Tag: Imamate

Iran’s Exiled Scholar Who Impeached Khamenei

An exiled Iranian mujtahid — imprisoned twice, banned across Iranian platforms, and teaching at Duke University — gives his most candid assessment of the Islamic Republic, Velayat-e Faqih, and what the Trump-Netanyahu war has done to Iran’s democratic reform movement.
He breaks down the two dimensions of the Islamic Republic — where it succeeded and where it failed — and shares his final position: a secular democratic state. He reveals why he impeached Khamenei, why Iran’s hardliners, US Republicans, and Israeli Zionists are aligned against peace, and why Trump bears responsibility for the war.

An Analysis of Shi’ite Political Thought

Imam Ali recognized the mutual rights of the ruler and ruled, the sanctity of contracts, especially with the enemy, and freedom of speech as the cornerstones of Shite political philosophy. Understanding Shi’ite political thought is impossible without considering the doctrine of justice and its consequences such as the right to an uprising against unjust rulers, which is crystallized in Imam al-Hussein b. Ali’s maxims and teachings. Ayatollah Khomeini’s political theory is in the absolute minority not only in the history of Shi’ite fiqh but also in contemporary Shi’ite fiqh.