An Investigation of the Principle of " Self-Relying Will" in the Political Thought of Imam Khomeini (PBUH)

The thinkers of western political philosophy believe that the principle of “Self-Relying Will”, as the yardstick for the venerability of human as a rational creature who has the right to decide about his fate, is only met under democracy; due to the fact that self-relying wills are the sole criteria for setting laws and legitimacy of political and social institutions in the democracy. With library-analytical method, this study analyzes and evaluates the principle of self-relying will in the political thought of Imam Khomeini, as the founder of a government based on divine legitimacy and permission, and in addition to explanation of having no respect for the self-relying principle in the western democracy framework, and observing the accepted principles in the political thought of Imam Khomeini – such as pluralism of the wills, purity of the soul of human and inefficiency of imposition – shows that the divine permission in Islam will never accompany the choice of the will to seek other religions, as well.