Iran
The tight link between politics and Shi'a Islam that characterizes contemporary Iran is the product of a long and often contentious history. Islam came to Iran, the historical stronghold of Zoroastrianism, with the Arab conquest of the 7th century and became the dominant religion by the late 11th century. A second major shift, from Sunni to Shi’a predominance, occurred under the Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736). In the 20th century, decades of top-down secularization and Westernization under the autocratic government of the Shah ended when popular discontent led to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which established an Islamic Republic under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1979-89). Following the Iranian Revolution, the country's Supreme Leader, a Shi’a cleric, was granted significant political power, and Twelver Shi’a Islam was designated as the official religion. Though Iran’s Constitution recognizes Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews as official religious minorities, non-Muslims face legal restrictions. Specifically, members of the Baha’i faith constitute the country’s largest minority, but often face government persecution.
ESSAYS ON IRAN
Ancient Iran, Islamization, and Shi'ism
Iran entered the world stage under Cyrus the Great (559-530 BCE), who established the Achaemenid Empire and set an imperial precedent for protecting the religious freedom of the peoples he conquered. Zoroastrianism spread through Iran and became the official state religion by the late sixth century BCE, disseminating Zoroastrian concepts, such as free will, across the Empire and influencing the development of other religions, most notably Judaism. Arab invaders brought Islam to Iran in the mid-seventh century CE, and nearly all of Iran had converted by the end of the eleventh century. The Safavid Empire declared Shi’a Islam the official state religion in 1501, employing a ruthless campaign of forced conversions and inviting Arab Shi’a theologians into the country to convert the mostly Sunni population. By the late seventeenth century, Shi’ism had permeated Iran, setting it apart from and creating antagonism with its Sunni neighbors. The Safavid Empire collapsed in 1722, and, in 1796, the Qajars reunified Iran after a brutal tribal civil war. Throughout the Qajar Dynasty, Shi'a ulema enjoyed increased autonomy from the state. Under the reign of Fat’h Ali Shah (1797-1834), the Shi'a ulema took responsibility for religious, judicial, and educational institutions. By the late 1800s, the Iranian public was dissatisfied with the Qajar Dynasty, leading to the 1905 Constitutional Revolution. The constitutional movement granted political authority to the ulema by creating an assembly of five mujtahids to review all legislation and ensure its compatibility with Sharia. However, the Iranian constitutional monarchy was short-lived, and the shah soon resumed political predominance, backed by Russian and British intervention.
Modernization and the Islamic Revolution
The Pahlavi Dynasty began in 1925 when Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925-1941) deposed the last of the Qajar shahs. Reforms under both Reza Shah and his son, Mohammad Reza Shah (1941-1979), generated public discontent. Reza Shah gradually decreased the ulema's independence from the state and regulated religious practices by implementing exams to join the ulema, secularizing the education and legal systems, unveiling women, and allowing coeducational universities. Modernization reforms under Mohammad Reza Shah attempted to limit the influence of the ulema in education and politics. For example, the shah established theological schools in state universities in order to counteract the influence of the ulema's religious teachings. In addition, the growing signs of Western decadence, such as drinking and gambling, revealing women's clothing, and provocative films, solidified ulema opposition to the shah's reforms and linked Westernization to an attack on Islam in many minds. Tensions culminated in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which transformed Iran from a monarchy to an Islamic republic based on the guardianship of Islamic jurists. Soon after the Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1979-1989) was declared the Supreme Leader of Iran, ushering in new social and political restrictions based on his interpretation of Islamic values to reverse the liberal Pahlavi-era policies. One of Khomeini's most important creations was the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was established to protect the spirit of the revolution and the Islamic regime, policing morals and suppressing political and religious dissent. Over the past three decades, the Corps has become one of the most influential institutions in Iran.
The Islamic Republic
Life under the Islamic regime has been mixed. The state has become notorious for its human rights violations, including the systematic limitation of freedom of expression and the harassment, imprisonment, and torture of critics and dissidents. While there has been an increase in literacy and a decline in maternal and infant mortality rates, poverty and unemployment have risen. Religious minorities do not enjoy full religious freedom. The Baha’i in particular, Iran’s largest non-Muslim minority, are subject to ongoing state persecution. The officially recognized religious minorities – Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians – are allocated a total of five representatives under the 1979 Constitution. Although recognized religious minorities are allowed to follow their own laws in personal matters, many religious practices are restricted in public. International response to the repression of religious minorities was expressed in a 2006 United Nations General Assembly resolution that condemned the human rights situation in Iran, particularly noting the government's treatment of non-Shi'a Muslims and the Baha'i. The successes and failures of the regime continue to raise critical debate about the relationship between Islam and politics. Iran’s democratic features, including competitive multiparty elections, conflict with a system in which the Supreme Leader rules for life with absolute veto power. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who took office in 2005, garnered international criticism for calling for the destruction of Israel and for numerous anti-Semitic remarks.
Contemporary Affairs
The powerful institutional role of Shi’a clerics in Iran’s political system presents a significant obstacle to both religious and secular reformers seeking to bring about political change. The 2009 presidential elections pitted incumbent conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against more moderate challengers, including ex-prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Though the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was not directly involved in the campaign, he supported Ahmadinejad and quickly certified the election results despite Mousavi’s protests that they had been manipulated. The election resulted in significant civil unrest and subsequent police repression. More recently, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have clashed, with Khamenei proposing the idea of eliminating the position of president in late 2011. Khamenei supporters won a majority of seats in the March 2012 parliamentary elections. Both Ahmadinejad and Khamenei support Iran’s nuclear program, which has raised fears of an attack from Israel. As a supporter of Syria’s minority Shi’a and Alawite populations, Iran also backs the Syrian government against international objections to its crackdown on protesters. Since Ahmadinejad’s 2009 reelection, religious minorities have faced increased government persecution. Authorities have arrested numerous Baha’i citizens, who are officially considered apostates and lack protection under Iranian law. In September 2010, in a rare public appeal to the US government, Khamenei called on the US to punish citizens who burn the Qur’an.
Religious Freedom in Iran
Iran’s Constitution defines Iran as an Islamic State based on the tenets of Jafari Shi’a Islam. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei exercises control of the government through vilayat al-faqih (guardianship of the jurist), a concept put forth by his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini. The state holds a monopoly on Shi’a religious discourse, and Shi’a clerics who disagree with the state version of Shi’a Islam face persecution and imprisonment. Iran is home to sizeable Sunni Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Baha’i, and Zoroastrian communities. With the exception of Baha’is, these groups are legally protected minorities, though they sometimes face persecution and discrimination in practice. The Iranian Constitution guarantees the rights of protected religious minorities to practice their faith and allots five seats in the Iranian parliament to representatives of recognized minority religions. However, non-Shi’a Muslims often struggle to gain entrance to universities, encounter institutional barriers in securing employment, and occasionally face police harassment. The Baha’i community is legally understood as an apostate sect of Islam. Almost 100 Baha’is are currently held in Iranian prisons for religious reasons, and arsons of Baha’i property in 2011 and 2012 have been ignored by the Iranian government. Despite current President Ahmadinejad’s strained relationship with Israel and his denial of the Holocaust, Iranian Jews face minimal restrictions on their ability to practice their faith.
Religion in the Iranian Constitution
Religion plays a prominent role in the Iranian Constitution as demonstrated by Article 1 of the Constitution which states," The form of government of Iran is that of an Islamic Republic, endorsed by the people of Iran on the basis of their longstanding belief in the sovereignty of truth and Qur'anic justice." Article 12 declares the official state religion to be Twelver Shi'a Islam and the source of law is Sharia. Sovereignty is reserved for God, and all legislation must be in accordance with Islam. Only individuals who adhere to the fundamental principles of Islam and maintain religious piety may be selected for positions of Supreme Leader and President. Universal freedom of belief and the right to worship are not guaranteed. Other Muslim sects are allowed to perform their own religious rites and act in accordance with their own jurisprudence. While 98 percent of the Iranian population is Muslim, followers of other traditions, specifically Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity, are recognized as official religious minorities by Article 13. Adherents to these three faiths are allowed to follow their own canon in matters of personal status and education. Article 14 requires the government and Muslims to treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and equity contingent upon their not partaking in conspiracies against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Preamble: Aspirations of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran advances the cultural, social, political, and economic institutions of Iranian society based on Islamic principles and norms, which represent an honest aspiration of the Islamic Ummah. This aspiration was exemplified by the nature of the great Islamic Revolution of Iran, and by the course of the Muslim people's struggle, from its beginning until victory, as reflected in the decisive and forceful calls raised by all segments of the populations. Now, at the threshold of this great victory, our nation, with all its beings, seeks its fulfillment.
Article 1: The Islamic Republic
The form of government of Iran is that of an Islamic Republic, endorsed by the people of Iran on the basis of their long-standing belief in the sovereignty of truth and Qur'anic justice, in the referendum of Farwardin 9 and 10 in the year 1358 of the solar Islamic calendar, corresponding to Jamadi al-'Awwal 1 and 2 in the year 1399 of the lunar Islamic calendar [March 29 and 30, 1979], through the affirmative vote of a majority of 98.2% of eligible voters, held after the victorious Islamic Revolution led by the eminent marji' al-taqlid, Ayatullah al-Uzma Imam Khomeyni.
Article 4: Islamic Bases of the Law
All civil, penal financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely and generally to all articles of the Constitution as well as to all other laws and regulations, and the fuqaha' of the Guardian Council are judges in this matter.
Article 5: Leadership of the Ummah
During the Occultation of the Wali al-Asr (may God hasten his reappearance), the wilayah and leadership of the Ummah devolve upon the just ['adil] and pious [muttaqi] faqih, who is fully aware of the circumstances of his age; courageous, resourceful, and possessed of administrative ability, will assume the responsibilities of this office in accordance with Article 107.
Article 7: Constitution of Consultative Bodies
In accordance with the command of the Qur'an contained in the verse ("Their affairs are by consultations among them" [42:38]) and ("Consult them in affairs" [3:159]), consultative bodies - such as the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Provincial Councils, and the City, Region, District, and Village Councils and the likes of them - are the decision-making and administrative organs of the country. The nature of each of these councils, together with the manner of their formation, their jurisdiction, and scope of their duties and functions, is determined by the Constitution and laws derived from it.
Article 8: Reciprocal Duties of Citizens and Government
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, al-'amr bilma'ruf wa al-nahy 'an al-munkar is a universal and reciprocal duty that must be fulfilled by the people with respect to one another, by the government with respect to the people, and by the people with respect to the government. The conditions, limits, and nature of this duty will be specified by law. (This is in accordance with the Qur'anic verse; "The believers, men and women, are guardians of one another; they enjoin the good and forbid the evil" [9:71]).
Article 10: Importance of the Family
Since the family is the fundamental unit of Islamic society, all laws, regulations, and pertinent programs must tend to facilitate the formation of a family, and to safeguard its sanctity and the stability of family relations on the basis of the law and the ethics of Islam.
Article 11: Unity of the Islamic World
In accordance with the sacred verse of the Qur'an ("This your community is a single community, and I am your Lord, so worship Me" [21:92]), all Muslims form a single nation, and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has the duty of formulating its general policies with a view to cultivating the friendship and unity of all Muslim peoples, and it must constantly strive to bring about the political, economic, and cultural unity of the Islamic world.
Article 12: The Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence
The official religion of Iran is Islam and the Twelver Ja'fari school [in usual al-Din and fiqh], and this principle will remain eternally immutable. Other Islamic schools, including the Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali, and Zaydi, are to be accorded full respect, and their followers are free to act in accordance with their own jurisprudence in performing their religious rites. These schools enjoy official status in matters pertaining to religious education, affairs of personal status (marriage, divorce, inheritance, and wills) and related litigation in courts of law. In regions of the country where Muslims following any one of these schools of fiqh constitute the majority, local regulations, within the bounds of the jurisdiction of local councils, are to be in accordance with the respective school of fiqh, without infringing upon the rights of the followers of other schools.
Article 13: Recognized Religious Minorities
Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians are the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education.
Article 14: Treatment of Non-Muslims
In accordance with the sacred verse; ("God does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with those who have not fought against you because of your religion and who have not expelled you from your homes" [60:8]), the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all Muslims are duty-bound to treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and equity, and to respect their human rights. This principle applies to all who refrain from engaging in conspiracy or activity against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Article 20: Equal Protection of the Law
All citizens of the country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria.
Article 26: The Creation and Membership of Associations
Political parties, societies, political and craft associations, and Islamic or recognized minority religious associations may be freely brought into being, provided that no violation is involved of the principles of independence, freedom, national unity, Islamic standards, and the foundations of the Islamic Republic. No person may be prevented from joining, or compelled to join, one of the above.
Article 56: The Sovereignty of God
Absolute sovereignty over the world and man belongs to God, and it is He Who has made man master of his own social destiny. No one can deprive man of this divine right, nor subordinate it to the vested interests of a particular individual or group. The people are to exercise this divine right in the manner specified in the following articles.
Article 72: Legislation Must Be in Accordance to Islam
The Islamic Consultative Assembly cannot enact laws contrary to the usual and ahkam of the official religion of the country or to the Constitution. It is the duty of the Guardian Council to determine whether a violation has occurred, in accordance with Article 96.
Article 96: Determining Compatibility Between a Law and Islam
The determination of compatibility of the legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly with the laws of Islam rests with the majority vote of the fuqaha' on the Guardian Council; and the determination of its compatibility with the Constitution rests with the majority of all the members of the Guardian Council.
Article 105: Council Decisions Must Abide by Criteria of Islam and Law
Decisions taken by the councils must not be contrary to the criteria of Islam and the laws of the country.
Article 107: Election of the Leader
After the demise of the eminent marji' al-taqlid and great leader of the universal Islamic revolution, and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatullah al-'Uzma Imam Khomeyni - quddisa sirruh al-sharif - who was recognized and accepted as marji' and Leader by a decisive majority of the people, the task of appointing the Leader shall be vested with the experts elected by the people. The experts will review and consult among themselves concerning all the fuqaha' possessing the qualifications specified in Articles 5 and 109. In the event they find one of them better versed in Islamic regulations, the subjects of the fiqh, or in political and social Issues, or possessing general popularity or special prominence for any of the qualifications mentioned in Article 109, they shall elect him as the Leader. Otherwise, in the absence of such a superiority, they shall elect and declare one of them as the Leader. The Leader thus elected by the Assembly of Experts shall assume all the powers of the wilayat al-amr and all the responsibilities arising therefrom. The Leader is equal with the rest of the people of the country in the eyes of law.
Article 109: Qualifications for the Leader
Following are the essential qualifications and conditions for the Leader:
Scholarship, as required for performing the functions of mufti in different fields of fiqh.
Justice and piety, as required for the leadership of the Islamic Ummah.
Right political and social perspicacity, prudence, courage, administrative facilities and adequate capability for leadership.
In case of multiplicity of persons fulfilling the above qualifications and conditions, the person possessing the better jurisprudential and political perspicacity will be given preference.
Article 115: Qualifications for the President
The President must be elected from among religious and political personalities possessing the following qualifications: Iranian origin; Iranian nationality; administrative capacity and resourcefulness; a good past-record; trustworthiness and piety; convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the official religion of the country.
Article 144: Army Committed to Islamic Ideology
The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be an Islamic Army, i.e., committed to Islamic ideology and the people, and must recruit into its service individuals who have faith in the objectives of the Islamic Revolution and are devoted to the cause of realizing its goals.
Article 152: Principles of Foreign Policy
The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based upon the rejection of all forms of domination, both the exertion of it and submission to it, the preservation of the independence of the country in all respects and its territorial integrity, the defense of the rights of all Muslims, non-alignment with respect to the hegemonic superpowers, and the maintenance of mutually peaceful relations with all non-belligerent States.
Article 157: Head of the Judiciary
In order to fulfill the responsibilities of the judiciary power in all the matters concerning judiciary, administrative and executive areas, the Leader shall appoint a just Mujtahid well versed in judiciary affairs and possessing prudence and administrative abilities as the head of the judiciary power for a period of five years who shall be the highest judicial authority.
Article 162: Chief of the Supreme Court and Prosecutor-General
The chief of the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor-General must both be just mujtahids well versed in judicial matters. They will be nominated by the head of the judiciary branch for a period of five years, in consultation with the judges of the Supreme Court.
