The Study of People’s Position in the “System of Wilayah” from the Perspectives of Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei
A) “The System of Wilayah (Guardianship)” from the Perspective of Imam Khomeini:
Considering Imam Khomeini’s view of man which recognizes the will and authority for man, one may argue that people have an important place in his political thought in such a way that it is not possible to implement his political thought without considering the role of the people. From the perspective of Imam Khomeini, according to the monotheistic view of Islam, the principle of the free will of individuals is recognized and human beings can determine their own destiny. On this basis, one’s ruling over others is rejected and illegitimate, except by the permission of God who manages all affairs in the universe. He is the One Who gave man the right to determine his destiny and created him to be free.
In Imam Khomeini’s political thought, people play a pivotal role both in the establishment of the political system and in its preservation.
He explicitly stated: “We depend on our nation’s votes. We follow up on what our nation decides. Neither God nor our Prophet Muhammad would give us the right to go against our nation’s votes.”
In Imam Khomeini’s political thought, the leader of the Islamic system is chosen by the people, and he should possess the two faculties of justice and ijtihad and the Assembly of Experts has the authority to decide whether one meets these requirements or not.
Therefore, in the political thought of Imam Khomeini, the Islamic ruler during the era of occultation is a just mujtahid who is also accepted by the people. Such a person has authority because he possesses the necessary qualifications for leadership and also enjoys popular acceptance.
The authority Imam Khomeini mentioned, in fact, means legitimacy and the right to exercise power. In other words, if two just mujtahids possess all the necessary qualifications, eventually the one who is “elected” by the people will assume the position of wilayah (guardianship). Imam Khomeini stated: “We want a divine government that acts in accordance with the will of people.”
People, Efficiency and Survival of the System of Wilayah
Another reason for Imam Khomeini’s belief in the principle of the right to self-determination lies with the principle of the efficiency of the Islamic system. the prevailing view in his theories is that no government can fulfill its various duties without the people, and this cooperation will not take place unless people accept and recognize the very essence of the political system.
He believed that with the consent and support of the people, the government would remain stable: “A government that enjoys the people’s support will not collapse. If a nation supports a regime, that regime will not be dismantled. The reason that caused the former regime to be overthrown was that it had no support; it did not have the people’s backing. The nation turned its back on it; in fact, the nation itself drove it out. When the Allies drove Reza Shah out, the people rejoiced. When this man also departed, you saw how happy the people were. It was because he did not have public support.”
The Difference Between the System of Wilayah and Western Democracy
Although people in Imam Khomeini’s view play a key role in the establishment and survival of the system of wilayah, he distinguished the system of wilayah from the democracy of the West.
He said in this regard: “Our desired democracies may be similar to those of the West’s, but the kind of democracy we are looking for does not exist in the West. Islam’s democracy is more perfect than the West’s.”
The reason behind the difference between the system of wilayah and democracy in the West lies with the issue of the essence and purpose of the governments, and the similarity of the two systems is related to the role of the people in establishing and preserving them.
This fundamental difference goes back to a set of conditions that lead to the Islamization of a political system.
Imam Khomeini said: “Islamic government is neither tyrannical nor absolute, but constitutional. It is not constitutional in the current sense of the word, i.e., based on the approval of laws in accordance with the opinion of the majority. It is constitutional in the sense that the rulers are subject to a certain set of conditions in governing and administering the country, conditions that are outlined in the Holy Qur’an and the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (s). It is the laws and ordinances of Islam comprising this set of conditions that must be observed and practiced. Islamic government may therefore be defined as the rule of divine law over men.”
The system of the Islamic Republic and its constitution should be viewed as a single body, not an entity divided into republicanism and Islamism; Because these two aspects are two parts of one body and if they are separated, the original body will be destroyed. Therefore, the principles related to the Islamism of the Islamic Republic can only be understood and explained along with other principles related to Islamism, and vice versa.
B) “The System of Wilayah” from the Perspective of Ayatollah Khamenei
“Religious democracy” is a new concept that gained an objective meaning after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and has governed the Islamic Republic of Iran for four decades.
Explaining the concept of religious democracy from Imam Khomeini’s perspective, Ayatollah Khamenei says: “The most important contribution of Imam Khomeini to the discussion of the role and status of people is that he distinguished the concept of religious democracy from what was presented by the advocators of Western democracy and their agents… The enemies of Islam have also been propagating the wrong idea that democracy and religion are not compatible with each other. But the late Imam proved the falsity of this idea by establishing the Islamic Republic, which is religious democracy.”
In 2001, Ayatollah Khamenei proposed the concept of “religious democracy” for the first time and since then it has been frequently used in his political discourse. Focusing on the use of the word religious democracy instead of similar terms shows his special attention to the semantic burden of this term and its high capacity in terms of showing the position of people and human dignity in the political system of Islam. Of course, this term does not contradict the concept of an “Islamic Republic” since both refer to one fact that is the model of Islamic government during the era of Occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (a). Ayatollah Khamenei believes that “in the political thought of Imam Khomeini, democracy originates from religion. It originates from the verse “Those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation” [Holy Qur’an, 26: 38] and “It is He who strengthened you with His help and with the means of the faithful” [Holy Qur’an, 8:62].
Religious democracy is not a system in which the government belongs to a particular class and serves its interests. The Islamic system recognizes the acquired qualifications that do not belong to a particular class; The necessary ijtihad to understand religious teachings, justice and piety, and the ability to manage the affairs of the Islamic society are all characteristics that have not been regulated on the basis of wealth, ethnicity, and race. In the system of wilayah, it is the people who choose the rulers from among the qualified and eligible ones, and the government must decide and act based on the interests of the whole nation.
People and Choosing the Ruler
In Ayatollah Khamenei’s political thought, religious democracy means that the people play an influential role in forming the government and appointing the ruler and officials of the Islamic political system, and this denotes that people also play a role in legitimizing the system of religious democracy.
“The reliance of Islamic government on people has two meanings: first, the people play a role in the establishment of the government, choosing the ruler, managing the affairs of the country, and probably determining the political and administrative system. Second, the Islamic government serves people; the Muslim ruler only focuses on the interests of people not that of certain individuals or strata. Both of these connotations can be found in Islamic governance.”
Elsewhere, Ayatollah Khamenei has again referred to these two aspects of government: “Religious democracy has two aspects. They are the role of people in establishing the government and appointing its officials and resolving the problems people face. Therefore, the officials should make every effort to resolve the problems of the people.”
People and the Efficiency and Survival of the System of Wilayah
The survival of the system of wilayah, like its establishment, depends on the presence of the people. It is precisely from this perspective that election plays a pivotal role in this political system both in terms of reliance on people and guaranteeing the popular support of the system and vice versa.
In this regard, Ayatollah Khamenei states: “The issue of election is of great significance from different aspects of which is that our government relies on the faith, emotions and interests of people. More importantly, the reason for the invincibility of this system lies with reliance on people.”
In Ayatollah Khamenei’s religious democracy, it is the will of the people that makes decisions for the country and moves it forward, yet, this decision should be based on the guidance of the religion and Islamic teachings. The position of decision-making is given to man. He believes that “people have a special status within the divine rulings and regulations presented in Qur’an; it is people who make a choice and determine the future of the country. This type of democracy is the most progressive and transcendental democracy in the world; because, it moves within the framework of divine guidance and percepts; it is the people’s choice, the one which has followed the right path by observing the perfect and flawless divine rulings.
The Difference Between the System of Wilayah and Western Democracy
The system of wilayah, despite being democratic, differs from the democracy in the West. In religious democracy, the rules and frameworks are outlined by Islam.
Ayatollah Khamenei states: “In the modern world, democracy, that is to say, the will of the majority of people, is seen as the criterion and origin of the governance. However, everyone knows that some would use any inhuman means to deviate and change the orientation of the will of people in favour of serving the interests of domineering and authoritarian rulers.”
Everywhere he states: “In today’s world, democracies are established within a certain framework. The Western democracy was based on the absolute and limitless will of people or the majority as well as their liberty, but religious democracy relies on Islam and people have accepted such framework.”
Reference: Pazhuheshnameh-ye Enqelab-e Eslami [A Quarterly Academic-Research Journal on Islamic Revolution]. Volume 9, number 33. Winter 2020, pages 1-14.
Archive of The Thought of the Islamic Revolution
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