Imam Khomeini’s Legacy and Persistence of Thoughts

We are commemorating the anniversary of one of the most influential leaders in the history of the second half of this century. Imam Khomeini is the founder of Islamic Republic of Iran who established a new model of governance in the world. A kind of heritage that despite all the pressures war and sanctions after more than four decades is living stronger than ever.

  

The reasons for the persistence of the political thought of Imam Khomeini:

An efficient political thought is one that while having the firm principals in place, carries the required flexibility within. Imam Khomeini’s political school of thought can be categorized into two types: reformist and revolutionary. In early 70s Imam was trying to help the society by proving solutions for reforms. This path continued until Imam learned Shah’s way is only bringing him and the people disappointment. It was then that he decided to take the revolutionary path and change the regime. This change of discourse is the strength of Imam school of thought.

The Islamic Republic is Imam Khomeini’s legacy and proof of the unity of religion and politics. Such State was not a copy of any other system and thus grew to be so inspiring to revolutionary movements and uprisings in the region and other parts of the world. Imam Khomeini left us a system which is functional and popular to this date. He is a founder of a civilization in which there is anti-corruption framework and path that lead to human growth and development within the society.

Imam Khoneini believed division is the key to instability of a country and he constantly invited everyone to stand up against the colonization and the dominance of Western powers.

Despite the traditional character of the leader of I.R. he was able to gather modernists and intellectual in his circle, something that has not been done in the history of a century in Iran. Imam Khomeini introduced Islam as a doctrine that is alive and dynamic and by that he restored the social and political movements in the society. In this context, issues like fighting against oppressive sovereignty, standing up for human rights of the poor, and trying to bring justice to the world of Islamic civilization were among his concerns.

Furthermore, Imam wanted the public to be aware of their enemy, and familiarize themselves with the potential conspiracies in the form of culture, propaganda, economy and military against Iran.

Freedom and democracy are of high and long standing in Imam Khomeini’s legacy. In the past 46 years since the Islamic revolution, more than 40 elections have been held most of which with a high participation rate among the people of Iran, the latest example would be the presidential election last year once again making democracy of Iran stronger than ever.

Imam Khomeini believed freedom both in private affairs and public affairs is the core of a democracy. Accordingly, independence and freedom were of the basic requirements for the human rights of the country in his view. Imam Khomeini held the powerful States as the violator of these rights because of their attempts to deceive the public opinion.

Moreover, while believing in the rule of law he was of the opinion that in the Islamic Republic no one can impose their idea over the other. That is why religious minorities are able to freely practice their religion and they have representatives in the Parliaments and organize political parties just like the others.

In this regard, Imam Khomeini’s view on women is also valuable. He believed in equal rights for both men and women and always highlighted the importance of presence of women in social changes. Iranian women played a crucial role on all events of the past more than 4 decades from Islamic revolution to, war, reconstruction, and scientific activities. Imam Khomeini did not find the western view of women to be encouraging for women’s roles as mothers, wife’s and activists.

Ultimately, Imam Khomenini's characteristics were so comprehensive that ensure the continuation of his movements and ideas. His legacy is the rule of law, justice, democracy as to the importance of people’s participation in decision making, defending the independence and freedom of the nation and finally the empowerment of women in society.

 

Hassan Doutaghi

Consul General of the I.R of Iran