14. Ayatollah Khomeini Returned From Exile
Ayatollah Khomeini was viewed as a radical Islamic cleric who had been exiled from his home country of Iran because of how profoundly and bitterly he denounced the shah. He was also swift to criticize America for its support of the shah and his oppressive policies, going so far as to call America the Great Satan. He was exiled from Iran in 1964 and initially went to Turkey. He later went to Najaf, a Shi’a holy city in Iraq, where he compiled a list of speeches into the manifesto known as Vilayat al-Faqih. Vilayat al-Faqih outlined the political structure of what he believed a genuinely Islamic government should have. The text was smuggled into Iran and propagated as part of the resistance against the shah.
While in exile, Khomeini became a symbol of the resistance because he was viewed as the leader who would help the people overthrow the shah. After the shah abdicated in January 1979, Khomeini returned from exile to shouts and cheers from many of the Iranian people. Even those who were not particularly devout Shi’a Muslims hailed his return because he was viewed as the man who would undo the damage caused by the shah, particularly the evils that had been supported by the United States.