The Principles of the Discourse of Divergence

 

Ayatollah Khamenei’s sub-discourse of divergence on the American political system follows his “Islamist” discourse. The Islamic and monotheistic system in his view is not based on a certain class and functions contrary to sectarianism and factionalism. “All human beings live under one legal roof. They all move in the same direction and enjoy the same facilities.” Contrary to this discourse is the discourse of the “arrogant system.” In fact, Ayatollah Khamenei’s discourse of divergence opposes arrogance.

 

Referring to the Holy Quran, Ayatollah Khamenei elaborates on the meaning of arrogance: “Arrogance is a Quranic term. The word “arrogance” has been used in the Holy Quran. An arrogant individual, government or group of people means those individuals or governments who intend to interfere in the affairs of other human beings and other nations. They interfere in all the affairs of other nations in order to preserve their own interests. They think they are free to do anything and they grant themselves the right to impose different things on other nations and to interfere in the affairs of other countries. And they do not answer to anyone. This is the meaning of arrogance. At the opposite end of the scale, there is a group of people who fight against arrogance. What does fighting against arrogance mean? Primarily, it means refusing to give in to this bullying. The meaning of fighting against arrogance is not convoluted and it is not complicated. Fighting against arrogance means the refusal of a nation to give in to the interference and imposition of an arrogant power, individual or government. This is the meaning of fighting against arrogance.”

 

According to Ayatollah Khamenei, the basis of divergence and the reason for struggling against the American authoritarian system, lie with ideological beliefs and political tendencies as well as the evil nature of the American government, namely arrogance, not accepting the truth, humiliating and committing aggression against humanity, and deception. Such characteristics have made the United States unreliable and placed it at the center of global arrogance.

 

“Our view of the United States is based on the rejection of its arrogant nature, otherwise the American regime is just a government like other governments in the world. The arrogant nature of the United States, its global hegemony and its imperialism are not acceptable to us. We cannot accept these things. Therefore, this is an example of existential opposition. And this existential opposition is sometimes active and sometimes passive.”

 

Seeking independence and freedom is another principle of Ayatollah Khamenei’s discourse of divergence of the United States. Therefore, he rejects any model of progress that follows the foreigners describing it as a cause of the weakness of the country and the system: “All models of progress should ensure our national independence. This is one of the requirements, and it should be considered a criterion. Any model of progress that leads to the humiliation and dependence of the country is unacceptable. Any model of progress that makes us politically, economically, and militarily follow powerful countries is unacceptable.”

 

Ayatollah Khamenei’s Discourse of Divergence on the Authoritarian System of the United States

 

The Elements of the Discourse of Divergence

 

Ayatollah Khamenei’s Islamist discourse with the central signifier of “political Islam” is in conflict with the discourse of the authoritarian system of the United States which is based on liberal democratic thinking. Ayatollah Khamenei’s sub-discourse of divergence on the American government has floating elements and signifiers that revolve around the central signifier of being anti-arrogance. In the following, we will explain the elements of distrust.

 

The Principles of the Islamic Revolution

 

Over the past four decades, the main message of the Islamic Revolution of Iran has been to resist the arrogant system led by the United States.

 

Based on Islamic concepts and Quranic verses, he introduces the American government in the contemporary world as the tyrant, bully, rebellious and enemy of Islam:

 

“Today, after the Islamic Revolution showed the victory of Islam, the enemies of Islam and Muslims became more serious. The Islamic Revolution created new fronts against Islam, simply because it introduced Islam and showed that Islam is opposed to oppression and realized that the true Muslim is the one who does not surrender to bullying and rebellion and the system of world domination. And does not go under the load. This infuriated the hegemons and created new fronts against Islam.”

 

Political Islam

 

In recent decades, when the Islamic world faces modernity, especially the modern nation-state-building project, the discourse of political Islam has started functioning in the Islamic world based on adherence to fundamental Islamic principles. In this discourse, Islamic expressions and terminology are used to explain the political situation of society and returning to Islam is considered the only solution to the crises of contemporary society. The purpose of this discourse is to rebuild society in accordance with Islamic principles.

 

Based on the anti-arrogance principles of political Islam, Ayatollah Khamenei has warned the officials about making an exchange, not negotiating and pursuing diplomacy, with the American government, believing that the United States, because of its arrogant nature, tries to take away Iran’s independence, justice, anti-arrogance and, in a word, Islam through this humiliating exchange or deal. Therefore, the commodity that is exchanged in the two discourses of Islam and arrogance is the presence or absence of Islam in the nation and the system of the Islamic Republic.

 

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

 

Chapter 10 and Articles 152 and 153 of the constitution, refer to the rejection of all forms of domination and hegemony, the defence of the rights of all Muslims, non-alignment concerning the hegemonic superpowers, and the maintenance of mutually peaceful relations with all non-belligerent states, and rejecting any form of agreement resulting in foreign control over the natural resources, economy, army, or culture of the country.

 

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should base its general policy on establishing ties with Muslim nations and, as Article 14 stipulates, it is duty-bound to treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and equity as long as they refrain from engaging in conspiracy or activity against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

According to the Iranian constitution, the Supreme Leader is the Wali al-Faqih (Guardian-Jurist) and one of his duties is the delineation of the general policies, including the ones related to the foreign policy, of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, according to the constitution, leadership plays a role in decision-making and foreign policy. Article 110 of the constitution states that determining the general policies of the system is the duty of the Supreme Leader.

 

Imam Khomeini’s Anti-Arrogance Thought

 

Given the principle of “Denying the Domination of Unbelievers over Believers,” the logic of Imam Khomeini’s foreign policy is based on rejecting domination and fighting against arrogance. Therefore, he considers the discourse of Islam and the Islamic Revolution to be revolving around opposition to the non-Islamic and anti-human discourse of the American government thereby rejecting any relationship and negotiation with the American government.

 

To promote the discourse of distrusting the American government, Imam Khomeini (RA) states: “We simply wish to implement those two principles as per the guidance of the Prophet of Islam (s) and choose neither to oppress anyone nor be oppressed by anyone. We have been oppressed throughout the course of history; oppressed from all angles. Today, we choose neither to be oppressed anymore nor do we wish to oppress anyone.”

 

Imam Khomeini’s discourse of divergence and irreconcilability on the American authoritarian system has a strong and unique ontological and anthropological basis. This discourse is rooted in his approach towards the universe and man. While opposing the enemy (the United States), he introduces it as the Great Satan, a concept that has two important political indications. First, Satan is the source of all impurities and vices in the universe, which in the ancient religion of Iran was also referred to as the devil. Second, Satan is the irreconcilable enemy of God and man, and Satan’s confrontation with man will continue until the Day of Resurrection.

 

Explaining the divergence approach towards the arrogant American regime, Ayatollah Khamenei points to the human rights violations committed by the United States, including what happened in the Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, aiding and abetting world-famous terrorists, breaching the promises, and telling lies:

 

“I wonder why the Americans do not feel ashamed of speaking about human rights. If anyone in the world claims to support human rights, American officials should not make this claim considering all the shameful acts which exist in their performance sheet on the issue of human rights.”

 

Overthrowing Legitimate Governments

 

One of the actions of the American authoritarian system against the legitimate government of various countries is the attempt to overthrow the legitimate governments with the aim of securing its arrogant interests. Ayatollah Khamenei addresses such measures of the United States:

 

“That a government openly and without any embarrassment states that it would overthrow its enemies, is originated from the spirit of arrogance. This is what is happening in the United States today with respect to many Latin American governments and also some other governments in the world. The arrogant system takes this position because its interests will be secured by the fall of that government.”

 

Justifying the Crimes against Humanity

 

One of the notable highlights of the American hegemonic system is justifying arrogance and the crimes it commits against humanity.

 

“Another characteristic of arrogance is deception and hypocritical behaviour. They try to justify their crimes and want to show that they were rendering services by committing these crimes. The global arrogance, which intends to dominate all nations, is frequently using this method in its entire life: the method of justifying crimes and taking on the appearance of rendering services.”

 

Imposing War

 

One example of the methods employed by the global authoritarian system against Iran was the imposition of war. Ayatollah Khamenei has considered the imposition of war as one of the measures taken by the arrogant powers to deal a blow to the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic.

 

As far as the role of the United States in imposing the war on Iran is concerned, it should be noted that at a time when diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq had been severed for years and Iraq was a member of the Eastern Bloc and an enemy of the Zionist regime in the region, Carter’s national security adviser, Brzezinski, visited Iraq shortly before its attack on Iran, and hence diplomatic relations were established again between the United States and Iraq. In the meantime, the green light to attack Iran was given to Iraq by the American government.

 

Exerting Influence and Creating Chaos and Disorder 

 

The awakening of the oppressed nations during the last half-century has endangered the interests of the arrogant powers and a new era of colonizing and plundering countries began. In this period, which is sometimes referred to as the “Post Colonialism Era,” the nations would come under the influence of money, media and the indoctrination of Western culture and attempts are being made to make the actions of superpowers seem acceptable and justified. With this plan, they drive the nations towards their own interests without physically being present in the countries. Ayatollah Khamenei states: “The less a nation influenced by the foreign powers and enemies the more success it will gain.”

 

Also in the 1990s, the United States tried to support protests of July 1999 in an attempt to show that they target the system of the Islamic Republic. Likewise, in the 2009 Sedition, the United States, while adopting a soft method of overthrowing, sought to overthrow the Islamic government by supporting and organizing the protests and demonstrators inside and outside the country. While acknowledging the United States' involvement in the 2009 post-election unrests, Hillary Clinton says: “The United States has played a very important role in Iran’s ‘Green Revolution.’ The United States Senate also approved a plan based on which $ 55 million would be dedicated to fighting internet censorship and expanding the networks of communication in Iran.”

 

Islamophobia

 

Ayatollah Khamenei believes that the reality of and the reasons for Islamophobia in the West lie with fear of political Islam, fear of Islamic rule, fear of the presence of Islam in the heart of society and fear of Islam harming the interests of the arrogant regimes. He states: “Some individuals are frightening people, societies, youth and minds of Islam. Who are these individuals? When we delve deeper into this matter and when we think carefully about it, we see that they are the same minority of bullies and greedy individuals who are afraid of the rule of Islam. They are afraid of political Islam. They are afraid of Islam’s presence in the heart of societies. The reason for their fear is that Islam harms their interests.”

 

The United States’ Breach of Promise

 

The United States’ spirit of domination and exploitation indicates its non-compliance with national, regional and international obligations. History has shown that the American government has violated international treaties on several occasions and has never responded to this unprofessional, illegal and inhumane behaviour. The history of Iran-United States relations is also full of unilateral United States breaching of international obligations, a clear and recent example of which is the United States’ unilateral and illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA, an international agreement.

 

Reference: Islamic Revolution Research [A Quarterly Scientific Journal]. Vol 9, No 34, Fall 2020, Pp 100-117.

 

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