The Supreme Leader's View of Religious Democracy

The Supreme Leader's View of Religious Democracy
09/07/2008

In the Name of the Most Sublime

Today, the idea of religious democracy that we have proposed is indeed an innovative suggestion. This is not simply because we have introduced a new type of democracy. On the contrary, there are many flaws in the types of democracy that are being exercised throughout the world. That is due to the fact that the elections and individuals' choices are under the influence of factors related to propaganda, which is controlled exclusively by capitalists.

The foundations of religious democracy are different from those of Western democracy. Religious democracy - which forms the basis for all our choices and has its roots in the divine rights and obligations of man - is not something conventional. All human beings have a right to make their own choices and determine their fate. Religious democracy is the genuine type of democracy the idea of which is supported by religious faith and responsibilities.

In our Islamic culture, the best people are those who are more useful for the people. Contrary to hypocritical and demagogic democracies, religious democracy is a system of providing sincere services without expecting anything in return, a system for providing services out of sense of responsibility accompanied by sincerity and virtue.

The fact that an Islamic system - a system under the banner of monotheism and religion - can present democracy in a clear and eloquent manner to the people of the world is exactly the opposite of what the arrogant propaganda of the world of liberal democracy is trying to achieve. All they want to say is that they are the only embodiment of democracy. They cannot tolerate the fact that an Islamic system, with its lofty values of faith, can institutionalize democracy. We adopted our system of democracy neither from the Eastern regimes nor from the Western regimes. We adopted our system from Islam, and our people elected an Islamic government due to their familiarity with Islam.

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