AL-FIKR AL SIASI AL ISLAMI
Year:2022 | Volume:2 | Issue:2 ( 4)|Papers Count:6

Today, discussions by scholars and thinkers in political science, unlike in the past when they focused on government issues, have shifted toward governance. Essentially, the focus now is on how governance should be conducted. Therefore, the views of Muslim thinkers and their interpretations of the verses of the Holy Quran can become a subject of debate and discussion. The primary question of this paper is: What are the main components of governance from the perspective of Imam Musa Sadr? The assumption is that governance is any official or unofficial intervention in the public sphere and public affairs. The claim of this paper is that Imam Sadr addresses various issues of governance, and within a conceptual framework, these issues can shape a form of appropriate governance. This conceptual framework consists of consent, moderation, and responsibility, which seem to have particular importance and prominence in Imam Musa Sadr’s Quranic discussions. These three components of governance complement, support, and reinforce each other in a coordinated manner and are continuously and dynamically interrelated. The governance that emerges from these components can be described as righteous and deserving governance. This governance, based on public consent, leads to social moderation and balance, which, in turn, impacts public consent, responsibility, accountability, and encourages public participation of citizens. This paper examines and discusses this idea with a focus on the Quranic interpretations of Imam Musa Sadr, specifically in Volume 10 of the collection "Step by Step with Imam." One of the outcomes of this discussion is reflecting on Quranic teachings to explain the approach to governance. Moreover, another result of the discussion is the solution of human problems and the establishment of a righteous society and government, laying the foundation for a new civilization in the light of religious concepts and teachings. Using Quranic discussions to build a person and an ideal Islamic society is of great importance, which cannot be achieved without righteous and appropriate governance.

Imam Khomeini's political thought is significant due to the foundation of the model of religious democracy and the establishment, continuity, and evaluation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The goal of this paper is to promote Imam Khomeini's thought, provide intellectual support for the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran system, and introduce audiences to the various dimensions of Imam Khomeini's political thought. The main question of this research is: What are the political dimensions of Imam Khomeini's thought, and what are the most important signs? Imam Khomeini's political thought is divided into three dimensions based on the tripartite model of Islam, consisting of Islamic beliefs, ethics, and practices. These dimensions are: political philosophy, political ethics, and political jurisprudence, all of which are interconnected. From this perspective, complete political thought is derived from the combination of these three parts; thus, Imam Khomeini's view of complete political thought is comprehensive and systematic. The establishment of a healthy and complete political system depends on adhering to the standards of all three components. The author examines the political dimensions of Imam Khomeini's thought in the categories of political philosophy, political ethics, and political jurisprudence, and identifies the key features of each. One of the strengths of this paper is that the political dimensions of Imam Khomeini's thought are examined according to his own model, and the signs of each are introduced.

The significant role that "development" plays in preserving, improving, and advancing human life has led it to be recognized as a "human right" alongside other recognized rights. This right, known as the "right to development," was formally introduced into global legal discourse with the adoption of the "Declaration on the Right to Development" on December 4, 1986, through Resolution 128/41 of the UN General Assembly. Since then, it has been acknowledged in international documents and conferences, as well as in domestic laws of various countries. The question that this article seeks to address is: what is the place of the right to development in the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran? In answering this question, it appears that while the "right to development" is not explicitly mentioned in Iran's legal system, the components and elements constituting this right are affirmed, emphasized, and specified in the high-ranking documents and laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. To assess this hypothesis, this article relies on a documentary method and analysis of documents, laws, and regulations to examine and analyze the position of the right to development in the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

A challenge that currently occupies the minds of humanity is the "problem of the social system." This challenge is rooted in human history, and humans have faced it since the emergence of social life. We see that humanity has never ceased its efforts to reform societies, yet it has never fully achieved this goal. In the thought of Ayatollah Martyr Mohammad Bagher Sadr, religion is a cornerstone that helps provide real solutions to all that humans suffer from. Therefore, religion offers the answer to this profound problem. Martyr Sadr affirms that the Holy Quran contains a social theory; a theory based on the Quran’s vision of the universe and its laws (or divine traditions). Thus, Martyr Sadr has proposed a stable social and political system inspired by this precious book. To address the aforementioned challenge, it is essential to move towards "social change" by understanding the laws and norms governing social relations, ultimately achieving the implementation of "an ideal social and political system for human life."

Throughout history, various countries have experienced the process of democratization with numerous ups and downs, largely influenced by the policies and actions of their governments. Consequently, different forms of governance have emerged, including democratic, semi-democratic, and non-democratic regimes, each shaped by these fluctuations in democratization. Since the late Ottoman era, Turkey's democratization process has undergone multiple ups and downs due to governmental policies and actions. These transitions have led to diverse governmental structures, from the constitutional democracy of the late Ottoman period to the single-party democracy of the Atatürk-İnönü era, from the multiparty democracy of the Menderes-Demirel period to the military-guardianship democracy, and from the liberal participatory democracy of the Özal-Erbakan era to the delegated, semi-authoritarian conservative liberal democracy of the Gulen-Gül-Erdoğan period (Research background). This study focuses on analyzing the ups and downs of Turkey’s democratization process and its governmental structures over the past two decades (problem). The research follows the theoretical framework of "process tracing" and utilizes library and digital sources (methodology). Under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, Turkey’s democratization process has gone through three phases: "growth and consolidation," "weakening and decline," and "collapse and stagnation." As a result, three corresponding forms of governance can be traced: "conservative liberalism," "delegated democracy," and "declining semi-authoritarianism (Findings)."

The Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 challenged the existing bipolar world order and, by promoting the slogan of independence, introduced an alternative ideology to the two dominant ideologies of the global system. Imam Khomeini, as the ideologue and leader of the revolution, successfully established the Islamic Republic as a desirable political system by formulating the key components of good governance based on Islamic principles. The victory of the Islamic Revolution is considered the first phase of this governance, while the formation of an ideal government, as a prerequisite for a new Islamic civilization, requires the realization of the fundamental components of the ideal government from Imam Khomeini’s perspective. This study seeks to examine the principles and elements that constitute the ideal government in Imam Khomeini’s political thought. Accordingly, the main research question is: What is the ideal vision of the Islamic Revolution in the political thought of Imam Khomeini? The study hypothesizes that Imam Khomeini, as the ideologue and leader of the revolution, envisioned the continuity of the revolution through elements rooted in Islamic principles. The research employs a descriptive-analytical and library-based methodology, incorporating content analysis of texts where necessary, though not as the primary approach. One of the key findings of this study is that, from Imam Khomeini’s perspective, pursuing eight fundamental principles—justice-centeredness, opposition to oppression, duty-oriented governance, the necessity of implementing divine and Islamic laws, consideration of the interests of Islam and Muslims, propagation of spiritual and revolutionary messages, attentiveness to the requirements of time and place within the framework of dynamic ijtihad in Shi'a jurisprudence, and adherence to the principle of prioritizing the most important over the important—across three strategic levels (preservation, interaction, and expansion of influence) leads to the establishment of the ideal government.