gic events, notably the 11th September destruction of the World Trade Centre, it is necessary to consider the Khomeini's legacy – did his rule in Iran inspire the emergence of terrorist fundamentalism or merely accelerate the growth of a genuine resentment in the Islamic world?
             Khomeini's father was a high-ranking Shi'i cleric, and enjoyed a life of comparative wealth and elevated social position in their local community. As was the custom of the time he was brought up to follow in his father's religious footsteps, and he began to study under a well-known and influential cleric in Qom. At approximately the same time Reza Khan was appointed prime minister and six months later had himself proclaimed as the new monarch, ousting the Qajar dynasty that had introduced the controversial Constitutional Revolution. This political environment was all but poised to transform Iran into a contemporary secular state, thus d
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