Imam Khomeini lived in a world in which materialism, whether in the frame of eastern socialism or western liberalism, stood out and religion, spirituality, truth and 'Idalah were exposed to threats of all sorts by ill-wishing Mammonists, with the distorted form of something devoid of truth and value lingered in human societies.
Other political manifestations of the age were colonialism, despotism, oppression and tyranny emanating from this tribulation for lack of spirituality, interdiction for 'idalah and forgetfulness of fitrat and attachment to the mundane.
Imam had the following to say about the situation of Iran in pre-revolution period:
"The Shah ruined our political, military, cultural and economic independence, making Iran dependent on the West or East in all dimensions, killing the people of Iran under torture and dungeons of prisons."
This situation is the result of worldliness and contumacy for the self and personal interests. As put by Imam Khomeini:
"Selfishness and abandonment of an uprising for God has led us to these dark times, making the world subdue us and overpowering the Islamic countries."