UNEASY COEXISTENCE: “ISLAMISM VS. REPUBLICANISM” DEBATE IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY PINAR ARIKAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DECEMBER 2006 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer AYATA Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Meliha ALTUNIŞIK Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Meliha ALTUNI ŞIK Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunı şık (METU, IR) Prof. Dr. İhsan D. Da ğı (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur (METU, HIST) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Pınar Arıkan Signature: iii ABSTRACT UNEASY COEXISTENCE: “ISLAMISM VS. REPUBLICANISM” DEBATE IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN Arıkan, Pınar M. Sc., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunı şık December 2006, 170 pages The objective of this thesis is to analyze the Islamist and republican features of the political regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It aims to identify the relationship between Islamism and republicanism in terms of institutional and practical means throughout the period since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. It seeks an answer to the question of how the Islamist and republican orientations that built up the political regime and the system of governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran have affected the domestic political and ideological developments. For this aim, firstly, the history of ulama -state relations as well as the history of constitutional tradition in Iran is discussed. Then, the impact of Islamism and republicanism in the process of establishment of the new regime in Iran is examined. Afterwards, the emergence of Islamism and republicanism as indigenous ideological currents and the political groups that appealed to these two orientations are analyzed with special emphasis to the role of Khomeini in this process. In the remaining part, the institutional and practical implications of the coexistence of Islamist and republican orientations are scrutinized during the presidencies of Rafsanjani and Khatami respectively. Finally, this thesis is concluded with an overall assessment of Islamism vs. republicanism debate with reference to the 2005 presidential elections. Key Words: Iran, Islamism, Republicanism, Religious Sovereignty, Popular Sovereignty, Factional Politics and Political Groups, Velayat-e Faqih , Constitution. iv ÖZ ZOR B İRL İKTEL İK: İRAN İSLAM CUMHUR İYET İ’NDE “ İSLAMCILIK KAR ŞISINDA CUMHUR İYETÇ İLİK” TARTI ŞMASI Arıkan, Pınar Yüksek Lisans, Uluslararası İli şkiler Anabilim Dalı Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunı şık Aralık 2006, 170 sayfa Bu tezin amacı İran İslam Cumhuriyeti siyasi rejiminin İslamcı ve cumhuriyetçi unsurlarını analiz etmektir. Bu tez, İslam Cumhuriyeti kuruldu ğundan bu yana geçen sürede İslamcılık ve cumhuriyetçilik arasındaki ili şkiyi hem kurumsal açıdan hem de uygulama açısından tanımlamayı hedeflemektedir. İslam Cumhuriyeti’nin siyasi rejimini ve yönetim sistemini birlikte in şa eden İslamcılık ve cumhuriyetçilik yönelimlerinin iç siyasi ve ideolojik geli şmeleri nasıl etkiledi ği sorusuna cevap aramaktadır. Bu amaçla, ilk olarak, İran’da ulema-devlet ili şkilerinin tarihiyle birlikte anayasacı gelene ğin tarihi tartı şılacaktır. Daha sonra yeni rejimin kurulu şu sürecinde İslamcılık ve cumhuriyetçilik e ğilimlerinin etkisi incelenecektir. Sonrasında, İslamcılık ve cumhuriyetçilik e ğilimlerinin özgün ideolojik akımlar olarak ortaya çıkı şı ve bu e ğilimleri savunan siyasi gruplar Humeyni’nin bu süreçteki rolü vurgulanarak analiz edilecektir. Geri kalan kısımda ise sırasıyla Rafsancani’nin ve Hatemi’nin cumhurba şkanlıkları dönemlerinde İslamcı ve cumhuriyetçi e ğimlerin birlikteliklerinin kurumsal ve pratik anlamdaki sonuçları mercek altına alınacaktır. Son olarak bu tez 2005 cumhurba şkanlı ğı seçimlerine de ğinerek İslamcılık kar şısında cumhuriyetçilik tartı şmasının genel bir de ğerlendirmesiyle sonuçlanacaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: İran, İslamcılık, Cumhuriyetçilik, Dini Me şruiyet, Halka Dayalı Me şruiyet, Fraksiyonel Siyaset ve Siyasi Gruplar, Velayet-e Fakih , Anayasa. v To my dears; my mother, my sister, and my beloved… vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank to my thesis supervisor with all my heart, Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunı şık, for her invaluable support, encouragement, guidance, advice, criticism and insight throughout this study. Without her patience and belief in me, I would not be able to complete this study. Also I would like to mention my gratitude to my thesis committee, Prof. Dr. İhsan D. Da ğı and Associate Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur for their advice and valuable comments. I am extremely indebted to my mother Nazime Gürsoy and my sister Burcu Arıkan who have always supported me in every step of my life with an unquestioned faith in me. Thanks to their trust, I have been able to go beyond all the obstacles that I have encountered. My dear Bayram, who has not only supported me emotionally but also read every sentence of this thesis time and again and made momentous comments, deserves the most special thanks. I would like to thank to my dear friends Çi ğdem, Aslı and Nurdan for their special friendship for long years, which will confidently last all through my life. I also thank to Eda, Derya, Duran and Burcu for their patience, support and encouragement throughout this study. My special thanks also go to all my colleagues at the Department of International Relations who always stand by me with their friendship and encouragement. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM……………………………………………………………………….iii ABSTRACT...…………………………………………………………………….....iv ÖZ…………………………………………………………………………………….v DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………….vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………vii TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………..viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.……………………………………………………….1 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC………..………...21 2.1. The Process of Drafting the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran…………….............................................................................22 2.1.1. Formation of the Constituent Assembly of Experts……..…..25 2.1.2. Re-drafting the Constitution and Inclusion of Articles about Velayat-e Faqih ………..………………..…………….30 2. 2. Criticism and Consent on the Notion of Velayat-e Faqih and its Inclusion into the Constitution…...……………………...…….36 2.2.1. Debate on “Velayat-e Faqih” in the Constituent Assembly of Experts……...….……………………………36 2.2.2. Debate on “Velayat-e Faqih” Outside the Constituent Assembly of Experts……………………….…..…………..40 2.3. Islamist and Republican Institutions of Government in the 1979 Constitution…...…………………….……………….………..44 2.3.1. Islamist Institutions of Government………………..…..…...44 2.3.1.1. The Office of the Vali-ye Faqih (Rahbariyyat )…….44 2.3.1.2. The Guardian Council (Shora-ye Negahban )………45 2.3.1.3. The Assembly of Experts (Shora-ye Khobregan )….48 2.3.1.4. The Expediency Council (Majma‘-e Tashkhis-e Maslahat-e Nezam) ….…….50 2.3.1.5. The Judiciary…………………..……………..….....51 2.3.2. Republican Institutions of Government………….……..…..52 viii 2.3.2.1. The Parliament ( Majles-e Shora-ye Eslami )…….....52 2.3.2.2. The Presidency ( Reis-e Jomhuri )……………...…...53 3. EMERGENCE OF ISLAMIST AND REPUBLICAN TENDENCIES IN KHOMEINI ERA…...……………………………………………….56 3. 1. Reflections of Dual Sources of Legitimacy in the Process of Consolidation of the Revolutionary Regime in Iran………......…...56 3.2. Contesting Political Groups in Khomeini Period..……………….....59 3.2.1. The ‘Conservative’ Organizations in Khomeini Period……..60 3.2.1.1. Split within Conservative Camp………………..…..61 3.2.2. The ‘Radical’ Organizations in Khomeini Period..……...…..62 3.2.2.1. Split within Radical Camp…………..………..…….64 3. 3. Khomeini as the “Final Arbiter” ( Faslol-Khetab )……………..…..65 3.3.1. The Doctrine of Maslahat - Zarurat as the Tool of Legitimation………………………………………………....67 3.3.2. Instances of the Factional Rivalry in the 1980s and Khomeini’s Arbitration……………………………………...67 3.3.2.1. Land Reform Issue……………………………..…...67 3.3.2.2. Specification of Government’s Jurisdiction………...69 3.3.2.3. Establishment of the Expediency Council (Majma’a-ye Tashkis-e Maslahat-e Nezam )………...70 3.3.2.4. Khomeini’s Arbitration on Cultural Issues….............71 3. 4. 1989 Constitutional Amendments………………………..………...72 3.4.1. Velayat-e Faqih in the Constitution after 1989 Amendments…...……………………………………………74 3.4.2. The Executive Branch in the Constitution after 1989 Amendments…….………………………………………….76 3.4.3. The Judiciary Branch in the Constitution after 1989 Amendments………...………………………………………77 3. 5. The Islamist and Republican Viewpoints on the Features of the Regime after Khomeini…………………………………………….78 4. STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ISLAMISTS AND THE REPUBLICANS UNDER RAFSANJANI’S PRESIDENCY…………...80 ix 4.1. Changing Landscape of Iranian Politics in the 1990’s……..……....80 4.1.1. The Right………………..……………………………….…81 4.1.1.1. The Traditional