Establishing the Islamic Rule on the Basis of Justice
Imam Khomeini believed that one of the important goals of the struggle of the Iranian people is founding a government upon justice to which all humans aspire: “We want a just government; we want a government that observes the Islamic justice.”
Basically, he considered the ideal government to be justice-based believing that the establishment of an Islamic state requires the establishment of a just government.
“What we mean by the Islamic rule is the just government. We say that there should be a ruler who does not commit transgression against the bayt al-mal (public treasury).”
He characterizes all institutions and structures of Islamic rule as being just believing that this feature is not limited to the judiciary system. At the top of the pyramid of the government is the wali al-faqih (guardian-jurisprudent) and other positions are given to those who possess the faculty of justice. Therefore, in his view, one of the basic characteristics of the wali al-faqih (guardian-jurisprudent) is justice: “If the jurisprudent commits even a minor sin, he would no longer be the guardian-jurisprudent.”
However, in the view of Imam Khomeini, all the institutions of the Islamic state, including the military and law-enforcement agencies, should observe justice. “Observing and acting upon the Islamic justice is not limited to the judiciary system and it should be seen in other organs of the Islamic Republic’s system from the parliament, the government and its affiliated offices to military forces and other institutions.” The founder of the Revolution expressed hope that we would continue the struggle until the establishment of an Islamic and just government to which everyone should make efforts: “With the help of the God Almighty, we would continue fighting until the collapse of Imperialism and the establishment of the rule of justice.” Thus, the most important goal of Imam Khomeini in his struggle is establishing an Islamic government.
The Revival of Religion and Implementation of Divine Decrees
Imam Khomeini always pointed out the danger of the attack of enemies on religion which is carried out by their internal mercenaries stating that the purpose of the struggle is reviving and defending the religion and enforcing the Islamic shari’ah: “Today is not a day to sit at home and pray; it is a day of struggle. It is the day of the attack of the enemy against religion and we have to stand up against the enemy...”
Elsewhere, he says that the reason for the uprising of people is the danger that threatens religion, “When one finds the religion of God to be in danger he has to rise up for the sake of God.” Therefore, he believes that observing taqiyyah (taking precautions) sometimes is forbidden so that religion would be protected, “In some cases observing taqiyyah is haram. When one sees that the religion of God is in danger, he cannot observe taqiyyah...” Also, he said that the main factor behind the uprising of people against the regime is its hostility to Islam: “The main cause of the uprising of people is the Shah and his regime ...They have shown hostility towards Islam and have sought to undermine Islam which safeguards the country’s freedom and independence...”
In his book Hokumat-e Eslami (Islamic Government) Imam Khomeini quotes a part of Imam al-Husayn’s speech in Mina in which he outlined the purpose of fighting against the oppressors. One of the goals of his uprising of Imam al-Husayn which he has set out in this sermon is the fulfillment of divine decrees.
“Oh, God! You know that everything we did was not prompted by rivalry for political power… rather it was done to demonstrate to men the shining principles and values of Your religion… and to act in accordance with the duties You have established and the norms, laws, and ordinances You have decreed.”
Describing the criterion of the uprising and struggle as the eradication of the divine laws and decrees, Imam Khomeini believes that whenever they want to act against and violate the divine laws, starting an uprising becomes obligatory since the purpose of the uprising is enforcing the divine laws.
Supporting the Oppressed
Supporting the oppressed people was at the forefront of Imam Khomeini’s movement and words. He repeatedly expressed the support of the Islamic Revolution of the oppressed of the world and formally stated in his public and private remarks and interviews that: “We support the oppressed people wherever they are.” Elsewhere, he says: “Of course, we support all the oppressed of the world, and seek that the oppressed people overcome all the tyrants.” He has repeatedly stated that we support all liberation movements throughout the world. “… We support all liberation movements around the world that fight for God, for truth, and freedom.”
Addressing all the oppressed people in the world, Imam Khomeini calls for the fight against oppression and states that God has promised to help those who are oppressed, so you people without being afraid should fight against them under the banner of Islam because you will be the heirs of Imam. Imam Khomeini has proved his view regarding the necessity of supporting the oppressed people by pointing out to a sermon made by Imam Ali which is called al-Shiqshaqiyyah:
Imam Ali says: “What made me accept taking part in the ruling system and be the ruler of the community was that there had been the pledge of God with the learned to the effect that they should not acquiesce in the gluttony of the oppressor and the hunger of the oppressed.”
Again, Imam Ali emphasizes that he has accepted the caliphate and rulership not for political and material motives but to support the oppressed and disadvantaged people, “Oh my God! Thou knowest that what we did was not to seek power nor to acquire anything from the vanities of the world.” Thereafter, he expresses his purpose and those of his companions of trying to establish a government and seeking power by stating that: “We rather wanted to restore the signs of their religion and to usher prosperity into their cities so that the oppressed among them might be safe and their forsaken commands might be established. Oh My God! I am the first who leaned (towards Thee) and who heard and responded (to the call of Islam). No one preceded me in prayer (salat) except the Prophet.”
As we have seen, one of the goals of Imam Ali in seeking power is the security of God’s oppressed servants in society. Elsewhere, the founder of the Islamic Revolution points out to Imam Ali’s will to his two children, who said: “Be an enemy of the oppressor and helper of the oppressed.” Accordingly, Imam Khomeini says: “It is our duty to save the oppressed and deprived people. We have a duty to support the oppressed and be the enemy of the oppressors.”
The Islamic scholars are obliged to stand up against the monopolism and the illegitimate acts of the oppressors; they should not let people go hungry and deprived while the predatory oppressors live a happy and luxurious life...”
The leader of the Revolution quotes a hadith from Imam Ali in this regard: “I have accepted to be the ruler because of the pledge of God with the learned to the effect that they should not acquiesce in the gluttony of the oppressor and the hunger of the oppressed.”
Imam Khomeini insists on this fundamental principle that from the Islamic point of view one neither should oppress nor be oppressed, and this principle is emphasized by the Holy Quran. The Islamic nation is a follower of a school the motto of which is: “Deal not unjustly” and “you shall not be dealt with unjustly.” Elsewhere, he emphasizes on this issue saying that: “Under the leadership of the Prophet of Islam, we want to put these two words into action, neither oppress the others nor being subjected to oppression...”
According to Imam Khomeini, the root of submitting to the oppression and dealing with others unjustly is the lack of purification of the soul. Therefore, purification of the soul is the solution for such misbehaviour from which individuals or communities suffer.
Nurturing the Faithful Individuals
In essence, the environment plays a very important role in the upbringing and nurturing of the people of society. On the other hand, the rulers of the community also have an influence on the environment, as it often is shaped the way the rulers of society would wish because “people follow the path and religion of their rulers.” Therefore, it is necessary to confront the unjust rulers in order to have an influential and faithful generation. Imam Khomeini says: “We should provide favourable social conditions for nurturing the faithful and virtuous people. And such an environment is precisely the opposite of a situation in which the taghut (illegitimate ruler) has dominance. The social conditions in which a polytheist system and taghut have dominance require the same corruption you see. This corruption must be eradicated and those responsible for it should be held accountable.”
In a situation where society is plagued by corruption and polytheism, the believer has two ways to go: to commit misdeeds and sins. Or to oppose the taghut so that to avoid committing such acts and obeying the unjust rulings.”
The Attitudes of Struggle
Contrary to some, Imam Khomeini began his struggles against the taghut regime from the twentieth century on two theoretical and practical fronts. He started his uprising with a fundamental and unprecedented motto in the contemporary world that “we are all tasked with fulfilling the duty not achieving the results.” Hence, that struggle was different from all other struggles in terms of form and content. For some reason, Imam Khomeini tried to avoid the armed struggle that was common in modern movements and revolutions. Following the massacre of August 8, 1978, that occurred in Shohada Square of Tehran, Imam Khomeini, who was at the time in Paris, repeatedly gave a negative answer to the question that whether it is time to change the strategy of fight from peaceful to an armed one against the army or not. His method of struggle was often based on cultural and propagational orientations with emotional slogans such as we gave you followers you gave us bullets. He tried to stop the confrontation of the nation and the army by showing respect towards the army forces. With this strategic decision, the ambitions and wills of the enemies of the Revolution who sought to turn the nation and army against each other did not come true. In the following, we will examine the attitudes of Imam Khomeini regarding the fight against the regime in different eras.
Imam Khomeini’s Struggles in the 1940s and 1950s
Imam Khomeini’s struggles against oppression began with the writing of the book Kashf al-Asrar (The Unveiling of Secrets) in 1945. Of course, before the publication of this book, there is a practical history of political struggles in his life. For example, in mid-May 1944, Imam Khomeini wrote a letter to people calling them to rise up against injustice and cruelty. In this letter, people and scholars are being addressed: “If you lose the opportunity and do not rise up for God and do not revive the religion, soon a group of debauched and immoral people will overtake you and would desecrate your religion and honour.”
At the beginning of the book Kashf al-Asrar, he explained the role of the public in the fight against the unjust Pahlavi regime, noting that “after the demise of the Prophet of Islam until today, the only people who protected the religion of people and confronted the enemies were the scholars and others either did not have such a duty or did not consider themselves responsible for doing so.” He believed that, for this reason, the agents of the arrogant powers were trying to make people become pessimistic about the clergy and were spreading superstitions among them and in different ways so that to undermine the position and tarnish the reputation of clergies among people.
In the introduction of the book, he states that his motivation for writing such a book is to defend the clergies and their intellectual foundations who rose up against the unjust rulers.
The fourth part of this book illustrates the concepts of the oppressive and unjust government. In this section, he thoroughly outlines the Shi’ah foundations regarding how to interact with the tyrants and also clarifies the concept and meaning of the hadiths indicating that any Islamic government that would be established before the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi is illegitimate so that to refute the claims and arguments presented in a book titled Asrar-e Hezar Saleh (The Thousand-Year Secret).
Moreover, that part of the book goes through other issues such as the Islamic laws regarding paying the tax, the compulsory military service, etc. in the current government.
At the end of the book, Imam Khomeini called on the writers and authors to enlighten people about this so that their conscience will be awakened and they would rise up against the regime. “At the end of the book, I would ask the writers or journalists... that while observing courage and self-sacrifice in terms of the intellectual activities, to together awaken the nation and revive the sense of religiosity in people, which has been strangled for years, so that they would not be used by others.”
According to Imam Khomeini, the regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was an illegal regime imposed by the Allies. “The Shah is the main culprit and puppet of the Allies.” In an interview with the weekly magazine Amsterdam Neuro in the Netherlands and in response to the question why you oppose the Pahlavi regime, he stated: “First of all, from the beginning, the two Pahlavi regimes were against the will of the people, and secondly, they have been imposed on us by the foreigners so that to serve their interests.” Imam Khomeini called the Shah a foreigner, a rebel, a puppet... believing that he was a rebel because the United Kingdom has helped him to gain power and the United States and the Soviet Union also supported him for their own interests. He was the puppet of the United Kingdom. “The United Kingdom gave him power and sent him here. He was missioned to make the country experience failure, to be a backward country, and to cripple our economy etc...” Likewise, calling the Shah the servant of the United States, he said, “He is a servant of the United States and the one who has handed all our resources to the United States on a silver platter.” Following Imam al-Husayn, he began the uprising and the fight against the regime in order to execute divine decrees and said: “I expressed my understanding and, like Imam al-Husayn, decided to fight against the illegitimate rulers and tyrants for preserving the essence of religion. As long as their agents do not stop using force and committing oppression, I will continue fighting.”
Although Imam Khomeini, like Ayatollah Boroujerdi, did not take a clear position on the issue of Nationalization of the Oil Industry of Iran, he criticized Dr. Mosaddeq, who was one of the leaders of the movement reproaching him for not opposing the Pahlavi regime and its monarchy as the cause root of the problems of the country. Strong protests and criticism of Imam Khomeini regarding the regime at that time indicated that he had sought to fight the Pahlavi regime from the beginning.
Another action of Imam Khomeini, which reflects the approach of his fighting strategies, was his support of the Fada’iyan-e Islam Group. After the trial and execution of the members of the Fada’iyan-e Islam Group in 1955, Imam Khomeini personally visited Ayatollah Boroujerdi to prevent their execution. Then, through a letter to some of the scholars of the time, he demanded that the execution should not take place. According to some analysts, Imam Khomeini did so because he felt that executing Navvab Safavi meant taking revenge on political and combatant clergy which may result in the arrest, trial and subsequent executions of other clergies. Thus, it can be seen that Imam Khomeini began his struggle with the Pahlavi regime in the early 1940s.
Imam Khomeini’s Struggles in the 1960s
Provincial and State Associations; the First Public Resistance of Imam Khomeini and the Scholars (scholars)
The first important issue that caused Imam Khomeini and other scholars to show reactions to the Pahlavi regime was the adoption of the Bill of the Provincial and State Associations in the Cabinet on October 8, 1962. The formation of these associations has been approved by Articles 91 and 92 of the Constitution. However, Articles 7 and 9 of the Rules of Procedure of these associations, approved by the first Majles, determined conditions such as the belief in Islam, believing in the necessity of observing ethical codes, taking the oath to the Quran, and being a male as the major requirements of the constituencies and the candidates. By proposing this reform bill, the Alam government tried to eliminate some of the requirements in an attempt to pave the way for the presence of women and non-Muslims in the associations.
But from the very beginning, the bill was strongly criticized by Imam Khomeini. In his telegram to the Shah on November 6, 1962, Imam Khomeini declared this sanctioned law as betrayal, wrong action, an ominous plan of the enemies of Islam and the Iranian nation, desecrating the Holy Quran, an unforgivable sin for which the government should ask forgiveness. On the same day, he sent another telegram warning the Alam government about its consequences. In addition, he expressed concerns about that bill by sending a telegram to the Shah. Also, Imam Khomeini immediately invited the prominent scholars of Qom to discuss and decide on this matter. At this meeting it was decided that: First, the scholars and authorities would send a telegram to the Shah demanding its immediate nullification. Second, the scholars of Tehran and other cities should become informed through letters and messages and be invited to inform people and to confront the government. Third, a follow-up meeting of scholars would be held once a week. At the same time, Imam Khomeini suggested that the telegrams sent to the Shah should be made available to the public. Other scholars also send similar messages and the preachers and speakers in other cities and mosques called people to mobilize against the bill and showed their concern in this regard to the Shah.
Also, in response to the question of the guilds of Qom regarding the reaction and interviews of the government in this regard, he said: “Those who remain silent would be held accountable before God and they doomed to decline in this world.”
Although the government rejected the demands of the scholars and in reply stated that the time does not go backwards and the government would not back down from its plans, the continued struggles of Imam Khomeini and people along with the concerns that these protests may be spread, finally the Alam government was forced to agree to the demands of people through sending a telegram to three of the maraja’ (senior religious scholars) on October 14, 1962.
The White Revolution; the Confrontation between the Shah and Imam Khomeini and the Scholars
In the late 1950s, Kennedy became the president of the United States with the slogan of making economic reform in the United States and Western bloc countries.
Mohammad-Reza Shah travelled to the United States in the early 1960s. After returning to Iran and having a secret agreement with Kennedy, the Shah ousted Amini the prime minister, and on January 9, 1963, he announced that he is planning to carry out the program of the Shah’s revolution which was later called the “White Revolution.” The six principles of the Shah’s White Revolution were: nationalization of the forests, selling the state-owned companies stocks, giving a share of profits of the factories to the workers, making reforms in the election laws including giving the right to vote and to allow women to be candidates in the parliamentary elections, mobilizing people to gain knowledge, and most importantly, land reforms.
In response to this action, Imam Khomeini invited scholars and maraja’ to convene a meeting. At this meeting, he explained various aspects of the issue and asked the scholars to examine the matter, and it was decided that the government should send someone to Qom to explain the goals and motives of the Shah regarding this plan.
Although the request was accepted by the Shah and a delegate came to Qom and had meetings with the scholars, yet he could not convince them. The court ceremonial chief and the chief of the SAVAK also spoke to the scholars in this regard but to no avail. It is not clear whether or not Imam Khomeini disagreed with the Sixth Principles, the way to implement them, to hold a referendum on them or both. However, on January 22, 1963, Imam Khomeini issued a statement and rejected the referendum. Subsequently, people and students in Tehran, as well as the clergies in Qom, came out in the streets chanting “the false referendum is against Islam” and “yes to reforms, no to dictatorship” and the forces of the governments clashed with people. Also, other scholars supported Imam Khomeini and opposed the referendum. Other scholars, including Grand Ayatollahs Golpaygani, Khoei, Khansari, and Mohammad Behbahani also through issuing statements in late January 1963, boycotted the referendum. However, the referendum was held on January 26, 1963. On the other hand, the clergies, following the advice of Imam Khomeini, carried out a negative protest against the Shah’s action by closing the mosques on the month of Ramadan of that year and the fight of the religious forces also continued.
These protests led to a severe crackdown on the seminary students and the brutal attacks of the regime’s forces on Feyzieh Seminary. Thus, another fight was recorded in the history of the political campaigns of Imam Khomeini and the Shi’ah Muslim people against the Pahlavi regime, and the events of June 1963 (the 15 Khordad uprising) took place.
The Events of June 1963 (the 15 Khordad Uprising); the Confrontation between the Shah and the Nation
The Norouz days of 1963, was declared as national days of mourning due to holding the referendum of the White Revolution. On March 23, 1963, the Pahlavi regime’s forces attacked the Feyzieh Seminary and injured a large number of students. The same thing happened in the Tabriz Seminary. The chief of the police (Shahrbani) in Qom, representing the government, threatened the maraja’ with killing, defaming and destroying the house. On the Day of Ashura 1963, Imam Khomeini exposed the nature of the regime by declaring that the White Revolution is nothing but a deception and strongly condemned the influence of Israel, the Baha’is and the Americans on the regime’s policies. Following this speech, in the eleventh of Muharram which was coincided with the eve of June 15, 1963, he was secretly arrested and taken to prison which resulted in a wide range of reactions from the scholars and people and provided the ground for the occurrence of the events of June 15, 1963. It thus laid the groundwork for the formation of the Islamic Revolution and called into question the legitimacy of the Pahlavi regime such that everyone realized the truth about the regime.
Capitulation: Imam Khomeini’s Struggle with the Shah’s Dependence
Another case of Imam Khomeini’s confrontation with the Pahlavi regime and his explicit stance against it was the issue of the capitulation bill or the political and consular immunity for American nationals in Iran. The Shah’s regime sought to remove legal barriers to the presence of more American military forces and wanted to ensure their security in Iran. Passing this bill in the Majles and the Senate Houses of Iran was, in Imam Khomeini’s view, a fatal blow to semi-independent Iran. Therefore, on October 25, 1964, he made a speech against the bill asking for the help of the scholars and the people and proclaimed public mourning. In that speech, he states: “Our dignity has been diminished. Iran’s greatness has disappeared. They suppressed the greatness of the Iranian army. They passed a law in parliament according to which we would take part in the Vienna Pact... so that all American military advisers with their families, their technical staff, their administrative staff, their crew ... would enjoy immunity from any crime they commit in Iran.” Then, because of such a situation, he warned the different strata of the Iranian people: the army, the politicians, the businessmen, the maraja’ and so on. In the same speech, he calls on the Muslim scholars and people of Iran to break their silence and shout against the regime and help Islam. Imam Khomeini’s opposition to the bill led to his exile to Turkey by the regime so that another uprising, such as the events of June 15, 1963, will not occur again.
Fighting during the Exile
After making a speech about Capitulation Imam Khomeini was sent to exile. But even during the exile, he did not give up the struggle and continued it in a different way. During his exile, Imam Khomeini mainly played the role of the ideologue of the Revolution. In Turkey, he began writing the book Tahrir al-Wasilah in which for the first time he mentioned the Islamic laws regarding jihad and defence as well as the Enjoining Good and Forbidding evil and other issues as forgotten religious duties. Also, during his residence in Iraq, Imam Khomeini while having scientific circles and classes tried to make people aware of the real nature of the regime. There are about 45 lectures and messages from Imam Khomeini between 1964 and 1977 which are recorded in his book Sahifah. Analyzing the content of these speeches and messages shows that Imam Khomeini is, on the one hand, trying to correctly expose the nature of the regime’s reforms and to introduce the foreign aspects of them showing that these reforms are in line with the goals and objectives of the colonialists, and on the other hand, he seeks to refute the claim that the clergies are opposed to progress and to emphasize that the colonialism considers the Islamic and Quranic culture, as well as the clergies as the main obstacles and hence it is trying to confront them. In most of these works, there are words such as “colonialism,” “neocolonialism,” “the agents of colonialism,” “the goals of colonialism,” etc., as well the “colonialist,” “pro-colonialism,” “Westernized individuals,” etc... which indicate that they make efforts to increase Western political, economic, and military influence in Islamic countries. However, Imam Khomeini not only never confirmed the legitimacy of the regime but also during his exile and before it, as we mentioned, continued his fight against its tyrannical, anti-human decisions that made the country dependent.
Conclusion
According to what is mentioned above, in the Shi’ah system of guardianship, the political rule of the taghut has no place and is illegitimate. For this reason, Imam Khomeini who was a fully qualified religious jurist, not only forbade obeying and cooperating with such a regime but also declared it necessary to fight against it in any way possible. The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran while emphasizing jurisprudential arguments introduced the most important purpose of his struggles as the establishment of the Islamic government and the implementation of divine rulings. He practically initiated his struggles against the Pahlavi regime since the early forties and while mobilizing the masses of people as well as the intellectuals, tried to put his fighting ideas into action as much as possible. He did not accept the disgraceful compromise with the regime under any circumstances, and depending on different situations peacefully pursued his struggles in order to achieve his goals. Today, Imam Khomeini’s thoughts and behaviour in this regard shape an appropriate model for the people and leaders of the Islamic as well as the liberation movements in the era of Islamic awakening.
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