Final answer:
Atatürk's cultural revolution modernized and secularized Turkey with democratic reforms, while Khomeini's Iranian Revolution established an Islamic state with a strong anti-Western and theocratic focus, highlighting a significant divergence in the trajectory of each nation's political and social development.
Step-by-step explanation:
When comparing Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's cultural revolution in Turkey to the Iranian Revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini, we are looking at two significant historical events that reshaped their respective countries in different ways. Atatürk's post-World War I changes aimed to modernize and secularize Turkey, introducing democratic institutions, codifying equal rights for women, replacing the Arabic alphabet with a Latin one, and adopting European fashion and legal systems. In contrast, the 1979 Iranian Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini established an Islamic state with a strong anti-Western stance. This movement replaced the US-backed shah with a government led by religious clerics, markedly reversing the country's direction toward theocracy and strict adherence to Islamic principles.