As a Muslim scholar and thinker, Ayatollah Khamenei believes that the ultimate goal of the Islamic Revolution is to achieve an Islamic civilization through a rational and constant framework built upon religion, rationality, science and ethic. To this end, five phases should be passed namely, Islamic Revolution, the Islamic system, the Islamic government, Islamic society and Islamic civilization. Following the Islamic Revolution, and the formation of the Islamic system (Islamic Republic) the pillars, elements and aspects of which are manifested in the Constitution, passing three other steps in the chain of civilization-building is a complex process. His speeches indicate that to implement these three stages of new Islamic civilization, four steps should be taken: theorization by seminaries; production of science and knowledge by universities; application of these theories and sciences at a smaller scale by autonomous elite groups and creation of discourses that eventually leads to the adjustment of the government and its frameworks to religious principles; and a dominant discourse that sets the necessary ground and determines the course of action.
With the formation of an exemplary Islamic society, the grounds will be paved for initiating and following the model of an Islamic civilization the best manifestation of which will be emerged after Imam Mahdi’s reappearance.
Ayatollah Khamenei has always emphasized that the Islamic Revolution is not a regional event but a historical phenomenon and the beginning of a new era. From his point of view, the Islamic Revolution can be defined within the framework of divine traditions and God’s will regarding the rule of religion in an era when it is abandoned and ignored. This Revolution which took place in the name of Islam opened a new path for humanity. He considers the construction of an Islamic system and civilization and a new history as a serious issue describing it as the “new day” of Muslims. This issue has always been considered and pursued by the Ahl al-Bayt (a) as one of the most important concerns and has a prominent place in the general plan of Islamic thought; in such a way that wilayah (guardianship) is the guarantee of the realization of religion.
Accordingly, Ayatollah Khamenei considers the Islamic Revolution to be the beginning of a chain the end of which is the formation of the Islamic Ummah and the Islamic civilization. In other words, we should seek to achieve Islamic civilization by establishing an Islamic system.
Ayatollah Khamenei defines civilization with both positive and negative approaches and pays special attention to its pillars and foundations. At the same time, he directly defines civilization with an Islamic approach. Defining the Islamic civilization, Ayatollah Khamenei believes that the Islamic civilization “features religious faith, knowledge, ethics and constant struggle, advanced thought and noble codes of behaviour, and it can be the point of liberation from materialistic and oppressive outlooks and corrupt codes of behaviour that form the pillars of current Western civilization.”
He considers the new Islamic civilization to be based on four pillars of religion, rationality, science and ethics. These elements, in light of which a pattern would be created, are as follows:
- Comprehensive Religion
The first and most fundamental principle in the formation of the new Islamic civilization is “religion.” Given the scope of the concept of religion in general, it is not possible to provide a common and agreed-upon definition of religion. Despite the wide and diverse scope of the definition of religion, one may provide a comprehensive definition of it by saying that religion is a set of beliefs, laws and regulations that addresses the principles of human vision, speaks about the principles of human inclination, and covers his morals and way of life. In other words, religion is a set of beliefs, ethics, rules and regulations that can govern individual and societal affairs and nurture human beings through revelation and reason.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei states: “This Bi’thah (beginning of the Prophet’s mission) was a call that invited people to the arena of moral, intellectual, and legal education. These are the things that are needed for man’s peaceful and evolutionary life.”
He believes: “One of the greatest manifestations of polytheism in today’s world is the separation of the material world from the hereafter, material life from worship and religion from politics.” This reveals that worldly and spiritual affairs as well as political and religious ones cannot be separated from each other.
2. Rationality
Referring to the importance of rationality, Ayatollah Khamenei considers its realization as the most important goal of the mission of the Holy Prophet of Islam and one of the four pillars of the realization of the new Islamic civilization:
“Rationality is the first and foremost issue in the Bi’thah of Prophet Muhammad (s). Provoking thoughts and strengthening the ability to think were the first things that the Holy Prophet (s) did.” While highlighting the features of human wisdom and reason that lead man to religion and prevent him from engaging in unwise and ignorant actions, Ayatollah Khamenei considers reason as the criterion for the establishment of Utopia and Islamic Ummah as well as the great Islamic civilization.”
3. Knowledge and Science
In the view of Ayatollah Khamenei, knowledge is one of the pillars of Islamic civilization. Also, while emphasizing the discovering and managing the laws of the world and the irreplaceable role of science and knowledge in this process, he states: “In Islamic civilization and in the holy system of the Islamic Republic which is moving towards that civilization, we aim to advance knowledge along with spirituality. We want science and knowledge to proceed with ethics. As the center of science, the university is also the center of religion and spirituality. The outcome of the country’s universities, like the seminaries, should be a religious person.”
4. Morality
According to Ayatollah Khamenei, morality is the pleasant air that human beings could breathe and have a healthy life if it were present in societies. In this phrase, morality is a pleasant air, meaning that human beings need morality as much as air. The man may last a few days without water and food, but he cannot live even a few minutes without air. Therefore, morality, as one of the constituent foundations of a single Islamic Ummah, plays not only a key and important but also a vital role in human life. Accordingly, describing life without morality as a disaster, he considers vices such as greed, carnal desires, ignorance, love for the material world, spite, envy, and suspicion to be the cause of the promotion of a stifling atmosphere which makes life difficult for human beings.
The Process of the Realization of Islamic Civilization
Realization of the Islamic civilization with the mentioned characteristics, requires the achievement of the five stages of the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic system, the Islamic government, the Islamic society and the Islamic civilization within the Islamic Ummah and then throughout the world. In the first stage, i.e., the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution, the most important issue can be the attempt to overthrow the Pahlavi dictatorial regime and gain authority to realize the religion completely, because “in the atmosphere of the secular system, man can only perform individual religious duties, which would not be effective in those circumstances; that is, they do not create the necessary excellence and enlightenment; they only will be effective to some extent; because, naturally, the atmosphere and environment in which man lives sometimes oppose his ideology and thoughts. This is the maximum that one would gain in a system in which religion has no rule and the affairs are not in the hands of the religion and divine law.”
The realization of the second stage, the establishment of the Islamic system, took place during the period from April 1, 1979, to December 3, the same year that led to the constitutional referendum, during which the “general geometry of society” was formed. In other words, we are witnessing the general formation of the Islamic system at this stage. This stage and its stabilization and, of course, the completion of systematization continued until the end of the imposed war.
The third stage is the Islamic government. What is important in this phase is the Islamization of the methods used by and the character of the statesmen. In other words, in this part, which occurs gradually, we seek detailed systematization and its realization. The fourth Article of the Constitution addresses the Islamic nature of the Islamic Republic:
“All civil, penal financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely and generally to all articles of the Constitution as well as to all other laws and regulations, and the wise persons (fuqaha) of the Constitutional Council (also known as the Guardian Council) are judges in this matter.”
Based on what has been said, at this stage the occurrence of two issues is necessary.
A) Islamization of systems and methods;
B) Training and introducing statesmen in accordance with the characteristics and conditions prescribed by Islamic teachings. The very important point is that the realization of the Islamic society, which occurs in the next stage, depends on the realization of the Islamic government without which the Islamic society will not be formed. It seems that the formation of the Islamic government and its detailed Islamization requires the realization of several parts the first of which is designing the Iranian-Islamic paradigm of progress as a comprehensive and detailed geometry. The Supreme Leader believes that the chief purpose of the Islamic Republic is to follow an Iranian-Islamic paradigm of progress. He states in this regard: “When we say ‘the Islamic-Iranian paradigm’, we mean a comprehensive plan. Without a comprehensive plan, we will face confusion, just as we have been suffering from zigzag and purposeless movements during the past 30 years and we have been running around without a plan. Sometimes we carried out a movement and then we did the opposite - in cultural, economic and various other areas.”
In the third step, as stated, efforts should be made to make these achievements a priority in governmental decision-making, and the features and standards of government officials should be adapted to these characteristics.
Based on what was briefly stated, the realization of the Islamic government and the transition from this stage to the next one, the Islamic society, require the realization of the following steps, which are the explanation of the steps expressed in this section.
1. Producing Thought and Theory
According to the definition of Islamic civilization, the Islamic Revolution basically sought to devise a new plan and create a new civilization against the liberal democratic and communist schools of the West and East, and therefore, it is more of an evolution-seeking and cultural Revolution than a political and economic one. Therefore, the success of the Islamic Revolution depends on the completion of the idea that it promotes. Thus, without theorizing and producing ideas, there is no possibility of the Islamic system moving towards the realization of Islamic society and the formation of Islamic civilization.
Referring to the position of justice and welfare as well as spirituality and science, Ayatollah Khamenei states: “We want our country to progress on all fronts, including scientific, economic, technological and political arenas. We want our nation to achieve nationwide welfare. However, we also want to have justice in our country. That is an important point… Some economic experts or so-called economic theoreticians may say that this is impossible and that one must accept social distinctions if one intends to make economic progress. That is where ‘innovation’ steps in, I would say. We must not imagine that Western economic prescriptions are the ultimate end of human achievements. That is a prescription, and like all other prescriptions, they have an expiry date. After they expire, new ideas will be proposed. Go and look for those new ideas, which will serve as the yardstick.”
The Supreme Leader considers the production of a theory based on Islamic principles as the main task of the seminary:
“The fact that the Islamic system depends on Islamic seminaries is because in an Islamic system all political and large-scale managerial theory-building is carried out by religious scholars - those who are experts on religion and can present the view of Islam in economic matters, managerial matters, war, peace, educational issues and various other things.”
2. Producing Knowledge and Science
From the Supreme Leader’s point of view, science is the main key to civilization and reaching the ideal point that the comprehensive development of the country requires. Believing that scientific authority is necessary for making an influence, Ayatollah Khamenei states:
“It is a nation with scientific authority that can reach all the people of the world. It is the scientific authority that brings the nation the upper hand in the political world.”
3. Application of the Pattern in the Spheres of Life
The next step in the course of action may be the application and objectification of the obtained patterns. Undoubtedly, these patterns should be used in different parts of the Islamic government, and planning and actions should be done accordingly; because the formation of the Islamic society in the post-Islamic system is the responsibility of the Islamic government. The Supreme Leader believes that the government, in its general sense, must conform to Islamic rules and norms in all affairs. He states in this regard:
“Our legislative, judicial, and executive bodies must be able to adapt themselves to an acceptable degree to these religious and moral formats and standards of Islam. This is the third step; we are at this stage now and this should be our constant effort.”
Discourse-building and Discursive Dominance
At this point, with the planning carried out by the government as well as the discourse-building which resulted from the action of the elites based on the extracted patterns that also inspire the government, one may expect synergies and efforts at the micro and macro levels would lead to the creation of a rival discourse that first opposes the dominant ones and then becomes the dominant discourse. In this case, the course of action in different areas would be based on the same dominating discourse. For example, regarding the discursive dominance of the production of knowledge in society, Ayatollah Khamenei says:
“There was a day when certain things used to sound unlikely. Once I discussed the issue of the production of knowledge and science. Then I realized certain people at the meeting had problems with the phrase ‘production of knowledge’ and believed that knowledge could not be produced. Today production of knowledge has turned into an indisputable discourse. You complain that the production of knowledge is not going as well as it should. But we have made a lot of progress. Therefore, it is necessary to work. You should make effort and think. Your efforts and ideas will definitely have an effect.”
In the stage of establishing the Islamic government, the more the state becomes Islamic, the more the society would become Islamic, and we have partial state-building as well as partial society-building.
In other words, the relation between the realization of the previous steps and the fourth stage, which is the formation of the Islamic society, is the same as the relation between the formation of the divine personality of man and his actions and intentions. The Supreme Leader says:
“We are influential, and a word, a signature, or a decision made by me and you would affect the society. If we reform ourselves, we would be able to reform society.”
Islamic society is the stage of planning for the comprehensive realization of Islamic society. Undoubtedly, when the Islamic society is formed, this society will be introduced as a model for the world in general and the Islamic world in particular, and this is where Islamic civilization is established. Ayatollah Khamenei states:
“After this step, there is the stage of the manifestation of the Islamic system; that is to say, establishing an Islamic country. If we could reach such a level, then we would become a role models for all Muslims: ‘that you may be witnesses to the people’ (Qur’an 2:143). If we manage to pass this stage successfully-which is likely considering the determination of the believing men and women- then the next step would be creating the Islamic world.
Reference: Islamic Revolution Studies [A Quarterly Academic-Research Journal].
Vol 11, No 39, Winter 2015, Pp 29-46.
Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei
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