The Axis of Evil: Ayatollah Khomeini Born Ruhollah Mousavi in ​​1902 near the village of Khomeini, Iran, which he would later adopt as his surname, Ayatollah Khomeini would become the most evil despot of all time. From the beginning, the roots of his malevolence were nurtured by circumstances. His father, Seyed Moustafa Hindi, an Islamic scholar and Khomeini's prominent citizen, was assassinated in his childhood, leaving him to be raised by his mother and aunt, who both died in a cholera epidemic during his adolescence. After their deaths and the height of World War I, he left home to study at the Islamic seminary in Arak, and later in Qom, under the guidance of Ayatollah Yadzi, a contemporary Shia authority. Khomeini himself soon became a prominent Shiite scholar, as he published numerous literary works and lectured at major seminaries, amassing a large and loyal following. In 1963 he was ordained a member of the marja, the supreme legal authority within the Shia sect, providing a power base from which he would launch his political career (Algar). This could not have come at a worse time for Iran, as Mohammad Reza Shah was beginning to implement his “White Revolution” which sought to use the vast wealth Iran had acquired from oil production to drive out the nation from feudalism, improve infrastructure, modernize government and give rights to women and religious minorities (Reynolds Wolfe). Khomeini vehemently opposed the Shah's plan due to the perceived influence of the United States and Israel and insisted that Iran must be a theocracy under Sharia law. Because of his views he was exiled from Iran; However, he continued to speak out against the Shah's regime throughout the... mid-document... 19th and early 20th centuries entangled a power struggle between Britain and Russia, which only intensified after the end of the 20th century. discovery of oil in Iran in 1901. Following this discovery, Western nations systematically exploited Iran for its natural resources and struggled to install sympathetic governments in hopes of acquiring better oil deals, culminating in 1953 with the overthrow of the prime minister Iranian Mohammed Mossadegh by a combination of US and British forces (Yergin). Continued fighting left Iran in political chaos that was only corrected by Khomeini's strong Islamic government. While it has severely limited the power of Iranian citizens, it has increased Iran's power in the Middle East and the world at large, as its strong military presence and large oil reserves allow the country to resist interference from countries wishing to take advantage of it . They.