[ehsanmog]

It surprised me when the leader of Islamic Revolution feels 'hich chi (nothing) while he's returning to his homeland after many years of exile. Did he have religious, political or personal reasons for it?

Here is video of the question, on the chartered Air France plane that brought Khomeini to Tehran: (See end of answer for translation)


I have thought about that remark a great deal over the years. It should have been such a stark warning of what was in store for Iran, and yet, the overwhelming majority of my compatriots hardly took any notice of it at all. As to where his sentiment came from, I think there are multiple explanations for it.

First, as others have noted, Ayatollah Khomeini was highly conscious of his image as the dour "holy" man. He was practically obsessed with how he was perceived by Iranians. Consider these examples. When Khomeini was first exiled to Turkey, he was taken to the home of a Turkish army officer where he was to stay. The officer's wife, not particularly aware of the political circumstances, thought she would treat him as an honored guest. She prepared a nice dinner, and went to greet him and present her family. As soon as Khomeini walked in with other Iranian officials and minders and saw the unveiled lady and their young daughter, he erupted in anger, pointed at them and bellowed that he would not be in the presence of "that thing!" Shocked and hurt, the woman took her daughter to the kitchen to hide out. After the dinner, once the others had left, Khomeini came into the kitchen and warmly greeted the still traumatized woman. In subsequent days, he was charming as could be to the family and treated the young daughter like a kindly grandfather. That was until they were visited by Iranians, and Khomeini immediately became nasty again. She realized then that he didn't want his nice, tolerant side to be reported to followers in Iran.

In another episode, he was taken around town for sight seeing, and noticed people swimming. Joined by his son Mostafa, he decided he wanted to join in. After finding an acceptable swimsuit, the two enjoyed frolicking in the water. That was until he thought he noticed what he thought were Iranian tourists taking pictures, and he bolted into hiding, at least until poor Mostafa could make sure it was safe. (for these and other examples, see the best available biography, Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah.)

[Christopherso]

It's been a pleasure to my self feeling like much obliged to be here. I have watched this video, it was a very good interview by the way. I have read about this amazing leader of Islamic revolution on paper writing service news and must salute his braveness.