Despite having similarities, the rights of citizenship and human rights are different. The concept of the rights of citizenship denotes a set of civil, political and social rights that people enjoy because they have become members of a nation-state and those rights are safeguarded and protected by law. Although since the emergence of modern nation-states the citizens have had such a right but theorizing and codifying it by political and legal scholars and its inclusion in the legislation of countries, especially the developing countries, are occurred in recent decades. In response to the question of what is the position of the rights of citizenship in the view of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, this paper argues that even though the rights of citizenship in Iran are somehow a new phenomenon and considering the special conditions of Iran at the beginning of the Revolution, Imam Khomeini had paid especial attention to the rights of citizenship and although he did not use this concept in his statements, his lifestyle and remarks imply its significance.
Examples and indicators of the rights of citizenship in the view of Imam Khomeini
The instances of the rights of citizenship in Imam Khomeini’s view are numerous and varied. In the following article, they are classified into three dimensions: civil, political and social and we will examine their most important instances from the perspective of Imam Khomeini.
The Civil Rights of Citizens from the Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini
Civil rights are concerned with the personal security, justice and freedom of the citizen in all areas. Here we are dealing with the issue of citizens’ right to life and its guarantees. The right to life, or in the strict sense of the word, individual security, is the basic right through which citizens would enjoy other rights. individual security plays a central role in the rights of citizenship. “Individual or personal security means the immunity of individuals from being subjected to any form of aggression, murder, assault, beating, detention, imprisonment, exile, torture and other unlawful and arbitrary punishments as well as acts which are against the human dignity such as exploitation, slavery, prostitution and so on. Individual immunity is the fundamental principle of the concept of freedom as with its lack, other individual freedoms would become meaningless.” Individual security can be measured by indicators such as avoiding unlawful detention, the prohibition of torture, non-interference in the private life of individuals, and the like.
Justice is another core principle of the civil rights of citizens after security. Justice, in this case, means the guarantees given by the state through passing the laws and creating the legal and procedural arrangements concerning the citizens’ rights. Freedom of thought and choice is the third pillar of citizens’ civil rights that finds meaning through indicators such as freedom of opinion, expression, religion, the press and the mass media, and choosing an occupation.
Avoiding Unlawful Detention
According to Imam Khomeini’s view regarding humanity and his inherent dignity and freedom, unlawful detention is in no way permissible and is considered a crime. In his directive, which contains eight articles, which was issued on December 13, 1982, Imam Khomeini issued an eight articled command to the authorities of the judiciary system and all execution organizations and stated: “No one has the right to prosecute any person or summon him without the order of the judge that must be based on the religious norms however less the period of his arrest. Arrest or summon by coercion is a crime and contravention of the religious law.”
For Imam Khomeini, everyone is presumed innocent and one should not be arrested without legal grounds. Therefore, while emphasizing the legality of all arrests and convictions of criminals, he calls for avoiding the intrusion into the personal lives of others as well as preventing the imposition of groundless charges against them. It is noteworthy that Imam Khomeini insists on the observance of Islamic laws during the arrest and trial of individuals at a time when due to the extremist attitudes adopted by some individuals those types of illegal and un-Islamic activities were more likely to happen. Furthermore, in the meantime, some of those individuals, who thought they have a responsibility in this regard, utilized the wrong methods. At first, these phenomena seemed natural, but even during that period, Imam Khomeini believed that observing the Islamic laws and kindness as well as ethics is necessary.
Respecting the Privacy of Citizens
Imam Khomeini called for avoiding interference in the lives of others and spying on them. In his eight articled directive, we read: “No one has the right to enter the house or shop or workplace of a person without the permission of their owners or arrest any person or in the name of the discovery of crime or committing of sin. No one has the right to pursue and follow somebody or insult an individual and commit inhuman and un-Islamic acts or eavesdrop over the telephone, or make a recording on a cassette recorder on the pretext of locating a centre of vice or to prove a crime and sin — however major the sin be. No one has the right to place listening devices or unearth the secrets of the people or work undercover to discover the sins of others or to disclose the secrets of others even if it is to a single person. All of these are crimes and are sins and some of them because spread immorality and sins are among the cardinal sins. Those who commit any of the previously mentioned transgressions are criminals and merit religious compensations while some of them are liable for the religious verdict.”
Imam Khomeini continued this command by excluding the search for conspiracies and confronting the opposition groups to the Islamic Republic who intend to overthrow the Islamic government and assassinate innocent people as well as the officials. He says: “it needs to be strictly warned that to find a group home or centre of espionage and corruption against the system of the Islamic Republic, by mistake or error they enter the private homes or workplace of someone and therein they discover instruments of pleasure and vice and gambling and the rest of the deviant materials such as narcotics, they have no right to disclose them to others because the disclosure of immoralities is the biggest of cardinal sins and no one has the right to dishonour a Muslim and violate the religious criteria. They must only act in accordance with the precept of Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Wrong that has been stipulated in Islam and they have no right to arrest or prosecute or beat up and torture the owners of the houses and the residents. Transgressing the divine limits is a sin and is liable for compensation and in some instances retaliation.”
Prohibition of Torture and Offensive Behaviors
The use of torture in any situation is rejected. Reasons such as threatening the internal security, foreign aggression, terrorism, or the interests of the political system cannot justify torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments. The principle of prohibition of torture is universal and applies at all times and under any circumstances. The basis of this right is the inherent dignity of mankind that all members of the human family must recognize and observe with respect to each another. The religion of Islam, which focuses on the divine instinct of human beings, also holds that it is obligatory to observe what is related to human dignity. “Therefore, considering the concept of human dignity in religious teachings, the shari’ah of Islam prohibits imposing any suffering and persecution on others (even though in the slightest possible way) and considers those immoral behaviours to be as the same as insulting God Almighty.”
From this point of view, Imam Khomeini, as a person who has knowledge of and acts upon the Islamic teachings, considered the immunity of people’s lives and properties in the Islamic government as an important feature and emphasized it immensely as one of the differences between the Islamic government with the tyrannical rulership.
The dignity of human beings, in the view of Imam Khomeini, would strongly condemn risking the lives of people. Even criminals should not be mistreated in this regard. Imam Khomeini opposes any kind of abuse, humiliation or torture of the accused even for getting information, and in this regard, he emphasizes providing the prisoners with human rights and necessary facilities while believing that treating them kindly is an Islamic decree and that the offenders should not be mistreated.
Judicial Justice
Justice and its implementation is another important indicator of the rights of citizenship. This denotes the boundaries and extent of the rights of individuals in having access to the court and the fair trial with the presence of a jury, a lawyer, a witness, as well as in being provided by the costs of litigation, and so on. Therefore, here we focus on the meaning and application of justice in the course of the judicial process, and in Imam Khomeini’s opinion, one can find them in matters such as equality of people before the law and the court, the right to seek justice, the right to self-defence, and so on. For Imam Khomeini, the justice observed by Imam Ali represents the true and ideal form of this term. “We must adapt to and learn from the way Imam Ali ruled over people though we cannot implement that system of governance completely.”
As far as the concept of justice is concerned, Imam Khomeini has emphasized the equality of all the people before the law, stating that: “In Islam, the only authority which governs and rules over is the divine decree. All people should obey the law which is the law of God. This law is rooted in divine justice.”
From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, everyone is equal before the law. “In Islam, all people, even the Noble Prophet, are equal before the law and should act according to the divine decrees. By following the rules of law, that is piety, people would find dignity and the one who violated the law is considered an offender and should be prosecuted.” Or he says: “all people including the rulers, prophets and ordinary people, are the same before God.” Also, he states: “If someone wants to file a criminal complaint against the ruler, who is the first person of the country, the case will be referred to the court and both of them will come to the court.”
Freedom of Expression and Opinion
According to Imam Khomeini, freedom is one of the foundations of Islam. “One of the foundations of Islam is freedom. In a Muslim nation, the true human being is a free human being.” From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, the most important type of freedom is freedom of thought. Imam Khomeini believes that one of the attributes of the perfect human is relying on reasoning and avoiding imposing beliefs. He believes that imposing ideas and beliefs is impossible and that “Islam is based on reasoning and rationality and does not oppose freedom of expression. Also, Islam is not afraid of addressing the other heretical schools of thought whose deviation has been approved within themselves and among their elites.” At the same time, in Imam Khomeini’s opinion, freedom would gain meaning through the frameworks of Islam and it is not by itself an aim.
In addition, the frameworks of freedom are outlined by Islam and the interests of society. Clearly, Islam has drawn boundaries for the concept of freedom according to which when the freedom of expression violates the rights of people or acts contrary to the interests of the society it will be, by no means, acceptable. Misleading, lies, backbiting, slander, and so on are not only forbidden but also condemned and in some cases will cause punishment either in this world or in the Hereafter. From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, freedom of opinion and expression should be guaranteed even for groups and individuals opposed to the Islamic state unless they intend to commit an unlawful act or a conspiracy. “In Islamic governance, everyone has freedom of belief, yet they are not free to commit corruption.”
Freedom of the Press and Mass Media
From the point of view of Imam Khomeini, the press and mass media play an important role in society. In addition to informing people, they play a role in nurturing people. According to him, “the role of the press in the countries is to reflect the ideals of the nation, the press must be like teachers who educate the nation and the youth and reflect the ideals of the nation” and the governments should not create obstacles in this regard. Preserving the freedom of the press is necessary and they are “free to publish all facts and truths.”
According to Imam Khomeini, freedom of the press is limited and they should not work against Islam and the interests of the nation. In his view, the press and the mass media should work to serve people. Therefore, the press should comply with Islamic and legal standards, community interests, and ethical values.
Freedom to choose an occupation
Freedom to choose an occupation is one of the important rights of the citizens, which has been emphasized by Imam Khomeini. “In Islam, everyone has the right to choose an occupation according to the law” and this right should not be restricted or violated without a reason. Imam Khomeini’s letter to the headquarters for prosecuting judicial and administrative offences in which he ordered the dissolution of selection boards in ministries and institutions clearly indicates that he does not approve of imposing unlawful and unreasonable restrictions on the process of employment. Hence, at the same time, he stated that “the criterion is the present circumstance of the individuals.”
Referring to the Islamic criteria and the questions raised during the employment process emphasizes that “in cases when individuals are being fired or have not been hired in departments or ministries or other centres because they had not been able to answer the legal questions which they do not need to know their answers or questions that do not have anything to do with Islam, they should come back to their work. Such treatment or behaviour is an act of oppression and it is depriving the country of useful people which should be prevented.”
Freedom of Religious Minorities
From the point of view of Imam Khomeini, in Islamic governance, religious minorities have the freedom to practice their religion. Religious minorities are free to practice their religious rituals and rites. Their beliefs will not make them being subjected to discrimination. From Imam Khomeini’s point of view, religious minorities can express their opinion, but they should not exploit and misuse their freedom of belief. In his view, “Islam has given the freedom to religious minorities more than any other religion. Therefore, they should also enjoy their natural rights that God has given to all humans.”
Archive of Imam Khomeini
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