The Right to Vote
The right to vote is an important part of citizens’ political rights which is closely linked to their right to self-determination. This means that citizens have the right to vote because they have to determine their own political destiny.
The right to self-determination is the opposite of the imposition of the will. Therefore, the government should not impose its will so that people could determine their own destiny. “We do not want to impose something on our nation. Dictatorship is not allowed in Islam. We are in favour of the freedom of the nation. Whatever our nation has voted for, we all stand for it.” This is reflected in the well-known phrase “the criterion is the vote of the nation.” Even the government should not interpret the opinion of the people the way it wants. Imam Khomeini considers voting not only as of the right of people but also their duty. Therefore, in the statements of Imam Khomeini, wherever he has spoken of participation in the elections, the duty of participating in the elections has also been mentioned. One of the most important principles from the view of Imam Khomeini is the issue of freedom of elections. He argues that if the elections are held nominally, the only result would be the public distrust in the government and the creation of the distrust among the elites.
The Right to Protest and Criticize
Imam Khomeini considers criticism a divine gift, a constructive factor which would help the society and humanity grow believing that anyone is allowed to criticize or oppose even the rulers of the Muslim community provided that he/she does not intend to create conspiracy or take revenge and also does not violate any moral or religious standards. Imam Khomeini considers criticism necessary for making reforms and believes that: “At times you may wish to criticize something, and it is allowed to express criticism as long as it does not insult someone or some group and does not eliminate them from the society. Criticism is necessary for the rectification of affairs.”
Even the ruler of the Islamic community should be met with criticism and he must give a convincing answer to the criticism and questions. However, fairness should be observed in criticism and it should be separated from the conspiracy. “Make criticism not a conspiracy, we oppose the weakening of the Islamic Republic because it means weakening of Islam.” On the whole, Imam Khomeini welcomed the opposing ideas and criticisms and one can rarely find him prohibiting the individuals or mass media from posing doubts and questions. Even in those cases, it was the special conditions of the country which required him to act in that way.
It should be noted that, in Imam Khomeini’s view, the expediency of society, national security, well-being and the rights of the people differ from the expediency and security of the rulers. “The precise separation of these two is a fundamental necessity neglecting of which will cause a critique and evaluating society – which from Imam Khomeini’s point of view is ideal – to become a dead and silent one.”
Freedom of Political Parties
According to Imam Khomeini, the principle of freedom of forming political-social parties has been recognized by the law and the groups and parties can engage in political and social activities as long as they do not involve in conspiracy or plots. Therefore, he has always emphasized that within the framework of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all parties can freely express their views. “Parties are free to oppose us or others as long as their actions are not harmful to the country.” In sum, by studying Imam Khomeini’s views regarding parties and organizations one can realize three basic points:
A) For Imam Khomeini, freedom of creating groups and associations as well as participation in the social-political scene is one of the fundamental goals of the Revolution.
B) In Imam Khomeini’s view, the Islamic Republic has granted freedom of political and social activity to groups and parties. Therefore, the right to work and participate in the affairs of the country given to the groups and parties has made the Revolution a true liberation movement.
C) The main obstacle to the freedom of some political parties and groups is the attempt to hatch a plot, devise the plans to subvert the government and carry out actions contrary to the interests of the people. Imam Khomeini believes that parties and groups should be allowed to act freely provided that they do not engage in conspiracy and plots.
It should be noted that the views of Imam Khomeini on some political activities, such as increasing the levels of political participation and public awareness, and so on, indicate that he has been agreed with much of the functions of the political parties, yet, he did not favour certain activities of the parties, such as fighting to gain power, representing a particular class and stratum, exerting influence over decisions in an attempt to serve the interests of a party.
Social Rights of Citizens in Imam Khomeini’s Thought
The Right to Equal Social Opportunities and Facilities
Enjoying equal opportunities and facilities in society are meant to counter any social inequality. “Social inequality looks at the differences between people which affect their lives, especially the rights, opportunities, rewards, and privileges they enjoy.” The origin of these differences may vary. Property, race, gender, wealth, income, ethnicity, language, party affiliation, age, etc. are the foundations of social inequality. Every society must reduce the impact of the foundations and issues that lead to the inequality of its people so that the members would enjoy equal opportunities and facilities.
Studying Imam Khomeini’s theoretical and practical way of life shows that he has always emphasized the eradication of inequalities on the one hand and the equal enjoyment of people of opportunities on the other. Therefore, he did not accept the deep class divide in society and insisted on its elimination. While Imam Khomeini believes that half of the solution to this problem is in the hands of the people he urges those who have power and wealth to take care of the needy. Imam Khomeini suggested some solutions for that problem including paying attention to the ways to build wealth and its amount in society, the intervention of the legitimate ruler and the government in monitoring the economic activities of wealthy individuals in order to obtain its share (including taxes or even confiscation etc.) and redistributing it among the disadvantaged people. Also, Imam Khomeini emphasized that “in Islam, there is no difference between Turks, Kurds, Persians, etc. Islam is for everyone and the Islamic Republic affirms the right of all groups through Islamic justice.”
Having the Right to Social Welfare
Imam Khomeini considered having a good and prosperous life as the right of people. “All classes of people in the Islamic republic should live in welfare. In the Islamic Republic, the welfare of the poor will be addressed and the needy will find their rights fulfilled. Moreover, in the Islamic Republic, Islamic justice will be implemented and the entire nation acts in accordance with divine justice.”
Even during the war and when the country was facing economic problems, Imam Khomeini emphasized making efforts for improving the living conditions and prosperity of people.
According to Imam Khomeini, social rights would be applied to all Iranians: “not only the religious minorities are free, but also the Islamic state should defend their rights. Every person in Iran has the right to enjoy social rights, whether he/she is a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew, etc.” Imam Khomeini believes that the issue of class divide and poverty is threatening the Islamic Republic. He states: “If, God forbid, the Islamic Republic cannot resolve the economic problem, which is the priority for people, and people would get disappointed in the Islamic Republic and also lose their hope that Islam would improve the economic condition, a disaster will occur which neither you nor I, neither the clergies nor Islam can stop it.”
Having the Right to Social Justice
Social justice is about the equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity among individuals who have equal rights. There are different views on how resources and facilities should be distributed. These views can be divided into three categories. The first group are those who regard justice as absolute egalitarianism among all people (e.g., Collectivist and Marxist views); in contrast, the second group believe that people should enjoy different shares of resources and facilities because they are different in terms of the level of intellectuality, talents, and qualifications. The criterion of making such differences is the power, eligibility, talents, and merits of individuals which determine to what extent they should use the resources (such as the individualistic and liberal views). Between the two above-mentioned views, there is another view that accepts neither absolute equality nor absolute inequality. The feature of this view is that, in distributing the resources and facilities, it does not rely solely on the individual or the collective aspect. Imam Khomeini’s view of justice should be placed under the third category.
The issue of social justice is a central issue for Imam Khomeini and even it is somehow the goal of the Islamic Republic. During the struggle against the Shah’s regime, Imam Khomeini has always criticized the social and economic inequalities in society believing that the policies of the Shah’s regime have caused the deep class divide and the great gap between the poor and the rich, the lack of equitable distribution of wealth and income and consequently poverty and deprivation of most of the members of the community, only a small group of the society be provided with the educational opportunities; hence, he would criticize the Pahlavi regime for such policies emphasizing that in an Islamic government, such problems and deprivations have no place, wealth and income will be distributed in accordance with the Islamic justice and the gap between the poor and the rich will be eliminated.
The right to enjoy social justice in Imam Khomeini’s view does not mean absolute equality of people. In his view, observing justice on the basis of Islamic teachings neither means the complete freedom of the individuals to accumulate wealth, nor the absolute equality of people; rather, while giving the individuals the freedom to use their talents and creativity he thinks that poverty and deprivation should not be seen in an Islamic society. In fact, according to Imam Khomeini, there should be some mechanisms for the economic activity of individuals so that the deep class divide in society will be eliminated and, as he stated, “a normal life will be provided for all people.”
In Imam Khomeini’s opinion, “The set of Islamic rules regarding the economic issues will be most effective when they are regarded as a coherent school within the body of Islam and completely implemented; hence, the problem of poverty will be resolved, people will not become corrupt by seeking the acquisition of wealth and thus the whole society will be protected from corruption, and ultimately the growth of talents and the flourishment of human creativity will not be hindered.”
Conclusion
What is nowadays is outlined in the views of political and social thinkers as the “citizenship rights” is a new phenomenon; however, some of its cases have already been discussed by scholars in the field of “human rights” and have been incorporated into the constitutions of the countries. Individuals, merely because of being humans, are entitled to rights, but their citizenship and membership in a nation-state also make them entitled to other rights (and duties). Citizenship is the result of the relationship between the individuals and the state and its content is determined by the quality and manner of this relationship. Citizenship rights are a major part of this relationship and, for scholars and thinkers, the levels of its quality and quantity are based on their opinion regarding the manner of this relationship. For Imam Khomeini, citizens have a wide range of civil, political and social rights that the government should provide and protect. While these rights are not mentioned in his works and statements in the context of the concept of “citizenship rights,” yet he has often addressed and emphasized their indicators, instances and aspects, as mentioned before.
Archive of Imam Khomeini
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