KHOMEINI, RUHOLLAH MUSAVI (Ruḥ-Allāh Musawi Ḵomeyni; b. Ḵomeyn, 1902; d. Tehran, 1989) jurist and gnostic, leader of the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79 and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His name is commonly prefixed with the title Ayatollah (Āyat-Allāh; q.v.) in view of his standing as a marjaʿ-e taqlid, a “source of imitation,” in keeping with the usage of the Oṣuli school of jurisprudence (see IRAN ix. RELIGIONS IN IRAN [2.3] SHIʿISM IN IRAN SINCE THE SAFAVIDS; SHIʿITE DOCTRINE ii. HIERARCHY IN THE IMAMIYYA). Additionally, in the official terminology of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he is designated as Imam. The application of this title to him, unprecedented in Iranian Shiʿite tradition, seems to date from 1970, when he was so designated in a poem by Neʿmat Āzarm;¹cited in Ḥakimi, pp. 456-57 it subsequently became standard in the slogans of the revolution.²Kamāli, p. 237 It does not imply his assimilation to the Twelve Imams, definingly characterized by infallibility, but a recognition that his function and achievements went beyond those of marjaʿ-e taqlid. In addition, the title ayatollah was at the time being increasingly and without differentiation applied to virtually any cleric. Khomeini was also officially known as rahbar-e enqelāb, “leader of the revolution,” a title enshrined in Article 107 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. At the same time, the revolutionary movement led by Khomeini was sometimes viewed as the immediate precursor to the return of the Occulted Imam; a slogan frequently chanted was, “O, God! O, God! Until the revolution of the Mahdi, preserve Khomeini!” (Ḵodāyā, Ḵodāyā! Tā enqelāb-e Mahdi, Ḵomeyni-rā nagahdār!), heard by this writer in Tehran in December 1979. The designation “Deputy of the (Occulted) Imam” (nāʾeb-e emām) is also sometimes to be encountered. This entry is divided into two parts: