It was the first day of Muharram and the people's struggle against the Shah's regime had reached its peak. This time, the people had added slogans on the rooftops to their struggle. Imam Khomeini (PBUH) was leading their movement, but away from his homeland. Neither the struggle nor any other matter had and would not keep him away from dhikr and worship. The late Hojjat-ul-Islam Wal-Muslimin Ismail Ferdowsi Pour, in a memoir, referred to the first day of Muharram and the special attention the Imam paid to it and quoted it as follows:
The first day of Muharram in Nofal Lochateau coincided with the first night that the people of Iran were saying takbir on the rooftops.That night, someone from Tehran called and said, "I'll put the phone by the window so you can hear the sound of people chanting Takbir mixed with bullets." We recorded the sound and took it to the Imam. The Imam was standing inside the room, rosary in hand, engaged in dhikr and performing the Ziyarat of Ashura. While we were not aware of the issues of the month of Muharram, he was performing the Ziyarat of Ashura in a land where it was perhaps being performed for the first time.
Excerpt from the book "Excerpts from the Biography of Imam Khomeini"; Vol. 3; Publisher: Oruj; 6th edition (2013), p. 41