The Quran and Political freedom

Freedom is concomitant with the creation of human. Thus, some believe that freedom is not definable but at the same time, some offer various definitions of freedom. Considering all the definitions, there are three basic constituents of [freedom] factor, impediment and purpose. Taking all these constituents into account in definition of freedom, one can say that the most important examples of political freedom are freedom of political participation, freedom of political competition and freedom of political control. The current paper, given the above-mentioned examples, studies the Quranic standpoints in respect with the relationship of politics and religion and the people's right of political participation in a religious government. The writer tries to analyze the Quranic teachings responding the basic question that what is the status of political participation and the mechanism of realizing political participation from the perspective of the Quran. He also sheds light on the related concepts such as “allegiance”, the role of “council and consultation” in political process, “political activism”, “taking precedence in doing good deeds” and “enjoining good and forbidding evil”.