The Fusion of Mysticism and Politics in Khomeini’s Quatrains

Abstract

Abstract Many books and articles have been published on the political career of Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–89) and his Islamic movement, which transformed Iran from a monarchy to an Islamic republic on April 1, 1979. There has been much less research, especially in the West, into the influential role that mysticism played in all facets of his life.1 Consequently, even fewer studies have been done on Khomeini’s poetry, which was composed mostly either before 1936, when he was still a student in the city of Qum, or after his return from exile in 1979. Among many other things, these poems uniquely document Khomeini’s thoughts and mystical aspirations; in this article I will analyze some of the quatrains Khomeini composed in the years 1984–85, during the Iran–Iraq war.2 These poems highlight the influence of mysticism, Shi‘ism, and martyrdom on Khomeini’s politics. The occasion for his first quatrain was the fifth anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 11, 1984.3 Within a year Khomeini composed another 107 quatrains on a variety of subjects. As in most of his poems, mysticism plays an important role in his quatrains, but several other elements also make them particularly interesting: his veneration of the controversial mystical figure of Manṣūr Ḥallāj; his references to the Battle of Karbalā and Imam Ḥusayn; and his rejection of the Ka‘ba in Mecca. These elements are also used to mobilize soldiers to the front. The interpretive challenge lies in reconciling Khomeini’s mystical poetry, figuratively rich in love and wine, with his stern public persona. The analysis offered here takes up these issues and explores how Khomeini fused mysticism with Shi‘ism and martyrdom for political ends.