Dear Br. A. As-salaamu alaykum. This section of Islamicity requires us to abide by its guidelines of only transmitting opinions of Muslim scholars and Islamic Law and not personal opinions. Therefore, we are not allowed to give personal opinions of Imam Khomeini or of anyone else. Hence, our answer is that of the majority of the Muslim scholars regarding Imam Khomeini and the Shiites: Linguistically speaking, the term Shia means followers or supporters. In a historical context, it means the supporters of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Prophet's cousin, who became the fourth ruler of the Muslim state. When he took over, there was a split between him and other groups of Muslims over the question of dealing with those who mounted the rebellion against his predecessor, Uthman ibn Affan. At this time, there was no such sect as Shia. However, after he was assassinated, his supporters wanted his son, Al Hassan, to take over. They maintained that succession should remain among his descendants. The Shias continued to oppose the Ummayid and Abbasid governments for a very long time. This lead to the provision of a religious backing to the political opposition. Hence, the rise of the Shiite school of thought which institutionalizes the role of the imam. Thus, we have the Jaafari or the Imami school of thought which lists 12 imams whom the Shia venerate. The Zaidi school of thought, which is largely concentrated in Yemen, lists only 7 imams. The question of the role of the imam is the basic issue of difference between Shias and Sunnis. The Term "Sunni" on the other hand, means from linguistic point of view a follower of a method. In an Islamic sense, the term Sunnah means the method shown by the Prophet. Within our context, it refers to the majority of Muslims who gave allegiance to the Muslim state, starting with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and going through the Umayyids, the Abbasids, etc. They do not recognize the Shiite claim that Ali had a stronger claim to succeed the Prophet as the ruler of the Muslim state. They maintain that anyone has an equal claim provided that he meets the qualifications required for the post. The consensus among all of the Sunni scholars is that the Shiites are a Bidaa group (a group that has introduced innovation to Islam). Beyond this general agreement, the Sunni scholars differ among themselves: i.e., whether the Shiites are considered disbelievers (Kafirs) or not. The majority of the scholars doesn't consider them disbelievers but consider them extremely Fasiq (i.e., transgressors, rebellious, etc), especially for the fact that the Shiites don't respect the companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), they speak badly of them, they damn them, and they deny the legitimacy of the first three rightly guided Caliphs (Abou Bakr, Omar, and Uthman) who were brought to power by the consensus of the companions themselves. The other group of Sunni scholars considers the Shiites as disbelievers (Kafirs) on the basis of many grounds, such as the Shiites' claim that the Imams are infallible (don't commit sins) like the prophets. The Shiites also argue that the Imam has the same duty and authority as the prophets, although he doesn't receive any revelations. They also argue that the Imams are better than all previous prophets (except prophet Muhammad (pbuh)). Hence, Ali bin Abi Taleb (may Allah be please with him) is considered to be better than prophets Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus (peace be upon all of them), which is a position that the Sunni scholars refute. In our day and age, it is more important to stress points of agreement rather than points of disagreement and to try to bring a bridge between the Sunnis and the Shiites without compromising any Islamic values, because what unites Muslims is much greater than what disunites them. With the enemies of Islam trying hard to sow the seeds of discord among us, we should try our best to render their attempts futile. As to Imam Khomeini himself, no one denies the fact that on the political arena, the Islamic revolution in Iran has put some challenges against the world Superpowers. As to the issue of stoning someone to death, it is part of Islam although it is not specifically mentioned in the Qur'an, but it is in the authentic Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) which Muslims are obliged to abide by. As you know, there are several verses in the Qur'an whereby God orders the Muslims to obey Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). See for example Surah al-Imran (3) verses 32 and 132, Surah an-Nisa' (4) verse 59, Surah al-Maidah (5) verse 92, Surah al-Anfal (8) verses 1, 20, 46, Surah an-Noor (24) verses 54, 56, Surah Muhammad (47) verse 33, etc. and many other places. Having stated this, the Qur'an specifically mentioned whipping the fornicator (a person who is single -not married- and who commits illegal sexual intercourse) 100 lashes. However, the Hadith (or Sunnah) of prophet Muhammad is to stone to death or cut the head of the adulterer (a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse). As to your last question, the basic rule in Islam is that cruel and inhumane punishment is not allowed. This is based on the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which is reported in the collection of Muslim: "Allah will punish on the Day of Judgment those who punish people on earth". As you know, Islamic Law allows certain types of punishments (but not the cruel and inhumane) such as when a person commits adultery, fornication, or steals. This is stated in the Qur'an in Surah an-Nour (24) verse 2. Also, Islam allows the parents to punish their children to educate them. But Islam doesn't allow the cruel punishment and mistreatment of people such as mistreating the prisoners and war captives. See for example Surah al-Insaan (76) verse 8. Thank you for asking and God knows best. (Source: IslamiCity) Classified in Khomeini >