Khorramshad: Iran’s democracy capable of inspiring other nations | ||
Iranian democracy is Islamic in nature and is capable of inspiring other nations, Mohammad Baqir Khorramshad, President of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, said at an international conference on Models of Islamic Democracy. Democracy in Islamic countries cannot be non-religious, he added at the conference that was held in the city of Qum on Nov. 19. Referring to the viewpoints of the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, about Islamic democracy, Khorramshad said that the conference should make efforts to find out the nature of Islamic democracy, its theoretical principles, its historical backgrounds, its differences with liberal and social democracies and its models. Relying on historical experiences, one can categorically say that democracy in Iran and other Islamic countries cannot be non-religious. Hence, one should not expect democracy in these countries to be similar to other models. Under the prevailing circumstances, the realities are such that we need to discuss religious democracy. Many thinkers accept that in 1979, when the Islamic Revolution of Iran achieved victory, this phenomenon was unique and new in the region and the world, but the developments in Iran during the past 32 years have left their impacts on the region and the world. During the past decades, one of the crucial intellectual poles of the world, that is, socialism collapsed in front of the astonished eyes of the spectators, he said. Today, we are witness to revolutions, which are still going on with full enthusiasm of Arab world peoples, he said adding, contrary to the past when the models of revolution came to the East from the West, today, the Tahrir Square has become a model for the West. Social and economic crises in the West will lead to political and cultural crises, Khorramshad added. Under the circumstances, once again the main slogan of the Islamic Revolution, i.e. “neither East nor West”, an intellectual and ideological slogan, has come to the center. In fact, socialism has collapsed and cracks have appeared in liberalism. Hence liberalism will collapse too. In order to understand Islamic democracy in Iran and its capabilities to inspire other Muslim nations, one has to study the Constitution of Iran in which sovereignty of God and that of the people are combined. According to the Constitution, “Commandment of Good and Prohibition of Evil” is a public duty and leadership of the Ummah during the occultation of the Imam of the Age is vested in the courageous and insightful…Vali-e Faqi. Referring to the qualifications of the leader of Islamic ummah, he said that courage, insight, management, leadership power and command of jurisprudence are among the qualifications of the leader. If the leader does not enjoy these qualities, he will be dismissed. At the same time, the leader is equal with other citizens before the law. This model of government is unprecedented and unique. This model is definitely democratic, but it is neither socialist nor secular, rather it is Islamic democracy. In this model, collective reason has priority over individual reason. The people’s participation and supervision over the performance of officials is necessary and useful. At the same time, the presence of religion is also necessary. The Iranian model is neither similar to that of the Arab countries nor that of other Muslim countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is not similar to the Western models either, he added. The election of the leaders by the people is a fundamental principle in this model, he said adding that there are certain mechanisms for the election of the leaders within the framework of Islamic culture. In the Islamic democracy, people do not attain high positions through their wealth, luck, or connections. On the contrary, the leaders are elected through free elections while the law stipulates their impeachment and dismissal through votes. One should not expect Islamic democracy to be like other models, he said adding, today, Islam and Shiism constitute a major chunk of the Iranian culture. This culture has been legally formulated into a new model that can be defined for every Islamic country according to its local conditions. Relying on historical experiences, one can categorically say that democracy in Iran and other Islamic countries cannot be non-religious. If Islam is to be the base, the government model must be religious, otherwise, the prevailing situation of the Islamic world will perpetuate. Probably, Christianity as a religion, was an obstacle to democracy, but Islam, as a religion, is not so and any attempt to exclude religion is doomed to fail. Today, it is necessary to redefine the role of Islam in the political and social life of the Muslim nations. The international conference on Models of Islamic Democracy was inaugurated in the city of Qum on Nov. 19 and was attended by scholars from tens of Islamic countries. | ||
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