Guardianship of The Jurist (Velayat-e Faghih)
The constitution of Iran combines concepts of both democracy and theocracy, theocracy in the form of Khomeini's concept of vilayat-e faqih. According to Khomeini, allegiance, in absence of the twelfth Imam, had to be given to the current vilayat-e faqih. Observers of the Shiite faith select the faqih by method of emulation (taqlid) of the jurist. In this new system, the jurist now oversees all governmental affairs. The “congregation rather than the hierarchy decided how prominent the ayatollah was” thus allowing the public to possibly limit the influence of the Faqih. The complete control exercised by the Faqih was not to be limited to the Iranian Revolution. According to Seyyed Vali Nasr, Khomeini intended the Iranian Revolution to be the first step to a much larger Islamic revolution.
Khomeini appealed to the masses, during the pre-1979 period, by referring to them as the oppressed and with charisma and political ability was tremendously successful. He became a very popular role model for Shiites and also had some appeal to the much larger Sunni population. The Faqih should be able to have a stronghold on the Shiite population and guide them even at a global level. The striking power of the Faqih was compared to Lenin and Trotsky’s image of “Russia as the springboard country of what was meant to be a global communist revolution.”
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