About the political ideas of Plato influence on Khomeini. Time Magazine – The Unknown Ayatullah Khomeini:
“It was during these years that Ruhollah [Khomeini] embraced mysticism, studying Man, which is the conceptual foundation of mysticism, and a kind of Islamic existentialism taught by the scholar Mohsin Faiz. He also became fascinated with Aristotle and Plato, whose Republic provided the model for Khomeini’s concept of the Islamic republic, with the philosopher-king replaced by the Islamic theologian.”
There is also a quote from the book by Kenneth M. Pollack – The Persian Puzzle in Agonist:
“The core of Khomeini’s political philosophy was a concept known as veleyat-e faqih, which means “rule of the jurisprudent.” Khomeini was a devotee of Plato (a rarity among mullahs), and in his utopian Islamic society, the state would be ruled over by a theocratic philosopher-king–a man so learned in Islamic law that all of his peers and all of his countrymen would recognize that only he could provide “right-minded” guidance. Michael Fischer notes that Khomeini was never able to cite textual bases for the concept of velyat-e faqih, largely because it was derived essentially from The Republic rather than from the Quran.”
Khomeini in Bursa port in Turkey in 1964 with his son. It's (was?) prohibited to wear turban in Turkey.
Any totalitarian system has elements of The Republic. To say that Khomeini was specifically influenced by The Republic is a different matter. As I wrote many times Shia to Islam is what Chassidim are to Judaism. Specifically the textual is downplayed and personalities of the leaders are overplayed. The references to the “theocratic king” is the traditional role of the Marja Taqlid as described by the Usuli teaching:
“An important tenet of Usuli doctrine is Taqlid or “imitation”, i.e. the acceptance of a religious ruling in matters of worship and personal affairs from someone regarded as a higher religious authority without necessarily asking for the technical proof…However, his verdicts are not to be taken as the only source of religious information and he can be always corrected by other muqalladeen (the plural of muqallad) which come after him. Obeying a deceased taqlid is forbidden in Usuli.”
Here is the list of the recent Marjas (they all got web sites!). Grand Inquisitors Unite!
via Gene Expression and Joshua Trevino
Further Reading:
The Totalitarianism of Plato?
Christopher Hitchens: Iran – A Childlike Ward of the Black-Robed State
The Shah of Iran in his Glory Days
