INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ayatollah Khomeini, officially known as Imam Khomeini inside Iran, was the first religious leader to openly condemn the program of the Shah
development; however, the anti-religious and Western nature of the plan was clear for religious figures, including Imam Khomeini.The
religious and public opposition to the Pahlavi regime continued in different ways, from declarations to the cancelation of Nowruz (Iranian
Imam Khomeini spent over 14 years in exile, mostly in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq
Initially, he was sent to Turkey on 4 November 1964, where he stayed in the city of Bursa for less than a year.He was hosted by a Turkish
Colonel named Ali Cetiner in his own residence
Later in October 1965, he was allowed to move to Najaf, Iraq, where he stayed until being forced to leave in 1978 after then-Vice President
Saddam Hussein forced him out
High unemployment and rising inflation after the 1977 economic collapse, exacerbated tensions
Khomeini would enter Iran on 26 January, but then-prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar announced that the airports would be closed.Imam Khomeini
who was in Paris declared that he would return as soon as the airports were reopened
The closure of the airports led to widespread protests and strikes.In Tehran alone, 28 people were killed
On 29 January, the airport was reopened
Finally, Imam Khomeini returned from exile triumphantly at 9:30 a.m
on 1 February 1979 and was welcomed by millions of people in the streets of Tehran.After delivering a speech at the Mehrabad International
Airport, he went to the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, where many people who had been killed during the revolution were buried
Millions of supporters lined the path cheering his name, and hundreds of thousands gathered at the cemetery to listen to his speech.Imam
resignation, declaring support to the founder of the Islamic Revolution
the last prime minister, quickly fled Iran for France
These influential events marked the end of 2500 years of monarchy in the country
Imam Khomeini called on the people to restore peace and order.Less than two months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iranians
Islamic Revolution established a new political system; a republic based on Islamic values and democracy
victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11
44 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, yet the impressive notions and ideologies of Imam Khomeini is a role model for all
freedom-seeking nations and independent Muslim countries in the world.
