This next Info was taken from the website Khomeini InformationAyatollah Khomeini(1902- 1989) Iranian religious leader and politician.
His name was Ruhollah ibn Mustafa Musawi Khomeini Hindi (meaning the Indian). The name Khomeini was taken from the town where he was born.
Two titles have been used for him, 'Ayatollah', which is the title of a religious leader, but not the highest in Shi'i Islam. This was Khomeini's title at the time of the Iranian revolution, but he soon took the title 'Imam', which is definitely the highest position in Shi'i Islam. Actually this title is so high that this necessitated a a new interpretation of Shi'i theology.
Khomeini became a highly respected religious teacher, based in Qom, but his position was not a leading one, when he in 1963 was arrested for opposing land reform and women's emancipation. He was exiled, and moved first to Turkey, then to Najaf in Iraq, where he lived for 13 years.
For a short period Khomeini moved to Paris in France. At this time, in the 1970s, Khomeini had begun to be a symbol of the opposition facing the Shah.
Khomeini's fight against the Shah was even more effective when conducted from abroad than it would have been inside the country. His message was recorded, and duplicated to music cassettes, which where smuggled into Iran. These cassettes where duplicated over and over again inside Iran with normal equipment, and Khomeini's message was quickly spread over all of the country.
Radio broadcasting of his message was another form of urging people to disobedience.
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