Imam Khomeini considers the model of the religious ruling to be the legal (jurisprudential) sovereignty. The legal government, according to his view, can be explained through the justifying principle and its main features and context. In the view of Imam Khomeini, the principle of legal justification and the criterion of the religiousness of the government are the implementation of religious rulings by the state; therefore, the religious government is legal (jurisprudential). The most important characteristics of such a government are:
- Governing is among the conventional regulations.
- The jurists have general authority and guardianship and in terms of observance of religious law, their authority would be considered through the framework of the interests of the society and non-interference with the guardianship of other jurists.
- The political leader of a religious state shall be elected by the shari’ (lawgiver) via a general appointment.
- Although all the eligible jurists are given the authority, in practice, in order to prevent chaos, one of them would actualize the guardianship.
- The political leader must be a jurist and observe justice. The background and assumption of such a government are two things;
- The comprehensiveness and responsiveness of religion to all human needs and the integration of religion and politics. As such, the Islamic Republic, as an example of the rule of the law, has a legacy of transcendent principles, and its Islamic feature reflects this.
On the other hand, republicanism in the title “Islamic Republic” expresses the most fundamental value of contemporary political thought; that is to say freedom. Principles are often considered within the contemporary republics, that would guarantee the citizens’ engagement in various activities that require participation and support their efforts in this regard. These principles include all kinds of civil liberties under the name of legal conditions. However, freedom has two meanings in contemporary political thought. In one usage, the term refers to the liberation from the external forces (laws, customs, geography). Freedom, which in this context means the absence of external constraints, is called negative freedom or “freedom from.” Another use of the term “freedom” involves the concept of having some talent and ability for some activities. Using the available opportunities, one should be able to utilize those abilities. Freedom in the latter usage is called positive freedom or “freedom over.” What is considered as legal terms would represent the first application of freedom. Also, we will discuss issues related to its second use through the title of psychological conditions. Civil liberties are essential to the functioning of governments and are often referred to as rights because they are essential.
Political Freedoms
Political freedoms in contemporary republics are the freedom to do all sorts of tasks that the popular government requires. These essentially include freedom to use tools through which citizens can make their voices heard and have a practical impact on the government. The questions with which we deal in this section are:
- What is the role of the people’s vote in the Islamic Republic and how is it guaranteed
- How is the right to form political parties and what are their activities?
- How do non-political associations emerge? How they continue their activity?
Concerning the first question, the most important political freedom in contemporary republics is the right to vote for citizens. Every member of the community should be dignified as an individual and his or her right to do so must be protected. Imam Khomeini recognized this right for the people and wrote in his will:
“My advice to the honourable nation is to participate actively in all parliamentary and presidential elections and those of the Assembly of Experts to determine the Council of Leadership or the Supreme Leader. Thus, non-participation in elections by the people ranging from religious jurists and authorities to bazaar people, workers, farmers, civil servants, etc. whether among the present or future generations indicates their irresponsibility towards the destiny of the country and Islam. In certain cases, any failure to participate in the affairs of the state and elections would be taken as capital sins.”
Of course, equitable representation systems need to be created and the majority’s use of power is constrained and various technical tools are put in place so that people would be able to influence their government. These tools and systems must observe justice and should be in accordance with the spirit of the rule of law (in the view of Imam Khomeini); The government that these tools are intended to serve. During the first ten years of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini provided valuable guidance in the above cases. For example, while making remarks before the gathering of the governors and officials, he addressed the characteristics of the members of the parliament. At that meeting, he pointed to features such as having expertise in politics, economics and commitment. Also, in his message on the occasion of the third parliamentary elections, he urged Iranian people to vote for committed, responsible individuals who would defend and protect the lower classes of society.
Once the tools of participation are provided – with all its complexities – the right of every citizen to use them freely must be strongly protected. Imam Khomeini also mentioned this in his will and said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, otherwise, everything will get out of control. This is a fact that you and I have seen after the Constitution Movement.” Regarding the second question, namely the issue of the right to form political parties and organizations, it must be said that the political struggle in society is carried out in two ways; Fighting against the regime and carrying out the struggles within the regime.
Imam Khomeini’s reaction to this matter was: “Now, the jurists have different opinions in the political, religious, military, economic, and cultural issues such that even we see disagreement over an issue on which it is claimed that there is an agreement among all the scholars. Today, with utmost delight due to the Islamic Revolution, the statements of the jurists and authorities have been extended to radio, television and newspapers. There is a practical need for such discussions and issues… Thus, in the Islamic government, the gate of ijtihad must always be open and the nature of the revolution and the system always requires that deductive-juristic views in various areas, though opposing one another, are freely expressed and no one can and should stop it. Yet, what is important is the correct understanding of the government and society based on which the Islamic system could set a program for the benefit of the Muslims wherein the unity of the policy and action is necessary, and on account of this that the conventional ijtihad in the religious seminaries is not enough.”
Nevertheless, please note that so long as there are differences and discussions within the confinement of the abovementioned issues, there is no threat to the revolution. If the difference were on the principles and foundations, it would lead to the slackening of the system. If there is a difference among the individuals and parties affiliated with the revolution, it is purely political although an ideological colour is given to it. It is because all are in common regarding the principles and it is on this account that I confirm them all. They are loyal to Islam and the revolution; they are concerned with the country and the people; each of the groups has its design and view for the advancement of Islam and serving the Muslims, which to my opinion, brings out the deliverance.
However, both parties pay attention to the fact that assuming stances should be such that while preserving the principles of Islam throughout history, they should be the keepers of their and the people’s revolutionary wrath and rancour against Western capitalism, on top of which is the world-devouring the United States and the international communism and socialism, on top of which is the aggressor Soviet Union.
Now we have to deal with the third question; That is, the question of establishing the socio-cultural institutions and organizations. The political significance of such communities is that, in addition to their indirect impact on social policy, they play a direct role in the political arena of society, sometimes as pressure groups. The most important of these organizations was the Islamic associations whose necessity was emphasized by Imam Khomeini. In this regard, he says: “The existence of the Islamic associations in the country, and especially in the revolutionary organizations, is necessary.”
Freedom of Expression
The freedoms regarding expression can be divided into smaller freedoms, two of which are the most important in contemporary republics; Freedom to suggest and freedom to oppose. In a republic government, citizens need to be free to suggest different ways of doing things. In the absence of such freedom of expression, although the citizens may have the opportunity to express a preference for the solutions offered to them, yet they will not have the most productive form of participation. Deprivation of this type of freedom will include the one who suggests and also other citizens would not be able to study it. This attitude has so far been endorsed by Imam Khomeini and is confirmed by the statements he was made, especially on the issue of political parties. But the important point is that in order to use the freedom of suggestion, logical methods should be devised and the opportunity for implementing them should be given to the representatives of people.
In the long-term and the short-term, there is nothing better than listening to and evaluating the arguments of those who oppose freedom of expression that can help to underpin the republic. During the first days of the revolution, Imam Khomeini has said in this regard: “In the community that we are seeking to establish, Marxists will be free to express themselves because we are certain that Islam can deal with and meet all the needs of the people. Our faith and belief can encounter their ideology.”
In light of what is mentioned above, the answer to the question of defending the freedom of expression which is against the freedom of expression becomes clear. The fact that the republic government should be able to defend itself is an acceptable principle, but it does not denote that the open advocacy of violence would endanger society to the extent that it becomes necessary to be prevented.
The Intellectual Conditions of the Religious Government
The intellectual conditions of a government are conditions that make it possible for citizens to apply their intellectual talents to their public affairs. The following reason is the basis of the intellectual conditions. These conditions are essential to managing community affairs through direct and indirect participation. The intellectual conditions of the government can be examined in the light of three basic questions:
- What is the mechanism for providing information upon which the citizens can act consciously?
- What is the role of educating and training the citizens to enable them to use the provided information consciously?
- How to develop the art of consultation so that the utilization of insight or reason would become possible in social matters?
Regarding the first question, it should be said that in a successful republic, members of the community must have easy access to reasonably accurate and complete reports of the facts which are necessary for making wise decisions. When inconsistent narratives of the facts emerge, everyone should have access to those narratives. Providing such materials is the intellectual prerequisite of any successful republic. As every individual should take the responsibility of obtaining the information needed to carry out his or her work successfully, any society that hopes to build a republic must also take the responsibility of providing and disseminating all the information necessary for governing through public participation. Providing the information here goes beyond the freedom of spreading ideas and events. That is to say, beyond the freedom of publishing and disseminating there must exist the dissemination of the realities.
Therefore, in a republic government, the prominent press should be supported and strengthened. The press here includes newspapers, periodicals, radio and television, and public and private broadcasting agencies. The independence of newspapers and news outlets should be defended and supported. People need to hear any criticism of how their affairs are managed and should always be careful that their leaders would not attack the press that criticizes their leaders’ policies and even personal behaviour.
People should never be limited to just hearing the news which the authorities let be broadcasted, or hearing what those authorities find appropriate for broadcasting in terms of the time and the way they are being presented. Therefore, the news must be properly and thoroughly presented to the public, and this requires a brave and powerful press. Imam Khomeini says: “In every country, the press, television and radio must be at the service of the nation. The press should see what the nation wants and what the nation’s path is, making people aware and enlightened.”
Conclusion:
The purpose of this article was to show the essential elements needed to establish a republic state on the one hand and to show the position of Imam Khomeini on the other. As stated throughout the paper, not all of the essential elements of the conditions of having a religious government have been stated by Imam Khomeini, and therefore a complete theory based on his views cannot be reached in this regard. But his jurisprudential-political view especially by presenting factors such as providing a more general definition of ijtihad, rulings of the governing, the role of time and place, and the element of expediency, can generalize his general pattern and legal governance and evaluate its relation to the conditions of a republic government. It is now the responsibility of the followers of his ideology to spread his political thought.
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