--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or…" description: "\"Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. He was a sort of Pope, a sort of king - a real..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/oriana-fallaci-3082_arafat_khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or_251440.png" --- # Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the… ![“Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. He was a sort of Pope, a sort of king - a real leader.” quote by Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/oriana-fallaci-3082_arafat_khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or_251440.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/oriana-fallaci-3082_arafat_khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or_251440.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/oriana-fallaci-3082_arafat_khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or_251440.png) > “Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. He was a sort of Pope, a sort of king - a real leader.” [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Khomeini is portrayed as a genuine, charismatic leader unlike other regional dictators. **In simple terms:** Khomeini seen as true leader, not puppet. Key Takeaway Recognize authentic leadership. Themes politics leadership authority Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - analysisolitics - religious movements - media analysis Key Concepts charisma legitimacy cult of personality Questions to Reflect On - What defines true leadership? - How do narratives shape political perception? A Different Perspective May overlook complexities of his rule. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Islamic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islamic/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/khomeini/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Without Khomeini, we would not be where we are. What a pity that, when pregnant with him, his mother did not choose to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/without-khomeini-we-would-not-be-where-we-are-what-a-pity-that-when/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [War is something Arafat sends others to do for him. That is, the poor souls who believe in him. This pompous incompetent caused the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/war-is-something-arafat-sends-others-to-do-for-him-that-is-the-poor/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Arafat contradicts himself every five minutes. He always plays the double-cross, lies even if you ask him what time it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/arafat-contradicts-himself-every-five-minutes-he-always-plays-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [A real leader spends his time fixing the problem instead of finding who to blame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cottrell/a-real-leader-spends-his-time-fixing-the-problem-instead-of-finding/) [David Cottrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cottrell/) > [A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/a-real-leader-uses-every-issue-no-matter-how-serious-and-sensitive-to/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [If you are a real leader, every single thing is your fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-dunn/if-you-are-a-real-leader-every-single-thing-is-your-fault/) [Andy Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-dunn/) > [I believe change should come from the real leader, who can make a real peace, and his name is God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-barhom/i-believe-change-should-come-from-the-real-leader-who-can-make-a-real/) [Ashraf Barhom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-barhom/) > [There are no reluctant leaders. A real leader must really want the job. . . . If you find the need for a leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-c-eaker/there-are-no-reluctant-leaders-a-real-leader-must-really-want-the-job/) Ira C. Eaker > [A real leader is not the top dog who merely shouts down orders. a leader is one who holds the space for the brilliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/a-real-leader-is-not-the-top-dog-who-merely-shouts-down-orders-a/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I've played a lot of tough guys in movies over the years, but you know what? Looking cool and saying lines that somebody else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-searcy/i-ve-played-a-lot-of-tough-guys-in-movies-over-the-years-but-you-know/) [Nick Searcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-searcy/) > [A real leader has the ability to motivate others to their highest level of achievement; then gives them the opportunity and the freedom to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-rodgers/a-real-leader-has-the-ability-to-motivate-others-to-their-highest/) [Buck Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-rodgers/) > [Conor Coady, for example, is a real leader - he speaks to us a lot, encourages us a lot and makes sure training standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bukayo-saka/conor-coady-for-example-is-a-real-leader-he-speaks-to-us-a-lot/) [Bukayo Saka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bukayo-saka/) > [The real leader has no need to lead - he is content to point the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-real-leader-has-no-need-to-lead-he-is-content-to-point-the-way/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The great difference between the real leader and the pretender is that the one sees into the future, while the other regards only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-difference-between-the-real-leader-and-the-pretender-is/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [To get the best out of your men, they must feel that you are their real leader and must know that they can depend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-j-pershing/to-get-the-best-out-of-your-men-they-must-feel-that-you-are-their/) [John J. Pershing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-j-pershing/) ## More by Oriana Fallaci > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [One day you and I will have to have a little talk about this business called love. I still don't understand what it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/one-day-you-and-i-will-have-to-have-a-little-talk-about-this-business/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam. And Italy is an outpost of that province, a stronghold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/europe-becomes-more-and-more-a-province-of-islam-a-colony-of-islam/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I don't hide. I never have. I stay at home because I like to stay at home, and at home I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-don-t-hide-i-never-have-i-stay-at-home-because-i-like-to-stay-at/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“i live on my books. on my writings, i live on my royalties: the percentage an author recieves on each sold copy. and i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-live-on-my-books-on-my-writings-i-live-on-my-royalties-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Whether it comes from a despotic sovereign or an elected president, from a murderous general or a beloved leader, I see power as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/whether-it-comes-from-a-despotic-sovereign-or-an-elected-president/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [How do you dare to ask me for a solution? It's like asking Seneca for a solution. You remember what he did? He committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/how-do-you-dare-to-ask-me-for-a-solution-it-s-like-asking-seneca-for/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Physical courage is a great test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/physical-courage-is-a-great-test/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [If a man is a man and not a sheep in the flock, he has a survival instinct in him that leads him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/if-a-man-is-a-man-and-not-a-sheep-in-the-flock-he-has-a-survival/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [There are moments in Life when keeping silent becomes a fault, and speaking an obligation. A civic duty, a moral challenge, a categorical imperative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/there-are-moments-in-life-when-keeping-silent-becomes-a-fault-and/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Laura Bush has the face of my mother when my mother was young. The face, the body, the voice. The first time I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/laura-bush-has-the-face-of-my-mother-when-my-mother-was-young-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“La guerra è un infanticidio in massa, rinviato di vent'anni.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/la-guerra-un-infanticidio-in-massa-rinviato-di-vent-anni/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [America's vulnerability comes precisely from its strength, its wealth, its power and its modernity. It's the usual story of the dog chasing its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/america-s-vulnerability-comes-precisely-from-its-strength-its-wealth/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I defend Israel's right to exist, to defend themselves, to not let themselves be exterminated a second time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-defend-israel-s-right-to-exist-to-defend-themselves-to-not-let/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) [Explore all 118 Oriana Fallaci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) ## More Arafat quotes > [Arafat is hosting, training, supporting, sponsoring terrorist organizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/arafat-is-hosting-training-supporting-sponsoring-terrorist/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [Ask Bill Clinton about Yasir Arafat. Clinton and Barak did everything they could in 2000 at Camp David. Arafat walked away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ask-bill-clinton-about-yasir-arafat-clinton-and-barak-did-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The principal sponsors of the terrorists are not religious fanatics. "Palestine's Yasser Arafat, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and Syria's Assad family have made themselves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/the-principal-sponsors-of-the-terrorists-are-not-religious-fanatics/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [I am the Israeli leader who met most with Arafat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-barak/i-am-the-israeli-leader-who-met-most-with-arafat/) [Ehud Barak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-barak/) > [In many ways, I regard Sharon and Arafat as birds of a feather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/in-many-ways-i-regard-sharon-and-arafat-as-birds-of-a-feather/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Arafat was a barrier to peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arafat-was-a-barrier-to-peace/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas have recognized Israel's right to exist. The Israeli government has never recognized our right to a sovereign state and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-mashal/yasser-arafat-and-mahmoud-abbas-have-recognized-israel-s-right-to/) [Khaled Mashal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-mashal/) > [ \[Israel will\] create in the course of the next 10 or 20 years conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration of the refugees… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/israel-will-create-in-the-course-of-the-next-10-or-20-years/) [Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/) > [Hamas, the opponents of Arafat, the opponents of peace, urged a boycott of the election, and yet there was an 85 percent turnout where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-christopher/hamas-the-opponents-of-arafat-the-opponents-of-peace-urged-a-boycott/) [Warren Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-christopher/) > [In my view, Arafat is the only Palestinian in the world that isn't willing to have an independent Palestinian state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvan-shalom/in-my-view-arafat-is-the-only-palestinian-in-the-world-that-isn-t/) [Silvan Shalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvan-shalom/) > [I also do not believe that the United States can let itself be driven into a political role by escalating terrorism, and therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/i-also-do-not-believe-that-the-united-states-can-let-itself-be-driven/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Unfortunately, little attention was paid to how Arafat ruled. In fact, some saw the harsh and repressive nature of Arafat's regime as actually bolstering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/unfortunately-little-attention-was-paid-to-how-arafat-ruled-in-fact/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist. -Yassar Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/whoever-stands-by-a-just-cause-cannot-possibly-be-called-a-terrorist/) Call Of Duty > [Arafat contradicts himself every five minutes. He always plays the double-cross, lies even if you ask him what time it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/arafat-contradicts-himself-every-five-minutes-he-always-plays-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Terrorist organizations with specific political agendas may be encouraged and emboldened by Yasser Arafat's transformation from outlaw to statesman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/terrorist-organizations-with-specific-political-agendas-may-be/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) Browse all 57 Arafat quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. 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