Later works included several law books. These were not openly
political in tone, but Khomeini took the opportunity to encour-
age readers to aid the downtrodden of society and to oppose
government corruption. In retrospect, it seems clear that he
was suggesting his growing distaste for the shah’s son, Iran’s
new ruler. Khomeini likewise began expressing his belief that the
ulema should have an overriding role in formulating government
policies, since they knew more about Islamic law than politicians
and administrators did.
Ayatollah Borujerdi, Khomeini’s superior at the school in
Qom, died in 1961. This marked a turning point in the younger
cleric’s life. Obedient to his master—for the most part, at any
rate—he had shied away from political activity during his years
at the Madraseh Faizieh. His books and his name, outside Qom,
were not widely known. He was not of adequate stature among
Iran’s clergy to be considered as Borujerdi’s successor. He soon
attained the rank of ayatollah, however, after publication of his
book Tauzih al Masail,or Clarification of Points of the Sharia.
The word ayatollahmeans “reflection of Allah” or “miraculous
sign of God.” Khomeini’s followers were devoted and growing in
number. More than a thousand Muslim leaders over the years
received instruction under him.
And now he felt the time had come to wage an assertive
campaign against his country’s government. Very soon, his name
would be all too well known to Shah Pahlavi.
Pahlavi’s “White Revolution”—also called the “Shah-People
Revolution”—of 1962 brought the mounting dissent to a crisis.
Khomeini issued a stinging criticism of the new liberal policies.
He decried Pahlavi’s affront to conventional religious leadership
and his apparent leanings toward the United States and Israel.
He broadened his attack into a general condemnation of
Pahlavi’s government, claiming that it failed to improve the lot
of those who lived in poverty.
Pahlavi, in turn, challenged his detractors. In a January 1963
speech at Qom, he railed against “reactionary” Muslim leaders
who opposed his vision for progress.
Setting the Stage for Revolution 37