Khomeini; Life of the Ayatollah

New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, June 2000. First U.S. Edition (stated). First printing [stated]/. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. viii, [2], 355, [3] pages. Ink name of former owner written in ink on the top corner of the front free endpaper. Includes Notes, Select Bibliography, and Index. Baqer Moin is a BBC journalist and author. He has been described as "a specialist on Iran and Islam and is head of the BBC's Persian Service" (in 1999) and as "BBC's Central Asia specialist" (2001). Moin studied in the religious seminaries of Mashhad in Eastern Iran before becoming a journalist. As of August 27, 2000 he was head of the BBC's Persian service, a broadcast service so influential in Iran that "even Ayatollah Khomeini listened to it". He is the author of the book Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah. which the NY Times called "the first serious and accessible examination of the ayatollah's life." Amazon describes him as having written extensively on Islam, Iran and Afghanistan." The previous owner's name is Jacob Singer-Beilin, believed to be the Rabbi Jake Singer-Beilin who joined Temple Chai as the Director of Education after being ordained from the Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles in 2011. In addition to his rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Jake received his Master of Arts in Jewish Education while at HUC. During this time, he served congregations in Great Falls, MT, Tarzana, CA, and Pacific Palisades, CA. He grew up in Ventura, CA, and received his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of California, Davis in 2005. During high school and college, Rabbi Jake became very involved in NFTY and URJ Camp Newman, both as a participant and staff member. He also served on staff at Gindling Hilltop Camp in Malibu, CA.

Rabbi Jake is passionate about prayer and spirituality, rabbinic literature, and providing Jewish education for all ages and learners. Iran's revolution swept away secular rule and the laws of men, replacing them with clerical rule and the laws of God. The Ayatollah Khomeini was alone responsible for this tremendous coup. The author of this book, Baqer Moin (who ran the BBC's Persian Service), had the insight and the knowledge to explain how Khomeini pulled it off. His journalistic work in Iran and with the BBC Persian Service gave him unique access both to ordinary men and women and to leading players on the political and cultural scene. The Ayatollah Khomeini was the most radical Muslim leader of this age. In transforming himself from a traditional Muslim theologian into the charismatic Iranian ruler who took on the world, Khomeini launched an Islamic revival movement that, with the collapse of communism, quickly evolved for some as the centre-piece in the pantheon of western demonology, and for others as the inspiration for spiritual and political rebirth. Whether viewed as a hero by his supporters or as a villain by his enemies, Khomeini was undoubtedly one of the seminal figures of the twentieth century, whose influence will extend some way into the new millennium. Baqer Moin here explores how and why this frail octogenarian, dressed in the traditional robes of a Muslim cleric, overthrew the secular Shah of Iran and became the spiritual leader of a new and militant Islamic regime. Still an enigma in the West, Khomeini transformed the Middle East and the world. But where did the man come from? What was his childhood and family background? What lay behind his implacable opposition to the Shah? What role did the turbulent events in Iran during his youth play in shaping Khomeini's political perceptions? What changed him from an obscure traditional theologian with mystical and poetic inclinations into a combative and highly vengeful radical? How will his vision of an international community of Muslims, a kind of Islamic Internationale, affect the Middle East? Drawing on many exclusive personal interviews with Khomeini's associates, on unpublished new materials and on the author's firsthand experience in Islamic seminaries, this biography provides a fascinating, well-documented and highly accessible analysis of the life and thought of one of the most controversial leaders of the late twentieth century.