The Status of Imam Khomeini’s Cultural Theory in Understanding the Islamic Revolution of Iran

Imam Khomeini
The Status of Imam Khomeini’s Cultural Theory in Understanding the Islamic Revolution of Iran

A systemic understanding of Imam Khomeini’s cultural viewpoints will be possible when, by studying the different propositions being proposed by him regarding various cultural subjects, one makes a theoretical structural inference of these viewpoints. Then, based on the distinctive and specified aspect of this structure, one should try to organize Imam Khomeini’s cultural viewpoints as a coherent cultural theory. With an emphasis on the distinctive innovations and concepts of Imam Khomeini and adopting an analytic-descriptive approach, this article seeks to reconstruct Imam Khomeini’s cultural viewpoints. Moreover, it shows what capacities and areas in understanding the Islamic Revolution are achieved from the proposed framework provided by Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory.

Imam Khomeinis Cultural Theory

Imam Khomeini, either as a researcher and writer in his youth, or as the leader of a widespread political-social movement during the years 1962-1963 to 1979, or as the leader of a political system in the following years, has always highlighted the issue of culture. In the years before the beginning of the movement, he wrote important works on ethical values ​​and Islamic teachings such as Sirr as-Salat (The Secret of Prayers), Arbain Hadith (Forty Hadith) and Kashf al-Asrar (The Unveiling of Secrets) and taught as a prominent lecturer in Qom Seminary. During his uprising, he also emphasized the cultural nature of the movement such that, some non-Iranian analysts called the Islamic Revolution of Iran “The Cassette Revolution” or “The A4 Paper Revolution.” The post-revolutionary era for Imam Khomeini is the era of rebuilding a social system based on all the cultural ideas that he was recreating during all those years. At that time, he was trying to place culture as the foundation of this reconstruction in all areas:

“Undoubtedly, the most overriding element which plays a fundamental role in every society is its culture. Basically, the identity and existence of any society are made up of its culture. With the deviation of the culture, no matter how strong the society is in politics, economy, industrial and military aspects, it will become empty and hollow.”

Therefore, in reviewing Imam Khomeini’s cultural perspectives, we come across a variety of concepts that he used to teach during the years of teaching and research as well as during his uprising and afterwards, in various contexts from books, classes, cassette tapes and statements to lectures, letters to messages and outlining macro policies. He has expressed views regarding the culture which though historically and socially are vary but from a conceptual and theoretical point of view they are cohesive.

The Content of Imam Khomeinis Cultural Theory

The Priorities of Social Developments

Imam Khomeini’s social thinking can be well understood in the context of a social peacemaker. Obviously, in the context of the reformism of Imam Khomeini the modern concept of reform, which indicates making a social reform in the face of the revolution, is not considered. Likewise, understanding his theoretical perception of the revolution as well as the external fulfillment of his revolution, is not the modern meaning of the term revolution. From Imam Khomeini’s perspective, the revolution and reform do not create any duality, so he seeks social reform by the revolution and pursues social reform through the continuation of the revolution. In the process of creating a revolution and reform, he gives priority to the culture, saying: “culture is the way to make reform in a country; making reform should begin with culture.”

In the cultural theory of Imam Khomeini, this priority focuses on culture and cultural evolution since, as mentioned, Imam Khomeini regarded culture as the foundation of all social relations. And it is precisely from this perspective that, based on Imam Khomeini’s view, cultural-intellectual development is at the forefront of the social changes.

The Priorities of Cultural Development 

Another issue that should be considered is what is the priority within the process of cultural development? Which part of the cultural system of society should be subjected to change? In Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory, after discussing the priority of cultural development in social changes, it is argued that cultural development must begin with the evolution of the educational system of society:

“The biggest change that should be occurred is regarding the culture because it’s the biggest institution that leads the nation either towards annihilation or greatness and power.” Imam Khomeini views the educational system as the basis of cultural change and considers its decline as a cause of the social decline. In Imam Khomeini’s view, a society with a decadent educational system, albeit having other healthy structures, is subject to cultural decline and degeneration. According to Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory, not only culture and educational system are fundamental to the transcendental development of culture, but also the educational function of the cultural system plays a fundamental role in the reactionary and declining change and the failure of the educational system will also disrupt other social systems:

“We all know that if there is a deviation in the culture of a government, even if all its organs and officials follow the divine path, the cultural deviation will prevail over the community.”

In Imam Khomeini’s view of man, “instinct” plays a fundamental role. In the cultural theory of Imam Khomeini, we somehow encounter the social implications of the theory of instinct. One of these implications is reflected in the concept of returning to self, where Imam Khomeini interprets this concept on the basis of a return to the “primary instinct.” Hence, another context would be provided which Imam Khomeini also addresses: The “second instinct.” According to Imam Khomeini, human beings would take a secondary instinct through propaganda and the degenerated educational and cultural system.

 

Given the sustained role of instinct in human’s constructionism, returning from this secondary instinct to the primary one will be a difficult, gradual, and time-consuming process:

“We have to work hard for many years to evolve from our second instinct... we have to start from our children and our only destination is changing Western man into an Islamic human being.”

Agency in Cultural Development

What is the driving force behind the cultural change? Another aspect of Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory is the understanding of the agency of cultural evolution. There is at least one distinct dualism in this regard: elite/mass. In the view of Imam Khomeini, is the cause of cultural change more likely to be the masses of people or the elites? Does the explanation of cultural evolution on which Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory sheds light mass-based or elitist? In this context, on the one hand, Imam Khomeini has emphasized the role of the elites in cultural change and, on the other hand, he has highlighted the role of the masses in this regard believing that essentially the cultural revolution depends on a public and esoteric cultural revolution. He argues that:

“You, brothers, should know that every person should start from himself for whatever quality desired to attain perfection. If you want to continue the Islamic Revolution or a cultural revolution, it should originate from yourselves. Your spirit should change.”

Therefore, in the cultural change and returning to one’s own culture, both the general public and as Imam Khomeini states “all Muslims; scientists, writers, speakers” and elites are involved:

“In any case, the duty of Muslims as well as the Muslim scholars... is to make these Islamic countries aware that we have our own culture, we have our own rich culture.”

The Relation between Culture and Economy

Another issue that contributes to the understanding and perception of the key concepts of cultural theory is the relation between that theory and the culture. The understanding that Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory gives in this respect is largely clarified by the reasoning that he uses in defining the term culture. As stated above, it can be said that the definition of Imam Khomeini of the relation between culture and economy is the reverse of such a relation in Marxist theory. 

From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, culture is not only the foundation of the economy but also the foundation and unifying factor of all aspects of human life. Here, too, the anthropological basis of Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory is reflected. Imam Khomeini’s monotheistic attitude towards man provides an understanding of social and human relations that, on the basis of his anthropological perception, criticizes the notion that human life lies upon the economy believing that this humanist notion cannot provide a proper understanding of the nature of human beings: 

“They who talk frequently about the economy and consider it as the infrastructure of everything — because they do not have a proper understanding of what human being is — they imagine that a human is also an animal that all he cares about is food and eating! They, who consider the economy as the infrastructure of everything, regard human beings as animals. They who consider the economy as infrastructure, perverted the human being from the limit of humanity to an animal, like other animals.”

But within the understanding of man upon which the cultural theory of Imam Khomeini is based, man is a creature who peruses a purpose and may have eternal life:

“Economy is not the infrastructure, for the economy is not the human’s climax… Mankind will exist from here to ad infinitum. Human is no longer mortal. Human will exist endlessly.”

It is at this point that economy becomes a means for culture: “Our concern is not over the economy except as a means. We are concerned about Islamic education and culture.”

In fact, it can be said that in Imam Khomeini’s cultural theory, on the basis of viewing the economy as a foundation, not only the culture is not limited to and originated from the economy, but also the economy is seen as a purely cultural domain. Therefore, he uses the concept of “economic culture” which reflects the cultural nature of the economy and regards the “economic culture of capitalism and communism” as a cultural issue and the responsibility of the “scholars, jurists and clergy.”

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