Islamic republic
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use dmy dates Template:Islamism sidebar Template:Republicanism sidebar The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a sovereign state taking a compromise position between a purely Islamic caliphate and a secular, nationalist republic.
The term is currently used in the official title of three states – the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Mauritania, and Iran. Pakistan first adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty. Despite having similar names, the countries differ greatly in their governments and laws.
Iran and Mauritania are religious theocratic states.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pakistan adopted the name in 1956 before Islam was yet to be declared the state religion;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> this happened at the adoption of the 1973 constitution.
Iran officially uses the full title in all governance names referring to the country (e.g. the Islamic Republic of Iran Army or the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting); as opposed to its equivalents in Pakistan which are called the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. Also, unlike the other countries, Iran uses the IRI acronym (Islamic Republic of Iran) as part of official acronyms.
By country
| Name | Form of government | Legislature |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Islamic Republic of Pakistan | Federal parliamentary Islamic republic | Parliament
|
| Template:Flagicon Islamic Republic of Mauritania | Unitary semi-presidential Islamic republic | National Assembly |
| Template:Flagicon Islamic Republic of Iran | Unitary presidential theocratic Islamic republic | Islamic Consultative Assembly |
Pakistan
Pakistan was created as a homeland for the Muslims of British India, when British India was given independence, making Islam its raison d'être. It was the first country to adopt the adjective Islamic to modify its republican status under its otherwise secular constitution in 1956. Despite this definition, the country did not have a state religion until 1973, when a new constitution, more democratic and less secular, was adopted. Pakistan only uses the Islamic name on its passports, visas and coins. Although Islamic Republic is specifically mentioned in the constitution of 1973, all government documents are prepared under the name of the Government of Pakistan. The Constitution of Pakistan, Part IX, Article 227 states: "All existing laws shall be brought in conformity with the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah, in this Part referred to as the Injunctions of Islam, and no law shall be enacted which is repugnant to such Injunctions".
Mauritania
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb region of western North Africa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Mauritania was declared an independent state as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, on November 28, 1960.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite web</ref> Its legal system is "a mix of French civil law and Sharia Law", and its Penal Code punishes crimes against religion and “good morals” with "harsh sentences". "Heresy or apostasy (including in print) are "punishable by death".<ref name="PPLAAF">Template:Cite web</ref>
Iran
The creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran was a dramatic, historical event, following the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979 by the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "Islamic" in the country's title was not a symbol of cultural identity, but indicated specific governmental system based on rule by Islamic jurists enforcing Islamic law. The system was based on The Jurist's Guardianship: Islamic Government, a work of the revolution's leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, written before Khomeini came to power,<ref>Iranian Government Constitution, English Text Template:Webarchive| iranonline.com</ref> and known by Khomeini's followers but not by the general public.<ref name="IBTREA1982:478-9">Abrahamian, Iran between two revolutions, 1982: p.478-9</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="LotABM1999:218">Moin, Khomeini, 1999: p.218</ref> It argued that rather than elections and legislators, Islam required traditional Islamic law (sharia), and proper enforcement of sharia required a leading Islamic jurist (faqih) (such as Khomeini himself, who served as the first faqih "guardian" or Supreme Leader of Iran) to provide political "guardianship" (wilayat or velayat) over the people and nation (wilayat al-faqih). All the Muslim world should be united in such a state. With it, the entire non-Muslim world will evidentially "capitulate" to its courage and vigor;<ref name="IaR1981:121-2">Khomeini, Islamic Government, 1981: p.121-2</ref> without it, Islam would fall victim to heresy, "obsolescence and decay".<ref name="IaR1981:52-3">Khomeini, Islamic Government, 1981: p.52-3</ref>
The new government held a referendum for public approval to change Iran from a monarchy to an Islamic republic in March 1979, two months after the Islamic Revolution took power. While some political groups had suggested various names for the ideology of the Iranian revolution such as the Republic (without specifying Islam) or the Democratic Republic; Khomeini called for Iranians to vote for the name Islamic Republic, "not a word more and not a word less".<ref name="Farsnews">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When an Iranian journalist asked Khomeini what exactly Islamic Republic meant, Khomeini stated that the term republic has the same sense as other uses and Islamic republic has considered both Islamic ideology and the choice of people.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The day after the vote was complete, it was announced that 98.2% of the Iranian voters had voted to approve the new name.<ref name="a">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Farsnews" />
Unlike Khomeini's original vision, the Islamic Republic is a "republic" with elections (Khomeini had originally described his "Islamic government" as "not ... based on the approval of laws in accordance with the opinion of the majority"); it has many of the trappings of a modern state—a president, cabinet and legislature (Khomeini mentioned none of these except for the legislature, which his government would not have because "no one has the right to legislate ... except ... the Divine Legislator").<ref name="IaR1981:56">Khomeini, Islamic Government, 1981: p.56</ref> Some, however, have argued that the legislature (and president, etc.) has been kept in a subordinate position in keeping with Khomeini's idea of government being a guardianship by jurists.<ref>Schirazi, The Constitution of Iran (1997), p. 295.</ref>
According to the constitution, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a system based on the following beliefs:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Former
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria used an Islamic republic government system from 1996 to 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Comoros
Between 1978 and 2001, the Comoros was the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros.
East Turkestan
The Turkic Uyghur- and Kirghiz-controlled Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan was declared in 1933 as an independent Islamic republic by Sabit Damulla Abdulbaki and Muhammad Amin Bughra. However, the Chinese Muslim 36th Division of the National Revolutionary Army defeated their armies and destroyed the republic during the Battles of Kashgar, Yangi Hissar and Yarkand.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Chinese Muslim Generals Ma Fuyuan and Ma Zhancang declared the destruction of the rebel forces and the return of the area to the control of the Republic of China in 1934, followed by the executions of the Turkic Muslim Emirs Abdullah Bughra and Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra. The Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhongying then entered the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar and lectured the Turkic Muslims on being loyal to the Nationalist Government.
Sudan
After the 1989 Sudanese coup d'etat an Islamic regime was established in Sudan headed by the National Islamic Front, the NIF was interested in spreading Islam from above rather than preaching to the masses. It strove to eliminate the power of the traditional Sufi brotherhood based parties (the Democratic Unionist Party and the Umma Party) and replace them with itself.<ref name="GKJTPI2002:184">Kepel, Jihad, 2002: p.184</ref> Under the NIF government, education was overhauled to focus on the glory of Arab and Islamic culture, and memorizing the Quran. Religious police in the capital insured that women were veiled, especially in government offices and universities.<ref name="Packer-NYer"/><ref name="GKJTPI2002:184"/>
Human rights abuses by the NIF regime included war crimes, ethnic cleansing, a revival of slavery, torture of opponents, and an unprecedented number of refugees fleeing into Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Egypt, Europe and North America.<ref name=jstor>Template:Cite journal</ref> Repression of the "secular middle class" was "savage" and unprecedented for Sudan where "political customs" were relatively relaxed.<ref name=GKJTPI2002:182>Kepel, Jihad, 2002: p.182</ref> "Purges and executions were carried out in the upper ranks" of the army, and civil and military officials were subjected to Islamist "reeducation". Opponents were forced into exile to prevent them from organizing an alternative to the regime.<ref name=GKJTPI2002:184/> after tensions grew between Omar al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi, Turabi was kicked out of government and in 1999 the NIF was abolished.
Afghanistan
The Republic of Afghanistan was succeeded by the Islamic State of Afghanistan after the 1992 Peshawar Accords. The Islamic State lost the 1992-1996 civil war and was replaced by totalitarian Taliban-led Islamic Emirate. The Islamic Emirate was defeated during the 2001 United States' invasion and replaced by the Islamic Republic.
The Islamic Republic's 2004 constitution was very similar to the 1964 constitution of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, an Islamic monarchy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The "Islamic" prefix was symbolic and chosen because it was supported pro-Mujahideen delegates during the 2003 constitution convention.
The Islamic Republic lost the 2001–2021 war to the Taliban, which reestablished the Islamic Emirate.
The Gambia
In December 2015, the then-president Yahya Jammeh declared The Gambia to be an Islamic republic. Jammeh said that the move was designed to distance the West African state from its colonial past, that no dress code would be imposed and that citizens of other faiths would be allowed to practice freely.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, he later ordered all female government employees to wear headscarves<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> before rescinding the decision shortly after. The announcement of an Islamic republic has been criticized as unconstitutional by at least one opposition group.<ref name="AJ" >Template:Cite web</ref> After the removal of Jammeh in 2017, his successor Adama Barrow said the Gambia would no longer be an Islamic republic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Application of sharia by country
- Christian republic
- Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist
- Halachic state
- Islamic state
- Islamism
- Islamic religious police
- Political aspects of Islam
- Islam and democracy
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links
- Islam and Politics from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- Constitution of Iran as an unofficial English translation hosted at University of Bern, Switzerland (with good summaries)