Imam Khomeini's Discourse and Deconstruction of West-oriented Discourse

The present paper is an attempt to study the following issues: Imam Khomeini’s approach to west-oriented discourse; and his alternative to this discourse. In fact, the west-oriented discourse (including the liberal and socialist ones in Iran) is under the influence of modernity. Imam Khomeini deconstructs the west-oriented discourse and at a higher level deconstructs the western discourse and its concepts and meanings. At a time when none of the modernity discourses was able to solve the problems of the Iranian society, Imam Khomeini by deconstructing the west-oriented discourse offered a new reading of the universe, man and religion, which offers a discourse that is neither influenced by western modernity nor relativism nor postmodern nihilism nor is it traditionalist or nostalgic. This discourse which stems from Islamic-Iranian context presents the anxious and depressed man of modern day with a sublime goal by emphasizing on knowledge of God and perfect man which were ignored in the Western discourse. Imam Khomeini put an end to the dualities within the western discourse including the confrontation of religion and science, rule of people and rule of God, Iran and Islam, reason and revelation and so on. His discourse, through redefinition of the relations between universe, man and religion, created a discourse that could guarantee man’s felicity.