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Khomeini and the tutelage of the clergy
February 11, 2010Whenever a head of state speaks of God ...
be assured that is once again preparing to exhaust his people-flock.
Bakunin, God and the State
To understand the theological and political debate in the post-revolutionary Iran must start with the system of government inherited from the Imam Khomeini, a work open to interpretation, an ijtihadunique, performed for the purpose of adapting Islam to mold a modern nation-state. Khomeini was not a closed and ignorant cleric, but a scholar who knew the policy mechanisms, and that took the concept of "reason of state" to its logical conclusion. Iran's constitution was drafted along the lines of French, 1958, which implies the establishment of a republic, elections by universal suffrage, Parliament, President, Council of Ministers, political parties and vote and the equivalent of a Supreme Court. Institutions that have little to do with traditional Islam and much to the modern history of Europe, according to the Jacobin centralist model and characteristic of the French Republic. This covered with religious language.
Khomeini denying his quality as a statesman is a contradiction. Another thing is we do about valuation. In the last thirty years, Iran has emerged from being just a colony of the West to be an independent state, one of the main actors in the context of contemporary politics. In this sense it can be argued that the triumph of the Revolution has been overwhelming. But is this the criteria by which should be judged? From another point of view it seems clear that the promises of the promoters of the Revolution, like so many others - have not been met, remain pending ... The promise of establishing social justice through the establishment of the sharia not been performed, and in Islamic Iran are enormous social inequalities, with 25% of the population of near-poverty, compared to the emergence of large fortunes linked to power. However, both the rejection and the blind acceptance of this legacy can only go against the interpretative effort by the great jurist.
In his book The Islamic government [1](collection of public speeches between 1963 and 1979), Khomeini realize their ideas about how an Islamic society should be governed. The separation between religion and politics is seen as a perverse idea that the colonialists are trying to inculcate among Muslims, with the aim of dismantling the egalitarian message of Islam and encourage their domination. Jewish infiltration by foreign agents trying to dismantle the revolutionary potential and social commitment of Islam, relegating to the private sphere. Khomeini speaks of "conspiracy concocted by the colonial government of Great Britain" , the "imposition of foreign laws" , which complicated the lives of people and brought new forms of oppression, and asserts that Islam is the pathway those who fight valiantly against colonialism. " face of these attempts, says that Islam is a complete life system, which covers individual and collective, so that for its effective implementation requires the existence of an executive (in match what the divine command, tradition and reason):
"In the same way that laws setting out the duties of man to worship, there are laws, rules and practices for social affairs and government. Islamic law is a legal system advanced, comprehensive and global. All bulky books that have been compiled from the earliest times on different areas of law such as judicial procedure, social transactions, criminal law, salaries, international relations, regulations on peace and war, public and private international law in together contain a mere example of the laws and rules of Islam. "[2]
His effort is focused on the need for an "Islamic government" (hokumat-i Islami ), protected by Muslim jurists, as the only guarantee that the rights that Islam gives to all citizens are respected. The government would also have the task of preventing oppression and preserve the Islamic order, as opposed to foreign influences. In addition, Khomeini stated as one of the arguments to justify the existence of an "Islamic government" against the need to provide innovations in the field of Shariah . And yet innovation is exactly what he did. As great mujtahid , Ayatollah Khomeini, Allah adapted the principles of Islam to a specific spacetime (contextualization), giving rise to the current Iranian parliamentary (the Majlis ). In what now concerns us, this interpretative effort had a double result: 1) Islam adapted to the structure of a modern state, and 2) the primacy given to the clergy. This takes the form of a hybrid system that combines traditional notions of shura (mutual consultation) and ijtihad(interpretive effort in jurisprudence). The recovery of the shura andijtihad are two of the claims of reform movements in Islam have emerged since the nineteenth century. In this sense, the movement led by Khomeini may be related to the "Muslim reformist, is in the line of political Islam promoted by Abdullah Sayed Qutb and Mawdudi [3], and is inseparable from the struggle against colonization.
The proposed by Khomeini's Islamic government is a constitutional government. He claims that Islam rejects both the monarchy as any form of hereditary succession, which considers essentially tyrannical. The legislative power and sovereignty reside solely in Allah and the executive power is conferred by divine command, as it acquired and exercised the Prophet and 'Ali. Given the absence of the Imam or Prophet's legitimate successor, the Alfaquis should exercise care. But this authority of the Alfaquis not mean that the power resides in their hands, or that they should govern. In numerous statements made before the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, Khomeini stated that the Islamic regime would not be theocratic. The role of Alfaquis is to ensure the implementation of the sharia and monitor the functioning of government, democratically elected, so that it respects the precepts of Islam. Will tolerate criticism of government policies, there will be political parties and general elections will be held.
The Alfaquis , in ensuring the correct implementation of sharia , are above the collective decisions: the " e-velate fiqh "(Guardianship of the jurists). This name deserves a comment. The word farsi " velate "is equivalent to the Arabic word wilaya (closeness to divinity, but also cooperation, mutual affection and protection.) By creating this figure, Khomeini was making a leap from tradition to modernity. There is a well-known hadith which states: "the intimate of Allah (walis) are the heirs of the prophets" . In the Shiite tradition, this has been interpreted as meaning that after the "cycle of Prophecy" , it was started the "cycle of wilaya" means the transfer of internal sense of prophecy through the men of knowledge. By creating the figure of the "Wilayat al-Faqih" , Khomeini makes the cycle of the wilaya (spiritual) guardianship ofAlfaquis (the law), leaving these as the only guarantors of the authentic transmission of prophetic messages. Hence the slogan: "follow the line of Imam", and his idea that every Muslim must do "imitation or monitoring" ( taqlid ) of a "licensed guide" ( marja ).
"We believe in the Wilayat ul-Faqih, and we believe that the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him and his family) was told to appoint a successor, as he did ... It was necessary, of course, appoint a successor to exercise the tasks of government. The laws require a person who runs ... In time of the Prophet, the laws were not simply exposed and promulgated, they were also applied. The Messenger of Allah was an executor of the law. For example, applied the criminal provisions of Islam: cutting off hands of thieves and given lashes and stoning. The successor of the Prophet must do the same, his work is not to legislate but to apply the laws of God that the Prophet has been enacted. For that reason are necessary to form a government and the establishment of executive bodies. Believing that need is part of the general belief in the Imamate, and as valuable as the effort and struggle to establish it. "[4]
At first, the wilayat al-fakir is considered an Islamic government in place and awaiting the true possessor of the right to govern in the name of the Prophet, the Hidden Imam of Twelver earthquake. But in practice takes its place. So no surprise when, on 6 January 1988 at the tenth Anniversary of the Revolution, Khomeini pronounced a fatwa declaring that the Islamic government represented "the delegated sovereign power of Allah Most High to Prophet," and that thus the al-fakir velayatshould be considered as equivalent to the caliphate of the Prophet, as holder of an authority that comes of Allah directly. According to Khomeini,
"This is the most important religious precepts (ahkam) and takes precedence over the rest ... If the authorities of the Islamic government had to be considered among the secondary precepts, then the authority delegated to the Prophet would be empty and meaningless ... In this case, the legislative and administrative powers of the Islamic government would be severely restricted. " [5]
Khomeini gives examples of these limitations, at legislative, administrative, including economic and military policy. The State (now identified as "Islamic government") could not be considered an owner of land and property for public works like roads, could not establish a compulsory military service, or to regulate foreign trade, customs and excise by ... All may be necessary for the proper functioning of a modern state, but it is difficult to justify from the Message of the Quran or the Prophet's example. The problem is obvious: an Islamic government is one that is governed by the laws of Islam, established through the Koran and the Sunna. But the practice of a contemporary state government includes many unmet needs in them, and even inevitably diverge. Thus, one realizes that the proclamation of thevelayat al-fakir is equivalent to the caliphate, or succession of the Prophet's mandate does not come from the Koran, but of reason of state. In the words of Kalim Siddiqui:
"The process of ijtihad that preceded the Islamic Revolution and the emergence of an Islamic state led by al-fakir velayat, produced, after ten years, a fatwa of Imam Khomeini stating that he, a maximum al-fakir, and the Islamic state, exercised his authority as caliph or na'ib of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. This fatwa could only occur once the new Islamic state experienced the difficulty, indeed the impossibility, of conducting its own executive, legislative and judicial, not provided with the ultimate source of authority and power in Islam as the caliph of the Prophet " .[6]
As well, who can argue with lawyers, heirs to the prophecy? Do you have some logic to think that the vice-regents of the Prophet have someone to account for their decisions, or they may be subject to any restrictions? It is understandable then that Khomeini to assert its right to exercise ijtihad unlimited, which means give it absolute power. We are far from the first statements by Khomeini, according to which the clergy would not take or exert power, but only act as guarantors of Islam from the policies pursued by the rulers. The drift of his thoughts to tyranny has been imposed with a logic. Once the power of alfaqui on the town and on the rulers, Khomeini comes forward and declares "the absolute rule of alfaqui on fiqh " ( velayat-e-ye faqih motlaqeh feqh bar ). The alfaqui has authority to issue new laws, which must be regarded as religiously binding, even temporarily repealed precepts can declare firmly established, based on the needs of the state (which are her own):
"The president is authorized to demolish a mosque or a house that sits in the middle of a road, and compensate their owners. The ruler can close demolish a mosque and even if the source of some evil, and this is the way to end it. The president has the power to unilaterally revoke any legal agreement with the people, if these agreements contradict the interests of Islam and the country. The hajj (pilgrimage to Meka), which is a major religious obligations, may be temporarily prohibited, if contrary to the interests of the Islamic country [7]... The government, which is an extension of absolute rule of the Prophet of Allah, is among the first ordinances of Islam, and has precedence over all secondary ordinances such as prayer, fasting or pilgrimage [8]. "
However, it seems clear that the ijtihad done by Khomeini has nothing to do with Islamic tradition. This is against a program by clearly Hegelian. The Will or Divine Providence leads the world. The State has appeared in the maturity of universal history, with the sacred mission of ensuring compliance. The supremacy of the state is an end in itself, has a religious character. You no longer have this conflict between political and religious powers. Secularization is not separation, but the fusion of both in the way state. Although the state represents all citizens, the administration of its power belongs to an elite or a breed of elected representatives. These are the ones who fall short of the mission entrusted to them, the only fully aware of the sense of history and their role in it. The individual will lack legitimacy, they are irrational to the extent that they are not consistent with the universal Reason or Spirit goal. The ultimate realization of reason occurs when the interests of the State and individuals are entitled. But for that to happen reached the State shall submit to tame the passions and individuals. Only when he has been fully embody the Spirit in the State as the perfect vehicle that enables its implementation. As the State isas God walking on Earth[9].
Notes
[1]We rely on the edition in Castilian: Iran's Imam Khomeini: On the Islamic government. Ibero-American Press and Publishing, 1988. Can be found online:http://www.iranchamber.com/history/rkhomeini/books/velayat_faqeeh.pdf.
[2] Ditto
[3]This is the thesis of Vali Nasr: T I Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama `at-i Islami of Pakistan (University of California Press, 1994).
[4]Khomeini, the Islamic government.
[5]The fatwa can be found in Imam Khomeini, Sahifeh-and e-nur , Vol 20, pp. 170-171. Cited by Kalim Siddiqui, in Stages of Islamic Revolution, Open Press, 1996. http://www.islamicthought.org/pp-ks-processes.html . The author (1931-1996) was director of the Muslim Institute in London and decided to Khomeini.
[6] Kalim Siddiqui, p.114.
[7]Quoted in Political leaders of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa Bernard Reich, Greenwood, 1990, p.314.
[8]Cited by Hamid Algar, Development of the Concept of velayat-i faqih Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
[9] Lessons from the Philosophy of History , Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1999. See also The reason in history , Seminars and 1972 editions.
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