ayatollah
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Also spelled ayatullah; religious scholars
of highest rank in a branch of SHI'ITE ISLAM. Ayatollah
is an Arabic and Persian word that means
"light of GOD." It denotes the religious scholars
who lead a branch of Shi'ite Islam.
Shi'ites maintain that, when MUHAMMAD died
in 632 C.E., the leadership of the Islamic community
passed to his male descendants. They call
these leaders IMAMS. Shi'ites known as "twelvers"
maintain that there was a line of 12 imams. The
twelfth imam has been in hiding since 874 C.E.
The community is now led by ayatollahs, religious
scholars who speak on his behalf.
The ayatollah best known in North America
at the end of the 20th century was Ruhollah
Khomeini (1900–89). In 1979 he instigated the
overthrow of the shah of Iran, became the head
of state, and led Iran in an aggressively anti-
American direction.
Liens utiles
- Ruhollah Khomeiny par Loly Clerc Après une modernisation sous la contrainte avec Muhammad Riza Chah, l'Iran connaîtra un retour vers un État théocratique le plus fermé avec l'ayatollah Khomeiny.
- Montazeri Hossein Ali , né en 1923 à Najafabad, ayatollah et homme politique iranien.
- ayatollah - religieux.
- L'ayatollah Khomeyni, dans une Fatwa, demande aux Musulmans d'exécuter Salman Rushdie pour le « contenu blasphématoire » de ses oeuvres.
- ayatollah - encyclopédie.