Abstract
Several researchers assert that there is a democratisation process developing in Iran, mainly based on a civil society becoming increasingly socially and politically conscious. According to Ali M. Ansari, this development is centred upon what he refers to as a “myth of political emancipation” - reflecting the Iranian civil society’s struggle to achieve political emancipation. As an example on this new social and political consciousness, I focus on Abdolkarim Soroush, a prominent Iranian lay reformist thinker, whose ideas on “Islamic democracy” are controversial within the Islamic Republic. The main research question in my study is: Is there a potential for the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop into an “Islamic democracy?” I focus on the concept of “Islamic democracy” as used by Soroush, and his thoughts and ideas on religion and state. My second research question is: What are the arguments of Soroush for an “Islamic democracy?”
My aim has been to show the relevance of Soroush’s ideas to this democratisation process. He starts his arguments by promoting issues of freedom of expression, justice, and human rights. In order to understand the dynamics of contemporary Iran, I have provided an explanation of the relationship between religion and politics in Shi’i Islam and the background for Ayatollah Khomeini’s thesis on velayat-e faqih (rule of the jurisconsult), and an outline of the history of Iran. The composition of the Iranian Constitution of 1979 and the state structure reveal profound ambiguities between the Iranian legalist, democratic and secular elements. The failure to the Iranian, shari’a based law system illustrates the insufficiency of Islamic law to provide a just and modern law system. Soroush’s thesis of “the contraction and expansion of religious knowledge” says that religion should be separated from religious knowledge. In order for the latter to grow, it should be subject to critique and analysis. His thesis contains a critique of the ruling clergy and the Islamic Republic. He believes a separation of religion and state is necessary, but that religion may be of relevance to politics as a value base. Soroush advocates dynamic fiqh - Islamic jurisprudence needs to be developed in order to be suitable for a modern society. He promotes “Islamic democracy” based on the assertion that if the Islamic Republic were to become a democracy, the religiosity of the Iranian society would be enough to refer to this potential democracy as an “Islamic democracy.”