UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO

FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT: POLITOLOGY

COURSE: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY

YEAR: III

ENES PAŠIĆ

RELIGIOUS - POLITICAL SYNTHESIS:

THE PHENOMENON OF THE AYATOLAH IN IRAN

RESEARCH WORK

FACULTY ID: 399 - MOID

SUBJECT: Religion and International relations

Professor: Dino Abazović

Sarajevo, november 2021.

Summary

The topic of this paper is the phenomenon of ayatollahs in the state of Iran. More than
40 years ago, precisely on December 3, 1979. year, a referendum was held in which the status
of the Islamic Republic of Iran was voted, and Ruholah Khomeini was appointed "great leader"
(Grand Ayatollah), and is also considered the founder of the state. Shiism is the basis of the
constitution of the Republic, and as such it is one of the basic identities of this state, and the
very position of the ayatollah is in this faction of Islam. The President of the Republic is also
the Prime Minister, and he is, after the supreme leader, the second most important political
institution, given the fact that the title of Ayatollah is "the best connoisseur of Islamic law", and
is therefore considered the first political figure. The Ayatollah has unquestionable authority in
his domain, overseen only by the Council of Experts, which also oversees the activities of all
levels of government to preserve the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the Iranian political
system.

Keywords: Ayatollah, Islamic State, Khomeini, revolution, politics.

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 Introduction

The Islamic Republic of Iran as a modern state is founded on the principles of Shiism as
one of the two fundamental denominations within Islam. One of the most important, and at the
same time the most famous ayatollahs, Seyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, was one of the
leading people during the Islamic revolution. He was an opponent of the Pahlavi regime, which
he considered to have the support of foreign allies (Germany). He wanted a constitutional and
centralized state governed by Islamic law, which he eventually fought for.

Therefore, a referendum was held in 1979 on the question of whether the velayat-e-fakih
should become the Iranian constitution, to which the majority of citizens answered in the
affirmative. This created the Islamic Republic of Iran and Khomeini is considered its founder.
After the referendum, the process of Islamization of the country began, which instrumentalized
the principles of Islam for political purposes with the aim of organizing the daily lives of
citizens in accordance with religious tradition, and their interpretation of Islamic customs.

Iranian identity is based on Shiite and Persian language. The cult of martyrdom and the
Iraq-Iran war are of paramount importance to political culture. Furthermore, the principle of
velayat-e-fakih, as the constitutional order of the Islamic Republic of Iran, advocates the idea
that only a person who knows sacred law (ayatollah) can lead a nation according to Islamic
tradition. Its task is to direct the actions of individuals in the life of good, and to avoid evil as
an important element of the political culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These laws and
regulations often concern the personal issues of citizens. which tells us enough about the
freedoms in that country.

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 The supreme religious-political authority consists of the supreme leader at the head, and
the Council of Guardians, the Council of Experts and the Council of Judgment, and thus form
the conciliar authority. The task of these councils is to oversee the activities of all levels of
government in order to preserve the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the Iranian political
system. The conciliar government oversees and advises the republican part of the government,
more precisely its legislative, executive and judicial aspects. The President of the Republic is
also the Prime Minister, and he is, after the supreme leader, the second most important political
institution. The government passes draft laws and administrative provisions, while the Majlis,
the Islamic Advisory Assembly, has the function of a state parliament.

Furthermore, the judiciary is based on the tradition of Shiite Islam and is controlled by
the ulema (prominent religious scholars). Laws and court decisions must be based on the
principles of the Qur'an, and their proper interpretation requires an understanding of religious
principles. (Obućina, 2017)

The army is made up of regular and revolutionary forces divided into the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Voluntary Police and the Law Enforcement Forces
(LEF). Their task is to guard the borders and defend the political order in accordance with
Islamic principles. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard, better known as the Army of the
Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, consists of elite land, air and naval forces and the Basij as
a paramilitary organization.

How did Iran become an Islamic state?

On December 3, 1979, it was decided in a referendum that Iran should become an Islamic
Republic. As many as 99% of voters, more than 20.000.000 people, voted for this decision. It
was against only 140,996 voters. The referendum was conducted after the so-called The Iranian
revolution in which the previous monarchical rule of the Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
was overthrown. The Shah left the country, and power was taken over by a group led by the
leader of the revolution - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

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Picture 1. Ajatolah Ruholah Musavi Homeini1 Picture 2. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi2

It was decided that Iran would become an Islamic republic. Such a form of government,
of course, suggests the foundation of the state on Islamic principles. However, the very term
"republic" still means that there are some concessions to democracy. In fact, an Islamic republic
may be seen as a kind of "middle ground" between an Islamic theocracy and a democratic state.
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the highest authority was given to Ayatollah Khomeini, with
the title of "supreme leader" (rahbar). It should be noted that the title "Ayatollah" does not
in itself mean the leader of Iran, as is sometimes mistakenly thought. "Ayatollah" is
actually an honorary title for Islamic theological experts.

There are a significant number of ayatollahs in the world today. It is interesting that in
addition to the "supreme leader" who is the head of state in Iran, there is also the function of
the President of Iran, who is the head of government. In Iran, the "supreme leader" is in principle
more powerful than the president. Ayatollah Khomeini was succeeded as "supreme leader" by
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who continues to do so today.

1
Ruhollah Khomeini (Khomeini, September 22, 1902 - Tehran, June 3, 1989), also known as Ayatollah
Homineini and Imam Khomeini, Iranian politician, Ayatollah, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran
and its supreme leader from December 3, 1979 until his death.
2
Mohamed Reza Pahlavi (Tehran, October 26, 1919 - Cairo, July 27, 1980) was the last Shah of Iran.
He comes to power after Reze Pahlavi, his father abdicated. The main reason for the abdication is
believed to have been British-Soviet pressure, due to his sympathy for Germany in World War II. In the
constitutional crisis of 1953, he came into conflict with the Prime Minister and leader of the National
Party of Iran, Mohammed Mossadik, who opposed the great powers of the Shah and the participation of
foreign capital in the Iranian oil industry.
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Ruholah Khomeini's political engagement

Khomeini's political career began in early 1942 when he published The Revelation of
Secrets (Kashf al-Asrar), his first book in which he argued against Ahmad Kasrawi's secular
views. Khomeini continued to strongly oppose Reza Pahlavi's pro-Western ideas, and the
conflict between conservative and regime currents came to the fore in 1963, when Khomeini
became supreme leader, a "great ayatollah" while Pahlavi launched socio-political reforms
known as the White Revolution.

In early June of that year, Khomeini was arrested and placed under two-month house
arrest, which soon resulted in general protests across the country and the deaths of 400 people.
In a public speech the following year, Khomeini sharply attacked Pahlavi's controversial
proposal to pass a new law that exempts Americans stationed in Iran from the jurisdiction of
Iranian courts. In November 1964, he was sentenced to several months in prison, and soon after,
Prime Minister Hassan-Ali Mansour visited him in person and demanded a public apology.
After Khomeini's categorical rejection, Mansour physically attacked him, which again resulted
in open conflicts between Iranian political factions. A few days later Khomeini was exiled to
Turkey, and Hasan-Ali Mansur was assassinated early the following year.

Khomeini spent 14 years in exile; first 11 months in Bursa, Turkey, then 13 years in
Najaf, Iraq, and finally four months in Paris. In 1970, he wrote Velayat-e Fakih, his most famous
work on the Shiite doctrine of power in which theocratic and republican elements intertwine.
Massive Iranian protests and strikes in January 1978 forced Pahlavi to flee the country in
January of the following year, and a few days later Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran
where he was greeted by millions of people. The Pahlavi monarchy officially ended on February
11, 1979, when the Iranian army, formerly loyal to Pahlavi, declared neutrality, and the Iranian
revolution itself ended on April 1, when the Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed after a
referendum with 98.2% of the vote.

The new Constitution document, based mainly on Velayat-e Fakih, was adopted in
December of the same year when Khomeini became the supreme leader. His rule was marked
by sharp political conflicts with the United States and the Iraqi attack on Iran. He died in Tehran
on June 3, 1989, and was buried in a mausoleum in the south of the city.

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Words about today's supreme leader and views on the president of the
state

There is perhaps no leader in the world more important to current world affairs but less
known and understood than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. Neither a
dictator nor a democrat—but with traits of both—Khamenei is the single most powerful
individual in a highly factionalized, autocratic regime. Though he does not make national
decisions on his own, neither can any major decisions be taken without his consent. He has
ruled the country by consensus rather than decree, with his own survival and that of the
theocratic system as his top priorities.

Despite his three decades in public life, Iranian political insiders continue to offer
differing narratives of Khamenei. Lacking the popular support, charisma, and theological
qualifications of the father of the 1979 revolution, his mentor Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini,
Khamenei is sometimes dismissed as a weak and indecisive individual in a powerful post.
Others see him as an insecure despot who micromanages the country. Still others describe him
as an ailing cleric insulated from reality and manipulated by a small team who act as advisers
and gatekeepers.

Those who knew Khamenei before he became Supreme Leader insist he is a “closet
moderate,” forced to project a stern public persona to keep the radical clergy at bay. They cite
the fact that he was once a music and poetry aficionado and wears a wristwatch, avant-garde
behavior for a traditional cleric. Others who know him take him at face value: a deeply religious,
ideologically rigid, anti-American cleric whose politics are stuck in the anti-imperialist
euphoria of the 1979 revolution. (Sadjadpour, 2008.)

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 The current Iranian president and his influence

Iran’s current president, Hassan Rouhani, was elected on the promise of providing a better
economic future for ordinary Iranians. To do this he needs to end Iran’s regional international
isolation. So far, he has benefitted from the fact that he is not his predecessor. But to make real
advances he will need to strike a nuclear deal with the United States and reach out to Iran’s
suspicious Gulf neighbours.

Rouhani’s ability to make significant changes is limited by the power of Supreme Leader
Khamenei and other powerful regime forces such as the Revolutionary Guard. Nevertheless his
experience as a regime insider, his less confrontational approach, and his grasp of international
affairs mean that he may well succeed where past efforts by Iranian political leaders to
normalise Iran’s relations with the world did not. (Shanahan, 2015.)

Conclusion

In its political history, Iran is an extremely interesting and important country in the
context of geopolitics, but also an important element in maintaining world peace. Despite its
strange political system, it has been positioned as one of the most important military-political
factors in the world for decades. This hybrid regime of functioning has proven to be extremely
effective, and the fact that world political leaders accept the Ayatollah as a legitimate
representative and interlocutor speaks of the strength of this regime. The main element that
keeps Iran at the very top of world politics is their possession of nuclear weapons, with which
they often condition world peace.

The current supreme leader's views on the United States are the same as those of his
predecessor, but what is important to note is that the citizens of Iran, especially Tehran, are no
longer an "obedient mass" and are slowly moving away from their blindly listening ancestors.
orders of the state leadership. Globalization and liberalization in many contexts have
significantly affected the citizens of Iran. In addition to his hateful policy towards the United
States, Khamenei is committed to the development of his country, which is confirmed by many
positive parameters in the development of many area

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