Word: khomeini
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...Montazeri, who died at 87 in the holy city of Qom, was one of only a handful of grand ayatullahs in Shi'ite Islam. Having once been designated to succeed the revolution's founder, Grand Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, as Supreme Leader, his outspoken criticism of the regime gave cover and legitimacy to the opposition Green Movement - and infuriated a theocracy ruled by his clerics of lesser rank. (See pictures of the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri...
...revolution's 10th anniversary in 1989, Monatzeri dared to criticize the regime for failing to fulfill its early promise. He condemned mass executions of dissidents. And he called on the government to correct "past mistakes." After Khomeini's fatwa imposing a death sentence on Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, Montazeri warned, "People in the world are getting the idea that our business in Iran is just murdering people." (Read "Ayatullah Khomeini Returns to Haunt Iranian Politics...
...conservatives, Khomeini represents unfolding loyalty to the religious hierarchy and the main institutions of the state, even at the expense of public opinion. For reformists and even some young Iranians, Khomeini's promised benefits of Iran's 1979 Revolution can only come true if a genuine democratic government is allowed to emerge out of the current system. And then there is the Khomeini as seen by a third and growing segment of Iranians: those who are disillusioned with any notion of Islamic democracy - an "oxymoron" for some of the Tehran students who spoke to TIME. They expressed little anger...
...battle over Khomeini's legacy, which slowly began in the Islamic Republic months after his death in 1989, is now front and center in Iran's turbulent political environment. And many in the opposition worry that the government may now use the poster-tearing incident to crack down harder...
...village in Iran, and as with other religious holidays that have occurred since June, the opposition is likely to encourage supporters to come out and defy the regime. To prevent this, the conservatives who control the government may try to portray the protesters as desecraters of the legacy of Khomeini. The trouble is, many protesters say the same about the current rulers of Iran...