Principles and concepts of the Islamic Revolution from the viewpoint Imam Khomeini (RA) | ||||
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Monotheism and faith in God Almighty The Islamic Revolution is based on the principle of monotheism whose essence spread its umbrella over all aspects of society. In Islam the only deity for man, rather for the entire universe, is Allah and all human beings must act for Him, that is, for His pleasure, and not worship anybody or any object. In a society, where the worship of man, worship of a personality, utilitarianism, hedonism, and any other kind of worship are all condemned and human beings are called upon to only worship God, the relations among human beings, either economic or non-economic, inside such a society or its relations with other countries, will change, the criteria will also change, and all the privileges will be abrogated. Virtue and purity will be the only criterion of superiority. The ruler is equal to the lowest individual in society. Divine, humane criteria and measures will be the basis for the conventions or severance of relations. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 5, P 80) Islam is the religion of politics and both are inseparable Today, however, because the time has come, I say, “this is not Islam”. I swear by God that Islam is politics in its entirety but it has been misrepresented. Political science originates from Islam. I am not one of those mullahs who merely sit with rosary beads in hand. I am not the Pope to perform certain ceremonies on Sundays only, spending the rest of my time imagining that I am a sultan and not concerning myself with any other affairs. This is where the key to Islamic independence lies. This country must be rescued from these difficulties. They do not want this country to be reformed. The foreigners do not want this country to flourish. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 1, P 274) Characteristics of Shi’ism One of the innate characteristics of Shi’ism, since the beginning up to now, which is seen throughout Shi’i history is the uprising and resistance against dictatorships and oppression, although the climax of these struggles has been manifested in certain stages of history. During the recent 100 years, some incidents have happened, each of which has had an effect on the current movement of the Iranian nation. The Constitutional Revolution, the Tobacco Movement, etc… are of great importance. The establishment of the religious seminary more than 50 years ago in the city of Qum and its effect inside and outside the country as also the endeavors made by the religious intellectuals in the academic centers and the 1962-63 uprising, led by the Islamic ‘ulamā’, who are still leading the people are among the factors which have introduced the Shī‘ī Islam to the world. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 5, P 396) The principle of neither East nor West Our Islamic government will be free and independent and the balance of power in this region of the world must not be disturbed at all. We will neither tilt towards the West nor lean towards the East; we want to be a neutral and non-aligned republic. We want to have friendly relations with all the countries so long as they do not interfere in our internal affairs. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 5, P 475) Training and purification of humans The regimes of man, if competent—we know that the majority of them are not—can engender man’s progress in keeping with the degree of their perceptiveness. But they cannot do so in matters of which they have no knowledge. We, therefore, see that all the non-revealed regimes; those that have no connection with the source of the revelation have nothing to do with man. In matters relating to man’s inner self, the governments are not bothered about your thoughts, your beliefs, and your habits…. The only regimes and the only schools that are concerned about man from before this seed was sown until the very end, and they have no end, are those of the prophets. All this is because of the fact that the monotheistic religions, of which Islam is the leading one, came for the perfection of human beings. They did come to develop a being, possessing intelligence and aims at the same animalistic extent or a bit more. They did not come for this purpose; they came for the sake of man’s development. What you said about there being neither a school of thought nor a regime like Islam means that it is Islam that can train a man to pass from the stage of the natural world to the spiritual and beyond the spiritual. Other schools that are not monotheistic have nothing at all to do with what is beyond nature. Their understanding and knowledge do not extend to the realm of metaphysics. The ones conversant with it received the knowledge through revelation. They are the ones whose understanding is linked to revelation. They are the prophets. An Islamic government is not like the other ones… Islam aims to draw man toward spirituality and monotheism. In this respect, there is a difference between Islam and non-Islamic regimes; between Islamic governments and non-Islamic ones, and between the things Islam offers and those of other schools. The other schools are imperfect, but they think otherwise. The extent of these is limited to their perceptions; not more. Islam’s perception is endless. Nature is referred to as the world. “World” means low in the tongue of the prophets. Therefore, the word “world” means very low. “The lowest of the low.” What appears in the Qur’an is this very nature and its manifestations that are above nature; they are of the highest status. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 8, P 359-362) Justice seeking Islamic government means the government of justice When we speak of an Islamic government, we are speaking of a government based on social justice. We maintain that we must have a ruler who will not fraudulently take from the treasury of the Muslims. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 3, P 536) The right to the determination of fate This nation, or indeed any other nation, has the right to determine its own destiny. This is a human right; a right which is stipulated in the Declaration of Human Rights. Any person, any nation, must determine his or their own destiny; it must not be determined by others. And our nation has now risen up to demand that it determines its own destiny. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V3, P 529) Economic independence If the devourers of our oil and the external and internal parasites are denied access to our oil reserves, and it is sold in reasonable quantities, we will not be deprived of our oil resources so soon. This untold profligacy on Shah’s part in exporting oil and, in return, purchasing scraps of iron are the reasons that have put our oil resources in danger of depletion. By setting up a national-cum-Islamic government, and replacing the profligate traitors with patriotic, God-fearing nationalist figures, we will have rational ways to end the crisis: Firstly, frustrating the plunderers of the Treasury at the head of whom is the Shah who, in order to keep himself in power by drawing checks of a million dollars and more from the Treasury for envoys and the important American fugues, is inflicting blows on the paralyzed economy of the country. Secondly, stopping the leading figures—the ministers, the deputies, the important department heads—from oppression and treachery. Thirdly, the elimination of many of the departmental sections only create difficulties for the people and are a burden on the Treasury. Fourthly, by making the optimum use of the agricultural workforce in order to develop a sound agricultural sector that had been ruined by the “Shah-America” (!) revolution of several years, and had undermined Iran’s agriculture while turning the country into a market to the benefit of foreigners. Apart from these, there are the plans and other matters suggested by trustworthy specialists. In this way, the crisis will undoubtedly be ended. I have already alluded to the information of the Islamic government at the very outset (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 3, P 488-489) Confronting global arrogance here, you see that our youths have seized the American den of corruption and captured the Americans and the U.S. cannot do a damn thing. It is nonsense to say that the U.S. would mount military. Can the US intervene in this country in military terms? It is impossible. Iran is now the focus of attention of all countries in the world. Can the U.S. stand against the entire world and launch military intervention? The US cannot do a damn thing with military intervention. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 10, P 368) Respecting rule of law The respected representatives of the Council of Experts must utilize all their expertise so that the constitution is concise and includes the following features: a. Protection and safeguarding the rights and interests of all strata of the nation free from iniquitous discriminations; b. Forecasting the needs and interests of future generations in a manner that is in keeping with the sacred laws and eternal teachings of Islam; c. Straightforwardness and clarity of the definitions of the law in a manner that they cannot be open to misinterpretation and misrepresentation in fulfillment of the cravings of dictators and egotists of history; andd. They merit being considered role models and guides for other Islamic movements that are inspired by the Islamic Revolution of Iran for the planning of an Islamic society. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 9, P 282) Justice seeking within the boundaries of religion We are free! Are we now free to do anything we want? And to trouble anyone we like? Are we free to write whatever we want to write, even against Islam and the interests of the country? Is this freedom? Did we want this (kind of) freedom? We asked for Islam. There is freedom in Islam as well, but not unrestrained freedom. We do not want Western-type as it is unrestrained. Should we behave as we please!? It is not so. We want freedom under the protection of the Qur’an. We want the independence given by Islam; assured by Islam. Our whole purpose is Islam; everything is Islam because Islam is the fountainhead of blessings and leads people from darkness to light. We want to evolve into an enlightened society, a people sparkling with piety. We want to attend universities whose affairs are brilliantly administered and the sciences taught are radiant with knowledge. We want it to be ethically resplendent, and everything else of it to be divine and shining with virtue. The victory is not for us to have gained freedom and independence with all the benefits accruing to us, and that is all. Is this the end of everything? Now that the benefits are ours, do we have nothing more to do? (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 8, P 60) Confronting Israel and promoting Muslim unity For me one subject has taken the form of a puzzle which is that all the Muslim governments and nations of Islam know what the illness is; they know that the hands of foreigners are involved to keep them divided; they see that these discords bring about weakness and extinction for them; they are seeing that a flimsy government of Israel is standing opposite the Muslims—if the Muslims would have united and each of them poured a bucket of water on Israel, it would be carried away by the resulting flood—yet they are helpless vis-à-vis it. The puzzle is that despite knowing these things, why do not they seek a final cure which is unity and concurrence? Why do not they nullify the plots that the imperialists hatch for weakening them? When must this puzzle be solved? And who must solve it? Who must neutralize these plots other than the governments of Islam and the Muslim nations? If you have found the answer and have solved this puzzle then also let us know about it. (Sahifeh-ye-Imam, V 9, P 250). By: Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini’s Works | ||||
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