Ayatollah in the context of "Title of honor"

Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian cleric, politician, political theorist, and revolutionary who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran and served as its first supreme leader from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the main leader of the Iranian Revolution, which overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and transformed Iran into a theocratic Islamic republic.

Born in Khomeyn, in what is now Iran's Markazi province, his father was murdered when Khomeini was two years old. He began studying the Quran and Arabic from a young age assisted by his relatives. Khomeini became a high ranking cleric in Twelver Shi'ism, an ayatollah, a marja' ("source of emulation"), a mujtahid or faqīh (an expert in fiqh), and author of more than 40 books. His opposition to the White Revolution resulted in his state-sponsored expulsion to Bursa in 1964. Nearly a year later, he moved to Najaf, where speeches he gave outlining his religiopolitical theory of Guardianship of the Jurist were compiled into Islamic Government.

One of the most dramatic changes in government in Iran's history was seen with the 1979 Iranian Revolution where Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The authoritarian monarchy was replaced by a long-lasting Shiite Islamic republic based on the principle of guardianship of Islamic jurists, (or Velayat-e faqih), where Shiite jurists serve as head of state and in many powerful governmental roles. A pro-Western, pro-American foreign policy was exchanged for one of "neither east nor west", said to rest on the three "pillars" of mandatory veil (hijab) for women, and opposition to the United States and Israel. A rapidly modernizing capitalist economy was replaced by a populist and Islamic economy and culture.

The leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was the Supreme Leader of Iran until his death in 1989. He was followed by Ali Khamenei.

The Islamic Dawa Party (Arabic: حزب الدعوة الإسلامية, romanized: Ḥizb ad-Daʿwa al-Islāmiyya) is an Iraqi Shia Islamist political movement that was formed in 1957 by seminarians in Najaf, Iraq, and later formed branches in Lebanon and Kuwait. The party backed the Iranian Revolution and also Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the Iran–Iraq War. It supported the invasion of Iraq. Iran played a crucial role in the development of the movement, especially its Lebanese branch which later became Hezbollah. The Islamic Dawa Party is led by Nouri al-Maliki.

According to recent analysis, in 2019, the Dawa Party was reportedly suffering from internal divisions and was in danger of losing its "political relevance".