There’s No Going Back
The controversy surrounding the Iranian presidential election has not only done damage to Iran but has also polarized the Shia community abroad on the issue. Iranian nationals within the Muslim community have either recognized the election results as legitimate, sided with the Supreme Leader’s decision to end any probing into election fraud, or have voiced discontent with the regime’s unwillingness to investigate the election results.
As demonstrations in Los Angeles have attracted majorly those who would not identify with the values of the Islamic Republic (most protesters don’t even use the current flag of Iran when demonstrating), those identifying with those values have debated the outcome of the election fiercely.
Those defending the legitimacy of the election have sited the disconnection of the liberal “elite” from the masses of Iranians outside of Tehran as the cause of mass protests and an overall attitude of being sore losers in the election. In addition, Iranian voices of opposition have been dismissed by this group as supporting foreign enemies (Mossad, MKO, CIA, etc) bent on the collapse of the Islamic Republic. For some this may be a class conflict but when it comes down to it, is a question of transparency.
Iranians voicing their criticism of the elections have been harshly criticized by even non-Iranians who admire the institution of the IRI and intend on doing their part in what they feel is upholding the Islamic Republic and/or their loyalty to a Marja Taqlid.
Iranians who have aligned themselves with their government in the past and are now questioning its methods have seen this election as the breaking point for their trust in their leaders. The widespread media censorship, communication lockdown, police/ Basij/ military brutality against civilians has eroded the trust of Iranian nationals for their government.
At this point, I believe that some Mousavi supporters would have preferred Ahmadinejad to have won the election fairly and transparently rather than the current situation which has spiraled out of control on both sides. However, we find ourselves at the point of no return and there is no easy solution to all of this, so let’s stop acting like the answer is going to come from out of the sky.
there will be no revolution but we can pray to have some change enshallah
I'd like to pose a questions:
Does one's Marja Taqlid have more right over him/her, than he/she does over himself/herself?
That’s really tinhikng out of the box. Thanks!
What happens when a marja lies to a whole nation to cover up election fraud? Is he still Adil?
Yes, a person's marja has complete right over a person in the sense that they classify what is halal, haraam, mubah, etc for that person.
In the case of a hukm, the ruling applies the all Muslims (not only followers of that specific marja).
Considering you have to be ahlul khibra to even be able to recognize who is and isn't a marja, I'm wondering how you even came to that conclusion.
There a plethora of scholars in and outside of Iran who recognize him to be a mujathid that is jaame sharait for taqlid. Many other ahlul khibra consider him to be most knowledgeable.
Ayatollah Khamenei taught Makasib (advanced hawza studies) at the very young age of 18. Considering the depth of knowledge it takes to teach such a class, not to mention the amount of fiqhi and political knowledge he has gained in the past 51 years, marjaiyah is definitely not beyond him.
To those who have taken their dissatisfaction with the turnout of the elections and used it to fuel hate and lies against our ulema, I'd like to humbly remind you that Allah is omnipresent. Lying, deceiving and misleading others are not signs of a true mu'min.
May Allah give us the strength to keep this Ummah united under the leadership of our Waliye Faqih and it's true owner and inheritor, Imam Mahdi (as)
most iranians want a secular state not the fascist pigsty that the majlis has become. i'm sorry and i don't mea any offense to the devout who truly believe in what they preach, but the majority of the religious elite in iran have no moral conscience.
That's a very powerful statement.
Claiming that most people of a nation want something (in government or otherwise) requires extensive knowledge regarding the views of all the people you've chosen to speak on behalf of.
Statistically speaking, in this case it requires knowing for fact that ~32 million people support the concept of replacing an Islamic Republic with a secular state.
If your claim is true, kudos to you for conducting the largest opinion poll in human history.
It's interesting how a vast majority of the signs, banners, and slogans used in these protests were in English.
“Where is my vote?”, “Ahmadi bye, bye”, etc.
Last time I checked, the primary language of Iranians was Persian.
Just a thought..
1) Your first paragraph isn't even a proper “if, then” statement, so I really can't respond to it.
If you're intending to say that a plethora of ulema don't accept Ayatollah Khamenei as the Waliye Faqih, you're severely misinformed. The ijma of maraja accept the concept of Wilayat-e Faqih. The only topic that is debated is in regard to the limit (hudood) of the Waliye Faqih's role in society.
2) Risalahs are not usually written by the marja himself. His students write them, he looks over it, and if it correctly represents his views on fiqhi matters, he authorizes its publication. So by the standard you've mentioned, none of the maraja have “written” a risalah.
Furthermore, Ayatollah Khamenei does have a risalah called “Ajwabah al-Istiftaat” which has been published in a host of different languages and is available for download at leader.ir.
3) Your last claim that “Wilayat al-faqih in the Khumaynist conception is far removed from the Ithna 'Ashari tradition” really has no substance. It's difficult to challenge a statement when the person making the statement resorts to ad hominem.