Assassinating Khomeni

What effect would killing Ayatollah Khomeni in say...1964, have on the history of Iran?

Iran had many, many other problems, and the Shah was a deeply unpopular man in just about every segment of Iranian society. Killing Khomeni might just make him fall even faster.
 

Keenir

Banned
What effect would killing Ayatollah Khomeni in say...1964, have on the history of Iran?

Iran had many, many other problems, and the Shah was a deeply unpopular man in just about every segment of Iranian society. Killing Khomeni might just make him fall even faster.

even if the assassination was the best-kept secret on Earth, the Shah will probably still get the boot.

question is, does this give Tudeh a snowball's chance of being the post-Revolutionary government?

because I think the Shah once said he would rather Iran be red (Islamic) than green (communist)...though was this said before or after the Revolution?
 
Even if Khomieni was dead, his writings/speeches (in handy tape form) would continue to be popular. So its possible that a different cleric would have filled his shoes. I don't know any names off the top of my head, but Khomieni wasn't the only Islamist boosting for power.
 
Less Bloodthirsty, I Think...

Even if Khomieni was dead, his writings/speeches (in handy tape form) would continue to be popular. So its possible that a different cleric would have filled his shoes. I don't know any names off the top of my head, but Khomieni wasn't the only Islamist boosting for power.
Of the six Grand Ayatollahs in 1979 five were conservates who saw the danger of giving secular power to the clergy (absolute power corrupting absolutely). Only one, Khomenei, favored a rabid theocratic state. The other five spent the rest of their lives under house arrest. If there's no Khomenei, and the sixth Grand Ayatollah is like the others, I could see a revolution that parallels Saudi Arabia, where the clerics rule domestically, but not on military, foreign, and executive matters. But there's no underestimating their powers of influence. As far as the "Red faction"? Like the protests in Iran today, it was a movement of the cities. The Islamic revolution was primarily from the provinces. The provincial populations provided the manpower for the Revolutionary Guards not to mention the truncheon armed "Volunteer Brigades" seen wading into the city protestors of today. Think of the IJA staff officers in WWII. All hotheads. Where did they come from? The peasantry.:mad:
 

Keenir

Banned
Of the six Grand Ayatollahs in 1979 five were conservates who saw the danger of giving secular power to the clergy (absolute power corrupting absolutely). Only one, Khomenei, favored a rabid theocratic state. The other five spent the rest of their lives under house arrest.

so we don't know what they would've favored if Khomenei was gone.

(did the other five want the Shah gone? and had they voiced an opinion of what should replace him?)
 

Bearcat

Banned
Maybe Montazeri takes his place in the flow of events, becomes a more restrained Grand Ayatollah and leads Iran to a better future? It would be nice to think...
 
The Phantom Crown

so we don't know what they would've favored if Khomenei was gone.

(did the other five want the Shah gone? and had they voiced an opinion of what should replace him?)
Oh they wanted him gone alright, they just didn't want the Shah replaced by some kind of Medieval Islamic Pope ruling with absolute power. True holy men understand the corrupting influences of state power. That's why the Roman Catholic Church couldn't even begin true reform until the Papal States were finally overrun. I believe they desired something on the Saudi model, but in Shiite doctrine the Wahhabist sect was far too violent. They wanted a say on matters involving culture, and public morals, not on what political parties could function (provided the clerics were allowed their say on issues that pertained to the public moral good).:)
 
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