Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was born on September 24, 1902, in Khomein, Iran. He studied Islamic theology and jurisprudence in the holy city of Qom and quickly rose to prominence as a leading Shiite Muslim scholar. Khomeini became politically active in the 1960s, speaking out against the oppressive rule of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1963, he delivered a series of speeches denouncing the Shah and the United States, leading to his arrest and imprisonment. After his release, Khomeini continued to criticize the Shah's regime, eventually leading to his exile in 1964.
