ABSTRACT
Khomeini's ardent magnetism added a religious facet to the popular discontent that had, until then, remained under the influence of the communist and nationalist militants backed by the liberal elite. Khomeini was a highly charismatic person, but ambiguous. The 1979 revolution and Khomeini's takeover radically changed the relationship between politics and religion. Khomeinism is the ideology that initiated the transition from the world of religion to that of ideology, favoring the takeover of politics by religion. Khomeini began on his political path with Shiism's typical ambiguities. The Khomeinist conception of social and human organization was strongly influenced by his political plans. Khomeini's ideological discourse transformed Shiism's more than thousand-year-old beliefs to conform to his own political aims. Khomeini's discourse was by its very nature plural and composite, whence the difficulty in understanding him precisely. Khomeini's ideological Islam, by Islamizing politics, politicized religion and accelerated its change.
