Regarding Imam Khomeini’s power base, his role as the leader during the formation and eventual victory of the Islamic Revolution must be kept in mind. In any revolution or uprising, leadership constitutes one side of the triangle of victory, along with ideology and the people. Among these pillars, leadership plays a significant role in initiating, sustaining, achieving victory and consolidating movements and revolutions. On this point, Professor Jan Hjarpe, the Swedish historian, has said: “A careful study of the French Revolution reveals that it had no leader. Similarly, in the Russian Revolution, Lenin was far less influential than Imam Khomeini in the Islamic Revolution of Iran. This was because the Communist revolution had already begun long before it reached Russia. However, the Iranian Revolution was shaped with the leadership role of Imam Khomeini, distinguishing it from other movements and revolutions in the world.”
According to Mahdi Bazargan, Imam Khomeini, when compared to past political leaders and clerics, had the advantage of standing alongside the people from the beginning, leading their struggles against tyranny, and rallying all sectors of society to join the fight against the oppressive Pahlavi regime.
Ayatollah Sayyid Mahmoud Taleqani also considers Imam Khomeini’s leadership as a modern phenomenon in contemporary Iranian history and emphasized that he was a unique leader who was popular among people and possessed a high level of reliance on Allah, purity of intention and determination.
Imam Khomeini’s personality was exceptional and outstanding in all of its aspects. The most significant base of his power was the various strata of people. With high spirits, lofty goals, faith and reliance on Allah, divinely-inspired will and determination, piety, intelligence, patience, sincerity, straightforwardness, spiritual purity, foresight, and wisdom, he was a pious and sincere person who penetrated the hearts of the people, united the nation and mobilized them in line with the revolutionary movement. Ayatollah Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of the Revolution, describes Imam Khomeini in the following manner: “Our dear Great Leader and the late respected Imam was a shining figure in the world, and indeed, we have never had anyone like him, not in this era nor in the past. Among the well-known figures in the world, after the Prophets and Infallible Imams, we cannot find a personality with such greatness, positive attributes, and comprehensiveness. In my opinion, the most important and defining secret to his success was his sincerity and reliance on Allah.”
From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, reliance on the infinite power of God was the most important factor in the uprising against the dictatorial regime. He based his struggles on Tawhid (Monotheism) and never followed any model other than the path of Tawhid. He sought all his goals under the umbrella of religious teachings, stating, “The Islamic Revolution is based on the principle of monotheism, whose essence spread its umbrella over all aspects of society.” “Their, i.e., the Prophets, real aim was to spread monotheism in the world and to propagate the creed of truth. Their enemies were obstacles that the prophets had to remove in order to achieve their purpose.”
Imam Khomeini did not enlist the support of those who advocated for other than Islam in their struggles. He first invited them to Islam, and those who refused to accept the truth were not allowed to take part in the revolutionary struggles. The main aim of the leader of the Islamic Revolution was not power acquisition, making changes, or establishing the sovereignty of a material ideology. Rather, it was the fulfillment of a duty and a task determined by God: “We are not going to stage an uprising on the condition of gaining victory, rather, it is a duty that we must perform.” “All of us are bound to perform our duty and obligation, and not wait for the result.”
In the view of Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli, “Imam Khomeini always took into account the requirements of the existing situation and relied on the infinite divine power. He then rose up alone. He implemented the true meaning of monotheism in all circumstances and positions, from the time of having fear, worries and hope, to gaining popularity and assistance. He, when alone and even after becoming popular, with00 people being attracted to his movement, would say the same thing, i.e., Allah.”
When Imam Khomeini had to leave for Iraq, he gathered his family and told them: “Do not be upset at all, nothing will happen. What matters is our duty. You should not shirk your responsibilities and duties.”
When the head of the Iraqi security organization asked Imam Khomeini to stop his political activities, the late leader of the Revolution said: “I will not stop my activities.” The head of the Iraqi security organization threatened him and said: “We will deport you”. Imam said: “Khomeini is Khomeini. Wherever I go, I am the same person.”
Dmitry Zhukov, the Russian thinker, has also repeatedly referred to Imam Khomeini’s strong will, believing that he had a very firm will and, most importantly, had faith in his ability to achieve his goals. According to him, Imam Khomeini was the main standard-bearer of the Revolution who then spread his political and religious beliefs among the people. We should note that he did not ask people to call him the leader; rather, this title was given to him by the people, and this fact is very important for the Iranian people.
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