Some of the faculty and students of A-Mustafa International University

On the relationship between Islam and democracy, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli stated:

Islamic Republic has two central elements: "Islam" that is the religion, message and command of God; and "republic" i.e. the human society. Republic is of several types globally: People's Republic, Democratic Republic, Arabic Republic, Non-Arabic Republic, etc. If we take this for granted, the content and the container will be the same and there will be no message. If we say Arabic Republic, China's Republic, Russian Republic, American Republic, this means that the content and the container are the same and we are repeating the container; yet, there will be no message and no content then. However, if we say "Islamic Republic", there is a heavy and meaningful message. Islam clarifies the link between the creation and the Creator and grants dignity to the public and the republic. To clarify how the republic, or the mass of people, gains honor and dignity by virtue of Islam, i.e. the relation with God, we quote here a point from the Holy Quran, something which is borrowed from Islam and not from Shari'ah. It is well-known that the Holy Quran has two formal messages. The first formal message is Islam, which embraces the west and the east, the south and the north, the past and the present, and every time and location. The other central element of the Quran is Shari'ah (law) and Minhaj (way) which have an internal application. The two central elements have been dealt with by all of the prophets. Ibrahim, The Friend of Allah (peace be upon him) submitted to both Islam and Shari'ah; Moses, the Interlocutor with Allah (peace be upon him) and Jesus the Messiah (peace be upon him) submitted to Islam and Shari'ah both; the prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), too, submitted to Islam and to Shari'ah as well. Now, let us quote two points from the Holy Quran.

He added:

The first central element is that it says:

إِنَّ الدِّینَ عِندَ اللّهِ الْإِسْلاَمُ

(Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam)

The Divine religion tolerates neither dualism nor polytheism. That which is dealt with in the prestigious University of Religions relates to Shari'ahs and not to religion. When the meaning of Islam is made clear, it will be known that all of the prophets have consensus on Islam. Accordingly, God said in the Quran:

إِنَّ الدِّینَ عِندَ اللّهِ الْإِسْلاَمُ

That which is one before Allah cannot be plural and does not bear pluralism. And concerning Shari'ah and Minhaj, He said in the Quran:

لِکلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنْکمْ شِرْعَةً وَ مِنْهَاجاً

(…for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way)

People of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) established prayers in one way and the community of Moses, the Interlocutor, (peace be upon him) established their fasting and prayers in a different way. People of Jesus the Messiah (peace be upon him) established their prayers and fasting in a way and the Ummah of the Seal of the Prophets (May the blessing of Allah be upon him) have a special way for their prayers and fasting. Fasting and prayers, and other time-bound and place-bound qualities vary. The difference between the schools of Divine messengers lies in Shari'ah and Minhaj. Notwithstanding, Islam holds no difference between schools of Divine messengers.

 The central elements of Islam are that the wonderful order ruling over the universe is established by Someone who puts it in order, and the One is God. God is an Infinite Truth that leaves no room for others. Therefore, not only is it impossible to have two Gods but also the assumption is also rationally absurd; that is, one cannot say God and the associate of God, because if God is an Infinite Truth, he leaves no empty space (for another god). For an Infinite Truth, the Divine jealousy leaves no room for an-other. This is the word of Messiah; such is also what Kalim (Interlocutor with God), Khalil (The Friend of God) and Habib (The Beloved of Allah) say.

Another belief common between all prophets is that Man does not decay by death but that he comes out of the skin thereby. This sublime belief belongs to the school of all prophets that Man causes death to die, and it is not the case that death causes Man to die. We are the tasters of death; death cannot taste us. The Holy Quran says:

کلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ

(Every soul must taste of death)

It is not that "کلّ نفس یذوقه الموت" (every soul is tasted by death). That is to say, it is Man who must taste of death not that death is to taste Man. It is you who digest the juice and the juice does not digest you. Death means change and transformation, and we are the ones who digest such a transformation and become eternal; this is Ma'aad (Return; Resurrection). Then, we will remain along with our eternity; and as we are eternal, we have been created from an eternal origin.

The Grand Master added:

There is a way between the Beginning and the End, which is called Sirat (path) and Din (religion). There is the need for a leader who knows the religion so that he can guide us, and such a leader is the prophet. This is what all prophets say, a fact which lies within the realm of Islam. In this regard, there is no difference between Messiah, Khalil, Habib and Kalim [prophets, peace be upon them all]. However, there are different rules (Shari'ah) and ways (Minhaj), as they tell us how to worship God in different places and different times. So, this serves as the answer to the meaning of Islam and the meaning of Shari'ah. A society with an Islamic Republic system is the society of honor. To make it clear that Islam grants dignity and honor to the republic, one should say that a public and republic without Islam cannot enjoy honor. Let us repeat the words of the Creator of the world, the Creator of human beings, the Words of Allah. You have heard previously that God has praised Man with the attribute of honor, saying:

لَقَدْ کرَّمْنَا بَنِی آدَمَ

(…surely We have honored the children of Adam)

It is the word of all the prophets that God has created Man with honor; yet, this is the beginning or the middle of the way. There is still room to ask why Man is honored. God sees the deed of Man's honor in his caliphate (deputyship). In the Holy Quran, He said:

إِنِّی جَاعِلٌ فِی الأَرْضِ خَلِیفَةً

(I am going to place in the earth a Caliph)

Such a caliphate has a peak, a skirt and a plain. The peak of the caliphate belongs to Divine prophets; its skirt and its plain are those of God's friends, the pious, the truthful, the righteous, and their followers. Man's honor, therefore, is a result of his caliphate, and his caliphate is a cause of his honor. Why is Man's caliphate the cause his honor? Because Man is the caliph of the Most Honorable, and the caliph of an Honorable is honorable.

This is not the end of discussion, and there is one point left. If this last point is made clear, we will see that Islam makes the republic honorable. This last point is sensitive and holds that the "caliph" must represent the "One Who appointed him as caliph"; if Man is the Caliph of Allah, he must understand His words, His school and His religion, and must put them into practice and then disseminate them. If he misuses the title of caliphate and speaks his own words, he is subject to the harsh word of the Holy Quran when it says:

أُولئِک کالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ

(…they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors)

Man's dignity and honor lie in his being God's caliph. As for a deputy minister who has been granted the honor of deputyship, but who speaks his own words and not those of the minister, and who does his own job and not the duties and tasks related to the ministry, such a one is a usurper. Islam, therefore, means Divine caliphate and this means to carry out God's commands. In this respect, there is no difference between the various schools among the Abrahamic religions and this suffices as the cause of honor. So, it is clear now that Islamic Republic means that the mass of people are made honorable by the grace of Islam.

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli concluded with his remarks on the spiritual grandeur of Imam Khomeini (May God bless him) and added:

What I add to the end of this conversation for my Christian brothers is that if today you had a leader in Christianity similar to Imam Khomeini (May God bless him), one who could draw a distinction between the American type of Christianity and the pure Christianity of the Messiah, you could perfectly understand the Messiah (peace be upon him) and could introduce Christianity to the world; Hope for that day.