Abstract
Are the Shi‘i theory of wilayat al-faqih (guardianship of the jurist) and democracy compatible with one another? If they are not compatible, could the modification of one or both bring them into agreement with one another? If these two concepts are irreconcilably at odds, which should we reject in the interest of preserving the other? These three questions are of utmost importance to contemporary political thought in Iran. This chapter primarily discusses the potential convergences and divergences between wilayat al-faqih and democracy and offers a critique of current perspectives on the relationship between these two concepts.
The first draft of this chapter was presented at the 36th Annual Conference of Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), Washington, DC, November 2002.
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Notes
See Ayatollah Khomeini, Kashf al Asrar (Revealing the Secrets) (Tehran, 1979), 185.
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© 2011 Asma Afsaruddin
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Kadivar, M. (2011). Wilayat al-faqih and Democracy. In: Afsaruddin, A. (eds) Islam, the State, and Political Authority. Middle East Today. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137002020_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137002020_12
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-29720-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-00202-0
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