program to unite all classes of Iranians. He called for more
political freedom, including the release of those jailed for
political activities, a focus on human rights, and a campaign
against government corruption.
From Iraq, the exiled Khomeini ignored the overtures. He tape-
recorded anti-shah messages for distribution to his followers in
Iran. The shah’s regime must be overthrown, he exhorted. His
message found a greater reception than that of Sharif-Emami.The Shah’s Government Collapses 49
THE WORLD MEETS A REVOLUTIONARY MASTERMIND
Until his rapid and dramatic rise to prominence in 1978, Ayatollah
Khomeini was almost unknown outside the sphere of Iranian politics
and religion. Many foreign journalists had never heard of Khomeini and
did not know the meaning of the word ayatollah.
They were introduced to him during his brief stay outside Paris, as
the revolution raced toward its climax. Former Newsweekwriter Elaine
Sciolino, in her book Persian Mirrors, recalled her first interview with
the ayatollah—which was his first interview with either an American or
a female journalist.
I was told to take off my coat, cover my head, and take off my
shoes, Persian style.... I was escorted into a small, unlit
room, unfurnished except for rough tribal carpets that clashed
with the garish pink-and-blue-flowered wallpaper. No inde-
pendent interpreter or photographer was allowed.
As I entered the room, Khomeini was already seated cross-
legged on the floor, his hands folded in his lap, next to a
fireplace and leaning against the wall. I was positioned a safe
fifteen feet away. He didn’t shake my hand. He didn’t even
stand to greet me.... During the forty-five-minute inter-
view, Khomeini smiled only once, when his young grandson
ran into the room and jumped into his lap, prompting the
ayatollah to warmly embrace him.*
Not varying from his basic message of the past fifteen years, Khomeini
raved to her against the shah’s policies. His voice was mumbling and
hardly understandable—but his message rang true to most Iranians.
- Source: Sciolino, pp. 50-51.