I do not know enough to make an educated assessment though I am interested in learning more. Mixed, I guess. The revolution does not seem like a very good time and de-secularizing Iran, well, I’m not a massive fan.
My understanding of the revolution itself comes from light reading and the graphic novel Persepolis though (which I do recommend reading) - I know more about the imperial overthrow of Mossadegh. The Islamic revolutionaries from my understanding were guilty of imprisoning and killing communists en masse. This goes beyond Khomeini though, I would at the very least level the accusation of stochastic violence against him.
“We are fighting against international communism to the same degree that we are fighting against the Western world — devourers led by America, Israel and Zionism. My dear friends, you should know that the danger from the communist powers is not less than America and the danger of America is such that if we show the slightest negligence we shall be destroyed. Both superpowers have risen for the obliteration of the oppressed nations and we should support the oppressed people of the world.”
The Iran-Iraq war…
Iran funding Palestinian Islamic resistance fighters but not the PLO and secular groups reeks of opportunism rather than a desire to liberate Palestine by any means necessary. If the PLO had come out on top, I’m curious if Iran would have turned its back on Palestine. I still wonder. Khomeini personally did not like Yasser Arafat, a brilliant Palestinian revolutionary and socialist, as he considered him a danger to Islam.
However, what has happened has happened. On the good - Khomeini personally issued a fatwa enshrining some level of protection for transgender people - this was huge for the time, hell it would be huge for the present. During the “hostage crisis” women and black Amerikans were released immediately as (paraphrase) ‘they suffer due to the U.S. state as we do’. Iranian state Islam certainly is much different and more interested in equality and genuine political dialogue and participation than Wahhabism and it would be a mistake to consider Iran a “theocracy” the same way KSA is.
Like I said, I’m rather uneducated and maybe even miseducated and am open to correction. From my limited understanding, these are my thoughts.
I think that Khomeini and the rest of the islamic revolutionaries stopped the Iranian revolution from becoming socialist, persecuted socialists and was very socially conservative. So I don’t have a positive view of him but I do think his foreign policy is not too bad.
