PLATO Society

1. PLATO Society Shi’ism and Theocratic Governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran January 18-February 22, 2019 Peter Krug Meeting Three (Feb. 1, 2019): Shi’ism and Revolution, 1970-1982

2. Today’s Topic: • The place of Shi’ism in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (“IRI”) • The IRI is commonly described as a theocracy • Theocracy: religious figures exercising direct rule, in the name of the divine, over civil governance.

3. Weeks One and Two • In the first two weeks, our focus was on: • The distinctive elements of Shi’ism: popular religiosity, theology, and religious scholars; and • In pre-1979 Iran, the central role of the clerical estate in Iranian society, and the challenges its members faced in the 20th century.

4. Today’s Session: • The 1979 revolution was not solely a religious one, but it resulted in the creation of a theocracy. Questions: • How did clerics acquire a leading role in the revolutionary movement? • Why, departing from Shi’ite tradition, did clerics decide to seek direct rule? • What is the theocracy’s institutional framework?

5. Iran Timeline, 1970-82 • 1970: Ayatollah Khomeini’s “Guardianship of the Jurist” theory • Through the 1970s: Growing opposition to the Shah’s regime, which became more remote and repressive • Through the 1970s: Khomeini increasingly the focal point of opposition to the Shah

6. Timeline, continued • Revolutionary Period, 1977-1979: cycles of demonstrations, repression, violence, and mourning • 1/12/79: A Revolutionary Council formed in Paris under Khomeini’s direction to organize the transition • 1/16/79: Departure of the Shah and his family for Egypt

7. Timeline, continued • 2/1/79: Return of Ayatollah Khomeini; greeted by millions in the streets of Tehran (acclaimed as “Imam”) • 2/4/79: Lay Islamic reformer Mehdi Bazargan (1907-1995) named PM of provisional government by Khomeini • 2/11/79: Collapse of the remainder of the Shah’s government

8. Timeline, continued • 3/30-3/31/79: national referendum on “Islamic Republic”, approved by 98% in huge turnout • 5/1/79: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps established by a Khomeini decree • Summer, 1979: First steps toward marginalization of non- clerical coalition members

9. Timeline, continued • 10/14/79: Drafting of new constitution completed • 11/4/79: Seizure of U.S. Embassy • 11/6/79: Resignation of the provisional government, including Bazargan, leaving uncontested authority of the new state to Khomeini and the Revolutionary Council.

10. Timeline, continued • 12/2-12/3/79: Iran’s new constitution overwhelmingly approved in a popular referendum • 1980-1982: consolidation of the IRI amid internal and external violence • Secessionist movements; Mojahedin-e Khalq; war with Iraq (began Sept., 1980)

11. Timeline, continued • 2/4/80: Election of Abolhasan Bani- Sadr (born 1933) as President • 1/20/81: Release of all remaining U.S. hostages after conclusion of Algiers Accords between U.S. and IRI • 6/20/81: President Bani-Sadr impeached • 12/15/82: Khomeini decrees stability as IRI’s official policy

12. Howdid Clerics Acquire a Leading Role in the Revolution? • A broad popular revolution, with a coalition of social and political groups united against the Shah’s government • Clerics; mass religious following; secular intellectuals; leftist groups; students

13. Background: • Social changes and cultural trends in the 1960s-1970s • Social changes: • Urbanization (in-migration from countryside) • Growth of middle classes • Expansion of higher education

14. Resurgence of Islam • Popular religion: • Cultural identification of many urban lower and lower middle classes with the clerical estate • Clerics’ growing engagement with the masses: emphasis on preaching • Specific features of Shi’ism highly suitable for mass mobilization: e.g., imagery centered on Imam Husayn

15. Resurgence of Islam (continuing) • Increased vitality of Islam among religious reformers and skeptics • Propagation of new perspectives on Shi’ism: • Non-clerical authors, including Ali Shariati (1933-1977) • Shariati espoused a radically populist, anti-imperialist theology of revolution

16. Ali Shariati (continuing): • Shariati: a classless social order is a central principle of Islam. • There should not be social and economic stratification as the consequence of military, economic, and spiritual (clerical) domination. • Shariati’s ideas had great impact on students and lay intellectuals, contributing to the revolutionary movement.

17. Cultural Trends: “Two Cultures” • Meanwhile, intensification of a “two cultures” divide, which began in the 1930’s with Reza Shah’s secularist policies (e.g., the unveiling campaign): • Traditional religious culture; and • Increasingly westernized upper and middle classes

18. March 8, 1979

19. How did Clerics Achieve Leadership? Summary • Nationwide network of local clergy and religious leaders • Widespread outrage over corruption, foreign influence, cultural change • Shi’ism provided cohesion and a sense of common purpose to disparate coalition elements • Khomeini’s charismatic leadership

20. Why Did Many Clerics Seek Direct Rule? • In the 1970;s, many members of the clerical estate chose not only to participate in politics, but also to seek direct rule over civil governance. • What led to this development?

21. Global Islamism • In the 1960’s and 1970’s, ideas of Islamism swept through the Muslim world • Islam should be the basis for civil governance • Among Sunnis, the leaders of this movement were lay intellectuals, not clerics

22. Islamism in Iran • But in Iran: a Shi’ite variant of Islamism, emphasizing leadership of religious scholars. • Rekindled questions over the thousand-year tradition of political quietism among Shi’ite religious scholars (or, at most, leadership of popular movements (the 1890’s tobacco protests; the 1906-11 Constitutional Revolution))

23. The “Authority Verse” • For centuries, the debate among Shi’ite scholars centered on interpretation of the “authority verse” in the Holy Qur’an. • Qur’an, 4:59: “O believers: Obey God and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.”

24. The “Authority Verse” • Generally, scholars determined that “those in authority” to rule in civil governance were neither temporal rulers nor religious scholars. These are not immune from error and sin. • Instead, “those in authority” refers only to the infallible Imams (Ali and his eleven descendants).

25. In a commentary written in the 1950s and 1960s, an Iranian scholar, Muhammad Husayn Tabataba’i, stated: the Infallible Ones are those whose recognition depended on the explicit designation of God or the Prophet Muhammad, and to whom obedience was required.

26. Ayatollah Khomeini: “Guardianship of the Jurist” • In a 1970 publication, Ruhollah Khomeini called for a departure from this interpretation. • He articulated a theory entitled “the guardianship of the jurist” (velayat-e faqih). • Note: an important source for this materials is S. Arjomand, The Turban for the Crown (1988).

27. Guardianship, Traditionally • Previously, in Shi’ite law, this theory was limited to specific acts of guardianship (e.g., authority over child orphans and the mentally ill). • However, Khomeini asserted that guardianship of the jurist went beyond these specific types of authority: it includes a general delegation to rule directly in civil governance.

28. Guardianship of the Jurist • Its basis was found in the role of religious scholars as deputies of the Hidden Imam. • Khomeini asserted that the scholars possess with respect to government all that the Prophet and Imams possessed. • All authority is sacred, including the political.

29. Guardianship of the Jurist • It should be noted that this includes the Imamate’s emphasis on humankind’s need for divine guidance, and the central role of religious scholars (jurists) • Khomeini’s theory was soon adopted by many (but by no means all) Iranian clerics in the 1970s.

30. By 1979, this basis for clerical governance was codified in the new Constitution: • Article 2: the “IRI is a system based on belief in continuous leadership (imamate) and perpetual guidance, and its fundamental role in ensuring the uninterrupted process of the revolution of Islam.”

31. Constitution, Article 5: • “during the occultation the guidance and leadership of the Ummah devolve upon the just and pious jurist who…will assume the responsibilities [of the office of Supreme Leader]

32. In an interview in Jan., 1980, a month after adoption of the new Constitution, Khomeini elaborated on the form that such leadership would take. • Clerics would not assume the top governmental offices; instead, it would mean installation of clerics in positions of supervision over those government officers.

33. Khomeini’s theory led to intense debate in the 1970s among the religious scholars: e.g., Grand Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari (1906-1986)

34. Shariatmadari (center)

35. Arguments Against the Theory • 1.Authority during the occultation cannot be extended from the religious to the political sphere; and • 2. If there is such a duty mandated to the scholars, it is a collective authority of all jurists and can’t be restricted to just one individual.

36. Khomeini won the intra-clerical debate in the 1970s, but the debate has continued ever since then. • Will be a recurring theme in weeks 4-6.

37. Possible reasons why Khomeini’s “Guardianship of the Jurist” was successful: 1. Clerics’ distrust of liberal intelligentsia; 2. Many of the revolutionary clerics were former Khomeini students

38. Institutional Framework of the IRI • Timeline for the IRI Constitution: • 1978-mid 1979: coalition drafting of a new constitutional text • August, 1979: election for an Assembly of Constitutional Experts • Most seats to clerics • August-October, 1979: final drafting • December, 1979: Referendum

39. The IRI: • The only Shi’ite Twelver theocracy in the world • Pakistan (late 1940s): the world’s first (Sunni) Islamist state

40. The IRI Constitution • Set up the system that still exists today • A complex hybrid of democratic and theocratic elements, with the latter dominant • Reflects the historical transition from coalition to exclusive clerical rule

41. The August-October, 1979 drafting in the Assembly of Constitutional Experts: • Extensive revisions of the draft text added crucial theocratic elements. • These reflect the “guardianship of the jurist”, with emphasis on clerics’ “supervision” over actions of the democratic institutions.

42. Democratic Elements • Presidency • Parliament • Local and regional councils

43. Democratic Elements: • President (head of executive branch): • Responsibilities: • Implementation of the Constitution and direction of the executive branch of government, except for those matters that directly concern the Supreme Leader. • Heads the Council of Ministers, determining and implementing governmental policies

44. Democratic Elements: The Presidency • The President is responsible for national planning and budget. • Is authorized to sign international agreements and obtain the approval of the Parliament.

45. The President • Elected directly by the people for a four-year term of office; two-term limit. • Recent Presidents: M. Khatami (1997-2005); M. Ahmadinejad (2005-2013); H. Rouhani (2013-present)

46. The Presidency: Qualifications • A religious or political personality; • Born in Iran and of Iranian nationality; • Administrative capacity and resourcefulness; • Good past-record; • Trustworthiness and piety: belief in the principles of the IRI and the official religion of the country (Twelver Islam)

47. Democratic Elements • Government (Executive Branch) • Appointed by the (popularly-elected) President, approved by the Parliament • Subject to dismissal by the President • All Ministers are responsible for their duties to the President and the Parliament

48. Democratic Elements: • Parliament (Islamic Consultative Assembly) • 290 seats, elected directly by the people and by secret ballot. • Four-year term (next election in 2020) • The qualifications of candidates will be specified in legislation. • Deliberations must be open

49. Powers and Authority of the Parliament • Establish laws on all matters, within the limits of its competence as laid down in the Constitution. • Its ratification required for all international agreements signed by the President. .

50. Limits on the Parliament • Prohibited from enacting laws contrary to the sacred law of the official religion of the country or to the Constitution. • It is the duty of the Council of Guardians to determine whether a violation has occurred.