Islamic Revolution in the eyes of intellectuals (3)

The Islamic Revolution that triumphed in Iran these days in 1979 under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (God bless his soul) to rid the country from domestic despotism and foreign hegemony, was one of the greatest events of the twentieth century – if not the past few centuries.

One of the factors for its victory was the mass participation of people from all classes and walks of life in the fight against the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi regime. The second feature which distinguishes the Islamic Revolution from other revolutions is its religious nature. As part of our programmes to mark the 38^th anniversary of the victory of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, in a series of short episodes we will attempt to introduce this great Revolution to our listeners from the standpoint of intellectuals. Following is the 3^rd part of the series.

One of the writers and orientalists in the West is "Antony Black" who has pointed to the phenomenon of the Islamic Revolution, and its significance and consequences in one of his books called "The History of Islamic Political Thought". He writes about the Father of the Islamic revolution, Imam Khomeini's political thought in this book. He says: Compared to other revolutionaries, Ayatollah Khomeini's political thought in terms of insisting on the governance of an honest person or people was totally different and perhaps unique in the contemporary world. The title "Islamic state" was subtitled as "the supreme source of jurisprudence". Exposing the Shah as an agent of foreign imperialism was a means to make this objective come true. In late 1960s and early 1970s, Ayatollah Khomeini and several other religious figures shared the idea that it is necessary for the just and learned mojtahed or jurisprudent to establish the Islamic state and promote justice in society, by taking out the government from the hands of usurpers and tyrants. In this way, the Shah’s regime was exposed as anti- Islamic.

Antony Black has written about Imam Khomeini's political views on page 533 of this book. He says: Ayatollah Khomeini declared, in accordance with Islamic philosophy as well as adaptations from Plato and Aristotle that the objective of the law is to generate upright and eminent people that are the honest practitioners of the law. Good rule leads to good habits. Therefore, the objective of the Islamic state is to set certain conditions which lead to the grooming of a generation of good-tempered and eminent people. He presented a sophisticated anecdote out of this reasoning that religion, like any other system of rule, requires a government which can put it into force.

This Western intellectual expressing his view about Imam Khomeini's political philosophy says: Ayatollah Khomeini adopted this revolutionary view that the Islamic state can be established if Islamic laws are properly adhered to, in accordance with requirements of religion. According to the traditional point of view, a government is legitimate as long as it adheres to the tenets of religion or at least, obedience to the religion. Therefore, if the government prevents Muslims from carrying out their religious activities, one should make all efforts to get rid of such a government. For many, particularly for the downtrodden masses, in Iran and the rest of the world, Imam Khomeini’s rationalization was persuasive, since the rulers who advocate westernization and ignore the religion, were those who oppress the poor.

Antony Black stresses that Imam Khomeini believed that only an Islamic government can be trusted for proper enforcement of the law. Broad-minded Sunni Muslims also support this viewpoint. The focus of Ayatollah Khomeini's political viewpoint was exactly on this question: What are the components of the Islamic State? Who should govern?

The answer to these questions is that it is the Vali-e Faqih or Supreme Source of Jurisprudence. An efficient, knowledgeable and just jurisprudent is certainly the deputy of the Prophet’s 12^th and Last Infallible Heir, Imam Mahdi (AS), who is in occultation. Ayatollah Khomeini based his position on pragmatic principles, recognizing the understandable need of the Shi’a Muslim community to have good governance. د iscrediting Shah as a fforeignevolution". Discrediting Shah as a foreignance of an honest person or people was totally differe

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