Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini: A Clerical Revolutionary?

Mapping a good society model in Ayatollah Khomeini’s religious political thought: Possibilities and challenges

“…Ayatollah Khomeini, who was Boroujerdi’s teaching assistant and personal secretary, had never disputed the quietism of his mentor. His death, however, opened up new ways of interpreting Islam (Kian 2014, 174 in Adib-Moghaddam 2014). By the time of the death of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, Ayatollah Khomeini received a degree in ijtihad and ascended to the status of being a mujtahid.…”

“…As the architect of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini (1902–89) remains one of the most inspirational and enigmatic figures of the twentieth century (Adib-Moghaddam 2014). He was undoubtedly the most important figure in the construction of the idea of clerical guardianship (Farhi 2003, 58).…”

“…In Western discourse, Ayatollah Khomeini is remembered by many as a dictator who wanted a broader return to an “authentic Islam” or fundamentalism (Adib-Moghaddam 2014, 28; Mirsepassi and Keshavarzian 2021, 17). Some believe that he created a state that was doomed to be deemed “backward” by the rest of the world.…”

Populism, jihad, and economic resistance: Studying the political discourse of Iran's supreme leader

“…The post‐Islamic Revolution political discourse then became one of the most influential factors shaping the country's governance model. A substantial body of academic literature that deals with the postrevolutionary Iran is unsurprisingly focused on the most influential Shi ، a clergy in the country's politics, the founder of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Adib‐Moghaddam, 2014; Dabashi, 1993; Kimmel & Tavakol, 1986). This is mainly due to his important role in forming the discourse in the early years after the Revolution.…”

Democratic and constitutionalist elements in Khomeini’sUnveiling of SecretsandIslamic Government

“…45 Rahimi says that the parliament was simply a place where the shari' a was enforced, 46 and finally, Adib-Moghaddam argues that in The Unveiling of Secrets, we find what is a 'constant in [Khomeini's] political thought and praxis': an interest in recreating Al-Farabi's Virtuous City, placing a philosopher-cleric at the head of government. 47 However, when Khomeini says that parliaments lack legitimacy and the laws they approve are harmful, 48 his broader argument is that the legislative branch should be overseen by jurisprudents, and legislation should be circumscribed by the divine law instead of, as he says, borrowed from European law; a parliament that operates without this oversight is the kind of parliament that Khomeini says Islam cannot accommodate.…”