How Did Khomeini Create A Democracy

Khomeini’s rule in Iran carried elements of democracy. Democracy’s most defining feature is the rule of majority. This was obviously implemented during Khomeini’s seizure of power after the revolution. An example of this can be taken from one of Khomeini’s speeches. In one of his rallies he said “A people vote for the Islamic Republic, %99,5, that means we want Islam. If it was for a mere Republic, there would be no such election...Our people were resurrected for Islam, and determined the path for Islam’s sake.” (“Khomeini on a "non-Islamic Republic" explains concept of "Freedom" in Iran”). In this quote Khomeini highlights the fact that he was brought by an election. On March 1979 there was a referendum on whether or not the Islamic Republic should be established

A constitution was made and that constitution was ratified later that year, on December 1979, by holding yet again a majority of the vote. This quote says that an islamic rule might seem very restricting or even undemocratic but it was established by and is still sustained by elections which shows that it was what the public wanted. Some people who argue that Khomeini’s rule was not a democracy show Khomeini’s words shaming democracy as proof of this. However things may not be as it seems. Khomeini did not view democracy as the way everyone else does. An example of this can be taken from yet again another one of his speeches. In a speech regarding the formation of a new government, Khomeini said “Do not use this term, `democratic.` That is the Western style," (Shaul, 239). Khomeini was strictly against Western values and systems because he believed that they oppressed and assimilated Eastern ones. He valued democracy as a Western value too. But this does not mean that he did not believe in an Eastern form of democracy. This quote proves that he did believe in democracy but refused to use the term ‘democracy’ because he associated it with Western