By AIC Research Associate Brendan Rettberg

A key component of the Iranian Revolution was that Ayatollah Khomeini’s Shia Islamist ideology should be exported across the Muslim world. This goal was explicitly articulated by Khomeini and his fellow revolutionary leaders in multiple political writings and speeches during the period. A speech penned by Khomeini on the eve of the Iranian New Year in 1980 reveals his dedication to spreading the ideas of the revolution. In it he declared, “We should try hard to export our revolution to the world, and should set aside the thought that we do not export our revolution, because Islam does not regard various Islamic countries differently and is the supporter of all the oppressed people of the world.” Furthermore, the constitution of the Islamic Republic states that its “mission is to realize the ideological objectives of the movement and to create conditions conducive to the development of man in accordance with the noble and universal values of Islam.” The constitution also declares itself to be “the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the Revolution at home and abroad.”