Ayatollah Khomeini influenced Iran even in exile
One of the 10 Interesting Facts about Ayatollah Khomeini is that he influenced Iran even in exile. In particular, Khomeini’s supporters continued to protest in Iran in the mid-to-late 70s, despite the religious leader not being allowed in his home country. Because of the continued protests, the Shah of Iran met with Iraqi officials to have Khomeini move further away from Iran. He hoped that by removing Khomeini from the area, he could remove the influence on Iran’s people. However, the Iraqi military gave Khomeini a choice: stop all political activities or leave the country. The Shah's strategy failed, and Khomeini relocated to Paris and would only be there for a short time.
His stature and significance increased as the number of demonstrations soared. Khomeini directed the revolution even though he was in Paris, thousands of miles from Iran, by urging Iranians to reject compromise and demanding an end to activities against the government. Khomeini received a continuous stream of reporters, admirers, and celebrities anxious to speak with the spiritual leader of the revolution during the last few months of his exile.
Ervand Abrahamian, a historian, claims that Khomeini created a "clerical populist interpretation of Shii Islam" while in exile. Khomeini changed the traditional Shii view of Islam in a variety of ways, such as advocating the common good of most religions aggressively, vehemently stating that the monastery is seizing power so that it may implement shari'a, and inciting his adherents to resist. Despite their divergent ideologies, Khomeini also formed an alliance with the Iranian Mujahedin People's Party and started sponsoring their violent campaigns against the Shah in the early 1970s.
Khomeini was also hailed as a charismatic leader of immense popularity, a politician fighting for the Islamic renaissance of Shia scholars, who worked to establish friendly relations between the Sunni and the Shias, and an innovator in religiously oriented political theory and strategy.
