What gives one person the right to rule over another who shares the same nature? This question, born of a lifelong search, lies at the heart of Gürkan Biçen`s study of Velayat-e Faqih — the doctrine of the guardianship of the jurist that underpins the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Tracing the idea from its roots in classical Islamic and Twelver Shi`i thought through Ayatollah Khomeini`s decisive reformulation, this book examines the conditions, powers, and legitimacy of the vali-ye faqih, and follows the doctrine from theory into the realities of governance. It closes with a critical survey of the juridical and political objections raised against it by scholars from Shariatmadari and Khu`i to Soroush, Kadivar, and al-Katib.
Grounded in years of doctoral research, Velayat-e Faqih offers readers a rigorous and balanced guide to one of the most consequential political-theological ideas of the modern Islamic world.