A Crack in the Clerics' Control, Gradually Widening

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's statement two weeks ago about opening a dialogue with the United States has as much to do with internal Iranian politics as with the Islamic Republic's relationship with the United States. In essence, it signals the next phase of the evolving Iranian Revolution. Pitting reformers led by Khatami against the Islamic conservatives, the opening to the United States is one part of the equation that will decide whether Iran is going to live by the dictates of the people or whether government will remain the exclusive realm of the mullahs.

At the core of the debate over Iran's future is the contested view of religion and the state. Unlike the majority Sunni branch of Islam where there is no formal clerical hierarchy, Shiism invests its spiritual leaders with absolute authority over the faithful. The faithful wield their power as individuals by choosing which theologian among many to follow. In turn, a cleric rises to the coveted designation of ayatollah by the number of followers he attracts. Thus power is cyclical. It moves from the respected cleric to the people who choose a spiritual guide back to the cleric, whose ultimate authority is determined by the number of his devoted followers. In this respect, Shia Islam is both authoritarian and compatible with the concept of democratic leadership.

Before the 1970s, religious tradition taught that the pious never corrupted themselves by engagement in secular affairs. It was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who revolutionized Shia Islam in Iran by converting religion into a political vehicle. In his theory of government, called the Velayat-e Faqih, or guardianship of the jurist, Khomeini declared that only the most learned of the clergy held the knowledge and wisdom to rule both religious and secular affairs, under the title of "supreme leader." This man would be chosen by a constitutionally prescribed committee of clerics and serve at their pleasure. The president, also a cleric, would be the elected head of state.

While he was successful in leading a broad-based revolution to topple the shah, Khomeini failed to win an overwhelming mandate for his concept of Islamic government. Much of the opposition came from within the Shia religious hierarchy, where some saw in the Velayat-e Faqih the soiling of religion with politics. The opponents of Islamic government withdrew behind the walls of the religious schools, and the political mullahs took their place at the controls of the Islamic Republic of Iran.