One of the important points in the institution-centered interpretation of Imam Khomeini’s thought is the distinction between the authority of the government and the authority of an individual. Expediency should not become a tool for the ruler’s personal decisions; rather, its function must be understood within the framework of the public good and the interests of the people.
This distinction remains important today, because the clearer the boundary between the institution and the individual, the less likely it is that decisions of governance will be reduced to the personal will of the ruler.
“Imam Khomeini’s political thought is institution-centered, and expediency is a tool in the hands of the governing institution, not the individual who holds office or exercises power. It must serve the interests of the people, not work against them.
If this interpretation is correct—an interpretation consistent with the late Dr. Davoud Feerahei understanding of Imam Khomeini’s political thought—then Imam Khomeini belongs within the discourse of religious intellectual reform and continues the path pursued by Mirza Mohammad Hossein Na’ini from the Constitutional Revolution onward.
In other words, that path has continued, making it possible to develop a religiously reformist approach and a reasonable, logical interpretation of Imam Khomeini’s political thought.”
Extracted and adapted from the lecture “The Role of the Individual and the Institution in Imam Khomeini’s Political Thought,” by Sadegh Haghighat