RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY OVER POLITICAL POWER IN

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Essay

Sarajevo, january, 2019.

ABSTRACT

After the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran became a very frequent topic of
political research. Although many define the political system of Iran as a theocracy, because of
the obvious and ubiquitous domination of religious institutions and clergy in the exercise of
power, there are theories that Iran can not be fully categorized under this term because it is
based on the idea of dualism and a combination of the Republican and theoretical political
ideals.

According to the teachings of Ayatollah Ruholah Homeini, the leader and main ideologist of
the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic can only be realized as Velayet-e-Fakih, the rule
of theologian, fakih. Nevertheless, although the Islamic state must be based on God's law-the
Sharia, it is also based on the will of the citizens to implement God's law consistently.

The key to understanding modern Iran lies in the Shi'ite tradition of imams. The Shiite
understanding of imams explains to us, the roots of Fakih's political authority, but it tells us
little about the origin of democratic elements present in the Iranian political system. From the
above it is clear that every tendentious attempt to precisely classify the Iranian political system
quickly turns into a theoretical "endless game". The best explanation would be the one from
Homini, who speaks about his creation as a unique on the world political scene.

Key words: religion, politics, Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic revolution

INTRODUCTION

In his autobiographical work, Mahatma Gandhi stated that "those who say religion has nothing
to do with politics, do not know what religion is."(Gandhi, 1940, pg.137) There are no simple
generalizations regarding the balance of religious and political power in different traditions.

According to Esposito (1998), Islam is better described not as a theocracy but as a kind of rule
of law, or a community governed by divine laws as an independent authority embodied in God's
Word. Urban (2005) presents to us another interesting example of this kind of connection
between religion and politics is the rise of Dalai Lama in Vajrayana Buddhism, the leader of
Tibet from the 15th to the 20th century. Even in the 21st century, the Nobel Peace Prize winner,
Dalai Lama remains a significant religious-political symbol and represents the expansion of the
esoteric system of Tibetan Buddhism in all parts of the world and the struggle for freedom of
the Tibetan people.

This essay is about religious authority over political power in Islamic Republic of Iran. Since
the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has been a frequent subject of political research, and the
descriptions of the Islamic Republic of Iran's political system and various social processes are
thorough and comprehensive. Although many define it as a theocracy, there are theories that
Iran can not be fully categorized under this term because it is based on the idea of dualism and
a combination of the Republican and theoretical political ideals, within which limited
democratic practice is tolerated. Democracy is not entirely excluded from that system, but it is
subordinate to the theocratic element of this dualism.(Jović, 2009)

The perception that Iran has in the eyes of the West has been stained with numerous prejudices
and misjudgments. Urban (2005) states that one of the basic reasons why modern Western
scholars had a problem in understanding and tolerating Islam is the union of political and
religious authorities. The Islamic system of sacred laws and legislation (sharia) provides rules
of conduct in all aspects of life, including not only religious traditions but also family life, trade,
social activity, governance and war.

In the continuation of the work, the political situation in Islamic Republic of Iran will be
analyzed. It will be noted whether politics, or even religion, has greater influence and power in
the mentioned state.
FROM SHAH TO AYATOLLAH

The Iranian constitution of 1906, which established a modern constitutional monarchy, gave
only the symbolic power to the dynasty. Under the rule of Shah Reza from 1926 to 1941the
dictator and father of the nation who had full authority with quite popularity, the dynasty ruled
the earth. In 1941, after the occupation of Iran by the British and Russian troops during the
Second World War, shah Reza was forced to abdicate for the benefit of his son Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi. The rule of the young shah (from 1941 to 1979) was marked by relative political
openness and freedom of press, and the balance of power shifted to the elected government
when the parliament and the elected Prime Minister took control of state affairs, as the
constitution and the foreseeable. During the brief rule of Prime Minister Mosadega, Shah has
lost its influence, and until 1953, it can be said that the Iranian people were ruled by legally
elected representatives.

Ebadi (2009) states that During the period of Mohammad Reza Pahlavis rule, there were several
important events: the overthrow of Prime Minister Mossad in 1953 by the British and American
intelligence services, the White Revolution, in 1963, by which Shah strengthened its
increasingly authoritarian rule, but which also led to the opposition led by Ayatollah Ruholah
Homeini. The opposition gathered all the disgruntled Iranians - workers, peasants, part of the
middle class and lower classes - who were increasingly poor.

The growing dissatisfaction with shah’s rule, the poor economic, political and material situation
in the country were fruitful for gathering all the dissatisfied strata of society under the leadership
of Ayatollah Homeini, a religious leader whose attitudes and goals shaped the entire Revolution
and then the further development of Iran. The Shiite Islam and the establishment of Ayatollah
Homeini at the forefront of the Revolution was crucial for mobilizing the mass and the
beginning of revolutionary activities, taking into account the fact that at that moment there was
no other political movement or party that could lead a society against the Shah who’s ruling
largely lost legitimacy in the eyes of most Iranians. (Ebadi, 2009)
THE POLITICAL REGIME OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN AFTER
THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Islamic Republic of Iran has been an extremely important,
interesting and demanding topic of political research. Interestingly, the political regime that the
revolution has given, is in many aspects unique in relation to all other states, including the
Islamic ones.

The role of Iran in international relations is also interesting. From the very beginning, the
Islamic Republic had the ambition to be present in international, especially Middle Eastern
processes, which was more or less possible.

In the first years of the Republic, the main theme was her eight-year-long bloody war with Iraq.
At the same time, the process of exporting the idea of the Islamic Revolution began, which to
a certain extent affected most Muslim countries and Islamic movements, regardless of the fact
that they were based mainly on Sunni traditions. The Islamic Revolution inspired a number of
young people throughout the Arab Muslim world. Disappointed by the defeats in the wars with
Israel in 1967 and 1973 and in search of new ideals and identities, many found them in the
words of Ayami (2014, pg. 96), "an armed imam" who "made the theocratic policy attractive to
all Arabs".

Author Obućina (2017) claims, that in the last few decades, Islamic Republic of Iran has also
exported military instructors and weapons and funded movements that were its satellites, such
as the Lebanese Hezbollah. In the last few years after the "Arab Spring" in 2011, Iran has begun
to grow into a key actor in the Middle East stage: the dynamics and nature of the conflicts in
Iraq, Syria and Yemen are largely determined by the Iranian presence in them. Finally, the
Iranian development of the nuclear program, which is confronted by Israel and a series of Sunni
regimes, the loudest one in Riyadh, and even part of the Western world, has made the Islamic
Republic a state whose policies and policies are closely monitored, analyzed, anticipated and
evaluated.

Despite the strong foreign influences, Iran's deep national sentiment has been preserved. Iran is
among the few countries that have been Islamized since the beginning of the spread of a new
religion, but it was not arabized. Between accepted Islam and rejected Arabism in Iran there
has always been tensions. After the Islamic Revolution there were many attempts to arabize the
language and history of Iran, and the Islamic tradition and the Shia memory of martyrdom were
placed in the center of attention. Such a part of the so-called Cultural Revolution (Engelāb-e
farhangi) was initiated after the Islamic Revolution, which today, in its altered form, is a pillar
of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Affairs, one of the most powerful ministries of the Iranian
government, apart from the fact that this ministry has its own diplomatic corps, which makes
numerous cultural centers of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world, it is the only ministry of
government that takes care of the preservation and progress of state ideology, and therefore
often comes into conflict with theocratic councils. (Obućina, 2017, pg.102)

THE CLASSIFICATION PROBLEM OF THE IRANIAN POLITICAL

SYSTEM

Even today, some thirty years after the Islamic Revolution, the political system of the Islamic
Republic of Iran confuses the theorists with its complexity. There are numerous attempts to
precisely define this order. According to Krstić (2008) ome of the possible definitions are
"constitutional theocracy", "democratic theocracy" and "religious democracy". Nevertheless,
most theorists define the simplest definition that modern Iran classifies as theocracy,
considering this definition to be the most appropriate "because of the obvious and ubiquitous
domination of religious institutions and clergy in the exercise of power".

The fact is that the dominance of religious institutions is one of the most striking features of the
Iranian political model, as well as the theocratic component of power is the main determinant
of political processes in Iranian society. However, such classification is complicated by the fact
that Iranian political arrangements also imply some political institutions that are characteristic
for democratic societies. Taking in account the fact that the concept of democracy in the Islamic
political vocabulary has a significantly different context than that we encounter in Western
liberal democracies, one should bear in mind that these institutions are specific in their
character. Only a glimpse at the preamble of the Iranian constitution is enough to see how this
is a completely different understanding of democracy.

Namely, in the constitutional preamble, as the cause of the failure of the Constitutional
Revolution (1906-1911), as well as the cause of the collapse of the Mosadag Liberal-Nationalist
Revolution (1952-53), the lack of religious dimensions of these movements is mentioned. It
also says that „the Islamic Republic is a system based on belief in: The One God (as stated in
the phrase „There is no god except Allah“), His exclusive sovereignty and the right to legislate,
and the necessity of submission to His commands.“ (Article 2.,The Constitution of Islamic
Republic of Iran, 1979)

The Islamic Republic of Iran is, in accordance with European political theory, true theocracy
because it rules exclusively on religious law, and its highest ranks are Shiite priests. Namely,
the constitutional provision of God as an essential legislator represents absolute denial of
national sovereignty (Jevtić, 2002). According to Krstić (2008), from the point of view of
Western liberal democracy, every order in which religion occupies the central position is
automatically non-democratic.

RELIGIOUS TRADITION AS THE BASIS OF PRESENT POLITICAL

REGIME OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

On the national hierarchy of the Iranian Islamic Republic, the highest political authority enjoys
the clergy. According to the teachings of Ayatollah Ruholah Homeini, the leader and main
ideologist of the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic can only be realized as Velayet-e-
Fakih, the rule of theologian (Fakih). In one such true Islamic state, the supreme leader Fakih
performs the duty of the highest state authority, wielding his legitimacy, directly from the
Shari'ah, the Shiite tradition of the Imams and the consent of the people.

Nevertheless, although the Islamic state must be based on God's law-the Sharia (which also
determines the form of state order), Homeini teaches that it is also based on the will of the
citizens to implement God's law consistently. In this way, the leader of the Islamic Revolution
gives the prerogative of sovereign power both to God and to the people. (Potežica, 2006)

Author Potežica (2006) claims, that the key to understanding modern Iran lies in the Shi'ite
tradition of imams, which for them is the only correct form of political organization of the
Islamic community. In such arrangement, the leadership of the community belongs to the imam,
the direct Muhammad's descendant, who is inspired by Allah and therefore unmistakable
(ma'sum). Imams are like the Prophets of God (Rasul Allah) and their deeds and teachings must
be, therefore, imitated and followed, because they were determined and appointed by Allah.
This understanding of leadership was crucial to the development of the Velayet-e-Fakih
concept.

Therefore, the Shiite understanding of imams explains to us, the roots of Fakih's political
authority. However, it tells us little about the origin of democratic elements present in the
Iranian political system.

CONCLUSION

The Islamic Revolution in 1979 changed the image of the Middle East and led Islamism as a
legitimate political order on the scene. In Iran, the Islamic Republic, a blend of Islamic law and
the Republican government, was created as a unique political system in the world under the
auspices of the ideology of velayat-e fakih.

According to the teachings of the leader and main ideologist of the Islamic Revolution,
Ayatollah Ruholah Homeini, the Islamic Republic can only be realized as Velayet-e-Fakih, the
rule of theologian. The authority of the supreme leader and all other organs and institutions of
the Islamic Republic of Iran is of a double nature, because it comes from God and from the
people.

Although many define the political regime in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a theocracy, there
are theories that Iran can not be fully categorized under this term because it is based on the idea
of dualism and a combination of the Republican and theoretical political ideals.

From the above it is clear that every tendentious attempt to precisely classify the Iranian
political system quickly turns into a theoretical "endless game". Due to the impossibility of the
conceptual vocabulary of Western political theory to come to an end with this sysyphological
task, it may be best to accept the statement of Homeini itself, who speaks about his creation as
a unique on the world political scene. If this is not the best solution, in any case it is the most
practical one.
LITERATURE

1. Ajami, F. (2014). In this Arab time: the pursuit of deliverance (No. 623). Hoover Press.
2. Ebadi, S. (2009). Iran awakening: A memoir of revolution and hope. Random House.
3. Esposito, J. L. (1998). Islam and politics. Syracuse University Press.
4. Gandhi, M. K. 1940. An Autobiography or the Story of My Experiments with Truth.
Ahmedabad: Navjivan
5. Jevtić, M. (2002). Religija i Politika: Uvod u politikologiju religije. Institut zaa političke
studije.
6. Jović, D. (2009). Trideset godina nakon revolucije: Iran u središtu svjetske politike.
Politička Misao: Croatian Political Science Review, 46(1).
7. Krstić, Z. (2008). Moderni nedemokratski režimi nasilja. Čigoja štampa, Beograd
8. Obućina, V. (2017). Politički sustav Islamske Republike Iran. Zagreb: Fakultet političkih
znanosti, Sveučilište u Zagrebu
9. Potežica, O., & Božović, R. (2006). Islamska republika Imama Homeinija: pojam
suverenosti u delima Imama Homeinija. Filip Višnjić.
10. The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, available at:
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution.php (10.01.2019.)
11. Urban, H. B. (2005). Politics and religion: An overview. Encyclopedia of Religion, 11,
7248-7260.