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Islamic Republic

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Not to be confused with Islamic Republic Party or Islamic Republic of Iran.

Islamic Republic refers to a form of government that combines two core elements: popular participation and Islamic law. Proponents of this system describe its form as republican—meaning that public authority is derived from the people—and its content as Islamic, meaning that governance operates within the framework of Islamic principles and norms. In this view, public will and participation are exercised through institutions and processes that remain bound by Islamic law.

Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the second Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has characterized this model as Religious Democracy , a concept that emphasizes the active role of the people in political decision-making while maintaining adherence to Islamic regulations across all levels of governance.

Some critics argue that the Islamic Republic is incompatible with popular sovereignty, contending that democratic choice is limited when Islamic law must be followed even if it conflicts with majority opinion. In response, Morteza Motahhari, a prominent Shi'a thinker, maintained that democracy does not imply unrestricted acceptance of any ideology; rather, it signifies the realization of the people's will within the framework of an ideology that the society has already chosen.

Today, the political system known as the Islamic Republic exists in several Muslim-majority countries, most notably Iran, as well as in Pakistan and Mauritania.

Introduction and Status

The term "Islamic Republic" denotes a political structure based on the integration of republicanism and Islamism (islamiyya).[1] In political theory, a republican government is commonly defined as one in which the head of state or government is elected by the people for a limited term.[2]

Imam Khomeini (1902–1989), the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, together with Morteza Motahhari (d. 1979), argued that the Islamic Republic is a system whose institutional structure is republican while its normative foundations are derived from Islam.[3]

Sayyid Mohammad Beheshti (d. 1981) categorized republican systems into two broad types: 1. Systems based solely on popular vote, without commitment to a specific ideology. 2. Systems grounded in a defined ideology, in which public will operates within the boundaries of that ideology.

According to Beheshti, the Islamic Republic belongs to the second category, as it integrates popular participation with adherence to Islamic principles.[4]

Main article: Religious Democracy

A recurring critique of the Islamic Republic is that it conflicts with the principle of popular sovereignty, since Islamic law is binding regardless of shifting public opinion. Supporters of the system respond that no democratic order functions in an ideological vacuum; all democracies operate within constitutional or normative limits.

In this regard, Morteza Motahhari argued that democracy does not entail unrestricted freedom from all norms, but rather the implementation of the people's will within an agreed-upon ideological framework.[5] Sayyid Ali Khamenei has similarly described the Islamic Republic as a system in which Islamic law and popular participation are realized simultaneously, a model he refers to as religious democracy.[6]

Countries with an Islamic Republic System

The concept of the Islamic Republic, as a distinct form of republican governance, emerged in the twentieth century and has been adopted at different times in several countries:

East Turkestan: The Islamic Republic of East Turkestan, established in the 1930s in Kashgar by the Islamic Movement of East Turkestan, is often cited as the earliest government to use this designation, though it existed only briefly.[7]

Mauritania: Following independence from France on November 28, 1960, Mauritania formally adopted the title of an Islamic Republic.[8]

Pakistan: The Constitution of Pakistan of 1973 declared the country an Islamic Republic and established the Council of Islamic Ideology to ensure the conformity of laws with Islam.[9]

Iran: After the Islamic Revolution of Iran, a nationwide referendum held on April 1, 1979, approved the establishment of the Islamic Republic as Iran's system of government.[10]

Others: At various times, the term Islamic Republic has also been used in Afghanistan and Gambia.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, 1384 Sh, vol. 24, pp. 329–330.
  2. ↑ Meaning of “Republic” in the Dehkhoda Dictionary, Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute.
  3. ↑ Khomeinī, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, 1378 Sh, vol. 5, p. 398; Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, 1384 Sh, vol. 24, pp. 329–330.
  4. ↑ Ḥusaynī Bihishtī, Ṣūrat-i mashrūḥ-i mudhākirāt-i majlis-i barrasī-yi nahāyī-yi qānūn-i asāsī-yi Jumhūrī-yi Islāmī-yi Īrān, 1364 Sh, vol. 1, p. 380.
  5. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, 1384 Sh, vol. 24, pp. 330–331.
  6. ↑ Khamenei, Television Speech on the 32nd Anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s Demise; Statements in a Meeting with Members of the Assembly of Experts.
  7. ↑ Gladney, “Kashgar, the Western Gateway of China,” p. 133; A Look at the History of Civilization and Culture of Uyghurs and East Turkestan, Anadolu Agency.
  8. ↑ About Mauritania, General Information, Website of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Nouakchott.
  9. ↑ Asʿadī, Jahān-i Islām, 1366 Sh, vol. 2, p. 137.
  10. ↑ Khomeinī, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, 1378 Sh, vol. 3, p. 486; Rūzhā wa Rūydādhā, 1378 Sh, vol. 1, p. 81.
  11. ↑ Bahmanī Qājār, Shīʿayān-i Afghānistān, 1392 Sh, pp. 43–44; Gambia becomes an Islamic Republic, IRNA.

References

  • Asʿadī, Murtaḍā. Jahān-i Islām [The World of Islam]. Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Dānishgāhī, 1366 Sh.
  • Bahmanī Qājār, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Jāygāh-i siyāsī wa ijtimāʿī-yi Shīʿayān dar Afghānistān [The Political and Social Status of Shiʿas in Afghanistan]. Tehran: Muʾassisa-yi Muṭālaʿāt-i Andīsha-sāzān-i Nūr, 1392 Sh.
  • Ḥusaynī Bihishtī, Sayyid Muḥammad. Ṣūrat-i mashrūḥ-i mudhākirāt-i majlis-i barrasī-yi nahāyī-yi qānūn-i asāsī-yi Jumhūrī-yi Islāmī-yi Īrān. Tehran: Department of Cultural Affairs and Public Relations of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, 1364 Sh.
  • Khomeinī, Rūḥullāh. Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām. Tehran: The Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini’s Works, 1378 Sh.
  • Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Majmūʿa-yi āthār. Tehran: Sadra, 1384 Sh.
  • Rūzhā wa Rūydādhā [Days and Events]. Tehran: Nashr-i Rāmīn, 1378 Sh.
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