KHOMEINI, Ruhullah Al-Musavi

(1902-1989)

   Islamic scholar and jurist known in the West for his role in the IRANIAN ISLAMIC REVOLUTION. He is conceivably the most important religious figure in the twentieth century because of the new confidence he has injected into Islam. Khomeini was a MYSTIC deeply immersed in daily affairs. Exiled by the Shah of Iran for his protests against SECULARIZING policies, Khomeini learnt of the brutal murder of his eldest son by the Shah's secret police on November 23, 1977. On February 1st 1979, he returned in triumph to Iran after the Shah had fled. Following his return, he directed the creation of a modern Islamic state based on TRADITIONAL practices and BELIEFS. His most important translated work is Islam and Revolution (1981).