Functioning of the Constitution with

Two Sovereigns
Mohit Mokal

Index
I Introduction_____________________________________________2
II Pre 1979 Revolution
Era___________________________________3
III - Islamic State____________________________________________7
IV - Constitution of
1979______________________________________10
V Conclusion: Constitution in
Practice_________________________13
VI References /
Bibliography_________________________________15

I. Introduction
The Islamic Republic of Iran, in its name to the outside world,
reflects its contradictory nature of a state which is not only
Islamic but also a Republic. In this paper, I will try to
firstly establish the difference between an Islamic State and
Republic State, both of which have been experienced by Iran
in its history. The revolution of 1979 left many questions in
the hearts of young Iranians whose immediate previous
generation contained responsible actors in the revolution that
ended the Pahlavi regime and instated an Islamic State. I will
try to give a background necessary to understand certain
aspects of this revolution and then will follow with an
explanation of the dual sovereignty aspect of the Islamic
Constitution. My intention through this paper will be to explain
the inner workings of the constitution and prove how there
exists a pseudo state superficially for the people to believe
they can be responsible for what goes on in the government,
but in reality how there exists only one sovereign The
Supreme Leader responsible for all intricate control of the
state and its instruments. My paper will explain amongst
other things, the condition of the people of Iran who still
dream of a State in which they can live without feeling
oppressed.

II. Pre 1979 Revolution Era

From the 16th Century up until the turn of the 20 th Century,
Iran previously known as Persia, was mostly governed by
Rulers which defined its time as the Qajar Period, and the
Safavid Period. During the Safavid Era roughly between 1501
1722, Shiism was declared the official religion of the state.
This was until 1906, the first Constitutional Revolution of Iran.
The people of Iran were troubled by illiteracy, lack of a
sustaining economy, political instability, unfavorable domestic
and international policies from the state. The Qajar Dynasty
was responsible for the gradual decline of the time of the
kings, the military might of the state suffered many set backs,
the economy of the state was restricted to only domestic
trade for a long time before the kings started trading with
international parties, like Russia and Britain during the late
19th century. International trade rose by 800% from 1850 1900 however, the trade was not profitable or sustainable for
the people, as most of time the king gave these countries
heavy tax concessions in return for luxurious and extravagant
gifts for the king and his associates. The people of Iran
through a violent but determined period of time instated a
government with a parliament and a constitution of the
people, however that did not last very long as there was

military intervention and the Republican Constitution became

a Constitutional Monarchy under the first Reza Shah Pahlavi.
Reza Shah was a military general who attained power in the
state through his own hard work in the army. He was
responsible for many of Irans successful military campaigns,
and more importantly a man who has a vision of Iran, free
from religious scriptures and more like the Western Modern
civilization.

This change in ideology, a shift in the peoples mind from a

strictly religious state to one of Western and Modern
philosophies, was caused during the last 20-50 years of the
Qajar dynasty. Due to the input of modern technology as gifts
to the nation of Iran, reliant on its strategic position in the
middle east, a link between Western Europe, Asia and North
East Africa, Iran had immense potential for an efficient trade
route, and a military strong hold to maintain supremacy in
international

politics.

The

families

belonging

to

rich

aristocracy could now afford to send their children to

universities in Austria, France, Russia and Britain, this was
supported by the Prince Abbas Mirza however after his
demise there was no one else who took particular interest in
attaining ideological growth by using western institutions. The

need for outside influence on the education was obvious since

the Qajar state has no resources for public education and had
some of the greatest rates of illiteracy at the time. The
intention of sending students abroad was for them to learn
modern sciences, technology and engineering which could
help the country in countering modern arms, however the
people ended up taking a stark interest in journalism,
literature, philosophy and were motivated to bring about
radical changes in the governance of Iran. The people had a
feeling of inferiority after succumbing to Russia at two
accounts, in 1813 and 1832, it was obvious they were
technologically and ideologically hundreds of years behind the
westernized states across Europe and Russia. Iran had
immense intellectual dialogue and exchange of journals
through three main routes, first being Bombay, as it was the
closest port of the British East India Trading Co, secondly at
Baku where it was influenced by the Soviet Union and thirdly
at Istanbul during the time it was still controlled by the
Ottoman Empire.

The first major event in the history of a constitutional Iran was

the revolution of 1906, which I will be drawing from briefly.
The revolution although for official records purposes started in
1906, but I believe it began much earlier which can be traced

back to the assassination of Nassiruddin Shah who managed

to remain in power during the Qajar dynasty for over 50 years
and retained a strong hold over the people. However, after his
demise there existed a power vacuum which could not be
filled by the next in line of throne. This power vacuum was
attempted to be filled by several actors, including the
intellectual elite who wanted to have a new constitution,
inspired by the Free Masonry idea which demanded a
separation of powers by a constitution between the Judiciary,
Executive and the Legislature. People like Mirza Jahangir
Khan, Mirza Malkom Khan, Akhundzadeh were accompanied
by the traditional domestic merchants Bazaris who faced
immense economic pressures and were also supported by the
clergymen or the Ulema who were fed up of growing
modernistic tendencies of the kings and his disloyalty to the
religious scholars.

The next step on the way to the revolution of 1979, was Reza
Khan who later on became the first democratically elected
Monarch of Iran. Reza Shah Pahlavi had only been outside Iran
once in his life, that one place inspired and set his visions on
the future of Iran which he could in all possibilities alter. He
visited Turkey during the time of Ataturk, which in turn was
influenced by the Ottoman Empire and was exceedingly

Europeanized, much more than Reza Shah had ever seen for
himself. Being so incredibly impressed by their culture, Reza
Shah was on a mission to Modernize Iran. His personality was
hugely thought of as Machiavellian, A time to be cunning as
a fox and a time to show power as a lion, he was able to gain
the confidence of the people, and the clergy over time and
was already the Chief of Army. Extremely adaptable and with
highly skilled ministers he appointed, he changed the face of
Iran within a period of 16 years of his rule, he had finished
building large infrastructure projects like the Trans-Iranian
Railways, and National Highways, he for the first time
introduced a National University in Tehran. It was a time of
change, in the ideology and the mindset of the people.
Women were given rights like never before, they were
permitted by law to remove their veils, attain higher
education, become public officials, including judges and
ministers which was never possible before the time of Reza
Shah. Ervand Abrahamian, called Reza Shahs regime as one
hand would be free of clerical influence, nomadic uprisings,
and ethnic differences and, on the other hand would contain
European-style educational institutions, Westernized women
active outside the home, and modern economic structures
with state factories, communication networks, investment
banks, and department stares. After many decades of

Modernization under the Pahlavi dynasty there were many

who criticized the regime on many fronts. The regime was
criticized to be extremely subjugated and influenced by
Americans,

and

on

the

other

hand

to

be

extremely

superficially luxurious while the country faced a dilemma of

cultural identity, a war being fought by the Shah to be
Europeanized and the Religious Traditionalists who asked
them to abide by ancient Arabic Cultural identities. The most
obvious opposition to the pseudo modernization of state and
cultural change was traditionalists, conservatives, especially
those belonging to the Ulema, and here emerges Khomeini.

III. Islamic State

The Quran is the most sacred and religious text to the Islamic
community. How ever, after the passing of the last prophet
there was nobody to provide for further texts, or guide Islam
further. The only ones left were the ones who could interpret
the Quran. An Islamic State is one which is governed by
Islamic principles, with Islamic laws, as only through the
Quran can they derive legitimacy, which is divine legitimacy.
Through this legitimacy, the Islamic Scholars those well
versed with the Quran and Islamic Principles are looked upon
at times of illegitimate authority. In Islam, there exists a
principle Vilayat i Faqih which translates into the rule of the

jurist. This principle provides legitimacy to the clerics who are

can

give

the

most

politically

and

religiously

correct

governance, and usually all principles found in the Quran are

quoted and the ruler is infallible, just like the Quran. The
Islamic Clergy had always tried to remain out of politics until
Khomeini but they support and legitimize any ruler who would
govern by the Doctrine of the Twelver Imam and would adhere
to the guidance laid down by the Ulema.

Throughout all Islamic States we can notice, be it Egypt,

Oatar, Saudi Arabia or other previous Ottoman states, the
religious leaders were over shadowed by Modern Technology
and Western governance except in the case of Iran. Since
most Islamic States belong or identify themselves as the
Sunni Sect in Islam, which only now applies the Quran, and
since the prophets absence the Quran cannot be amended
or modified, it makes it difficult for the Quran to cope with
modern science and ideology. However, Iran identifies itself as
a nation of Shiite Muslims, in its very constitution in the
Preamble and the Form of Government, declares its faith in
the theory of the Twelver Imam and until his return would be
guided by the legitimate Islamic jurist who can interpret the
message of the Imam and govern the nation adhering to the
principles of the ideology. Since there is always a person who

10

is there to interpret the Quran and apply it in the current

context, once can claim that it can be subjectively applied, in
the sense it is extremely adaptable and flexible compared to
the hard lined Sunni beliefs of interpreting and applying only
the Quran, Shiites can look to their Imams for guidance. This
gives more power to the Imams and more freedom of
interpretation, this makes the religion extremely adaptable
and hence explains why the Islamic Clergy managed to
remain

in

control

and

power,

not

just

physically

but

ideologically giving the people an identity when they feel lost

or confused between political dynasties.

Further I would like to point out, however strong the religious

ideology might be, it only comes into power when there exists
a power vacuum within the political sphere or a phase of
political instability with too many actors, or too few. The
Clergy always backed the ruling dynasty and abandoned them
when they were uncontrollable, waited for the instability to
kick in, or sometimes even helped induce it, like during the
Tobacco Concessions in 1891, or the more recent White
Revolution in 1963. The existence of this power vacuum
created during the regime of Mohammed Reza Shah, a.k.a.
the Suit Case King, gave the Ulema uncontrollable sway over
the people who were induced in a state of pseudo nationalism

11

and lacked fixed cultural identities, religion is what brought

them together, gave a structure and guided the will of the
people. The political dynasties in power also, overtime grow
out of their agreement with the clergy who brought them to
power, if not directly assented their rule. But apart from the
legitimacy that it derives, the functioning of a textbook
Islamic Caliphate, would be somewhat similar. For example,
an Islamic State would be governed by the Sharia Laws, which
are mentioned in the Quran. They specify not only laws
convicting criminals, but also deal with civil matters like
succession of family heritage, marriage and divorce. Islam is
known not only as a religion but also a way of life. Many have
argued that Islam is not just a religion but also a state, as it
governs an individual but also the society and way of
governance. It doesnt really matter through what mode of
governance these goals are achieved, the Quran doesnt
mention whether a Khalif or a monarch must govern an
Islamic State or an Oligarchy or for that matter if it works
even a democratically elected government, but that would be
extremely contradictory to the nature of Islam. But to what
end must this state exist, there are hardliners who say that
the goal of Islam will only be completed when the entire world
is Muslim and there exists complete harmony of will and
universal harmony between the creation and the one and only

12

creator, Allah but in a modern international political sphere

its quite challenging to function with a goal of world
domination. There also exist passive thought lines which say
Islamic States must only govern its subjects who voluntarily
become a Muslim and not through means of coercion or force,
which would be a practical scenario where everyone can live
peacefully but because of this conflict in thought process
there exists conflict between the people and the government.

IV. Constitution of 1979

The revolution of 1963 that lead up to revolution in 1979 is as
important as the Islamic Constitution of Iran, so first I would
give a brief background to the revolution. The rule of the
Pahlavi Dynasty was going smoothly, so well that the
President of the United States in December, 1978 made a
toast to the great leadership of Mohammed Reza Shah
Pahlavi, but within the next few months large violent public
riots had broken out in Iran and the Shah had fled. Members
of the Clergy had a huge part to play in this, especially
Ayatollah Khomeini. An increasing class difference between
the people was obvious to the people, more over the Shah
had a crackdown on elites because he was afraid of dissent
against him in the society. This lead him to impose even
stricter security with his infamous Savak Secret Police who

13

had torturous methods to interview its prisoners. On the face

of it however, the Shah lived an extravagant and luxurious
lifestyle, this angered the people and many corruption claims
against the Shahs government had also been raised. They
called the Shah a puppet of the Americans and when the time
came he proved to be incapable of using his military force
against the people, crushing the rebellion unlike his father
Reza Shah who was known for his ruthless military might.
Again a power vacuum created by the Shah himself, gave
Khomeini an opportunity to gather the will of the people
through religion and use it against the Shah. He condemned
the Shahs rule and established an Islamic State, mostly from
outside of Iran as the Shah had banished him for his previous
revolutionary plans against the Shah.

The Islamic Constitution of 1979 was drafted and ratified by

the newly established Islamic Government but it was not as
clear and transparent as one would imagine. In fact, instead
of electing the Constituent Assembly Majlis i Muasian - the
election for the Assembly of Experts was held between August
3-4th 1979. This step meant instead of a committee of roughly
300 representatives from all parts of Iran only about 75 would
be elected. Within the period of August 19 th, and November

14

15th

of

1979,

the

Assembly

of

experts

approved

the

constitution with a 2/3rd majority, a criteria mentioned in

Article 175 of the Constitution itself. This was controversial for
the people themselves, as they envisioned an assembly of
constitution drafters to be democratic in nature but also
sufficient to empower people from all parts of the society. This
step dissatisfied many parties including, Abu al-Hasan BaniSadr, Dr. Ali Shaygan and the National Front, to give a few
examples. Another major issue surrounding the Constitution
was relating to the principle of Vilayt i Fagih not specifically
mentioned but inferred from Article 5 of the document and
the powers it provided.

The first draft of the Constitution presented to the people on

July 19th 1979, was far more different than the one approved
and applied later on, it provided for a powerful legislature,
and a strong president with powers over the military and the
parliament. It was not perfect, but it was thought to be
ratified to balance these powers and also to include clerical
influence. However, in the new adopted constitution the
instruments created for the Clergy as a supervisory role for
different aspects of the government, had powers to veto all
decisions of the Majlis. They were in essence superior to the
elected representatives by the people. Article 5 provides for a

15

religious head in the absence of the Twelver Imam, to guide

the people and extensive powers are granted to him to do so
in Article 110. In my opinion Article 56 talks about the
sovereign right of the nation which has been giving by Allah
himself and nobody except him can take this right away,
further Article 6 gives the elected President the right of
administering the government and the state of Iran, however
Article 110 contradicts both these Articles and gives the
power to the Supreme Leader to take actions in contravention
of the Constitution as long as he can support it by Quranic
scriptures and their interpretations. This was yet accepted
and adopted by the people since Ayatollah Khomeini enjoyed
the support of the majority, but since his demise there has
been public criticism of this and it has been dealt with by
violent and oppressive means of the State.

16

V. Conclusion: Constitution in Practice

Finally discussing the fruit that this constitution bears is a
government with multiple organizations, intricately linked to
each other, some codependent, while some superseding the
powers of each other. Due to its complicated operation I
would explain its mechanisms are simply as I can. Starting
with the Elected members of the Assembly of Experts, they
have the power to select the Supreme Leader. The Supreme
National Security Council, is an advisory council to the
Supreme Leader. A Council of Guardians is established which
has the power to ratify all laws passed by the Parliament
(Majlis), it also possesses the power to screen the candidates
who can stand for the post of Minister in the Majlis and the
Presidential Candidates. The Council of Guardians, consists of
12 members, 6 of whom are appointed by the Supreme
Leader and the other half consisting of judicial scholars
appointed by the Judiciary of the State.

The President is

elected by all the people but the candidates are selected by

the Council of Guardians, his duties and responsibilities are
provided in Article 113 which is to head the executive and to
oversee the implementation of the Constitution, he also
appoints his Cabinet of Ministers who approve the legislations
suggested by the Majlis. The Majlis or the Parliament is a
directly

elected

body

of

290

members,

however

the

17

candidates are also screened by the Council of Guardians. In

case there arise problems between the Council of Guardians
and the Majlis, another body called the Expediency Council
exists to help resolve such disputes and any other problems
the Supreme Leader refers to it. The office of the Supreme
Leader, as the name suggests is indefinitely powerful, he
oversees the President and can remove him from office on
advice of either the Supreme Court or the Majlis. He appoints
the members of the Supreme Court and all members of the
Expediency Council, apart from the 6 clerics he appoints to
the Council of Guardians. He is also the Commander in Chief
of all regular military and the revolutionary guard, who in turn
control the Basij Militia and the QUDS an elite branch of the
military that operates on foreign territory.

Through this we

can notice how the Supreme Leader acquires the power to

appoint members to oversee the duties of the elected
Parliament and personally oversees the President.
Observing the evidence mentioned above, in finality I believe
the Supreme Leader has power to control the executive, the
legislature and the judiciary, and even though the people get
to democratically elect the Assembly of Experts, the Majlis
and the President, they have no power to freely elect anyone
who wishes to stand for elections, further the control of the
military

which

can

challenge

the

President

and

the

18

Parliament, rests with the Supreme Leader. With a monopoly

of such power, this state cannot be called one that is
Democratic. It contains some features of a Democratic State,
but not the functioning of one. The Sovereignty promised to
the State and its people in the Constitution is overruled by
arbitrary distribution of power and in fact rests with the office
of the Supreme Leader, and until that office is removed, and
we have a separation of powers as the French political
philosopher Montesquieu said There is as yet no liberty if the
power of judging be not separated from legislative power and
the executive power.

19

References / Bibliography
Abrahamian, E. (1974). Oriental Despotism: The Case
of Qajar Iran. International Journal of Middle East
Studies, 5(01), pp.3-31.
Abrahamian, E. (1982). Iran between two revolutions.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Cronin, S. (1998). Writing the History of Modern Iran: A
Comment on Approaches and Sources. Iran, 36,
p.175.
Jahanbegloo, R. (2010). The Two Sovereignties and the
Legitimacy Crisis in Iran. Constellations, 17(1),
pp.22-30.
Jahanbegloo, R. (n.d.). Democracy in Iran.
Keddie, N. (1969). The Roots of the Ulama's Power in
Modern Iran. Studia Islamica, (29), p.31.
Ramazani, R. (1980). The Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Iran. 1st ed. [ebook] Middle Eastern

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Journal, pp.181 - 204. Available at:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4326018 [Accessed 26
Sep. 2016].

21