The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1291 page)

, stories of renowned monks and nuns in previous appearances;
(xiv) 
Buddhavamsa
, stories of previous Buddhas;
(xv) 
Cariya-pi
aka
,
j
taka
stories showing how the Buddha reached the ten perfections (
p
ramit
)

.

 
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Khul‘
(divorce initiated by woman)
:

see
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE (ISLAM)
.

 
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(1902–89).
Religious leader among
Ithna ‘Ashariyya
(Twelver) Shi‘ite Muslims, and figurehead of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. He was born in Khumayn and followed a path of Islamic education in various centres including
Qom
. He became both mujt
hid and
ayatollah
. He was briefly arrested for opposing the Shah, and on his release continued to oppose the government, especially for its links with the USA and (he claimed) with Israel. In 1964 he was exiled, settling until 1978 in Najaf, in Iraq, when he was again expelled, settling this time in France. He returned to Iran in triumph on 1 Feb. 1979, after the flight of the Shah. He assumed the position of leader of the revolution. His strong understanding of authority had deep roots in the Shi‘a understanding of the
Im
m
, and Khumayni pressed into new territory in his exercise of his powers (see
AYATOLLAH
). Despite the failures of the war with Iraq and his own disappointment at the ceasefire, his popularity remained to the end; and his
fatw
against Salman Rushdie and his book,
The Satanic Verses
, was accepted widely in the Muslim world.

 
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