What is a Ayatollah

[deziloooooo]

I don't know about you , but while I have been seeing the word 'Ayatollah " since the over throw of the Shah so many years ago, and now seeing it in so many articles, besides knowing it refers to a religious leader..I really had no clue as to what it really means, thus this thread.

I am guessing if I am ignorant of what a "Ayatollah " really is, how one becomes one and the other terms referred to Muslim clerics..you my fellow posters , for the most part are as ignorant as I am..

So for those who are interested in knowing what they are commenting on..I am posting this definition and explanation of , so we can all be more informed as it seems this type of person is going to be more in the news then ever before and it is good to know "of what we speak ".

One thing I did learn, I did not know, the "Ayatollah" is only accepted by those who follow the "Shia" sect, not the "sect of the "Sunni "
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www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-ayatollah.htm
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The title of ayatollah, which means sign of God, is given to Shi'a clerics who have amassed many followers and become experts in religious, ethical, philosophical, and jurisprudence matters. It is the highest rank of Shi'a theologians. Ayatollahs do not exist in the Sunni Islamic sect; Sunni Islam does not have such a formal religious hierarchy as the Shi'a but they too have religious titles such as Mufti.

In order to become an ayatollah, a Shi'a cleric must study the Qur'an and Islam for many years. The title is not bestowed in an official manner, and the Islam faith has not laid out any requirements that a cleric must meet before becoming an ayatollah. Instead, the title is earned by studying, teaching, and preaching over a long period of time and also gathering followers and garnering the respect of other Shi'a clerics.

An aspiring cleric usually starts by studying theology, science, law, and philosophy in a Shi'a holy city. After some years of studying, the cleric will begin to lecture on his or her interpretations of the Qur'an and other Islamic texts. Later, he or she will likely write books about religious topics and his or her fame will hopefully spread. He or she may become considered a marja' at-taqlid, which means "a source of emulation." After a while of this, the aspiring cleric will ideally have many followers, known as a muqallid, and be considered an ayatollah. While most are men, some women have become ayatollahs.

Once a cleric has become an ayatollah, he or she is considered qualified to issue edicts originating in the Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmâˤ, and 'Aql, which are the Shi'a Muslims' source of religious laws. They can also teach in hawzas, which are traditional Shi'a seminaries. An ayatollah can also be called upon to act as a judge or a reference in religious matters.

An ayatollah might eventually be considered a grand ayatollah or Ayatollah Ozma, which means "great sign of God." This comes about in a manner that is somewhat more formal than the bestowing of the typical title. In this process, a council of Shi'a elders decides that an ayatollah should be considered a grand ayatollah. This process is typically initiated after he or she has become generally accepted as a reference for religious issues and has written one or more highly-referenced books about Islam. After that, he or she will be considered one of the highest-ranking experts on Islamic matters, outranked only be the Qur'an, the Prophets, and the Imams.

[deziloooooo]

Since most of us in the West seem to be familier with just the one Ayatolla , the one who led the revelution against the Shah in Iran , here is a little history of the man. While he has died some time ago, it seems his teachings and desire for the spread of his teachings and ideas," theocracy ", is what is driving the latest troubles and giving concerns to so many from the west so why not know the perceived troubles, ..."From where it comes".
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www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1976.html
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Ayatollah KhomeiniIran Ayatollah

Ruhollah Mousavi is the family name of Ayatollah Khomeini. The latter part of his name came from the city he was born in (Khomeyn) and the first part of his name came from studying the Islamic theology where he attained the rank of Ayatollah. "Ayatollah" is a religious title that carries no political significance.

In 1962, the Shah of Iran signed a bill that allowed the use of any holy scripture while an oath is being taken. This offended Khomeini, who asserted that the Koran is the only appropriate book to be used when taking an oath.


Due to his vocal opinions, the Ayatollah was exiled to Turkey, then Iraq in 1964. During his exile, Khomeini arrived at the idea of a theocracy.* That old idea would drastically alter a large, apolitical branch of Islam.

Employing accusations against the shah, and then the shah's son, Khomeini found a way to succeed the royal regime and in 1978, Iranian student demonstrations overwhelmed the shah’s regime. The shah fled to the United States in 1979 and Khomeini established an Islamic dictatorship.

The same year, student radicals overran the United States embassy, taking everyone hostage, and told the United States they would not let anyone go until the shah was released or dead. The 52 hostages still there were finally released 444 days later on Ronald Reagan's inauguration day: January 20, 1981, following the the shah's death of cancer.

Khomeini remained the supreme leader of Iran until his own death on June 3, 1989
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There is more to the Ayotollas life then this and the above is not complete..The Atatolla spent a long period of his time of Exile in France, his sermons were taped on cd's and smuggled into Iran to be heard by followers.
He over saw the executions, estimated at over 2000 Iranian Army commanders loyal to the Shah and thousands more of dissadents.

The Shah while first coming to the US, when the US would not return the Shah as requested by the new leaders of Iran, to stand trial for alleged crimes by the Iranians, thus leading to the students taking over our Embassy, left the US for Egypt where he was welcomed and where he subsequently died from I believe a cancer[leukemia I believe?} and is buried there .

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...and I don't know about you, but I think this all boils down to a Star Trek Federation of sorts... at some point, the haves and the have nots have another power struggle and power can shifts hands... whether we will have or have not when/if any new regime takes power is the question...

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...hmm... when did I get more karma?

[workpublic]

In 1962, the Shah of Iran signed a bill that allowed the use of any holy scripture while an oath is being taken. This offended Khomeini, who asserted that the Koran is the only appropriate book to be used when taking an oath.

silly isn't it? how many innocents died because of that crazy old coot being "offended"?

some folks think you can negotiate with that?

[deziloooooo]

Feb 23, 2011 12:38:18 GMT -5 BeenThere...DoneThat... said:

...and I don't know about you, but I think this all boils down to a Star Trek Federation of sorts... at some point, the haves and the have nots have another power struggle and power can shifts hands... whether we will have or have not when/if any new regime takes power is the question...

What ever the outcome..when you think about it..what is happening is remarkable and another chapter in the novel of human experiencs...what we do here while we are here.

There are empires that last a few short years..National Socialist, Mr Adolf..what was it , 12 years or so..then we have the Roman Empire, about 800 years from start to finish, give or take a few, but change does happen.

Soviets..the fall of the wall..now a small place starts it , Tunesia, were the hell is that again and now ...the whole middle East and regimes so far away...looking over their shoulder , China..Korea, the North, have we heard from them yet...unbelievable..then we have WI...