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14No. 292 | May 2025reasons: they came in the wake of an oppressive capitalist system, which had squeezed the blood of the down trodden sections of society; and, the change was on the basis of an ideology that was new, and rather novel, for the humanity which had been afflicted, both by the exploitative bourgeoisie and the tyrannical church.The Iranian Revolution was, however, unique. It neither had it derailed the human soul from the root of its faith nor deprived it of the fruits of social uplift; a thing considered, particularly in conservative societies, as repugnant to the spirit of religion.The greatness of Imam Khomeini lies not in his being a religious cleric but in his universal approach to life in all its aspects and manifestations. The Imam infused the spirit of Islam in the Iranian youth but did not leave them to be swayed by the specific interpretation of faith, common to the contemporary halfeducated clergy. He gave them a vision in which they could see the worldly affairs and the religious faith as two aspects of the same unit, i.e., life.If, in the West, the 17th century Industrial Revolution had shaped the direction of socio-political thoughts and the future practical experience %u2013 also pursued by the comparatively secular Far Eastern societies, thinkers in the Islamic world still wandered in the deserts of bewilderment:Not that Islam had lost its vigour to lead the man into the ages but lack of Ijtihad had rendered it a mere collection of rituals to ward off evil spirits and attain paradiseNo realization that Islam is a complete code of individual and collective life and it offers best solution to the minutist problems of all societies and all times.The onslaught of Western thought had already shaken the hearts of Muslim scholars like Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Sayyid Qutub, Maulana Maududi and the confined themselves to recollecting Islamic thoughts and reorganizing the political forces of the Muslims, only Allama Muhammad Iqbal an Imam Khomeini could crown their efforts by practically shaping human societies according to their ideals- the misfortune of the Pakistani nation being that their benefactor could not live long to guide them into their new life.The leadership capabilities of Imam Khomeini would look more distinct when viewed in the background of the life existing in Iran before the Islamic revolution. King Reza Shah, backed by the country%u2019s rich influential class and the mighty world power, on the one hand, and the most Westernized Iranian class, on the other,The Imam had to fight against all these odds with an ideology that, according to most of his countrymen, had out-fashioned and was no longer able to meet the modern-day challenges.The onslaught of Western culture on Reza Shah%u2019s Iran had given the sense that Islam was not able to meet the modern-day challenges.Iran, before the revolution, was virtually the most Westernized and advanced country in the Muslim world. It was not called the Switzerland of the East just for its natural beauty-in which many other Eastern countries also abounded. It was due to the modern fashion and values of the Iranian people that the country had drawn the attention of the East and the West. Western culture and values had dominated Iran to the extent that terms like Islamic culture, Islamic values, and Muslim nationalism were thought of as the most despised and outmoded terms.In such an environment, those defending and promoting religious ideologies were being looked at with contempt and treated as hateful creatures. This had created an inferiority complex among the youth, struggling for the supremacy of Islamic values. Nobody, in a society boasting of Western culture, would pay heed to such inferior beings or consider them worthy of leading the society.Imam Khomeini brought these dejected youth out of the slums of inferiority complex and infused a spirit of self-respect and egoism among them, teaching them that not the teddy pro-Westerners but those proud of Islamic culture were the ones to boast of themselves and to be followed by others.He also created self-confidence among the Iranian youth, giving them the power to change the destiny of their nation.Prior to the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian youth considered Westerners as superior beings, capable of showing marvels in all fields of science and arts, and worthy to be followed, but now they have become convinced of their ability to shape the future of their nation and excel in all arenas of science and technology.It was this spiritual change that