Political Theology in Iran: Critiques of the Guardianship of Jurist in Light of Reformist Iranian Scholarship

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines a specific line of thinking shared by several contemporary Iranian reformist scholars which emerged partly in response to the doctrine of velāyat-e faqīh, a political-theological theory instigated by Ayatollah Khomeini. Focusing on the ideas of reformist Iranian scholars, such as Abdolkarim Soroush, Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari, Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari, Mohsen Kadivar and Ahmad Qabel, unpacks these thinkers’ views concerning the doctrine of velāyat-e faqīh. It is argued that these scholars’ criticisms of the doctrine of velāyat-e faqīh are based not only on their interpretations of the Qurʾān and Shiʿa sources, but also philosophical arguments in which notions drawn from the field of hermeneutics are employed. It is also argued that, in challenging the doctrine of velāyat-e faqīh, these scholars question the view that the fuqahā have the exclusive right to rule the country, thereby presenting alternative political theories which criticize efforts to politicize religion.