Islam and Government

Islam and Government

by Magdelena Ho Yan Tang, Thomas LeClere, Daniel Karr
Dec 9, 2013

Overview

For people who are not from the Islamic Culture, it is difficult to understand how religion and politics relate. In this section, we have selected three countries from Central Asia, Africa and Southeast Asia as examples of how Islamic Culture is incorporated in their political systems: Iran, Egypt, and Indonesia. The right to vote is a common characteristic of these countries. After researching their political systems, the Islamic government structure is different from our knowledge of a democratic country in Egypt and Iran.  However, government in the Islamic country of Indonesia continues its transition into democracy.

IRAN      EGYPT      INDONESIA

IRAN

Governmental Structure

Click here for Iran’s government structure chart.

By looking at the Elected Institutions, the structure is very much like the western democratic model. However, the Elected Institutions only include the Executive Branch. The Judiciary and Legislative Branch are headed by leaders from the Unelected Institutions. The following chart are some details about unique government bodies in Iran; the Supreme Leader, Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts.

 

	Roles	Structure
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader (1989-present) By Asia Media, used under .	APPOINT – the head of the judiciary – 6 members of Guardian CouncilCOMMANDERS – armed forces – head of radio & TV – Friday prayer leaders	1 person – chosen by clerics in Assembly of Experts
Guardian Council	APPROVE – Parliament’s bills, VETO – Parliament’s bills, BAR – Parliament election candidates – Assembly of Experts	Three “6”s- 6 theologians appointed by the Supreme Leader – 6 Jurists – Elected every 6 years
Assembly of Experts	APPOINT,  MONITOR,  REMOVE – the Supreme Leader	– 86 members – Elected every 8 years – Only Clerics

Analysis

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President (2005-2013)By Presidencia de la República del Ecuador, used under .

Although there is an elected institute that the electorate can vote for, their choices are limited. The candidates for Presidency, Parliaments and Assembly of Experts are highly selected and barred by the Guardian Council. While the Guardian Council is the most powerful body in the Constitution, members of the Guardian Council are appointed by the Supreme Leader. In other words, the Guardian Council is highly selective and religious. (only clerics can be members of Assembly of Experts). In order words, only the elites and religious leaders have the real ruling power in Iran.^[1] This analysis can be supported by the large scale protest during Iran’s Presidential election in 2009^[2] and the conflicts between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.^[3]