Imam Khomeini’s impact as a revolutionary, visionary leader is enduring: Activist

By Somayeh Khalili

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s impact as a revolutionary and visionary leader is enduring, particularly the way he rallied people against oppression and corruption from exile, according to a prominent American anti-war activist.

In an interview with the Press TV website on Wednesday, days ahead of Imam Khomeini’s 34th death anniversary, Gilda Morkert said the visionary Iranian leader and the architect of the 1979 Islamic Revolution is still remembered and revered across the world for his strong ideals.

Imam Khomeini, who forever changed the course of history, passed away on June 3, 1989. His funeral features in the Guinness world record for the number of people who took part in it – 10.2 million.

Every year, campaigners of truth and justice come together worldwide to pay tribute to the greatest leader, remembering his sacrifices and the spirited fight against corruption and despotism.

Morkert said colonialists want to have regimes that favor elites and give no voice to the majority of people, referring to the unpopular Pahlavi dictatorship before the glorious 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Moses appointed Godly judges to be fair-minded in deciding civil laws. These fair laws are important in fighting colonial battles because they involve stolen property as is going on today in occupied Palestine,” the anti-war activist from the US told the Press TV website.

She said if Imam Khomeini were present today, he would still be rallying Muslims to fight against the imperialists and arrogant powers who want to destroy the fabric of Islam.

“Right now, you have a so-called "revolution" going on. This is just another way the West is trying to destroy Muslims, pitting them against each other. This equates to the way the West provoked Iraq to fight Iran, as they want Muslims to fight and kill each other so they can get to the spoils,” Morkert said.

Calling out the hypocrisy of Western countries on human rights, the American activist said Westerners “don’t really care about women”, adding that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has the same approach as Imam Khomeini in defending the ideals of Islam and humanity.

“I agree with Mikhail Gorbachev (the former leader of the Soviet Union) that Imam Khomeini was able to fight corruption from abroad by rallying people to fight all forms of US imperialism,” Morkert said.

“This has a lasting impact on generations that a man can do so much to organize and fight for the people. The Shah wanted full control over everything so that he could enrich himself and his cronies. Even from exile, Imam Khomeini was able to uproot that regime which took great inner strength.”

She said the American rulers harp about peace while profiting from war across the world, referring to the successive US governments “breaking treaty after treaty” to which Native Americans "can attest".

“Right now, we are causing havoc and starvation in Yemen as we lie about peace. We say we want to get out of Iraq, but we are building a bigger base than we had in Afghanistan and look how that turned out.  We claim to be fighting Daesh but we said the War on Terror ended when we left Afghanistan. I could go and still not cover all lies. We cannot be trusted at all,” the anti-war activist said, laying bare lies peddled by American rulers.                        

She hailed Imam Khomeini for “securing Iran from Western influence and capitalist exploitation” and added that Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has carried forward his legacy.

Morkert said the greatness of the movement spearheaded by Imam Khomeini “was the movement itself” and the next biggest achievement was “withstanding the Western imperialism”.                             

“Right now there are many schemes aimed at breaking up your country so that the West can have control,” she remarked, referring to self-proclaimed princes and terror cult ringleaders based overseas.

“These people have even threatened my life. They see themselves as revolutionaries while killing and terrorizing innocent people on the streets of Iran,” the American activist stressed, pointing to recent deadly riots. “Anyone who is foolish enough to support them is being used and will regret it”.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir