WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/westminsterresearch Religion and the legitimation of the state: the development of political thought in contemporary Shi’ism (Case study Iran 1979-2004) Tawfiq M. Alsaif School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2005. This is a scanned reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] RELIGION AND THE LEGITIMATION OF THE STATE The Development of Political Thought in Contemporary Shi'ism (Case Study: Iran 1979-2004) Tawfiq M. Alsaif A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2005 Contents Abstract 4 Acknowledgments 5 A Note on Transliteration 6 Introduction 7 Chapter I: The Foundation of the Doctrine of Authority in Shi`ism 14 The Foundations of Shi`ism 15 1-Karbala Tragedy: 16 2-The Legacy of Ja'far al-Sadiq 17 3- The Occultation of the Twelfth Imam 21 Post-Occultation Challenges 22 The First Approach to the Issue of Authority 24 The Emergence of the theory of Jurist's Guardianship 26 The Rise of the Safavid Dynasty 28 Towards the Twentieth Century 34 Conclusion 36 Chapter II : The Project of Ayatollah Khomeini 38 Consensusand Stability 40 Religion, State and Modernisation 41 The I ffccts of Social Change 46 The Impediments of an Out-dated Doctrine 49 The Primacy of the State 58 The Absolute Authority of the Fayih 59 Conclusion 61 Chapter III : The Rise of the Reformist Paradigm 64 The Revolutionary Paradigm 65 The Paradigm Shapes Up 73 The Paradigm in Action 76 The Fault-Line Emerges 89 The New Paradigm 98 Conclusion 104 Chapter IV : The Conservative Vision of the State 106 The Conservative Doctrine of Power 109 The Social System 114 2 Citizenship 120 Legitimacy and the Rule of Law 124 Republicanism and the Role of the People 127 The Conservative's Frame of Reference 131 Fiqh Sunnati 133 Conclusion 136 Chapter V: The Reformist View of the State 139 The Socio-economic Background 139 The Role of the Intellectuals 141 Main Figures and Themes in the Reformist Movement 145 Republicanism: the Question of Sovereignty 150 Political Legitimacy 153 Democracy 157 The Idea of `Religious Democracy 161 Religion and Democracy 164 The Reformists' Frame of Reference 166 Secularism 172 Conclusion 178 Chapter VI : The Composition of Political Factions 180 "1'lic Role of Political Groups 182 The Structure of Party Politics in Contemporary Iran 185 The Islamic Republic Party (IRP) 186 The Conservative Camp 189 The Reformist Camp 201 Conclusion 218 Conclusion 220 Adaptability 220 The Role of the Religion 222 The Process of Reconciliation 224 The Way Ahead 227 1- The Sovereignty of God 228 2-The role of the ulamä 229 3- Equality 231 Bibliography 238 3 Abstract Since the early 1990s, the Middle East has witnessed a renewed interest in the debate over the role of religion in thG process of democratization. This study aims to examine the possibility of developing a democratic discourse within the Islamic context. It focuses on the evolution of the political thought in Shi'i Islam in the context of Iran after the Islamic revolution of 1979. The reconciliation between religion and democracy is argued to be a two-phase process: in the first phase, religion is integrated into the state in order to bring about a consensual political system and engage the people in the political process. Then, the religious worldview is developed in line with democracy. The study examines the socio-economic factors behind the emergence of the reformist discourse in Iran in the mid-1990s. It also reviews the evolution of that discourse compared with its conservative rival and highlights their approximate to the principles of democracy. Emphasizing the practical side of religion, the thesis concludes that the community's perception and application of the religious teachings have varied over the history to reflect the changing realities of the social life, far from the claim of religion being a fixed order of dogmas. The past twenty-five years witnessed major steps towards adapting the religious values to the modem patterns of socialization and politics. It was set off by the need of unifying the religious and political authorities within the state system. Later, the process was driven by the structural transformations ensued from the revolution and the state policies during the 1980s. The final phase came through the reformist's strategy to democratize the Islamic regime in the late 1990s. My general conclusion is that despite the tremble of the political reform, considerable works have been done, particularly on the structural level. The experience of the reformist rule indicates the possibility of developing a model of democracy appropriate to the local culture, especially the religious beliefs. It also indicates the capacity of the Islamic Republic to develop a democratic character, at least on the long term. 4 Acknowledgments I wish to express my deep gratitude to my academic supervisor Dr. Abdelwahab El-Affendi without whose patience and guidance this study would not have been completed. My appreciation is also due to Dr. Ali Paya and Professor John Keane from whom I have learned a great deal. I thank also my uncle Dr. Abdul-Jalil Alsaif for his constant encouragement and support. I am indebted to many friends and colleagues who generously supported me throughout the last four years. To them all I express my deep appreciation and gratitude. 5 A Note on Transliteration The transliterations of names, terms, and places are based on the system used for the International Journal of Middle East Studies (INES). In this system, the rules for the Farsi words are similar to that of the Arabic ones except for few cases. I have tried my best however to make them as approximate as possible to the phonetic pronunciation. Names for which there are already established English spellings are spelled without diacritics. Names of authors who chose certain spelling in their published works were put according to their Arabic preferences. In the footnotes, I have used the original titles of Farsi and list books and articles to which I referred. The same rule is followed in the of sources, however with an English translation. 6 Introduction Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, the so-called political Islam has been a point of contention among the politicians and political theorists throughout the world. The phenomenal mobilization under the banner of Islam has been a challenge to a common assumption among the theorists of development suggesting that, with the course of modernization, religion will gradually lose its influence in the public arena. In the early 1980s, some five researchers predicted a short life for the Islamic revivalism. After twenty years, that assumption seems far from the realities on the ground. The surprising eruption of religious sentiments at that epoch has gradually evolved into a trans- national movement featuring at least one common character: that is the assertion of the involvement of the religion in national politics. Whether this sentiment humiliation represents a revival of a national identity, a reaction to the claimed at the hands of foreign powers, or a renewed conviction of the viability of the religious cure for the grievances of the Muslim societies, this phenomenon represents a provocative challenge to the study of politics. The broad religious trend combines a variety of trends including traditionalists, modernists, anarchists and others. Among those, one trend seems to have attracted less attention, that is the one which argues for the possibility of formulation a new discourse bringing together the major principles of democracy and Islam. This study aims to investigate the viability of this discourse, particularly with regard to its capability of dealing with the religious, cultural, and political barriers which have so far hindered the process of democratization in the Muslim societies. The study focuses on the discursive and doctrinal transformations within Sh19 Islam in Iran after the 1979 revolution in order to set an empirical framework for the analysis of the said possibility. 7 The Islamic Republic of Iran represents, as one scholar puts it, "an ever ' more interesting laboratory for observing political Islam in practice". This is partially due to the country has already experienced some aspects of modernity including a level of industrialization, constitutionalism, in addition to the fact that the Islamic regime has been brought about by a popular revolution. In such cases, society becomes intensely politicized and its desires profoundly influence the making of the new political system. The Islamic Republic has brought a set of traditional and religious-oriented concepts together with some modern ones, most of which were hitherto unfamiliar to the religious circles including republicanism, election, constitutional rights and so forth. It was assumed that such a combination would feature a profound and positive exchange between the religious-traditional and modern constituents, thus delivers a modern political order inspired by the religious values.