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'''Ayatollah''' is a title conferred on [[Shia]] [[Muslim]] clerics who are considered expert in [[Islamic]] studies. It's literal meaning is "Sign of [[Allah]]" The title of Grand Ayatollah is reserved for those who have reached the very highest standards of expertise in [[Islamic]] jurisprudence.  

'''Ayatollah''' is a title conferred on [[Shia]] [[Muslim]] clerics who are considered expert in [[Islamic]] studies. It's literal meaning is "Sign of [[Allah]]" The title of Grand Ayatollah is reserved for those who have reached the very highest standards of expertise in [[Islamic]] [[jurisprudence]].  

In the West the term has become synonymous with [[Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]] who led the revolution that overthrew the [[Shah of Iran]], Mohammmad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1979.

In [[the West]] the term has become synonymous with [[Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]] who led the [[1979 Islamic Revolution]] that overthrew the [[Shah of Iran]], [[Mohammmad Reza Shah Pahlavi]]. Khomeini died of natural causes in 1989.

Khomeini's successor, Grand Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] was killed in a joint [[US]]-[[Israel]]i airstrike on February 28, 2025.<ref>https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-dozens-of-top-iranians-killed-within-seconds-of-khamenei-as-cia-role-emerges/</ref>

Khomeini's successor, Grand Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] was killed in a joint [[US]]-[[Israel]]i airstrike on February 28, 2025.<ref>https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-dozens-of-top-iranians-killed-within-seconds-of-khamenei-as-cia-role-emerges/</ref>