Book Section
Published
Democracy in Iran? Genealogy of Wilayat al-Faqih as an Existing Political System in Iran
Abstract
Introduction
It seems clear that history has shown how Islam actively
and simultaneously plays in the dynamics of world politics.
Since the time of the prophet and khulafa’ alraashidin with Medina
as the center of government and the constitution of Madina as
its base, until the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1924, Islam has
always had an important position in the dynamics of global
politics. Interestingly, even after the collapse of the Ottomans
Caliphate, Islam has always been considered in the constellation
of international politics. Independence movements in several
Muslim countries after the collapse of the Ottomans in 1940s and
1950s, the emergence of Muslim thinkers with their progressive
ideas about Islam and politics, and the growth of Islamic political
movements that have strong ideological roots and a significant
role in defending Muslim interests in the international world are
some real examples of that role.154 Review on Globalization From an Islamic Perspective
As a result, Islam has always opposed by many civilizations in
the world. For instance, after the 9/11 attack, Muslims were percept
as terrorists or at least supporters of terrorism. It can be read in the
book of Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire,
how the perception of the western about Islam and Muslims is
even worse. Many Muslim countries also considered -by liberal
democracy measurement- as non-democratic countries. M. Steven
Fish, in his article entitled Islam and Authoritarianism concluded
that what is, in reality, show that Muslim countries are markedly
more authoritarian than non-Muslim countries, and to him, the
station of women links Islam and democratic deficit. Otherwise,
the current political system is not only liberal democracy or
Illiberal democracy (democracy with less values). There are many
systems exist even develop and remain in peace. For instance,
the kingdoms, sultanate, communism, socialism etc. One of the
well-known non-democratic country is Iran, whom develop their
unique political system based on their religion and culture. This
system is 40 years old since it emerged in 1979, and even many
direct or indirect attack on this system and the country, Iran and
its political system Wilayat al-Faqih still exist presently.
Publication Details