Shura and Democracy in Shia Political Thought

The relations between Shura and similar notions in western thought in the last century is one of the controversial issues Islamic political thought. Therefore this article intends to examine and analyze the relationship between shura and democracy. Because democracy in Iran begins with shura, in this article the question of application and contradiction of democracy and shura is considered and analyzed. The outcome of analyses shows that contemporary shia ulama has considered shura and democracy two things from two different sources. In spite of this, they believe that shura has the capacity of bringing about democracy in Islamic world.