Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Unique Movement (5)

In the previous episode we talked about the status of independence as one of the Islamic revolution’s ideals and we said that with the establishment of the Islamic Republic system, the Iranian nation experienced the sweet taste of independence and they do not want to lose it at any cost.

We also said that independence and freedom have coupled each other during the struggles of the Iranian people and as the Iranian nation was sensitive against foreign interference, it has also been concerned about materialization of freedom and confronting domestic dictatorship. Today we are going to continue the discussion on the status of freedom as another ideal of the Islamic Revolution.

The Islamic revolution of Iran was shaped through the uprising of people against the despotic and oppressive regime of Mohammad Reza Shah. It was the revolution which succeeded in overthrowing the monarchic system with a record of over 2500 years and set up a popular system in Iran for the first time. Acceptance of the republic system implied high status of people and guaranteed freedom for all Iranians.  

The noteworthy point is that due to the religious nature of the revolution, the structure of the system and the concepts enumerated in its ideology were thoroughly religious. For sure, freedom is not unbridled and is based on religious teachings. Therefore Islam as the ideology of the 1979 revolution considers freedom as one of the highest human values without which growth and perfection of all human societies is impossible.

 Islam and the discourse of the Islamic revolution, unlike other intellectual and philosophical schools such as liberalism and socialism, consider freedom as a divine blessing for human growth and perfection. Hence, besides other aspects of freedom, spiritual freedom is a factor for liberating human spirit from the yokes of greed, lechery, anger and ambition. In the Islamic Republic system, growth, sublimity and perfection of humans have always existed in the light of freedom. Freedom is not restricted to social arenas but it is a divine gift which humans need for eternal salvation in the hereafter and they are responsible towards its usage. In view of this, human beings have the right to benefit from the blessing of freedom but they are responsible before God, themselves, others, society and even future generations.

One of the principles of the Islamic revolution’s discourse is that freedom and independence are inseparably intertwined. This principle has been shaped on the basis of the historical experience that if independence and territorial integrity of a country are endangered and the ground is set for foreigners’ hegemony over political, economic, social and cultural affairs of a society; foreign pressure and establishment of a puppet government will deprive a nation of freedom. Reciprocally, a government can resist against the intervention and pressure of foreigners once it enjoys the support of people and this will not be achieved without popular support from all walks of life.

According to the Islamic revolution’s discourse a balance has been established between security and freedom. Historical studies show that in many cases, governments, under the pretext of preserving security have limited the people’s freedoms or some opposition groups under the pretext of freedom imperiled the country’s security. But in the Islamic Republic system, the government does not permit restricting people’s freedom under the pretext of preserving order and security. Even in critical conditions and in the state of emergency, only temporary restrictions are applied with approval of the nation’s representatives at the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles). For instance, if  we accept the right to elect and be elected as a feature of political freedom, we can refer to the period of the imposed war with hard and critical conditions when even a single election was not closed and people’s right for electing and being elected was not restricted.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s constitution, which has been rooted in Islam and the Islamic revolution’s discourse, has guaranteed freedom at all levels. This law, recognizing freedom of idea and thought, states that inquisition is forbidden and no one will be harassed merely for holding a belief. One of the most important manifestations of freedom of opinion in Iran is the freedom of followers of monotheist religions to perform their religious ceremonies. Although Islam is the official religion in Iran and Shia school of thought is predominantly the first Islamic denomination in the country, it has been asserted in the constitution that followers of other monotheist religions including Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians are free to perform their religious ceremonies. Their representatives constitute a certain quota of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. It should be noted that social relations and interaction of the Muslim people of Iran with the followers of other divine religions are based on complete respect and observance of human rights and rights of citizenship. This has bolstered affection and cooperation between them so much so that in many national incidents including the 8 year Iraqi invasion of Iran, like the rest of the Iranian nation, they too rushed to the battle fronts to defend the country.  

Freedom of expression is originated in the Islamic revolution’s discourse. In the pre-revolution years, due to the dictatorship of the Shah regime, the press enjoyed many restrictions but after the victory of the revolution various dailies and magazines grew remarkably in terms of quality and quantity. These media grew further in the past decade and as the watchdog they supervise the government and, as per the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil, they can freely criticize the government. The Islamic Republic’s constitution has explicitly expressed that press and publications are free in expression unless they disrespect the Islamic principles or public rights. In the Islamic Iran, judicial proceedings of media offenses are held in the presence of a fair delegation. Now hundreds of publications, news agencies and sites are engaged in the country’s political and social climate and many of the Iranian people are members of social networks.

In many countries formation of political and civil parties and groups as the wheels of democracy is recognized as one of the important manifestations of political freedoms. In Iran, too, freedom of political parties has been recognized provided that they observe independence and territorial integrity of the system. According to the law these political groups are allowed to hold gatherings and even rallies provided that they do not carry arms and their activity does not destabilize the country or insult Islam. This comes as before the victory of the Islamic revolution, the despotic ruling system did not give permission of activities to political parties and leaders of critical groups were imprisoned.  

The right of political participation is another aspect of freedom in the Islamic revolution’s discourse. For the past nearly 4 decades since the victory of the revolution, averagely one election has been held in Iran every year. Even during tough conditions such as the period of war and when the Iranian cities were savagely bombarded by Saddam’s planes and rockets, elections were not closed or even delayed in Iran. Within the framework of Islamic revolution’s discourse, all citizens, irrespective of religion, language and political tendency enjoy equal vote and they freely take part in elections. Every section of power including the leader, president, members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and councils and representatives of Assembly of Experts are elected directly or indirectly by people.

Social freedoms and observance of rights of citizenship is another aspect of freedom in the Islamic revolution’s discourse. According to the Islamic teachings, language, race and ethnicity are not the criteria for discrimination among citizens; hence the sub-cultures enjoy equal and just rights. The Islamic Republic constitution, with respect for the country’s cultural diversity, has allowed all ethnic and religious minorities to use local language in press and media and even these languages can be taught at schools of their regions besides Farsi as the country’s official language.

Freedom of expression in every aspect of the discourse of the Islamic revolution and the Islamic Republic system cannot be explained adequately in this program. Therefore, if time permits we will speak on the details of this freedom later on.

FK/RM/ME