Sunday, April 27, 2014

Provide a summary for the introduction only (Pages 7-17) of the narrative provided. http://www.iranchamber.com/history/rkhomeini/books/velayat_faqeeh.pdf

Ayatollah Khomeini begins his treatise with a short introduction. In this introduction, Khomeini argues against the separation of religion and state. He maintains that it is the duty of his followers to support the formation of Islamic governments and to do so by violent revolution, if necessary.
According to Khomeini, Islam is a militant religion and must be recognized as such. He considers the imperialistic West responsible for the poverty and primitive conditions in the Muslim world. Khomeini maintains that the integration of Western culture into the Muslim world effectively obscures the revolutionary aspect of Islam; he insists that violent revolution is the answer to his people's suffering.
In the introduction, Khomeini argues that the Quran contains practical wisdom related to social, legal, and political matters. He contends that Allah bequeathed such wisdom to mankind while the West was still mired in tyranny and ensconced in spiritual darkness. Khomeini opposes the westernization of Muslim judiciaries, contending that the mix of western constitutionalism and Islamic law distorts the purity of Islam. He also asserts that the idea of monarchical/ hereditary succession is antithetical to Islam.
Khomeini defends his vision of Islamic perfection, where usury, the consumption of alcohol, and the celebration of sexual vices are prohibited. However, he questions the criticisms of Islamic law, arguing that his detractors have failed to understand the basis for harshness within the law. He defends the necessity of adulterers receiving a hundred lashes and alcoholics, eighty lashes. He maintains that this is the only way to eradicate moral corruption and the rising numbers of murders and suicides caused by alcoholism.
In arguing his case for political Islam, Khomeini attacks the West and its predilection for spreading the concept of constitutional protections to the Muslim world. He laments that Muslims who want to set up an Islamic government must resort to taqiyyah (subterfuge) to avoid stirring up the opposition of those who have adopted western constitutional values. Basically, Khomeini sees the entire Western world as a threat to his purist form of Islam.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Summarize the major research findings of "Toward an experimental ecology of human development."

Based on findings of prior research, the author, Bronfenbrenner proposes that methods for natural observation research have been applied in ...