Ayatollah Khomeini's

Gems of Islamism

(Excerpts from some of the legendary Ayatollah’s

books, speeches, comments [1A] )

Elmer Swenson

INTRO

Why Should We Care About the Ayatollah Khomeini, What He Wrote or What He Said?

"The Imam", Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902-89), is noteworthy to history for essentially one reason, his leadership of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. As mentioned elsewhere on this site,

http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/islamo-fascism.html

http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/khomeini_promises_kept.html

one of the most dramatic and unexpected political events of the 20th Century was the Iranian Islamic Revolution: the overthrow of a modernizing, Westernizing Shah (monarch) of Iran, and his replacement with an anti-Western, revolutionary Islamist theocracy led by Khomeini.

For those who weren't around or weren't paying attention when it happened, the Revolution was an astonishing event, above all because

it lacked many the customary causes of revolution -- defeat at war (the Bolshevik Revolution), a serious financial crisis (French Revolution), peasant rebellion (Chinese Revolution), or a disgruntled military (Russian Revolution). [2A]

and so many average people (Iranians) were involved ("it appears to have been the most popular revolution in history" according to one scholar [3A])

it overthrew a regime with barrels of oil money at his disposal, protected by both a huge and feared security apparatus and a large army lavished with state-of-the-art equipment. A regime that political experts -- journalists, officials, diplomats -- would almost certainly have voted least likely of any throughout the world to be deposed; [4A]

the revolution progressed from strongly-worded open letters to the Shah by intellectuals calling for adherence to the constitution, (May 1977) to millions in the street and total economic paralysis from strikes (October 1978) in about a year and a half; and then in another four months (February 11 1979) to a declaration of neutrality by the military general staff (i.e. a declaration of surrender) in the face of takeovers of police armories, barracks and prisons by massive armed mobs to seize and distribute weapons. [5A]

it was the first modern revolution where other ideologies -- like nationalism and populism -- took a back seat to religion, in fact a back seat to theocracy, i.e. the principle of clerical rule by divine right. Islamism -- the revolution's (ultimate) ideology -- was until then unheard of, or at least considered by outsiders too antiquated and otherwise ill-equipped to inspire a revolution [6A] The aftershocks of the revolution were many. In a matter of one or two years, the most populous and militarily powerful state in a region home to two-thirds of the world’s proven reserves of oil, had been transformed from the "future Japan" or Germany of the Mideast, into an avowedly anti-American and culturally anti-Western state. Khomeini dubbed Iran's erstwhile ally the "Great Satan," and threw his support behind the seizure of the U.S. Embassy by a revolutionary group and the 444-day-long hostage-taking of its staff. At the same time that Americans -- from the foreign policy elite to the man-in-the-street -- were aghast and angered, Islamists -- both Shi’a and Sunni -- were thrilled and energized by the revolution. If Iran could be taken over, what Muslim country couldn't be?! Assassinations, bombings, kidnappings and rebellions followed the revolution in the Muslim world, including

a two-week-long takeover of in Mecca of Islam's holiest mosque by a messianic sect, ending only after French military assistance and the deaths of hundreds of Saudi insurgents (1979),

the machine gunning of the pro-American Egyptian President during a military review by some of his own soldiers (1981),

the deaths of 10,000 to 25,000 following an Islamist rebellion and subsequent merciless crackdown in Syrian city of Hama (1982),

the bombing of the American Embassy and French and American barracks in Beirut, killing hundreds of peace-keeping troops (1983).

20+ years later, enthusiasm has abated both out and inside Iran. No other Muslim countries followed Iran's example and the Islamic Republic itself hasn't come close to meeting the goals of the revolution like self-sufficiency or an end to poverty.

(see: http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/khomeini_promises_kept.html),

But the revolution lives on, still a powerful force to be reckoned with in Middle East politics. Though its supporters are no longer a majority they retain power, determined as ever, financing kindred Islamists in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and elsewhere. [7A]

The Ayatollah

Khomeini's importance to the revolution is hard to overstate. He was not just the unifying figure but its architect and emotional, spiritual touchstone. The crowds that gathered for his return from exile and for his funeral ten years later were some of the largest and most emotional in Iran's history. In between these events he ruled Iran. [8A])

A senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric (a "Grand Ayatollah"), Khomeini was from the beginning of his public life a devoted enemy of Iran's then ruler, the Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi and everything the Shah stood for: secularism and Westernization. It was Khomeini's 1963 arrest that provoked the first massive demonstrations against the Shah, and Khomeini who worked to inspire and lead clerical opposition to the Shah during his 14 years in exile.

Why This Page?

There is no shortage of books about Khomeini and his times. What this page endeavors to do is use Khomeini's own words (albeit translated) to tell the story of his ideas, his vision, and how he dealt with frustrations to implementing them. To do it without worrying about how not to bite the visa-providing-hand of the Iranian government, and without nostalgia or awe for the original popular enthusiasm and power of the Islamic Revolution. To put emphasis on what Khomeini said that most Iranians and outside observers were either unaware of or ignored, rather than Khomeini's life or why he became the leader of the revolution. Hopefully what you read will shed light on the person some (including the American Ambassador to the United Nations), thought was "some kind of saint." [9A]

Note on translations: All quotes by Khomeini are translated by others. Some are by supporters (Hamid Algar, the IRNA) or apologists (J. Borujerdi), others by detached academic scholars (Hamid Dabashi), unsympathetic professionals (Asghar Schirazi, the FBIS U.S. government agency), or outright professional foes of Khomeini (Iranians Amir Taheri and the members of the Homa Darabi Foundation). Surprisingly, you may find it's sometimes hard to tell the point of view of the translators without knowing it ahead of time!

Notes on "Intro"

Khomeini is credited with dozens of books, ( http://www.geocities.com/ahlulbayt14/khom.html lists 43 by him, and there is a 22 (16?) volume set of his letters and proclamations between 1964 and 1977 published in Sahifeh-ye Nur. (Introduction by Sayyid Ali Khamenei. 16 volumes. Tehran: Markaz-e Madarek-e Farhangi-ye Enqelab-e Islami, 1361/1982

(info from Theology of Discontent, The Ideological Foundations of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, by Hamid Dabashi, New York University Press, New York and London c1993, p.425, 581) But the six listed here are the ones most frequently described by his biographers and commentators. So far as I can tell, four of these six -- Resaleh, Velayat-e Faqih, Velayat-e Faqih (The Regency of the Theologian), Jehad-e Akbar and Political Will and Testament -- have been translated into English. Arjomand, Turban for the Crown, (1988), p.191 Massive size of the revolution: it appears to have been the most popular revolution in history in the sense that at least ten percent of the Iranian population participated, compared to little more than one percent for the 1776 American, 1789 French, or 1918 Russian revolutions. ... Numbers from Charles Kurzman, The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004), p. 121, quoted in "Patterns of Discontent: Will History Repeat in Iran?" by Michael Rubin and Patrick Clawson, Middle East Review of International Affairs, March 2006

Abrahamian, Iran, 1982, p.496; Harney, Priest, 1998, p.2, 179 Marveling at the overthrow of the Shah, Abrahamian describes the regime as having seemed "as durable as the massive dams ... so firmly grounded that it was indestructible;" and Harney describes it as "invulnerable" and "seemingly invincible and well-armed"

Abrahamian, Iran, 1982, p.502, 513, 529

Kepel, Jihad, (2002) p.194

Aid by the Islamic Republic of Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon:

... Hezbollah's political rhetoric has centred on calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. Its definition of Israeli occupation has also encompassed the idea that the whole of Palestine is occupied Muslim land and it has argued that Israel has no right to exist.

The party was long supported by Iran, which provided it with arms and money.

Palestinian groups:

Iran has decided to increase its financial aid to some organizations that oppose peace efforts in the Middle East. Iran has allocated a special budget for the support of some Palestinian groups who lost their sources of funding when the Soviet Union and the communist bloc collapsed, and when Libya stopped providing material support to the Palestinian organizations. A source very close to the Revolutionary Guards said that the leader of the [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad movement, Ramadhan Shalah, had visited Iran last week heading a large delegation that included the Islamic Jihad leadership, Hamas representatives, and Ahmad Jibril, leader of the PFLP - General Command, to participate in a symposium held in Tehran in support of the Intifada.

Iraqi militia fighters:

Britain accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday of supplying weapons to Shi'ite militia in Iraq used to attack British troops. ... a splinter group from the militia of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. ...

The attackers "were using technically advanced equipment that had previously been used by Lebanese Hezbollah, and they are linked with Iran. ....

Attacks in Iraq were carried out using armour-piercing explosives and infrared control mechanisms "which basically you would need specific expertise to use" and were similar to devices used by Hezbollah, the official said.

While Iran's government has publicly denied it supports Iraqi militia, "there was some suggestion that this could be elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that were involved." ...

Khomeini's return to Iran: "men and women sobbed openly, the joy mixed with disbelief ... Even conservative estimates numbered the crowd at no less than three million." (from: In the Name of God : The Khomeini Decade by Robin Wright c1989, p.37)

"... in his first few months in power a majority of Iranian and foreign observers of the revolution were so enthusiastic about its authentic and popular basis that their judgments about Khomeini were coloured by wishful idealism. ... Clearly, both Ambassador Andrew Young, who thought of Khomeini has a kind of saint, and the State Department's Iran Country Director Henry Precht, who believed some American newspapers were misreading and exaggerating Khomeini's early writings, proved to be wrong." from: p.10 Iran Since the Revolution , by Sepehr Zabih, Johns Hopkins Press, 1982

Kashf al-Asrar

Khomeini's first book was Kashf al-Asrar, aka Secrets Unveiled, was published in 1942 "to little notice," while Khomeini was still a minor cleric. A short, unsigned book/pamphlet its ostensive theme was a defense of Shi'ism against theological attacks by its Islamic arch-rival the Wahhabi sect. Those who've written about Khomeini describe its actual theme as (variously): an attack on Iran's recently deposed ruler the militant anti-clerical modernizer Reza Shah, on the renegade Shi'a clergymen who had collaborated with the Shah, or on the "growing number of secular intellectuals" in Iran -- specifically a popular, influential writer by the name of Ahmad Kasravi. Kasravi was assassinated three years later by Fedayeen of Islam, an early Islamist terrorist group. According to Iranian journalist Amir Taheri, the assassins interpreted Khomeini's book as a fatwa (Islamic legal decree) calling for Kasravi's death. [1B]

Khomeini on Killing and Conquest

No complete English translation of the book/pamphlet has ever been published as far as I can tell, but Amir Taheri did translate a snippet of it where Khomeini explains the importance of war, violence and conquest for Muslims:

Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males, provided they are not disabled and incapacitated, to prepare themselves for the conquest of [other] countries so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world. But those who study Islamic Holy War will understand why Islam wants to conquer the whole world ... Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured by [the unbelievers]? Islam say: Kill them [the non-Muslims], put them to the sword and scatter [their armies]. Does this mean sitting back until [non-Muslims] overcome us? Islam says: kill in the service of Allah those who may want to kill you! Does this mean that we should surrender to the enemy? Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword! The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for Holy Warriors! There are hundreds of other ayat [Qur'anic verses] and ahadith urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all that mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim. [2B]

Some more nuggets from Kashf al-Asrar were translated for The Little Green Book, a book of Khomeini quotes published after the 1979 Islamic Revolution as a takeoff on "The Little Red Book" of legendary Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse Tung.

On the Danger of Music

We affirm that music engenders immorality, lust, and licentiousness, and stifles courage, valor, and the chivalrous spirit; it is forbidden by Quranic laws and must not be taught in the schools. [3B]

On the Danger of any Innovation in Islamic Law

If anyone, in the guise of pursuing Islamic justice, interprets the Law in a manner contrary to the divine will, he has committed the sin of innovation. Learned men are bound to condemn him or they will themselves be condemned. [4B]

On the Danger of "A Thousand Varieties of Corruption"

Khomeini supporter Hamid Algar translated four pages from Kashf al-Asrar [5B]. A tour de force of fury and self-pity, it rages against just about everything --

the government of the Shah's father, Reza Shah -- "idiotic and treacherous ... poisonous ... heinous... a gang to plunder the country," which allowed "women's going naked in the streets" (a reference to the Shah's father's banning of the traditional hijab covering of women's faces, not actual nudity) and the practice of "lechery, treachery, music, dancing, and a thousand other varieties of corruption."

The International Time Zone system, with its ridiculous requirement that different cities in the same zone to use the same time -- "what nightmare is this into which we are plunged?" [6B].

The Iranian people were not spared a tongue lashing either -- Wherever you go and whomever you encounter, from the street sweeper to the highest official, you will see nothing but disordered thoughts, confused ideas, contradictory opinions, self-interest, lechery, immodesty, criminality, treachery, and thousands of associated vices. [Islam and Revolution, p.171]

Surrounded by idiots and knaves, his wisdom unappreciated, Khomeini could only shake his head in exasperation.

There is much to be said, much that is weighing on my mind, but where are the ears to listen to me, where is the perception to understand me? [Islam and Revolution, p.173]

On Islamic Government (Version 1.0) -- Rule by Islamic Clerics Isn't Necessary, God's Law Is

Although Khomeini is furious with the Shah's regime, he specifically says,

"We do not say that government must be in the hands of the faqih [an Islamic jurist]; rather we say that government must be run in accordance with God's law ..." (p.170)

Elsewhere he asserts that the practical

power of the mujtaheds excludes the government and includes only simple matters such as legal rulings, religious judgments, and intervention to protect the property of minors and the weak. Even when rulers are oppressive and against the people, they [the mujtaheds] will not try to destroy the rulers. [7B]. [source: Kashf-i Asrar, (Secrets Revealed) (Tehran, n.d.) p.186]

anyone who has come general awareness of the beliefs and ordinances of Islam, [Velayat-e Faqih, Hokumat-e-Eslami (Islamic Government), p.27]

several centuries of malicious propaganda on the part of the imperialists. [8B].

Notes on "Kashf al-Asrar"

In Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah (p.61), Baqer Moin says "the real target of Kasf al-Asrar was not Reza Shah but the renegade clergymen who in Khomeini's eyes had actively collaborated with" Reza Shah

Amir Taheri says Kashf al Asrar (Key to the Secrets)" written to rebut criticism of Islam by a growing number of secular intellectuals. ... Khomeini's pamphlet was vitriolic both in sentiment and tone and amounted to a virtual death sentence on Kasravi. Without naming the guilty intellectual, Khomeini denounced all those who criticized Islam as mahdur ad-damm, meaning that their blood must be shed by the faithful. The pamphlet was almost totally ignored. except for Fedayeen. Fedayeen of Islam member Hussein Emami, assassinated Ahmad Kasravi in 1945, He was promptly arrested and sentenced to death but pardoned after Shi'a clergy applied pressure on the Shah. (Taheri, p.101) Qom 1986. (Originally published in Qom in 1942 and reprinted in Teheran in 1980 and 1983). Translated here by an Iranian journalist and Khomeini critic Amir Taheri, from: Holy Terror, London 1987, p.226-7.] Little Green Book, p.12 (The Little Green Bookcontains quotations from Khomeini's three books: Mysteries unveiled, The Guardianship of the Jurist, The Explanation of Problems. Originally published in French as Les Principles Politiques, Philosphiques, Sociaux et Religieux de L'Ayatollah Khomeiny by Editions Libres-Hallier in 1979.) Little Green Book, p.24 Islam and Revolution (1981) p.169-173, under the title "A Warning to the Nation." Islam and Revolution, p.172

Note: prior to the International Time Zone system, every locality had its own time with 12 noon set to match the moment in that city when the sun was at highest point in the sky. This was natural for an era when travel was relatively slow and infrequent, but would have played havoc with railway timetables and general modern long-distance communications. In the decades after 1880 governments around the world replaced local time with 24 international time zones, each covering 15 degrees of the earth's latitude (with some exceptions for political boundaries).

That Khomeini could only understand this process as an example of foreigners’ theft of the "reason, intelligence and all other senses" of Iranian modernizers, did not bode well for country he would come to rule. Kashf-i Asrar, (Secrets Revealed) (Tehran, n.d.) p.186, quoted in Abrahamian, Iran Between Two Revolutions, (1982), p.476. Full quote: The mujtaheds have never rejected the system of government nor the independence of Islamic governments. Even when they have judged certain laws to be against God's regulations and particular government to be bad, still they have not opposed the system of government. Nor will they. Why not? Because a decayed government is better than none at all. Consequently, the [practical] power of the mujtaheds excludes the government and includes only simple matters such as legal rulings, religious judgments, and intervention to protect the property of minors and the weak. Even when rulers are oppressive and against the people, they [the mujtaheds] will not try to destroy the rulers. In another of his books Ervand Abrahamian emphasises that in Kashf al-Asrar Khomeini explicitly disavowed wanting to overthrow the throne and repeatedly reaffirmed his allegiance to monarchies in general and to `good monarchs` in particular. He argued that the Shi'i clergy had never opposed the state as such, even when governments had issued anti-Islamic orders, for `bad order was better than no order at all.` He emphasized that no cleric had ever claimed the right to rule ... [Abrahamian, Khomeinism (1993), p.20] [Velayat-e Faqih, Hokumat-e-Eslami (Islamic Government), p.136] So how does the man who translated Khomeini saying "We do not say that government must be in the hands of the faqih [an Islamic jurist]; rather we say that government must be run in accordance with God's law ..." (p.170), explains away this clash with Velayat-e Faqih? In his "Imam Khomeini's Brief Biography" http:www.khomeini.org/GatewayToHeaven/Information/imamsbiography.htm Algar explains that in Kashf al-Asrar Khomeini "stopped short" of demanding the abolition of the monarchy, proposing instead that an assembly of competent mujtahids should choose `a just monarch who will not violate God's laws and will shun oppression and wrongdoing, who will not transgress against men's property, lives and honor.` Even this conditional legitimacy of monarchy was to last `only so long as a better system could not be established.` There can be no doubt that the `better system` already envisaged by Imam Khomeini in 1944 was vilayat-i faqih, which became the constitutional cornerstone of the Islamic Republic of Iran ..." [Khomeini quotes from p.186-7 of Kashf al-Asrar] So did Khomeini refrain from really saying what he thought of monarchy in Kashf al-Asrar until the time for frontal attack on monarchy was more propitious? This theory is also problematic. If he was worried about royal retribution it didn't stop him from making bitter attacks on Reza Shah and in any case Khomeini's name did not appear on Kashf al-Asrar which was published unsigned. Further, the monarchy in Iran was decidedly weak when Kashf al-Asrar came out (1942) than when his plan for abolishing monarchy -- Velayat-e Faqih, Hokumat-e-Eslami (The Regency of the Theologian, Islamic Government) -- was first promoted (1970). It was World War II and the Russians and British had just invaded and occupied Iran. Reza Shah had been deposing just a few months earlier and replaced him with his inexperienced young son, the young crown prince (not yet Shah) Muhammad Reza. One of the low points of Pahlavi dynasty, it was a time when premiers like Ahmed Qavam arguably held as much or more power (see: Iran Between Two Revolutions by Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton University Press, 1982, pp.225-263)

Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el

A decade or so following Kashf, Khomeini wrote a couple of major books on religion, (or more accurately religious law), these being part of the process of moving up the clerical ladder and establishing a reputation as a grand ayatollah. [1C]. One of the publications (Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el, also Risaleh Towzih al Masa'il aka Questions Clarified), is available in English, translated by J. Borujerdi, with a foreword by Michael M. J. Fischer and Mehdi Abedi.[2C].

This book is a collection of (almost 2900) questions by, and answers for, pious traditional Shi'a on how to be good Muslims. Almost all of them (80%) are about personal behavior, ritual purity, or the five pillars of Islam, (rather than public issues like business, commerce, contracts, employment, politics, etc.). [3C]

Non-Muslim or non-traditionalist outsiders will probably find the answers (a.k.a. fatwas) vary in tone.

some seem to be straightforward religious advise, (e.g. who can go on hajj to Mecca, when can a body be exhumed from a grave).

(e.g. who can go on hajj to Mecca, when can a body be exhumed from a grave). some seem commonsense, but outside the realm of the sacred or spiritual, (e.g. wash your hands before eating, don't eat after you are full (#2637), don't eat anything "harmful" (#2630)).

(e.g. wash your hands before eating, don't eat after you are full (#2637), don't eat anything "harmful" (#2630)). some seem arbitrary , (wine is unclean, hashish is not (#111), don't cut bread with a knife or peel fruit (#2637), make sure any locust you eat has grown wings and can fly (#2632)).

, (wine is unclean, hashish is not (#111), don't cut bread with a knife or peel fruit (#2637), make sure any locust you eat has grown wings and can fly (#2632)). many seem picayune to the point of obsessiveness , (wash a container 3X if contaminated by a dog, but 7X if by a pig (#150,152), when urinating or defecating don't squat in the direction of Mecca (#59) and be sure to follow these (surprisingly) detailed instructions ... After urination, one must first wash the anus if it has been soiled by urine; then one must press three times with the middle finger and the base of the penis; then one must put his thumb on top of the penis and his index finger on the bottom and pull the skin forward three times as far as the circumcision ring; and after that three times squeeze the tip of the penis. (#72, ( Resaleh p.42))

, (wash a container 3X if contaminated by a dog, but 7X if by a pig (#150,152), when urinating or defecating don't squat in the direction of Mecca (#59) and be sure to follow these (surprisingly) detailed instructions ... A few deal with situations or questions that don't make a whole lot of sense - A body is allowed to exhumed from its grave for (among other reasons), if "they want to take out a living child from the belly of a buried pregnant woman." (#643.) The traditional Muslim practice of establishing kinship relations through the breast feeding of a nursemaid requires that "the child drinks the milk of a woman who is alive. Thus it is useless to drink from the breast of a dead woman." (#2472) It's okay to eat a piece of fish even if the remaining part of the fish "falls into the water [and is] still alive." (#2621)

-

.... still others sound like they make sense more as pre-scientific village folk wisdom than sacred truths, Women who are descended from the Prophet Muhammad have menopause "after they finish sixty years of age .... Others who are not of Mohammed's descent enter menopause when they finish the age of fifty." (#435. (Resaleh p.54)

But whether straightforward or weird, not one of Khomeini's answers includes an explanations of WHY a rule must be followed, or why Khomeini answered the question the way he did. The closest Khomeini ever comes to offering an explanation is this run-on sentence in question #2633 on the danger of drinking alcoholic beverages.

Wine is the root of evils and the source of sins and whoever drinks wine loses his sanity and does not recognize God at that time and has no fear of committing any sin and has no respect for anyone and does not respect the rights of his close relatives and does not turn away from flagrant indecencies and the spirit of faith and piety exits from his body and a defective spirit of devilishness, which is distant from God's mercy, will remain in him and God and the angels and the prophets and the faithful will curse him and his prayer will not be accepted for 40 days and on the judgment day his face is black and his tongue is lolling out and his saliva is running over his chest, loudly crying of thirst.

Finally, readers may be surprised to learn is that almost all of Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el was copied, not written by Khomeini. Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el is a sort of template, the original having been written by the revered Ayatollah Sayyid Hossein Borujerdi a decade earlier. Borujerdi's book in turn was based on a turn-of-the-century text by Sayyid Kazem Yazdi's (d.1919) `Urwat al-wuthqa ("The Handle of Trust"), making Resaleh ... a relatively newfangled work by the standards of Shi'a clerics. Khomeini was one of many mujtahid clerics who published copies of the work with slight variations on the original,[4C] though which parts are Borujerdi's original fatwas and which are Khomeini's input is not explained.

(Note: in the citations below, the numbers refer to those found in J. Borujerdi's translation, the page numbers refer to the Little Green Book, whose translations are more readable.)

Khomeini on Cleanliness

More than a quarter of the questions in Resaleh (846 out of nearly 2900), talk about purity and impurity. Khomeini relates

how many times to wash a container contaminated by a dog (three times in "small water" (a quantity of water less than about 380 liters [5C]) after first rubbing it with dirt, #150);

how many times to wash a container "from which a pig has drunk fluid" (seven times "with small water as well as with Kor ("big water," i.e. greater than 380 liters) or running water," #152);

("big water," i.e. greater than 380 liters) or running water," #152); that dogs, pigs, non-Muslims, and blood from humans and other mammals are always impure; but that such things as fish ("even if found dead in the water"), pus from a wound, and "the hairs, bones, and teeth of dead animals" (aside from dogs and pigs) are pure (#88, #104)

Animals that eat human excrement are impure, but can be purified by keeping them from eating human excrement for certain number of days :

40 days for a camel,

20 days for cattle

10 days for sheep,

7 or 5 for a turkey and

3 for a chicken.

(#220 Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el , (p.63))

40 days for a camel, 20 days for cattle 10 days for sheep, 7 or 5 for a turkey and 3 for a chicken. (#220 , (p.63)) that running water (from a stream or river) with excrement or urine in it is pure provided the "odor, color, or taste" hasn't been changed by the excrement or urine (#29, #30). If it has, it can purified by "running water of rainwater which falls directly into it, or rainwater driven into it by the wind, or carried to it by a drainpipe." (#53, (Resaleh p.66)

... but says not a word about purifying water by boiling or adding iodine. In fact soap is only mentioned in regards to how to clean IT (soap) once IT'S been contaminated. (#164, #165)

COMMENT: Should we care? After all these are religious definitions of cleanliness for religious rituals and duties. You want laws of religion you listen to a religious scholar. You want disease prevention or control you go to a public health worker ... right? Not quite.



As the translator of Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el (J. Borujerdi) says, "the man or woman in the streets of Iran knows but one universe, i.e. religious, and therefore has only one code for the subject under discussion," which, he goes on to explain, is why he translates the religious term for "ritually pure" (pak) simply as "clean" [6C]) -- to the average Iranian (at least at the time) the two were the same. Iran and other Muslim countries being very poor there were few if any public health officials, nurses or physicians running around to poor villages spreading the world about disease prevention at the time this book was written. The village mullah or sheikh was THE only local learned authority, the man to go to for any question. If he (and books used in his place) had nothing to say about hygiene, germs, infection, disease, it was a serious matter.

Furthermore, Khomeini himself is adamant (as we will later see) that Muslims should know "but one universe." That Islam must not be just one of the compartments of a Muslim's life, but guidance to cover everything in a (true) Muslim's life God, Exalted and Almighty, ... sent laws that astound us with their magnitude. He instituted laws and practices for all human affairs ... There is not a single topic in human life for which Islam has not provided instruction and established a norm. That some Muslims were under the impression "that Islam consists of a few ordinances concerning menstruation and parturition" was only because of the success of "foreign agents" (secular Muslims) in planting lies. [Islam and Revolution : Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini, p.29-30]. How, then, could hygiene be worth worrying about, if an Islamic book on cleanliness didn't "provide instruction" on it?

More on Purification

If a person crushes a mosquito on his skin and cannot determine whether the blood there from is the insect's or his own, this blood is pure; but if the time between the bite and the death of the mosquito is so short that no such distinction can be made, the blood is impure. (#206, Resaleh, p.61)

What difference does it make? If it's the person's own blood, it's impure and the person must wash himself. If it's the mosquito's blood, there's no such need because it’s an insect and their blood is not impure.

Khomeini on Urinating and Defecating

Urinating and defecating are forbidden in four places: blind alleys, except with the permission of those living along them; the property of a person who has not given permission to do so; places of worship, such as certain madrasas; graves of believers, unless one does so as an insult to them. (#64, (Resaleh p.40)) It is not necessary to wipe one's anus with three stones or three pieces of fabric: a single stone of single piece of fabric is enough. But if one wipes it with a bone, or any sacred object, such as for example, a paper having the name of God on it, one may not say his prayer while in this state. (#69, (Resaleh p.41))

On the Impurity and Inferior Status of non-Muslims

There are eleven things which are impure: urine, excrement, sperm, bones, blood, dogs, pigs, non-Moslem men and women, wine, beer, and the sweat of the excrement-eating camel. (#83 (from Resaleh p.48))

Every part of the body of a non-Moslem individual is impure, even the hair on his hand and his body hair, his nails, and all the secretions of his body. (#107 (Resaleh p.51))

The Non-Muslim's impurity also prevents them from being allowed to possess a copy of the Qur'an

One must avoid giving the Koran to an infidel; it is even recommended that it be forcibly taken away from him if he already has it in his hands. (#139 (Resaleh p.54))

Another restriction gives non-Muslims a major financial incentive to convert to Islam

A Moslem will inherit from an infidel but an infidel will not inherit from a Moslem even though he is the deceased's father or son. (#2783)

In current Islamic Republic of Iran where Khomeini's fatwa was made law, this is an issue of great concern to the non-Muslim minority. As Parviz Ravani, the Zoroastrian MP complained to journalist Robin Wright, [8C]

... if my child becomes a Muslim, then all my property will go to that child upon my death. None of my other children who didn't convert will stand to get anything. That extends even to my nephew. If he becomes a Muslim, then all my property would go to him, not my own children.`

More Khomeini on Music

As you might expect from someone who had condemned music for "engendering immorality, lust," etc. in his first book, Khomeini limits the use of radio and television forbidding the listening/viewing of "unlawful things such as broadcasts of songs and music" (#2889). Since these songs and music contaminate the airwaves,

I do not permit their selling and buying except for those who do not use them unlawfully at all and do not permit their non-religious use by others, either." (#2990)

On Marriage and the Duties of Spouses to Each Other

A woman who has been contracted permanently must not leave the house without the husband's permission and must surrender herself for any pleasure that he wants and must not prevent him from having intercourse with her without a religious excuse. And if she obeys the husband in these the provision of her food and clothing and dwelling and other appliances mentioned in books is obligatory for the husband and if he does not provide them he is indebted to the woman, whether or not he can afford them. (#2412)

So the woman's duty is to not refuse sex with her husband (or "any pleasure that he wants") without a religious excuse (couldn't find any list of such excuses), nor leave the house without his permission. In return he must provide the wife with food, clothing, and a place to live. In addition he must not abstain from having sex with her for longer than four months. (#2418) Interestingly, "servicing the house" is not included in a wife's duties (#2414).

On When a Woman Should Get Married

A woman should get married shortly after she's reached puberty, or better still, just before.

It is recommended that one hurries [sic] in giving husband to a daughter who has attained puberty, meaning that she is of the age of religious accountability. His Holiness, Sadegh [the 6th Imam] salutations to him, bade that it is one of a man's good fortunes that his daughter does not see menses in his own house. (#2459)

When is that? Nine years old. Khomeini reckons that if a girl has started menstruating, "she has finished the age of nine."

A girl who does not know whether or not she has finished nine years of age, when seeing blood which does not have the sign of menses, is not menstruating. And if [the blood] has the signs of menses and she is certain of its menstrual nature she is menstruating and it becomes evident that she has finished the age of nine. (#438)

On Fornication and Sodomy

Considering the strict and detailed laws on just about everything else, you might assume Khomeini would be especially disapproving on sexual sins. But his fatwas on them seem oddly matter-of-fact

During sexual intercourse, if the penis enters a woman's vagina or a man's anus, fully or only as far as the circumcision ring, both partners become impure, even if they have not reached puberty; they must consequently perform their ablutions. (#104 or #349, (Resaleh p.72))

If a person fornicates with one's paternal or maternal aunt before marrying their daughter, he can no longer marry them [i.e. marry their daughters, his cousins]. #2394

There is no concern in the [marriage] contract involving a person who marries his own cousin (paternal or maternal) and fornicates with their mother before having intercourse with them [his cousin]. [i.e. there's no question about being able to marry the cousin.] #2395

The mother and sister and daughter of a boy who performed sodomy are unlawful to the sodomite even if the doer and giver of sodomy are both minors. ... #2405

If he [the sodomite] marries the mother or sister or daughter of a person and then practices sodomy with that person, they do not become unlawful to him. #2406

The same restrictions apply to women from families "related" to the "boy who performed sodomy" as "as a result of suckling", (i.e. where a woman breast-fed a baby from the other family) #2482.

Bestiality also seems to get light treatment. Fatwas warn of that sodomized animals are impure (#86), should be "taken out of the city and sold elsewhere" if a horse or mule (#2631), or burnt if a cow, sheep or camel (#2632), and that the sodomizer has to clean themselves by ritual bathing (#351). But the only punishment mentioned for the sodomite is reimbursing the animal's owner if the animal is destroyed.

If they have intercourse with a cow and sheep and camel their [the animals] urine and dung becomes unclean and drinking their milk will also be unlawful and they [the animals] must be killed and burned without delay, and the person who had intercourse with them must pay money to the owner. Further, if he had intercourse with any beast its milk becomes unlawful. #2632.

Was intergenerational fornication and sodomy even between close relatives so common the fatwas were necessary to sort out restrictions on the different variations? Is that why Khomeini makes no mention of punishment for fornication? Had he given up on enforcing that and just hoped the fornicators were ritually clean for their prayers?

Or did Khomeini not talk about punishments because Islamic government was not in power and not in a position to enforce them?

Khomeini on Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil

Traditionally Muslims are commanded not just to preach to others, but to command them to do what is good and not do what is evil - evil being both acts universally agreed to be crimes (larceny, rape, murder, etc), and religious sins (eating pork, drinking wine, ignoring fast during the holy months of Ramadan, etc.). Khomeini's guidelines on how to deal with sinners start with giving them a warning, then "refraining from conversing" with them, then "breaking all relations with the sinner" (#2807), and work their way up to "beating the sinner" #2823, and finally "wounding and slaying" them. (#2824) Bodily harm is only "acceptable" if "permitted by a fully qualified Expert," an expert meaning an expert in Islamic law such as the Ayatollah Khomeini.

On Slavery

The idea that slavery no longer exists in Islam not withstanding, the book's index lists eight questions and clarifications under the heading of slavery. (The book was originally published in 1961!) One (confusing) example concerns the importance of sellers being able to deliver their goods

... selling a horse which has escaped is incorrect, but if an escaped slave is sold together with something deliverable, like a carpet, that deal is correct even though the slave is never found. And in the case other than a slave it is difficult. #2090

Those concerned about any anti-Khomeini bias in the English edition, will be reassured by comments in the book's foreword. Khomeini's fatwas discriminating against non-Muslims (we are told) are part of the "defenses of Islam," which "meld easily into a defiance of colonial subjugation." Those "who in the early days of the 1978-79 Revolution sought to discredit Khomeini by citing from his Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'il minute rules having to do with how to purify oneself after bodily elimination, after sexual activity, or indeed what exactly constitutes such offenses as bestiality" (allegedly) made themselves ridiculous by "taking these debates to absurd lengths" and displaying "a complete lack of comprehension of the logic of the traditions composing the Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il." (Resaleh p.xxviii)) [9C]

And indeed an attempt by at least one Khomeini opponent (Shoja-ud-din Shafa) to publicize Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'il fell flat, leaving Khomeini's popularity undiminished. [10C] Maybe that's the most remarkable thing about Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'il: Though it showed him preoccupied with issues more of interest to a medieval village mullah than a revolutionary leader (Khomeini wasn't a grad student when he "wrote" this book, but nearly 60), it did nothing to slow that mullah on the path leading to the take over a nation of 60 million and creation of a legend. A testament to the shrewdness of Khomeini and the haplessness of his royal opponent perhaps.

Notes on "Resaleh Towzih al-Masa'el"

Abrahamian, Khomeinism, p.10 Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il, originally published in 1961, English translation published after the revolution in 1982 under the title:

An Unabridged Translation of Resaleh Towzih al-Masael by Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, Translated by J. Borujerdi, with a Foreword by Michael M. J. Fischer and Mehdi Abedi, Westview Press/ Boulder and London, c1984

All page numbers referring to Resaleh in this section refer to this English translation. More on the point of view of the authors of the forward to the English language edition of Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il. Here is their ingeniously absurd defense of Khomeini's fatwas on the importance of subjugating non-Muslims: Some of these rules, such as Khomeini's invocation of the `Codes of Omar`, are what Khomeini calls matters of honor (Problem #2834); That Muslims must be politically, economically, and symbolically dominant and not subordinate to non-Muslims. Some of these rules are also defenses of Islam, and meld easily into a defiance of colonial subjugation. Anything that contributes to political, economic and commercial dominance by non-Muslims is forbidden (Problems #2829-2934), and this includes dealing with puppets of the great powers, among which Khomeini primarily mentions Israel ... the buying and selling of televisions and radios (Problems #2889-90) (Resaleh p.xxiii) i.e., the struggle against the unjust inequality of colonialism is furthered by making sure non-Muslims are denied equal rights. Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il -- Topics it dealt with:

Of the almost 2900 fatwas only the following go outside of purification, prayer, fasting, and alms-giving: 347 problems -- trade [buying and selling, prepaid deals, renting, share-cropping, tree-sharing, deputation, loans, drawing a draft, mortgage, guaranteeing] 145 problems -- marriage and divorce 50 problems -- enjoining good and forbidding evil (p.xxv-xxvi) How Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il was not an original work: from the introduction to Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il: The first Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il (Explanatory treatise on questions of religion) was issued by the leading ayatollah of the 1950s, Ayatollah Sayyid Hossein Borujerdi (d 1960). It was compiled by Ali Asghar Karabaschi as a layman's abstraction from a turn of the century text, Sayyid Kazem Yazdi's (d.1919) `Urwat al-wuthqa ("The Handle of Trust"). In this form, it is thus a very new genre of book. Since the 1950s, every senior cleric with claims to being an ayatollah or marja-i taqlid, has issued a nearly identical Risaleh Towzih al-Masa'il. So identical are they, that at one point a volume was issued called Dah Hashiyeh ('Ten Commentaries`) which was the original Borujerdi test with footnotes explaining the minor difference in wording among the other Risaleh." ((Resaleh p.xvi) Purification of water, how much is a Kor? 1. Kor; and that is a volume of water that fill at least a container measuring 3.5 spans in length, depth, and width, and which weighs at least 383.906 KGs. If it comes into contact with unclean substance, it remains clean unless its color, taste, or smell is changed. [http://www.ahl-ul-bait.org/english/Q&A/indexes.htm] The choice of certain English words for their Persian or Arabic counterparts needs justification, perhaps the most important ones being (clean) and (unclean) which were chosen for (pak) and (najes), respectively. The man or woman in the streets of Iran knows but one universe, i.e. religious, and therefore has only one code for the subject under discussion. .... The more educated ones may know of the two universes involved, i.e. religious and scientific, but use the same worlds when conducting a discourse in either universe, and are apt to employ scientific data to defend religious beliefs.

(from: J. Borujerdi writing Translator's note, p.xxxi, A Clarification of Questions : An Unabridged Translation of Resaleh Towzih al-Masael by Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, Translated by J. Borujerdi) Excerpt from Speeches and Messages of Imam Khomeini on the Unity of the Muslims, p.108 Wright, Robin. The Last Revolution c2000, p.216), Point of view. Resaleh p.xxviii) ibid. (Resaleh p.xxviii)

Tahrir al-Vasileh

Khomeini's other major book on religious law was Tahrir al-Vasileh, aka Tahrirolvasyleh, (Commentary on the Vehicle). The "Vehicle" it was commenting on was Vasileh tun-Nejat, (Vehicle of Salvation), by S. Abul-Hasan Isfahani. (Like Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, Tahrir al-Vasileh was based on another book.) Khomeini wrote it in Arabic "to get past Iranian censors" in 1965 while he was in exile in Bursa, Turkey.[1D]

Longer than Resaleh, it lists 4400 questions and with roughly twice as many of them covering "socio-political issues abandoned by his contemporaries, such as holy war and `ordering the good and forbidding the evil.`" Khomeini weighs in on economic issues, declaring that "the leader of the Muslim community, ... has the right to fix prices and generally interfere in the regulation of commerce" on behalf of "the interests of Islamic society." [2D] That notwithstanding, Tahrir al-Vasileh still has only has only a little over 1000 fatawa on questions directly or indirectly to public law.[3D] Nothing like enough to develop government policy (see below).

Curiously, though the makers of the English translation of Resaleh describe Tahrir al-Vasileh, "rather than his Resaleh Towzih al-Masael," as the book that "secured" Khomeini's "reputation in the early 1960s," [4D] Resaleh Towzih al-Masael was the book they translated.

They did include a few fatawa from Tahrir al-Vasileh, however, in their edition of Resaleh Towzih al-Masael. These deal with adherents of religions of the Book (ahl-e zemmeh).[5D]

Khomeini on Muslim Apostates --

the Different Definitions of, and Punishments for

1 - Apostasy is leaving Islam and accepting infidelity. One who turns from Islam to infidelity is called an apostate and that is of two kinds:

A) innate-apostate, and that is a person that one of his father or mother was Moslem when his seed was being jelled, and who embraced Islam following puberty and then left Islam.

B) National apostate, and that is a person whose father and mother were infidels when his seed was being jelled and he has expressed infidelity after puberty, and became an original infidel (kafar i aslee), then he embraced Islam and later has returned to infidelity; such as a person who originally was a Christian and became a Moslem and then returned to Christianity. [6D] 2 - Innate-apostate's [embracing of] Islam is apparently unacceptable and, if a man, his ruling is execution and, if a woman, she is condemned to prison for life and [with] beating when praying and straitening of livelihood, but her repenting is acceptable and she will freed if she repents 3 - A national apostate will be caused to repent and in case of refusing to repent will be executed. And it is preferable to give a 3 day reprieve and to execute him on the fourth day if he refused. 4 - Puberty, knowledge, volition and intention are credible in ruling on apostasy. 5 - The child of a Moslem or that of an apostate, whether national or innate, is considered Moslem before the father's apostasy, and therefore, if the child reached puberty and chose infidelity he will be asked to repent (and to return to Islam), else he will be executed. 6 - Apostasy is proven by the witnessing of two just men and by confession. [7D]

So to sum up:

an adult male who grew up Muslim and then converted to a non-Muslim religion, (an "innate-apostate”) must become a Muslim again or be executed. An adult woman who converts to a non-Muslim religion has the choice of reconverting, or being imprisoned and beaten.

A non-Muslim who converted to Islam and then went back to their old faith (a "National apostate”) gets the same, although they get a few days to think it over and repent.

Although the verbiage of Khomeini and/or his translator isn't completely clear, it appears Khomeini includes in his definition of apostates some people who NEVER professed the Islamic faith. These are people who grew up as a non-Muslim and remained so but whose father left Islam after they were born. (If a father is a Muslim, so are the children no matter how young.) Having "chosen infidelity” the offspring "will be asked to repent” and "executed” if they refuse.

(This may explain the reasoning behind the persecution of Baha'is in Iran by fundamentalist Shi'a. Those who grew up Baha’i and are not converts are still considered apostates because Baha’ism split off from Shi'a Islam so recently.)

Khomeini on the Rights of Non-Muslim or Women Victims

"Conditions of retaliation,” i.e. under what conditions may a person be killed (executed) as punishment for the killing another:

.... (3) Equality in religion, therefore Moslem will not be retaliated for [killing an] infidel, unless a Moslem has a habit of killing infidels. [8D]

"Mulcts and Blood Money,” a mulct being a penalty or fine, in this case for killing another person:

.... (3) The amount of mulct which has come in the table is for a Moslem man, but the mulct of a Moslem woman will be half of these amounts, i.e. 50 camels or 500 dinars

(4) A tributary's mulct is 8000 derhams [9D] and the mulct of their women is half of that of their men. [9.1D]

So again to summarize:

Capital punishment for the killing of a Muslim is acceptable, but not for the killing of a non-Muslim if the murderer is a Muslim ... unless that Muslim is a serial (non-Muslim) killer.

the fine for the premeditated killing of a Muslim man should be 10,000 derhams, 1000 dinars, or 100 camels.

8000 derhams, 800 dinars, or 80 camels for a non-Muslim man a.k.a. a "tributary," (i.e. a Jew, Christian, or Zoroastrians who "lives under the protection of Islam," i.e. under a Muslim government and pays tribute).

5000 derhams, 500 dinars, etc. for killing a Muslim woman.

4000 derhams, etc. for a non-Muslim woman.

On the "Poll Tax” Charged to Non-Muslims

Fight those who believe not in God and the Last Day and do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden - such men as practise not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book - until they pay the tribute [Jizyah] out of hand and have been humbled. [9:29 as translated by A.J. Arberry]

the followers of the tri-religions (Jewish, Christianity and Zoroastrian) ... undertake and guarantee the conditions of tribute, to be mentioned later, their religions will be recognized and an amount of poll tax (Jizyah) will be accepted from them. [10D]

As interpreted by Khomeini the tribute paid by non-Muslims is not necessarily a tax per individual non-Muslim, but can be a tax on pretty much anything -- people, land, income, "beasts of burden and trees and real estate, in any way he finds it expedient” -- set at any rate -- whatever the "Governor-General” decides, depending on the "expediencies of time and place and the situation at hand.”

Other conditions of tribute may include thing like the "hosting" Muslim armies: providing food, housing, etc. (sounding quite a bit like what the American Revolutionaries complained the British forced them to do before the War of Independence!)

1 - There is no specific amount for poll tax, thus its amount depends on the views of Governor-General (Valee) and the expediencies of time and place and the situation at hand. 2 - Governor-General can lay this tax on per capita basis or on the lands or both. Further, he can impose the tax on beasts of burden and trees and real estate, in any way he finds it expedient. 3 - And the tax must be received according to what came in the tributary agreement. 4 - In addition to the poll tax other conditions, such as hosting Moslem military and others can be made, stipulating the length of time, like one day or three days. ...

"Tributary Conditions” also include 15 non-financial regulations on non-Muslims, varying from





reasonable:

(#7) "In case of committing crime they shall be subject to punishment or reproof according to Islamic law.”





reasonable (if paranoid):

(#2) They must not "fight against Moslems or to help the idolators.”

(#5) "they must not vex or annoy Moslems, such as stealing and spying.”





not likely to be a problem: (12) "The Tributary People cannot reside in Hejaz,” (the region of Mecca and Medina).





repressive enforcing of "humility” on the non-Muslims:

(#6) "They must not establish synagogues or ring church bells.”

(#10) "Any building erected by the Tributary People must not stand higher than those of its neighboring Moslems.”

(#15) "Infidels, whether tributary or non-tributary, do not have the right to promote their religions and publish their books in Islamic countries, or to invite the Moslems and Moslem children to their religions ...” [11D]

On Dealing with Modern Society. Khomeini's Fatawa on mostahdasat or "New Occurrences"

Another much briefer source of information on Tahrir al-Vasileh come from a critic of Khomeini and the Islamic Republic, Asghar Schirazi, in his book The Constitution of Iran.[12D]

Khomeini attempted to update shari’ah law with legal rulings on mostahdasat or "new occurrences" in Tahrir al-Vasileh. He included a grand total of 105 fatawa for the modern world:

10 on insurance,

6 on foreign exchange bureaux,

8 on paying indemnity,

12 on banks,

7 on lotteries,

10 on artificial insemination,

7 on autopsy and organ transplantation,

10 on sex change,

11 on radio, television, etc.,

18 on prayer and fasting in aeroplane or at the earth's poles, and

6 on outer space.



Schirazi complains that "what is striking ... is not only the limited range of subjects ... but also the brevity of their exploration of particular questions .... most of the solutions pertaining to `new matters` lack the kind of proof which religious law requires. ... In addition, the solutions are of a noticeably negative character." Lotteries and autopsies on Muslims are forbidden. So is most radio or television, and artificial insemination by anyone other than the husband of the woman. When Khomeini does try to venture into "commercial law" his "new occurrences" bear no relation modern government regulations in the West that have been developed over centuries and cover thousands of pages. These fatawa aren't concerned with making sure the modern activities serve the public interest or even function properly, only that they follow traditional shari’ah. Exchange bureaux or banks are forbidden to charge interest, but nothing said about minimum reserve requirements to make sure withdrawals can be paid if there is a run on a bank. Khomeini declares it "permissible to take out an insurance policy" as long as it is "not contrary to the general principles regulating agreements in the shari'ah." Thus the insurer and policy holder must both be sane and above the age of consent, but that's about it. No other consumer protections or even regulations to guarantee the solvency of the insurer are mentioned. Not all that surprising perhaps because insurance is not "mentioned in the shari'ah," and "Islamic law is unfamiliar with insurance and has no formula for it amongst its usual contractual formulas, nor regulations to cover it." Perhaps the most extreme example of the rigour and seriousness that Khomeini took in extending the shari’ah into the post-medieval world are his fatawa on outer space. There is for example, the question of how to determine when a creature or a human being on another planet attains its majority. What does Islamic law have to offer as a solution to the question that would arise if children on another planet `develop into men within one year` [of their birth]? The answer is: `There is no problem with establishing that they have attained their majority if their majority is manifest through ejaculation of sperm and the appearance of public hair.` To the question of what the Islamic ordinances say about marriage on another planet, one answer is: `Marrying creatures on other planets is permitted, if they are possessed of reason and understanding. And this applies even if they have a different physical appearance.` Still More on Music Tahrir al-Vasila is a little more complete in its forbidding of music. Performing and listening to singing (ghena'), as well as making money from it, are forbidden. Ghena' means not only making one's voice attractive, but also includes the drawing out and varying of the voice in a way that induces merriment and which is suited to gatherings for the purpose of amusement and having fun. And it also includes musical instruments. It makes no difference whether it is used to accompany the holy word such as the Koran or prayer or as a dirge or to accompany prose or poetry. Indeed, the penance is doubled when it is used to accompany the holy word such as the Koran or prayer or as a dirge or to accompany prose or poetry. Indeed, the penance is doubled when it is used in connection with worshipping the sublime God. (p.240) The only exception to this general prohibition is the performance of female singers at weddings... In any case it is more advisable `if singing is avoided altogether[13D]. In another passage in the same book listening to singing and suchlike on the radio or a tape recorder is declared to be forbidden[14D]. On Sex and Women Finally, there's a source of quotes from Tahrir al-Vasileh that's spread throughout the internet to anti-Islamist and anti-Islamic websites. They can be traced back to the website of the "Dr. Darabi Foundation” (a secular, anti-Khomeini non-profit named after a prominent Iranian woman physician woman of the same name who set "herself on fire in a crowded square in northern Tehran, on February 21, 1994 ... to protest the oppression of women.”) The foundation declares itself dedicated to combating "all violations of human rights focusing on defending the rights of women against religious, cultural and social abuse.”

Many of the quotes are similar to one's above from Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, but a couple are even creepier.

Supporters of Khomeini cast doubt on the credibility of the Dr. Darabi Foundation site, pointing out that it also quotes from something called "Tahrir-ol-Masael,” a book allegedly by Khomeini that does not appear to exist. (It's not listed in very complete database of books found in libraries called WorldCat (http://www.worldcat.org/)).

http://www.homa.org/Details.asp?View=Detail&ContentID=2137352818&TOCID=2083225348

(Perhaps it's a cross between Resaleh Towzih al-Masael and Resaleh Towzih al-Masael!) With that caution, here are some translations from

http://www.homa.org/default.asp?TOCID=2083225445 A man can have sex with animals such as sheep, cows, camels and so on. However he should kill the animal after he has his orgasm. He should not sell the meat to the people in his own village, however selling the meat to the next door village should be fine. From Khomeini's book, Tahrirolvasyleh, fourth volume, Darol Elm, Gom, Iran, 1990 (Note: This quote is found many places on the Web, often citing www.homa.org, but is no longer at www.homa.org itself as far as I can tell.) Khomeini's Teachings on sex with infants and animals Islamic Teachings on sex with infants: A man can have sexual pleasure from a child as young as a baby. However, he should not penetrate. If he penetrates and the child is harmed then he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life. This girl, however would not count as one of his four permanent wives. The man will not be eligible to marry the girl's sister. The complete Persian text of this saying can be found in "Ayatollah Khomeini in Tahrirolvasyleh," Fourth Edition, Darol Elm, Qom http://www.homa.org/Details.asp?View=Detail&ContentID=2137352826&TOCID=2083225445 Notes on "Tahrir al-Wassilah" (ibid. Resaleh... , p.xxix) Amir Taheri -- no fan of Khomeini -- claims: By the mid-1950s Khomeini had his own circle of talabehs and was already recognized as a leading modares at the prestigious Faizieh School which had grown under the auspices of Borujerdi. He also complete his first and only work in Arabic, Tahrir al-Wassilah (Liberation of the Means), which was circulated only in handwritten copies. The book's Arabic was so ungrammatical and peppered with Persian words no Arab would understand that it had to be almost entirely rewritten by a group of Lebanese Shi'ites before its eventual publication in Tehran in 1984. (The Spirit of Allah : Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution, Taheri, p.112) (Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah, Moin, p.137-8) The book "covered socio-political issues abandoned by his contemporaries, such as holy war and `ordering the good and forbidding the evil.` A substantial book, it raised his status as a jurist. Khomeini returned to the question of Islamic government with vigour, taking it up from where he had left off in Kashf al-Asrar. Here Khomeini states that the Imam, or the leader of the Muslim community, true to the Islamic spirit of intervention in the ordering of people's lives, has the right to fix prices and generally interfere in the regulation of commerce if he feels it is in the interests of Islamic society." The Constitution of Iran : politics and the state in the Islamic Republic by Asghar Schirazi, New York, I.B. Tauris, 1997, p.166-7 Schirazi goes on to break down Tahrir al-Vasileh as follows (his categories sometimes overlap):

The book lists 4397 questions (followed by Khomeini's solutions), which in the traditional manner are arranged in different parts and sections. The solutions are either presented in the form of answers to concrete questions relating to the ritual or material life of believers, or as methodical exercises whose purpose is to formulate possible answers to speculative questions. 18.2% of the questions deal with regulations pertaining to ritual purity and prayer. 16% of the (questions and) solutions "deal with questions about Islamic taxes (khoms, zakat and taxes relating to waqf foundations)." (These, combined with ritual purity and prayer, traditionally come under the heading of worship ('ebadat)). "Another 14.1% are concerned with the Hudood" 51 questions [About 1%] deal with defense (defa') 129 [Almost 3%]with enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. 44 [About 1%]with the adherents of religions of the Book (ahl-e zemmeh) 105 [2.3%] with new occurrences (mostahdasat)10 on insurance, 6 on foreign exchange bureaux, 8 on paying indemnity, 12 on banks, 7 on lotteries, 10 on artificial insemination, 7 on autopsy and organ transplantation 10 on sex change 11 on radio, television, etc. 18 on prayer and fasting in aeroplane or at the earth's poles, and 6 on outer space. (p.169). 25.3% (1116) questions are directly or indirectly connected with public laws. Including khoms tax, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, defense and relations with Christians and Jews. But this notion is an assertion of the "modern theory of velayat-e faqih". "Traditionally" they were NOT part of public law, such questions either came under the heading of worship (`ebadat) or were considered to be in the domain of private law, in so far as they were applied in courts convened outside the state apparatus by clerics at the request of the contending parties." A sort of mediation/conciliation operation, not command of the state. (Constitution of Iran p.166-7). "But even if we attributed all such questions dealt with in Tahrir al-Vasileh to the domain of public law, the solutions offered would be too primitive and meager to meet the needs of a 20th-century society. Iranian society has already developed to the point that its requirements, even in the area of private law, by far exceed the capacity of a work like the Tahrir al-Vasileh. In the arena of public law, such collections are even less able to offer solutions to 20th Century problems. We have seen how when framing its constitution, the Islamic Republic was obliged to borrow fundamental elements from non-Islamic sources, both conceptually and it terms of content. In the area of administrative, financial and employment law, the situation is no different. And the same hold true for international law and the penal code." (p.167) From the English language foreword to Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, p.xvi)

see also: (Moin, p.137-8) 44 fatawa, or about 1% of the questions in Tahrir, are on "adherents of religions of the Book (ahl-e zemmeh" according to Asghar Schirazi, in The Constitution of Iran. from: Tahrir al-Vasileh, volume 2, p.366.) (from: Tahrir al-Vasileh, volume 2, p.494-496.) from Tahrir al-Vasileh, volume 2, pp.508-547. Quoted in Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, p.429] What are dinars and derham? Traditional Islamic currency. Dinar was gold and traditionally worth ten time the silver derham. (from: Middle East, a Brief History by Bernard Lewis, p.153-4)

What were/are they worth on international currency markets? That varies according to the countries that used them, of which Iran is not one. Its currency was/is the Rial. An example of how in touch with and concerned about reality Khomeini was? Tahrir al-Vasileh, volume 2, pp.533-557. Quoted in Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, p.429-30 from: Tahrir al-Vasileh, volume 2, Quoted in Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, p.430] from: Tahrir al-Vasileh, volume 2, pp. 497-507; quoted in Resaleh Towzih al-Masael, p.432.) Quotes are all from p. 169-170 of The Constitution of Iran by Asghar Schirazi, Tauris, 1997. Schirazi goes on to detail the exasperation of Islamic Revolutionaries trying to implement shari’ah law as the law of the land after taking power Admissions of Problems with shari’ah law `[We have to deal with] the many questions, laws and operational regulations... that received no mention in the shari'ah [such as traffic regulations].` - Ayatollah Behesti speaking in the Assembly of Experts in 1979. `We find ourselves in a vacuum with regard to the questions concerning the social order and inter-personal relations.` - Ayatollah Khatami, Minister for Islamic Guidance, 1991. Problems with the legal code have `risen to the sky like a mountain`. - editors of Howzeh 1988e, no.25, p.30. `[Even the rationalist Shi'i jurists] have not developed their ability to practice legal judgments and deductions that go beyond the limits of individual acts and decisions, and the area of commands and prohibitions affecting individuals.` - Howzeh 1987/1988, no.23, p.22. (Constitution of Iran p.167-8) Even Ayatollah Azari Qomi, "otherwise a defender of the perfection of the shari’ah, was obliged to admit in a series of articles published by Resalat in 1989 that the shari'ah displayed many gaps which would have to be filled by adaptations to time and place. [These articles nevertheless bore the title: `The Self-sufficiency of Islamic Jurisprudence` Resalat, 21.1.89 and immediate subsequent issues]. Apparently, despite the awareness of gaps in the shari'ah it is possible to conclude that Islamic law is perfect, either by not facing the serious consequences this has, in particular with regard to the legitimacy of velayat-e faqih, or by ignoring the enormous extent of the actual gaps. (p.174)] The Constitution of Iran by Asghar Schirazi, p.240. Source: Tahrir al-Wassilah, vol.II p.351 The Constitution of Iran by Asghar Schirazi, p.240. Source: Tahrir al-Wassilah, vol.IV, p.485 Speech in Qom April 3, 1963 Khomeini on Social Justice. Does Not Mean Equal Rights? No Khomeini's fatwas on the importance of inequality between different religions and genders weren't just talk, he fought for what he believed. When the Shah tried to pass legislation allowing women and non-Muslims to serve on local governments in 1962, Khomeini was at the forefront of the victorious fight to stop it. A few months later the Shah tried again with a series of reforms including women's suffrage, this time more successfully. Khomeini's supporter/translator Algar defends Khomeini's campaign explaining that broader suffrage was not "intrinsically important” since the Shah's regime was basically a dictatorship, and opposition to the electoral changes simply "provided a point of departure for more comprehensive agitation.” (Islam and Revolution p.16) This gobbledygook seems to be contradicted by in excerpts below where Algar's own translation of Khomeini indicates Khomeini did think preventing non-Muslims from taking government posts (he mentions only judges not local councils) was important. (note: The speech at Qom was given in honor of students killed in a fight with police March 22, 1963 at Feyziyeh School of Theology as part of the campaign against the Shah's reforms.) I have repeatedly pointed out that the government has evil intentions and is opposed to the ordinances of Islam. ... The Ministry of Justice has made clear its opposition to the ordinances of Islam by various measures like the abolition of the requirement that judges be Muslim and male; henceforth, Jews, Christians, and the enemies of Islam and the Muslims are to decide on affairs concerning the honor and person of the Muslims. [Islam and Revolution p.175] (Note that contrary to what Khomeini implies the law change he opposes would only allow non-Muslims to be elected or appointed, not require them to be.) The struggle against this is part of our aim which is none other than the great aim of Islam -- to prevent oppression, arbitrary rule, and the violation of the law; to preserve the rights of Islam and the nation; and to establish social justice. [Islam and Revolution p.176, italics added] This continued agitation by Khomeini on behalf of "social justice” got him expelled out of the country about a year and a half later. While in exile he wrote his most important work. Velayat-e Faqih, Hokumat-e-Eslami or The Regency of the Theologian, Islamic Government Velayat-e Faqih: Hokumat-e Islami, (aka The Regency of the Theologian, Islamic Government, aka Islamic Government), is "probably Khomeini's best known book,"[1vf] but it is definitely his most important, as the Islamic Republic's new system of government that replaced the Shah’s kingdom was drawn in large part from it. In early 1970, Khomeini shook the religious establishment with a series of 17 lectures denouncing the apolitical clergy as well as the whole institution of monarchy. ... These lectures, delivered in the main bazaar mosque in Najaf, were soon circulated in Iran under the title Velayat-e Faqih: Hokumat-e Islami (The jurist's guardianship: Islamic government). It became the main Khomeinism handbook.[2vf] This lecture series-cum-book argued that government should be run in accordance with traditional Islamic shari'ah, and for that to happen a faqih (i.e. a person "learned in the principles and ordinances of Islamic law”), must be in charge. The small book (less 150 pages), was smuggled into Iran and "widely distributed” to Khomeini supporters before the revolution. The translation of Velayat-e Faqih: Hokumat-e Islami used in this page is by Hamid Algar, an English-born scholar of Iran and the Middle East and convert to Islam, [3vf] and found on the internet at

http://www.wandea.org.pl/khomeini-pdf/hukumat-i-islami.pdf or

http://web.archive.org/web/20031206165617/http://www.wandea.org.pl/khomeini-pdf/hukumat-i-islami.pdf Page number for quotes from Velayat-e Faqih refer to Algar's book Islam and Revolution : Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini, Mizan Press, Berkeley, 1981. In part because the writing style and technical nature of Velayat-e Faqih: Hokumat-e Islami (its intended audience being Islamic students, or at least pious Shi'a) it's unlikely that many who aren't Islamists or scholars have taken the time to read it. Bland descriptions by apologists of Velayat-e Faqih: Hokumat-e Islami being about "the cultural invasion of the West, and the issue of justice”,[4vf] don’t begin to do justice to the book’s fervent hatred of "the other” and assignment of blame to them of essentially all the troubles of Muslim society, nor the chasm between what its author claimed it would achieve and what it did actually did when it was put in place in Iran.

http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/khomeini_promises_kept.html Khomeini on the Enemies of Islam Vs. the Clergy of Islam The background to Khomeini’s system of government is a struggle between two forces -- one evil, one good.

On the one hand are Imperialists (he doesn’t specifically define who the imperialists are but British, French, Belgium and Americans are mentioned at various times),

their `agents` (these include "foreigners sent by the imperialists and natives employed by them," specifically the Shah's "puppet" government), and the Jews. Their plan ... is to keep us backward, to keep us in our present miserable state so they can exploit our riches, our underground wealth, our lands and our human resources. They want us to remain afflicted and wretched, and our poor to be trapped in their misery ... they and their agents wish to go on living in huge palaces and enjoying lives of abominable luxury. [Islam and Revolution, p.34]

Facing off against the Imperialists and their agents is Islam, represented by Islamic legal scholars (the ‘Ulema) [vf5], and the Islamic government they would run. This government would: Prevent “encroachment by oppressive ruling classes on the rights of the weak,”

Prevent the current ruling minorities from plundering and corrupting the people for the sake of “pleasure and material interest,”

Preserve “the Islamic order” and keep all individuals on “the just path of Islam without any deviation,”

Prevent “innovation” in Islamic law “and the approval of the anti-Islamic laws by sham parliaments,”

Destroy “the influence of foreign powers in the Islamic lands” [p.54]

On the sidelines is a third group -- “lazy ... apathetic” clerics, who instead of agitating for their rightful roll as rulers, support the monarchy or avoid politics, (Islam and Revolution, p.141) -- but that’s about as complicated as it gets. Are there any foreigners (i.e. non-Muslim foreigners) in the Muslim world for reasons other than exploitation of Muslims and destruction of Islam? How about Iranians not under the control of foreigners who favor foreign investment and adaptation of some foreign practices to strengthen the country? Or anyone besides foreigners and their local agents who stand in the way of Muslim strength, happiness and prosperity? Or perhaps others -- Westernized or non-Muslim Iranians -- besides clergy or pious lay Muslims who fight against foreign exploitation and imperialism?

If there are, Khomeini doesn't consider them worth mentioning. On Islamic Government (Version 2.0) -- Rule by Islamic Clerics IS Necessary in Order that God's Shari'ah Law Be Followed This is obviously a departure from Khomeini's original line that, we do not say that government must be in the hands of the faqih [an Islamic jurist]; rather we say that government must be run in accordance with God's law ... [Kashf al-Asrar, aka Secrets Unveiled, Islam and Revolution, p.170] So you might expect Khomeini to explain how he came to his new realization, how the evil of the Shah's monarchy was too much for him, or whatever. Instead, Khomeini ignores his past statements (which admittedly few, if any, of his students, or anyone else, knew about) and starts right in asserting anyone who knows anything about Islam wants a faqih to rule. governance of the faqih is a subject that in itself elicits immediate assent and has little need of demonstration, for anyone who has some general awareness of the beliefs and ordinances of Islam will unhesitatingly give his assent to the principle ... [Islam and Revolution, p.27] On What Countries Are in Need of Rule by faqih Well Iran, of course, but also the “ten or fifteen petty states” of the Muslim Mideast (i.e. all the Muslim states of the Middle East) created by "the imperialists after World War I” when they "divided the Ottoman State.” (Islam and Revolution, p.49) In order to assure the unity of the Islamic umma, in order to liberate the Islamic homeland from occupation and penetration by the imperialists and their puppet governments, it is imperative that we establish a government. ... we must overthrow the oppressive governments installed by the imperialists and bring into existence an Islamic government of justice ... [Islam and Revolution, p.49] (Weirdly, toward the end of the book Khomeini seems to take it all back, suggesting rule by faqih isn't “imperative" after all -- “kings and presidents” of the Muslim world won't need to step down (or be executed), they can just reform themselves: Give them Islam, proclaim to the world the program of Islamic government; maybe the kings and presidents of the Muslim countries will understand the truth of what we say and accept it. We would not want to take anything away from them; we will leave anyone in his place who faithfully follows Islam. [Islam and Revolution, p.138]) Khomeini on How the Rule of the Faqih Differs from UnIslamic Government Monarchy (or any other secular form of rule for that matter) is no good because





monarchy was abolished by Islam: Islam proclaims monarchy and hereditary succession wrong and invalid. When Islam first appeared in Iran, the Byzantine Empire, Egypt, and the Yemen, the entire institution of monarchy was abolished. [Islam and Revolution, p.31]

it's slow and corrupt: A case that a shari'ah judge in earlier times settled in one or two days cannot be settled now in 20 years. [Islam and Revolution, p.32]

its bureaucratic: In addition, superfluous bureaucracies and the system of file-keeping and paper-shuffling that is enforce in them, all of which are totally alien to Islam [Islam and Revolution, p.58]

While Islamic government is simple, practical, and swift ... When the juridical methods of Islam were applied, the shari’ah judge in each town, assisted only by two bailiffs and with only a pen and an inkpot at this disposal, would swiftly resolve disputes among people and send them about their business. [Islam and Revolution, p.58]

monarchy/non-faqih rule is too harsh. They kill people for possessing ten grams of heroin and say, `That is the law.` [Islam and Revolution, p.33]

Monarchy/non-faqih rule doesn't represent the people, religious rule (in Muslims societies) does: While you might think elections, secret ballots, and free campaigns would be the way to make government representative, in a republic or a constitutional monarchy, most of those claiming to be representatives of the majority of the people will approve anything they wish as law and then impose it on the entire population. ... In contrast ... the body of Islamic laws that exist in the Qur'an and the Sunna has been accepted by the Muslims and recognized by them as worthy of obedience, and thus “truly belong to the people.” [Islam and Revolution, p.56]





Monarchy/non-faqih rule doesn't help the poor: The imperialists have also imposed on us an unjust economic order, and thereby divided our people into two groups: oppressors and oppressed. Hundreds of millions of Muslims are hungry and deprived of all form of health care and education [Islam and Revolution, p.49]

Its extravagance leads to debt, which leads to subservience to foreigners: If it were not for [the] profligate royal ceremonies, this reckless spending, this constant embezzlement, there would never be any deficit in the national budget forcing us to bow in submission before America and Britain and request aid or a loan from them. [Islam and Revolution, p.58]

In contrast “the Commander of the Faithful” (Caliph Ali who ruled for five years from 656-661 before his assassination)

according to tradition ... lived more frugally than the most impoverished of our students. [Islam and Revolution, p.57]

And non-faqih government serves foreign exploiters in other ways: Huge amounts of capital are being swallowed up; our public funds are being embezzled; our oil is being plundered; and our country is being turned into a market for expensive, unnecessary goods by the representatives of foreign companies ... [Islam and Revolution, p.115] Islamic faqih government's frugality and disinterest in kafir ways will prevent all that. In addition, Islamic government will be militarily strong -- something be know because the Qur’an says: Prepare against them whatever force you can muster and horses tethered (Qur'an, 8:60), which enjoins the preparation of as much armed defensive force as possible and orders the Muslims to be always on the alert and at the ready, even in time of peace. ... [Islam and Revolution, p.46] Zionist Israel would never come into existence if the Muslims had acted in accordance with this command. [Islam and Revolution, p.46]

For the agents of imperialism `Politics is all dirt, lying and viciousness.` But Islamic Government rule will be not only pure and good, but almost effortless: The entire system of government and administration, together with necessary laws, lies ready for you. If the administration of the country calls for taxes, Islam has made the necessary provision; and if laws are needed, Islam has established them all. There is no need for you, after establishing a government, to sit down and draw up laws, or, like rulers who worship foreigners and are infatuated with the west, run after others to borrow their laws. Everything is ready and waiting. All that remains is to draw up ministerial programs, and that can be accomplished with the help and cooperation of consultants and advisers who are experts in different fields, gathered together in a consultative assembly. [Islam and Revolution, p.137-8]

COMMENT: How do we know all this? Were there Islamic governments that were militarily strong, balanced their budgets, eliminated poverty, had strong health care and education, no bureacracy, etc.? Sort of. Khomeini goes into no detail, but the "governments" he cites as Islamic are those of the Prophet Muhammad (who ruled Medina for 10 years and Mecca for two), and the Imam Ali (who was Caliph of Islam for five years a quarter century later). [5.1vf] Both of these polities existed 1400 years ago.

We know they were militarily successful because the Islamic Empire expanded during their time. We are told they were just, upright, and had little poverty by oral reports (ahadith). But non-Muslim complain these were from insiders, friends of the regime not from travelers or other outsiders and are not known to be immune from manipulation. And while Muslims who don't doubt these rulers' virtue, some wonder if the early Muslim era of Islam can really be called a political and economic "system", and if so, whether it can be duplicated today by returning to strict sharia. As for its superior 7th Century "health care and education," or there being an "entire system of government" in shari'ah law lying "ready for you," ... there doesn't seem to be much evidence for it.

On Proof that Islam Calls for Rule by faqih, or “Rule By Jurisprudent”

While it's all very nice to explain how governance by the faqih would be functionally better than that of kings and presidents, what is crucial is to prove this system is called for by the shari'ah -- i.e. by the ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad and Shi'ite Imams (i.e. transmitted narratives of what the Prophet and Imams did and said) that shari'ah is built upon. After all, the point of having a faqih in charge is to enforce shari'ah law, so rule of the faqih must be shari'ah consistent.

So although Khomeini starts by claiming the rightness of rule by the faqih is obvious to any informed Muslim

( "elicits immediate assent and has little need of demonstration" ),

he generously takes 40 pages or so to “prove” its religious legality in somewhat the same way a secular lawyer would use legal precedents to argue some action was legal. It's a radical and refreshing change from the xenophobic soapbox demagoguery of the rest of the book, but that doesn't mean it's persuasive!

Some of Khomeini's argument:

`The seat [of judge] you are occupying is filled by someone who is a prophet, the legatee of a prophet, or else a sinful wretch.` (Hadith of Ali ibn Abi Talib, first of the twelve Shi'a Imams) [Islam and Revolution, p.81]



Khomeini ingeniously reasons that since fuqaha traditionally fill the roll as judges, being

“by definition learned in matters pertaining to the function of judge” (Islam and Revolution, p.84),

and since they are not sinful wretches or prophets, by process of elimination they must be “legatees of the prophet" --

“we deduce from the tradition quoted above that the fuqaha are the legatees."

What do these “legatees” inherit from the prophet? Why they inherit the prophet's role as ruler! (Or so Khomeini goes on to "prove" in similar tendentious style.)



`Refrain from judging, because judging is reserved for an imam who is knowledgeable of the law and legal procedure and who behaves justly toward all the Muslims; it is reserved for a prophet or the legatee of a prophet.` (Hadith of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, the 6th Imam) (Islam and Revolution, p.83)



Again, the hadith says only imams can judge, and trained jurists (fuqaha) are traditionally judges in the Muslim community ... therefore fuqaha judges must be imams. Who are imams? Khomeini goes on to "prove” imams refers not to the twelve Imams of early Twelver Shia Islam, but to "leaders” and "guides” of Muslims in not only a spiritual but also a political sense.



`In case of newly occurring social circumstances you should turn for guidance to those who relate our traditions, for they are my proof to you, as I am God's proof.` (Hadith of the 12th Imam) (Islam and Revolution, p.84)



Fuqaha all study thoroughly the Islamic "traditions," aka ahadith.



When two Shi'a Muslim have a dispute, they must `seek out one of you who narrates our traditions, who is versed in what is permissible and what is forbidden, who is well acquainted with our laws and ordinances, and accept him as judge and arbiter ...` (from the maqbula of Umar ibn Hanzala) (Islam and Revolution, p.93)`



Those with `rule and authority` over Muslims `should not be ignorant and unaware of the law.` (Hadith by Ali) (Islam and Revolution, p.67)



Fuqaha all study Islamic law thoroughly.



`Those that come after me` [the prophet Muhammad speaking] will be ones who `transmit my traditions and practice, and teach them to the people after me.` (Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad) (Islam and Revolution, p.68)



Fuqaha all know and transmit the traditions and practice of the Prophet. Careful study of the Sunna reveals "those that come after" the Prophet will have the same power as the Prophet, i.e. will be rulers also.



`The fuqaha [plural of faqih] are the trustees of the prophets, as long as they do not concern themselves with the illicit desires, pleasures, and wealth of this world.` The Prophet was then asked: `O Messenger of God! How may we know if they do so concern themselves?` He replied: `By seeing whether they follow the ruling power. If they do that, fear for your religion and shun them.` (Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad)(Islam and Revolution, p.76)



(6th Imam) Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq's hadith: `The scholars are the heirs of the prophets, for although the prophets bequeathed not a single dinar or dirham, they bequeathed their saying and traditions. Whoever, then, acquires a portion of their traditions has indeed acquired a generous portion of their legacy.`

COMMENT: Obvious questions come up: If God ordained the fuqaha to rule, why didn't he just say so in the Qur'an, or have his last prophet or one of the imams say so in a ahadith? (It's not like who should rule is a minor point of Divine Law!) And what about the hadith quoted by Khomeini (#7 in the list above), where the Prophet tells Muslims fuqaha should not `follow the ruling power,` and `If they do that, fear for your religion and shun them`? Doesn't this suggest

fuqaha and "the ruling power" are not the same, and fuqaha should be STAYING AWAY from the "ruling power," not becoming it!?

Such questions (and many others) seemed to trouble Khomeini's peers as well. Even after the revolution was underway and Khomeini's enormous popularity and power had become manifest, only one of the other dozen grand ayatollahs accepted his thesis. [6vf]

The senior most Ayatollah, Abol-Qassem Mussavi-Kho'i (also transliterated Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i), who "had a massive following, not only in Iraq and Lebanon, but also in Iran itself," opposed Khomeini "to his death" on the grounds that

The authority of faqih - is limited to the guardianship of widows and orphans - could not be extended by human beings to the political sphere.

In the absence of the Hidden Imam (the 12th and last Shi'a Imam), the authority of jurisprudents was not the preserve of one or a few fuqaha.

According to Iranian historian Ervand Abrahamian, this is in keeping with centuries of Shi'a scholarship were most Islamic jurists (fuqaha) believed

the term velayat-e faqih meant no more than the legal guardianship of the senior clerics over those deemed incapable of looking after their own interests - minors, widows, and the insane.

Unlike their Sunni counterparts, Shi'i clergy did not have a "consistent theory of the state," and following the occultation of the Hidden Imam tended to followed one of three approaches to governance:

"true believers should shun the authorities like the plague." "others, however, argued that one should grudgingly accept the state. `If the ruler is bad, ask God to reform him; but if he is good, ask God to prolong his life` - Imam Jafar Sadeq "Others wholeheartedly accepted the state - especially after 1501, when the Safavids established a Shi'i dynasty in Iran."

"It is significant that in all these discussions, which lasted on and off for some eleven centuries, no Shi'i writer ever explicitly contended that monarchies per se were illegitimate or that the senior clergy had the authority to control the state. (italics added) Most viewed the clergy's main responsibilities, which they referred to as the velayat-e faqih (jurist's guardianship), as being predominantly apolitical. They were

to study the law based on the Koran, the Prophet's traditions, and the teachings of the Twelve Imams. They were also

to use reason

to update these laws;

issue pronouncements on new problems;

adjudicate in legal disputes; and

distribute the khoms contributions to worthy widows, orphans, seminary students, and indigent male descendants of the Prophet.

Khomeini on Why This Rule by Faqih Is Not Found in the Muslim World

Explanations of why fuqaha were not in power might seem a peripheral subject compared to why Islam requires that they should be in power - at least for an Islamic scholar lecturing Islamic students. But it was this issue, and not the second, that Khomeini dwelled on in the next decade leading up to the revolution. What did he claim and how well did it corresponded to reality?

Khomeini on the Enemies of Islamic Government:

(1) Foreign Imperialists

Why was the Muslim world not clamoring for his so-obviously-correct form of governance?

Imperialist propaganda.

European Imperialists ...

have known the power of Islam themselves for it once ruled part of Europe, and they know that true Islam is opposed to their activities. They have also realized they cannot make the true religious scholars submit to their influence, nor can they affect their thinking. From the very outset, therefore, they have sought to remove this obstacle from their path by disparaging Islam and besmirching the religious leaders. They have resorted to malicious propaganda so that today, we imagine that Islam simply consists of a handful of legal topics. They have also tried to destroy the reputation of the fuqaha and the `ulama, who stand at the head of Islamic society, by slanderous accusations and other means. [Islam and Revolution, p.140]

God, Exalted and Almighty, by means of the Most Noble Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him), sent laws that astound us with their magnitude. He instituted laws and practices for all human affairs . . . There is not a single topic in human life for which Islam has not provided instruction and established a norm. [But] in order to make the Muslims, especially the intellectuals and the younger generation, deviate from the path of Islam, foreign agents have constantly insinuated that Islam has nothing to offer, that Islam consists of a few ordinances concerning menstruation and parturition . . . [p.29-30]

if someone wishes to speak about Islamic government and the establishment of the Islamic government, he must observe the principles of taqiya [dissimulation of the truth] and count upon the opposition of those who have sold themselves to imperialism. [Islam and Revolution, p.34]

Khomeini on Why Foreigners Want to Undermine Islam:

(A) To Steal Its Wealth

This is just the beginning of the evil doings of foreigners. They want to undermine Islam because it stands in the way of their greed ...

Once when I was in Hamadan, a former student of the religious sciences, a man who had forsaken the religious garb but who preserved his Islamic ethics, came to see me and showed me a map on which certain places had been marked in red. He told me that those red symbols indicated all the mineral resources existing in Iran that had been located by foreign experts. Foreign experts have studied our country and have discovered all our mineral reserves -- gold, copper, petroleum, and so on. They have also made an assessment of our people’s intelligence and come to the conclusion that the only barrier blocking their way are Islam and the religious leadership. [Islam and Revolution, p.139-40]

COMMENT: Why wouldn't it be natural for foreigners make maps of oil deposits in Iran if they, and not Iranians, had the geological knowledge to find petroleum and the pumping and piping technology to extract, refine and transport it?

Khomeini on Why Foreigners Want to Undermine Islam:

(B) To Promote Vice Among Muslims

Islam has laid down no laws for the practice of usury, for banking on the basis of usury, for the consumption of alcohol, or for the cultivation of sexual vice, having radically prohibited all of these. The ruling cliques, therefore, which are the puppets of imperialism and wish to promote these vices in the Islamic world will naturally regard Islam as defective. The must import the appropriate laws from Britain, France, Belgium and more recently America. [Islam and Revolution, p.31-2]

These enemies of Islam are everywhere. Their target is the vulnerable young

The agents of imperialism are busy in every corner of the Islamic world drawing our youth away from us with their evil propaganda. [Islam and Revolution, p.127] .... Come to the aid of Islam; save Islam! They are destroying Islam! Invoking the laws of Islam and the name of the Most Noble Messenger (upon whom be peace and blessing), they are destroying Islam! Agents – both foreigners sent by the imperialists and natives employed by them – have spread out into every village and region of Iran and are leading out children and young people astray ... [Islam and Revolution, p.128] Sexual vice has now reached such proportions that it is destroying entire generations, corrupting our youth, and causing them to neglect all forms of work. [Islam and Revolution, p.33-4]

Khomeini doesn't spend much time on the issue of non-Muslims, as opposed to Imperialists. But he makes it clear they need to be kept in line. There's a brief mention of the need to destroy

centers of evil propaganda run by the churches, the Zionists, and the Baha’is in order to lead our people astray and make them abandon the ordinances and teaching of Islam ... [Islam and Revolution, p.128]

Khomeini on the 300-Year-Long Plan by to Foreigners to Undermine Islam

Their attack on Islam did not arise as some ad hoc tactic in pursuit of imperial power or profit, but is an elaborate, long-term plan (or plans) of centuries -- three centuries in fact.

The British imperialists penetrated the countries of the East more than 300 years ago. Being knowledgeable about all aspects of these countries, they drew up elaborate plans for assuming control of them. Then came the new imperialists, the Americans and others. They allied themselves with the British and took part in the execution of their plans. ... [italics added] [Islam and Revolution, p.139]

Khomeini mentions this 300-year-long attack on Islam not once, but four times (p.27-28, p.34, p.38).

One of the few examples he gives of foreign iniquity in Iran is the 1905 Constitution, were Iranian revolutionaries used the new-fangled system of constitutional monarch and elected parliament in an attempt to reign in their weak, not-very patriotic monarch a