Lecture by Dr. Mohammad Reza Yousefi الحمدُ للهِ ربِّ العالمین، و الصلوةُ و السلامُ علی سیدِ الأنبیاء و المرسلین، ابی‌القاسم محمد، و علی آله الطیبین الطاهرین، و اللعنُ الدائمُ علی أعدائهم أجمعین.
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، الحمد لله رب العالمين، وصلى الله على محمد وآله الطاهرين، سيما بقية الله في الأرضين، أرواحنا وأرواح العالمين له الفداء.
Ayatollah Kazem Ghazizadeh: In its decisions, government must not sacrifice the general public for the sake of the elite. Andisheh-ye Ma – As reported by Andisheh-ye Ma, citing the public relations office of the Fahim Cultural Research Institute, the four hundred and forty-second session in the Fahim Institute's series of sessions, held on the occasion of the month of Ramadan 1447 AH in the Institute's assembly hall in the presence of a large gathering of hawza scholars and of seminary and university professors, featured a lecture by Ayatollah Kazem Ghazizadeh, teacher of the advanced (kharij) course in fiqh and head of the Fahim Institute. Selected excerpts of Professor Ghazizadeh's lecture follow:
«أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى سَيِّدِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ مُحَمَّدٍ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ الطَّاهِرِينَ.» The topic that you, dear masters and scholars, have set for these days is an examination of "good governance" in the light of the noble Qur'an and Nahj al-Balagha. It has been arranged that each of the professors speaking in this field will address one of the dimensions and topics falling under this concept.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ. وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ الطَّاهِرِينَ، وَلَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ. Esteemed professors and scholars, the subject I intend to share with you is "The Qur'anic Foundations of Good Governance, with an Emphasis on the Rights of Opponents from the Perspective of the Qur'an". I have, of course, abridged the discussion somewhat, and the main focus of my remarks will be the weighty question of "the rights of opponents" in good governance; for today, in the world's political literature, one of the principal indicators of good governance is the degree to which the ruling authority is committed to respecting the rights of its opponents.
