Word: ayatullah
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Shah's future role is one on which his opponents are divided. Many people in Iran would like to see him remain as a figurehead but removed from politics; others insist that his rule must end. One of the most vigorous advocates of the Shah's removal is Ayatullah Khomeini, the 76-year-old mullah who is now the undisputed spiritual and political leader of Iran's 32 million Shi'ite Muslims, who comprise 93% of the population. A longtime opponent of the Shah, Khomeini was exiled in 1963 following violent demonstrations against the Shah's land reforms. Two weeks...
...mood of humility, the Shah launched a campaign of reconciliation with his religious opponents. He brought home his ambassador to the U.S., Ardeshir Zahedi, to open a dialogue with dissident mullahs. Sharif-Emami was expected to call this week on Ayatullah Sharietmadari, 76, the religious teacher who is regarded as the most powerful spokesman for the Shi'ite opposition. In addition, Ayatullah Khomeini, 80, a popular mullah exiled in Iraq since 1963, might be permitted to return home if he disavows the overthrow of the Shah...
...pictures of the lasting influence of Ayatullah Khameini...
Among the mullahs inside Iran, the most powerful is Ayatullah Sharietmadari, a revered Islamic scholar who condemns violence but strongly opposes the Shah on constitutional and religious grounds (see box). Parliament, claims Sharietmadari, too often violates the precepts of Islamic law to the detriment of Shi'ite sensibilities. Gambling, prostitution and pornography are all viewed as typical manifestations of modernism. The Shah's widespread curtailment of civil liberties, freedom of the press and political assembly are looked upon as only further evidence of his determination to deprive the Shi'ites of their power and to transform the nation into...
Turbaned, gray-bearded and bespectacled Ayatullah Sharietmadari, 76, looks like anything but a revolutionary. He has a kindly, gentle manner. A revered scholar, he spends most of his days sitting on the floor of his bone-bare home in Qum, discussing the subtleties of Islamic thought with theological students who come to him from all over the Muslim world. His name is less a symbol of political resistance than that of Ayatullah Khomeini, 80, who has been in exile since 1963 and now lives in Iraq. But among those mullahs still inside Iran, Sharietmadari is the acknowledged leader...