Ansarirad: Imam Khomeini’s Eight Articled Directives Are One His Strongest Ideas
On December 13th 1982, Imam Khomeini issued an 8 article command to the authorities of the judiciary system and all execution organizations about changing the regulations to an Islamic form. We could consider this command of Imam, which was published four years after the revolution, as a jurisprudence verdict which was challenging the judiciary system.
The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in this command emphasizes on protecting people’s privacy. Among all of Imam’s messages, his Eight Articled Directives are highly notable. Other than protecting people’s privacy, considers both sides of human dignity meaning inherent value and dignity of individuals and stresses on basic and important principles such as preserving human’s dignity in the field of security.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the issuing of Imam Khomeini’s Eight Articled Directives we spoke to Hojatoleslam Hossein Ansarirad, head of the 90th article commission of the 6th parliament of Iran. He believes that the message of Imam’s Eight Articled Directives is one of his strongest ideas which is dominant on minor cases, individual commands, short time decisions that observe special conditions.
The details of Jamran news agency’s interview with Hojatoleslam Ansarirad are as below:
In the first article Imam stresses on preparing, approving and delivering regulations, accurately and fast, why did he emphasized this much?
Before talking about the details and answering this question, I should point out two things, good understanding and correct elicitation from the sayings, fatwas, ideas and actions made by the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran are essential and important.
The first point which is surely needed to understand Imam’s sayings and without it anyone would assume whatever he thinks about them and this will lead to a false conclusion, so all his sayings and fatwas should be considered together from the first days of his movement until the last days of his life, and then we should separate his strong statements from his other statements, his basic ideas and fatwas and acts from the topical and special ones.
Fortunately, Imam generally did this separation by answering to a question and that was the question of 110 MPs. At the last months of Imam’s life, 110 MPs ask a question from him and in the answer he says: “What you have written is completely correct; I have decided that all of us should walk in the path of the law in all cases and whatever that has happened until now was only about the war.” This shows that Imam Khomeini’s idea about managing the country based on the bases and legally and religiously is only acting as the law. Therefor all those who have acted against the law even because of what he has said have moved against his path and there is no doubt that the constitution and acting as it, managing the country based on the constitution were among his strongest idea and fatwas, because Imam in this answer states that whatever that has happened until now was only about the war. Any way there were 8 years of war and all the 10 years of Imam ruling the country was full of conflicts, terrors, war and emergency issues and the country was in an extraordinary situation, therefor pointing to his topical statements can’t show us his strong ideas and definite far was.
The second point is that Imam’s Eight Articled Directive was among his strong ideas and through this message Imam differs between topical orders, short time decisions for special conditions by differing between the terror, conspiracy and safe team house conditions with normal and usual conditions.
After these points we’ll reach to the answer of your question, definitely as I told managing the country should be based on the constitution, and Imam knows the constitution based on religious measurements, and this emphasize shows that managing the country without the law and based on short time benefits isn’t correct at all.
In the second article, Imam says: “Examining the competence of judges, prosecutors and courts should be done accurate and fast, so that the process of the issues could convert to an Islamic form and people’s right would be undamaged. And in the same way examining the competence of other state employees and officers should be done, with complete neutrality, without negligence and without any ignorant obstructions that we see from the extremists from time to time, so that while the corrupt people are being cleared we could prevent the removing of useful and effective people with false reasons. And we should measure people based on their current state, and we should close our eyes to some of their mistakes during the Shah’s regime, unless with correct evidence it turns out that they are still corrupt.” What does he mean by “we should measure people based on their current state” ?
It means that it has a religious law reason, logical reason and legal reason. He points that only the background and reputation of people can’t be a measure for their current acts and conditions. Any one should be responsible for what he has done in the current time and that how much is his action based on the law and Sharia. We do not defer between the IR Iran’s law and the Sharia, no one has the right to do against the law because of what he used to be, and this is what Imam has emphasized on.
Through this command, Imam stresses on preserving the privacy of others. Where did privacy stand in Imam’s thoughts?
In his Eight Articled Directive he mostly emphasizes on civil right and preserving civil privacy. Based on the Sharia, Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and managing the country, preserving the security of humans should be done as the Sharia and the constitution have both stressed. In the constitution it is said that inquisition is prohibited; searching and inspecting others’ private life is prohibited and the Quran has also states this issue. The Quran condemns investigation in the privacy of others and considered talking about the weakness of one to another person as a huge sin.
Therefor we could say the preservation of others’ privacy is an important matter that includes a sensitive part of Imam’s Eight Articled Directive. For example in the fourth article Imam says: “No one has the right to summon or arrest a person, though it would only be for a short time, without the permission of a judge. To arrest or summon one with severity is considered a crime and is entitled to legal chastising.” Or in the fifth article he mentioned: “No one has the right to manipulation or confiscated ones movable and immovable property or ones rights, unless by the approval of the Islamic leader and after a scrutiny and the proof of the act based on religion.” Especially in the sixth article he states: “No one has the right to enter ones house, shop or working place without the permission of its owner or arrest him/her or pursue and observe him/her in the name of discovering an evidence or a committed sin or to insult one and commit non-human and non-Islamic behavior, or listen to one’s telephone or cassette tape in the name of discovering a crime or discovering a crime nest, or for discovering a committed sin or a crime, though the sin is a huge sin, or to place a bug or follow the secrets of people and to search in the sins of others or reveal the secrets of one which has reached to him by another person, even for one person. All these are sins and crimes, and since some of them that are distributing prostitution and sins, are among the huge sins, and those who commit them are counted as criminals and are entitled to legal-religious chastising and some deserve legal-religious limitations.” But Imam has separated the especial issues in the next article: “What I have mentioned and prohibited, is not about conspiracies and anti-Islam and anti-Islamic Republic groups” Which are the terrors and other especial actions by some groups at the beginning of the revolution. Imam makes an exemption for these groups and then again stresses on something else and says: “ And it is strictly warned that if for discovering a safe team house or an espionage or an anti-Islamic Republic nest, and by mistake and accidentally enter another person’s house or office and find gambling and prostitution instruments or instruments of diversion means like drugs, they do not have the right to reveal in front of anyone else, because revealing prostitution is among the hugest sins and no one has the right to desecrate a Muslim’s right or Islamic Sharia.” I consider what he says is among the principles of ruling a country and this issue is among Imam’s greatest and strongest statements and all the persons, especially the clergies, should be careful not to enter the privacy of others. And this is something based on Islamic teachings and the laws of the country.
Selection was among the issues which Imam has serious orders about it through his Eight Articled Directives. Would you please define selection in Imam’s view?
Well, when he emphasizes that we should walk through the path of the constitution and whatever has happened before is related to the war, it means that there are some regulations about individuals in the constitution, like the principle of presumption, and he doesn’t turn away people easily, because if there are some who turn people away easily and accuse people and select them based on these issues, this won’t be something accepted by Imam Khomeini, the constitution and the Sharia. Indeed, selection is an important matter, and those who are being selected, where ever they are going to work, need to have some regulations, and those regulations can’t have conflict with the law and Sharia.
What do you generally assume from Imam’s Eight Articled Directives?
Respecting the constitution and preserving the public security and attracting the trust of all the citizens of our country, Imam emphasizes on status that all the people of this country could have complete trust in their personal and public life, and there rights to be respected and to live under the law and regulations.