Khomeinism

Khomeinism
Name	Khomeinism
Caption	Ruhollah Khomeini, 1979
Founder	Ruhollah Khomeini
Founded	1960s–1979
Region	Iran, Middle East

Khomeinism is the political and religious doctrine associated with Ruhollah Khomeini and the post-1979 Islamic Republic of Iran leadership, synthesizing Shi'a clerical authority with revolutionary republican institutions. It shaped the Iranian Revolution, the structure of the Islamic Republic, and movements across the Middle East and beyond, influencing relationships with the United States, the Soviet Union, Saudi Arabia, and non-state actors such as Hezbollah. The doctrine drew on the texts and teachings of Twelver Shi'a sources, modernist and anti-imperialist thinkers, and clerical networks centered in Najaf and Qom.

Origins and ideological foundations

Khomeini developed his ideas amid interactions with figures and institutions like Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Hossein Borujerdi, and the seminaries of Najaf and Qom, while reacting to events such as the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the White Revolution of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the 1963 demonstrations. His corpus engaged with works by Morteza Motahhari, Ali Shariati, and Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr as well as influences from Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, Grand Ayatollahs in Iraq, and the clerical networks linking Tehran, Najaf, and Mashhad. The ideology combined Twelver Shi'ism, critiques of British and American influence, references to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and engagement with Third Worldist currents associated with figures like Gamal Abdel Nasser and Patrice Lumumba. Intellectual interlocutors included secular nationalists such as Mohammad Mossadegh supporters, Marxists in the Tudeh Party, and Islamist students connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-e Islami.

Political theory and governance (Wilayat al-Faqih)

Central to the political structure is the doctrine of guardianship of the Islamic jurist, articulated against the backdrop of debates involving Grand Ayatollahs in Najaf, constitutional theorists, and Iranian constitutional history from the 1906 Constitutional Revolution. The office of the Supreme Leader, modeled by institutions such as the Assembly of Experts, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Discernment Council, superseded prior monarchic institutions like the Pahlavi Crown and the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces, while interacting with ministries such as the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Implementation affected relations with international bodies including the United Nations, OPEC, and regional organizations like the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League. Legal and political theorists debated the compatibility of Wilayat al-Faqih with elements found in the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms, the French Revolution's constitutionalism, and contemporary republican models exemplified by the United States and the Soviet Union.

Religious doctrine and jurisprudence

Khomeini's jurisprudential writings engaged with classical sources such as the Usul al-fiqh of Sheikh Murtada Ansari, works of Al-Ghazali, and Safavid-era Shi'a jurisprudence, while contrasting with Sunni authorities like Ibn Taymiyyah and later Hanafi and Maliki jurists in the broader Islamic world. Clerical figures including Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Reza Golpaygani, and Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili participated in translating jurisprudential theory into state policy, shaping institutions such as Qom's seminaries, the Hawza of Najaf, and the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom. Debates over ijtihad, taqlid, and velayat informed positions taken by jurists in Najaf, Tehran, and Beirut, and intersected with texts such as Khomeini's own rulings, commentaries by Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat, and polemics involving Abdolkarim Soroush and Javad Tabatabai.

Domestic policies and sociocultural impact

Domestic implementation reshaped institutions including the Iranian Parliament (Majles), the Judiciary, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and cultural bodies like the Islamic Propagation Organization and the Cultural Revolution Council. Social policies affected urban centers such as Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad and rural provinces like Khuzestan and Sistan and Baluchestan, with measures impacting families, women's roles, educational curricula at the University of Tehran and Sharif University of Technology, and media outlets such as Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Economic and social planning intersected with organizations like the National Iranian Oil Company, the Central Bank, and foundations (bonyads) such as the Foundation for the Oppressed, while responses to unrest involved security forces, the Basij, and episodes like the 1999 student protests, the 2009 Green Movement, and the 2022–2023 nationwide demonstrations.

Foreign policy and revolutionary export

Khomeinist foreign policy prioritized opposition to the United States and alignment with anti-imperialist actors, affecting relations with the United States, the Soviet Union/Russia, China, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. The doctrine encouraged support for non-state actors including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and influenced revolutionary movements in Algeria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Key events illustrating this policy include the Iran–Iraq War, the 1979–1981 U.S.–Iran hostage crisis, alliances with Bashar al-Assad's government in Damascus, procurement relationships with North Korea and Venezuela, and interactions with international sanctions regimes administered by the European Union and the United Nations Security Council.

Criticism, controversies, and opposition

Critics from diverse quarters—including reformists like Mohammad Khatami and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, conservatives within the Council of Guardians, secularists, leftists such as the Tudeh Party, Kurdish and Baloch movements, and international actors including the United States Congress and the European Parliament—have challenged the doctrine on constitutional, human rights, and foreign policy grounds. Controversies encompass accusations involving human rights organizations, cases like the 1988 mass executions, the Iran-Contra affair, disputes over nuclear policy leading to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiations, and debates over clerical succession exemplified by the Assembly of Experts' deliberations. Opposition movements have mobilized in cities including Tehran, Qom, and Isfahan and relied on diasporic networks in London, Paris, and Los Angeles.

Category:Political ideologies Category:Shi'a Islam Category:Iranian Revolution