds the position of "Grand Ayatollah", the highest title a Shi'a scholar can achieve. He is also a marja, faqih and author of 29 books. On the 2nd of February, 2029, Khomeini was forced into exile in an attempt by the Sultan to curb his influence in the Islamic League. Regardless, Khomeini was still elected as Chairman of the party 13 days later on the 15th of February, 2029. Khomeini would first stay in the Emirate of Zaraj, a small Emirate that had existed in the region of Tabaristan. He was personally welcomed by the Emir and would gain himself a large following in the Emirate. He would be forced to move to another nation after a series of attempts on his life by the Salmanids. He would move overseas to the Republic of Shaamistan where he remained for just a few weeks before moving again to the Halamid Sheikhdom. He would remain there for the rest of his exile. During his time in exile, he further expanded upon the theory of "Wilayat-al-Faqih". Notably, he furthered the power of the "Just Jurisprudent" (Supreme Leader) and emphasised the government should be democratically ruled with heavy oversight from learned Islamic scholars.

Khomeini is considered to be an extremely charismatic and popular leader amongst the people of the Islamic Federation. He is thought to be the leader of both the Shi'a and Sunni world by some despite this status traditionally being in the hands of Sunni figures.

Khomeini is the country's most powerful political figure as he is the Islamic Federation of Lafari's Supreme Leader. His position enables him to exert total control over all aspects of the country, either directly or indirectly. The Shi'a faith is also included in Khomeini's influence. As he is a Marja, a large number of people of the Shi'a faith follow him for religious guidance.

Early Life

Khomeini was born into a clerical family in Qom. His father, Sayyid Abdolhassan Khomeini, was heavily involved in the clergy. This allowed the family to establish strong connections with other clerical families. Abdolhassan had also been briefly involved with the government of the Salmanid Sultanate via appointment as an advisor to Sultan Muhammad Ibn-Mostafa Salman for three years till the Sultan died. His family lived with a modest income, even after the death of Khomeini's father.

Khomeini slowly developed anti-Sultanate ideals throughout his youth. This was due to the influence of the Hawza on his education, which although theoretically pledged allegiance to the Sultan, had become disillusioned with the Sultanate in recent times. His ideals were not yet enough to bring him onto the political stage. It would be at the age of 23 that Khomeini would first involve himself in Dabiristani politics. During the December Islamic Protests in 1976, Khomeini witnessed a series of protests, riots and strikes held by protestors who called for the dissolution of the Sultanate. A violent crackdown on these protests ordered by the Sultan would result in hundreds of deaths across the nation. Khomeini would witness some of these crackdowns himself leading to Khomeini's anti-Sultanate ideals being further strengthened. He would become heavily involved in the Islamic League and continue serving as a member of the party till its forced dissolution in 1978. Khomeini would continue to work with other Islamist Movements.

Education

Khomeini would initially begin his education in a government school. It is unclear what school he went to as Khomeini himself has never confirmed which school he went to first. It is reported by some of his close friends that he attended Al-Naghar Public School for the first two years of his education. After briefly studying at the government school, Khomeini began studying at Masoudeh Seminary. He performed exceedingly at the seminary and was eventually moved to Qom Seminary due to his excellence in studies. At Qom Seminary, Khomeini would study under prominent scholars and teachers furthering his education. Later in his life, Khomeini would also begin teaching at Qom Seminary himself.

Political Views in Early Life

Khomeini's views developed early in his life, and most of them have remained consistent since. His education would centre on the role religion plays in societal, political, and practical issues. Khomeini began protesting the Sultanate in his early twenties, while still a student at Qom Seminary. Throughout his life, his views got him in trouble with the government, resulting in multiple arrests. Regardless, Khomeini remained true to his beliefs and wrote about his childhood and early struggles in one of his many books.

Early Political Activity

Political Environment

The Sultanate had historically held a strong grip on the politics of Dabiristan. This would drastically change when Sultan Asghar II launched his secularist reforms, significantly reducing the role of religion in Dabiristani politics and daily life. The clergy of the Shi'a faith were disgruntled by these sudden reforms. Soon, the clergy also became disillusioned from the Sultanate and began openly criticising Sultan Asghar II. Khomeini's own teacher's would lambast the Sultanate. This led to a series of protests known as the "December Islamic Protests". These protests would influence Khomeini's entrance into the political stage of Dabiristan. Just two months after the protests, Ayatollah Khashayahr, would go on to form the Islamic League in cooperation with Ayatollah Fadallah, Ayatollah Buvarid and Mehdi Beshesti. Khomeini would become one of the first members of this party.

Opposition to the Modernisation Reformation

Sultan Asghar II's reforms, more commonly called the "Modernisation Reformation", was met with heavy backlash from both the clergy and the local populace. The reforms included restricting the powers of the clergy in education fields. Rapid reforms in the education system involved adopting an entirely different language to replace Dabiristani. By addition, corruption became even more rampant as Sultan Asghar II attempted to transform Dabiristan into an entirely different society. This corruption included the embezzlement of funds which resulted in local infrastructure projects being halted and brought about anger amongst the populace. Perhaps the largest reason for the dissent against Sultan Asghar II was his attempts to remove Shi'a Islam as the state religion of Dabiristan. Although he never completed this goal, his attempts to do so were met with widespread anger even amongst the moderates whom did not back the clergy.

Ayatollah Khashayahr called for the destruction of the Sultanate during Sultan Asghar II's reign, a call that Khomeini agreed with. He would spread his views in his sermons and speeches and gained himself a strong reputation amongst those around him for his strong speaking skills.

Khomeini would deliver a speech on the 12/02/1977, drawing parallels between Yazid and the Shah, denouncing the Sultan as a "...wretched, miserable man..." and warning him that if he did not change his ways, the day would come when Dabiristani's would rise up against him.

Following the death of Sultan Asghar II, it became abundantly clear the reforms had failed. Sultan Ismail overturned all of the reforms undertaken and quelled all political dissent swiftly. This involved the arrests of several party leaders. Sultan Ismail would also order the execution of Mehdi Beshesti, although refrained from executing any of the other leaders as it is a sin to execute Grand Ayatollah's. Khomeini would be one of the many people to be arrested by orders of Sultan Ismail but would be released only four days later.

After Dissolution of Islamic League

Following the dissolution of the Islamic League, Khomeini largely stayed away from politics. His short time in jail had also made him more quiet on his political leanings during his sermons. However, in July of 1978, Khomeini was invited to the Islamic Revolutionary Movement, founded by Hadi Buvarid. Although Buvarid had founded the organisation, he did not partake in any of its proceedings as he knew the Salmanid intelligence forces were keeping him under heavy surveillance. As such, other members led the organisation instead and it was much more decentralised than the Islamic League.