In a great dictatorship...

In a great dictatorship, a man by means of a coup d'etat expels the prevailing government and occupies his position, or he expels the previous government with the help of a foreign power and establishes a from of government in which only his own vote and decision count. The Shiite view concerning the appointment of the Prophet's successor is far from a dictatorship.

The Shiites believe that such an appointment should be done by God, who will appoint the most appropriate individual, who is free from flaws and who is obedient to God as the leader of the Muslim community. It is clear that such a person, elected by God, will lead the community in accordance with Quranic commandments which the Prophet has conveyed to the Muslims. God has the natural right to govern all. The members of the Ummah have willingly accepted His commandments.

An Imam governs based on the same rules and due to his chastity is immune to any wrong doing. Consequently such a government would be the most rational government man can imagine, in which the concepts of majority or minority would never arise. How can such a government be compared to despotism? B) The weak points of democratic governments The weak points of such governments are too numerous to be discussed here.

However, we will discuss two of them here: Under such governments, the president, who is elected by a party or by general votes, has to keep the voters satisfied and does not think of guiding. For a party politician it is rarely important to be fair; rather, it is essential for him to not lose the voters, even at the cost of ignoring his own system of beliefs and values. This is something to which even the greatest politicians of the world admit.

John F Kennedy, the former president of the United States, writes in this regard: “At times, a senator is obliged to put out his opinion spontaneously concerning an important issue”. Obviously, he would rather have more time to think deeply so that he might have the power to resolve a problem through appropriate words. On the contrary, he neither has the time to think, nor can he escape expressing his actions.

It is as if all his clients were waiting to see what he will say next; what he says will determine his political life. Besides, the very thought of being a senator with all its privileges, is a position which no one will reject. For this very reason, most senators, without being aware, take up an easy and less hazardous route.