The epistemic principles of republicanism in the political thought of Imam Khomeini

Imam Khomeini emphasized the role and the position of the people in the Islamic state in the historical stages before and after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, but since he did not systematically explain his philosophy of republic based on his religious thinking, as a result different people with different theoretical approaches have had different interpretations of republicanism and its theoretical foundations in his political thought. The question now is, what is the basis of Imam Khomeini's thinking about republicanism based on epistemic foundations? The hypothetical answer is that republicanism in the political thought of Imam Khomeini stems from the anthropological and ontological point of view in his epistemic system based on mysticism. The present paper uses an analytical and interpretive approach to explain the principles of republicanism in the political thought of Imam Khomeini. The result is that republicanism in the thought of the Imam is based on principles such as human freedom and the service of the people in the mystical thought of the Imam. In the mystical thought of Imam, the establishment of the government is aimed at serving the people. Obviously, serving the people will include satisfaction and popular will. On the other hand, in the epistemic system of Imam Khomeini, human rights and religious rights are not considered to be separate. Therefore, it can be said that the thought of the Imam about Republic, while also being a human right, is considered to be Islamic and religious law.