the 500 most influential muslims - The Royal Islamic Strategic ...

Grand Ayatollah Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of
the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was born in Mashhad
in the far north east of Iran, and studied in the leading
Iranian religious seminary in Qom, before becoming
involved in the struggle with the Pahlavi Regime in
the sixties and seventies.
Supreme Leader, Velayat-e Faqih
Khameini's current influence stems from his powerful
position as a religious leader, which gives him a unique
role in political affairs. His job is to enact the Velayat-e Faqih—the guardianship of the
jurist. In real terms this means a system where scholars of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)
have a controlling say in the political affairs of the state. The rule of the jurist was a
concept created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, based on ideas that have run through
Iranian political history since the time of Shah Ismail—who was the first to make Shi‘a
Islam the national religion of Iran. It was conceived in a battle against oppression as a
way of safeguarding the Iranian nation from tyranny, giving the final say in all matters to
a group of religious scholars, the Council of Guardians. This Council is headed by a chief
arbitrator—the Supreme Leader.
Leader of Shi‘a Revolution
Khamenei gains much of his influence in Iran from his role as a leader of the Islamic
Revolution. The Islamic Republic of Iran was forged out of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Combating what many saw as the tyrannical rule of the Shah, Khamenei joined the
Society of Combatant Clergy that staged demonstrations mobilizing many of the protests
leading to the Shah's overthrow. After the revolution in 1979 he was one of the founding
members of the Islamic Republic Party, and a member of the assembly of experts that
was responsible for drafting Iran's new constitution.
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his eMinence grand ayatollah
hajj sayyid ali khaMenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Country: Iran
Date of Birth: 17 July 1939
Source of Influence: Political,
Administrative
Influence: Supreme Leader of 72
million Iranians
School of Thought: Traditional
Twelver Shi‘a, Revolutionary
Shi'ism