Quranic and Narrative Principles of Religious Democracy in Thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei

Religious democracy is an ideal form of governance in which the rights, status, and dignity of people in the administration of society are respected, while the sanctity of religious values and principles is also maintained. In fact, it is a new method that opposes western democracy and at the same time rejects despotism and dictatorship. The present study aims to examine the Quranic and narrative foundations of Ayatollah Khamenei’s thoughts and comments on religious democracy using a descriptive method through a Naqli (revealed) approach. This paper explicates how Ayatollah Khamenei- in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Quran and Hadiths- has promoted and implemented the theory of religious democracy focusing on elements such as justice, support for humanity, rights of nations, freedom, piety and meritocracy, and electoral competition and popular turnout.