This Washington Times Editorial compares the recent declarations of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazari and another declaration by Thomas Jefferson 233 years earlier.
Montazari is one of the most progressive Ayatollahs in Iran and is in fact the highest religious authority in the country based on rank. His call for greater freedom and democracy in Iran echoes those made by Jefferson in America.
"The grand ayatollah believes that government is instituted by man as a social contract, with rights and responsibilities on both the part of the people and the government. "The state belongs to the people," he said. "It is neither my property or yours." Compare this to our Declaration of Independence, which states that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed."
Although both men were influenced by ideas from outside their countries, they have developed those ideas that uniquely fit the tradition and background of their nation. What Montazeri and the other reformists present is a version of democracy that is not copied from the West, but it is rather a home grown version for Iran. It is a form of democracy based not just on basic universal rights, but also firmly grounded in Shii Islamic principles. Just as America led the Western world to adopt democracy, Iran has the potential to lead the Islamic world to accept a version of democracy adopted for its own culture.
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