Our webstie has conducted an interview with Mohammad Joub, an academic from Senegal, to know his views about personality, thought and works of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
The interview was conducted on sidelines of an international summit in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The following is the rough transcription of the interview.
Question: How do you briefly describe the personality of Imam Khomeini?
Mohammad Joub: Imam Khomeini has had a charming personality in terms of physical features and spiritual qualities. He has had been a unique, matchless figures and the leader of all ages.
Question: How you were impressed by Imam and his dynamic thought and ideals?
Imam has been unique in all perspectives. Just looking at his simple lifestyle, someone could easily guess that how great he had been. For an instance, I visited his historic simply built house in Tehran, I came to this conclusion that my house is more luxuriously built than the residence Imam opted to live after assigning responsibility as the leader of the Islamic Revolution. This divinely inspirited lifestyle attracted millions towards Imam around the globe.
Question: Do you think that the Islamic awakening has been inspired by Imam’s thought?
Mohammad Joub: There is one Hadith by the holy prophet that a reviver would emerge in each age to revive the religion of Islam. Imam Khomeini revived the religion in our contemporary era. The Islamic awakening across various Muslim countries has been certainly inspired by Imam’s path and thought.
Question: From your views, why did Imam oppose the sectarian divie among Muslim sects or divisions among followers of divine religion?
Mohammad Joub: Imam strongly believed in unity among all Muslims. He used to frequently emphasize that someone who creates divisions and strife among Muslims or followers of divine religion is playing into hands of colonial powers and watching their interests