NCRI – A senior cleric in Iran has declared democracy to be ‘blasphemous’ and stressed the people must bow to the absolute authority of the supreme leader.
Mullah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, head of the ‘Khomeini’ institute said, even the result of the presidential elections was based on the leader’s consent.
Yazdi made the comments in support of Iran’s theocratic dictatorship in a Ramadan speech in Ali Khamenei’s office in the city of Qom.
He said: “The voice of the majority does not specify what is right and wrong. If the state’s legitimacy is based on the will of the people, we won’t be any better than blasphemous.
“Liberal culture seeks to provide for the will of the majority. Speaking of issues such as the number of people’s votes is taking advantage of this phrase.
“Many religions base state legitimacy on the will of the people. However if we live by such methods in Islamic society, we will soon be living a sacrilegious way of life.
“The criterion to determine what is right and wrong is divine consent, and to determine divine consent one must take reason and religious law into consideration.”
He added: “The authority of the supreme leader is beyond the constitution. At times he sees it in the interests of people to vote, and the credibility of the presidential elections is based on his consent.”
