Monday, November 22, 2004
The Agonist | Cross Cultural Khomeini
I ripped this from the above.
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 thatonly 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.
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 thatonly 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.
Now here's another angle on that.
Arthur Schlessinger, writing in the New York Review of Books, reviews several new books on the Vulcans, that informal group of neoconservative dreamers determined to sidetrack the United States into a potentially disastrous war. Underlying the various maneuvers and petty deceptions was Plato's concept of the "noble lie" as expounded by Leo Strauss, and a belief that the "philosopher-king" might be more effective in the long run than America's traditionally messy notions of democracy.
(Arthur Schlessinger, The New York Review of Books, September 2004)
http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/index.html#neocon
¶ 11/22/2004 11:15:00 PM Arthur Schlessinger, writing in the New York Review of Books, reviews several new books on the Vulcans, that informal group of neoconservative dreamers determined to sidetrack the United States into a potentially disastrous war. Underlying the various maneuvers and petty deceptions was Plato's concept of the "noble lie" as expounded by Leo Strauss, and a belief that the "philosopher-king" might be more effective in the long run than America's traditionally messy notions of democracy.
(Arthur Schlessinger, The New York Review of Books, September 2004)
http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/index.html#neocon
