Hussein Khomeini

Hojatoleslam Sayyid Hussein Khomeini (in Persian: حسین خمینی)(born 1961~) is the grandson of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the son of Ruhollah's first son, Mostafa Khomeini. He has been a controversial figure in Iran for calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic government and encouraging a US invasion.

Views

Hussein Khomeini has denounced the Iranian government as the "dictatorship of clerics" [ [http://ummahnewslinks.com/2006/06/14/khomeinis-grandson-topple-iran-clerics.aspx Khomeini's grandson: Topple Iran clerics] ummahnewslinks.com 2006.06.14] . In 2003 he declared Iran's reformist movement "finished", questioned the theocratic principle of , and "called for a referendum to decide how the country should be governed in the future." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3133915.stm Iran's rulers 'should call referendum' By Pam O'Toole, BBC News, 7 August, 2003,] ] He has also advocated for a nonclassical interpretation of Islamic law applied in the country.

His mentor is thought to be Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/18/wiran18.xml Ayatollah's grandson calls for US overthrow of Iran By PHILIP SHERWELL ] telegraph.co.uk 2006.06.18] However, Montazeri is against invasion of Iran and has called for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. In strong contrast to his grandfather's politics, Hossein Khomeini is a cleric who has spoken out against the Islamic Republic system. He is sympathetic to American neoconservatives, and has lectured at the American Enterprise Institute.

Background

Arrest

Hossein Khomeini was arrested in 1981 for saying "the new dictatorship established in religious form is worse than that of the Shah and the Mongols." He was then placed "under virtual house arrest." [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949374-2,00.html George Russell with reporting by Sandra Burton, David S. Jackson, "Piracy, Protests And Polemics"] "TIME": Aug. 24, 1981.]

Trips outside Iran

After the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq, Hossein relocated to the holy city of Karbala. During the same year he visited United States and, in a historic meeting, was received by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi II, son of the last Shah of Iran. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1150191576574&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Khomeini's grandson: Oust Iran clerics Jun 14, 2006 8:14 jpost.com] ]

After his quick visit to America, he returned to Iraq for several months, then suddenly departed for his native Iran after receiving an urgent message from his grandmother, asking him to come back. According to Michael Ledeen, who has quoted "family sources," he was blackmailed into returning. [" [http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.19680,filter.all/pub_detail.asp Veiled Threats Lure Ayatollah's Grandson Home] " By Michael A. Ledeen , Tuesday, January 6, 2004 ]

Call for overthrow of the Islamic Republic

In 2006, he broke "a three-year silence" when he called for American destruction of the Islamic Republic by invasion on the Al-Arabiya television station, saying 'freedom must come to Iran in any possible way, whether through internal or external developments. ... If you were a prisoner, what would you do? I want someone to break the prison [doors open] '. This position was even more extreme than that of the fiercely anti-regime Iranian exiles, "who oppose military action while urging the US to back a domestic uprising."Since returning to Iran, he has been closely monitored by the Iranian government and has been restricted in granting interviews to the Western media, but is thought to "be protected from retribution by his grandmother, Batol Saqafi Khomeini".

ee also

*Ayatollah
*List of ayatollahs
*Ruhollah Khomeini

References & notes

External links

* [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3263063,00.html Ynet article]
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2089329/ Slate Interview]
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1150191576574&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Jerusalem Post article]
* [http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20060614-101131-9272r.htm Washington Times Article]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/18/wiran18.xml Daily Telegraph]
* [http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.19680,filter.all/pub_detail.asp Briefing by American Enterprise Institute]
* [http://www.radiofarda.org/iran_archive/dbf64447-f666-4758-8d17-5a0b8088f7fa.html#dbf64447-f666-4758-8d17-5a0b8088f7fa Radio Farda Report] (in Persian)