Editing Politics of Iran (section)

===Establishment of guardianship of the jurist===
Guardianship of the Jurist is a concept in [[Twelver]] [[Shia Islam]]ic [[sharia|law]], which holds that, in [[Occultation (Islam)|the absence]] of the "[[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Infallible Imam]]", who, according to Twelver beliefs, is the religious and political leader of Islam and will reappear sometime before [[Judgement Day in Islam|Judgement Day]],  righteous Shi'i jurists (''[[faqīh]]'')<ref name="JoAOS-1991-549">{{cite journal |title=Review by Hossein Modarressi, by THE JUST RULER OR THE GUARDIAN JURIST: AN ATTEMPT TO LINK TWO DIFFERENT SHICITE CONCEPTS by Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=July–September 1991 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=549–562 |jstor=604271 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/604271 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> should administer "some" of the "religious and social affairs" of the Shi'i community.<ref name="JoAOS-1991-549"/> In its "absolute" form—the form advanced by the [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]<ref name="VeF-Encyclo.com">{{cite web |last1=Algar |first1=Hamid |last2=Hooglund |first2=Eric |title=VELAYAT-E FAQIH Theory of governance in Shiʿite Islam. |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/velayat-e-faqih |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> and the basis of government in [[History of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]]—the state and society are ruled by an Islamic jurist. Khomeini served as the Guardian Jurist [[Supreme Leader of Iran]] until his death in 1989. His successor, [[Ali Khamenei]], is still ruling as of mid 2023.

In a 1970 book on the subject circulated to his network of supporters, Khomeini argued  that since Islamic [[sharia]] law contains everything needed to rule a state, whether ancient or modern,<ref name=IaR1981:137-8>[[#IaR1981|Khomeini, ''Islamic Government'', 1981]]: p.137-8</ref> any other basis of governance will lead to injustice and sin.<ref name=IaR1981:31-33>[[#IaR1981|Khomeini, ''Islamic Government'', 1981]]: p.31-33</ref> Thus Iran, the Muslim world and eventually the whole world, must be ruled according to sharia, and the person who should rule according to sharia, is an expert in that form of law.<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand, ''Khomeinism : Essays on the Islamic Republic'' by Ervand Abrahamian, p.34-5</ref>  

These Guardians are deemed the true holders of both religious and political authority, who must be obeyed as "an expression of obedience to God",<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031206165617/http://www.wandea.org.pl/khomeini-pdf/hukumat-i-islami.pdf Islamic Government] ''Islam and Revolution I, Writings and declarations of Imam Khomeini'', 1981, p.91</ref> 
and whose rule has "precedence over all secondary ordinances in Islam such as [[Salat|prayer]], [[Sawm|fasting]], and [[Hajj|pilgrimage]]."<ref name="autogenerated2">Hamid Algar, `Development of the Concept of velayat-i faqih since the Islamic Revolution in Iran,` paper presented at London Conference on wilayat al-faqih, in June, 1988] [p.135-8]. Also ''Ressalat'', Tehran, 7 January 1988, online]</ref>