UCLA

Out of the Mouth of the Leader:

The Political Ideology of Ayatollah ‘Ali Hosseini Khamenei,

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

by

Yvette Hovsepian Bearce

Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies

University of California, Los Angeles, 2013

Professor Leonard Binder, Chair

The political ideologies of Ayatollah ʿAli Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, are identified and analyzed based on 500 speeches (1989-2013), 100 interviews (1981-1989), his biography and other works published in Iran. Islamic supremacy, resistance to foreign powers, and progress are the core elements of his ideology. Several critical themes emerge that are consistently reflected in the formation of his domestic and foreign policies: America, Palestine, Israel, Muslim unity, freedom, progress, the nuclear program, youth, and religious democracy.

Khamenei's sociopolitical development is examined in three critical phases: In Phase I, prior to the revolution, he is seen as a political activist protesting for an Islamic government; factors shaping his early political ideology are evaluated. Phase II examines Khamenei's post-revolutionary appointments and election to president; he governs the country through the eight-year Iraq-Iran war. After the death of the father of the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, Khamenei enters into Phase III when he assumes the office of supreme leadership; internal and external issues test and reveal his political ideologies.

Research indicates that Khamenei continues to proclaim Khomeini's ideals from the 1979 Islamic Revolution which include supremacy of Islam, the isolation policy of "Neither East, Nor West," and enmity with the U.S. and Israel. His chief foreign policies are to free Palestine, spread the ideals of Iran's Islamic Revolution, and create a global Islamic power. His main domestic focus is progress which entails advances in knowledge, science and technology, and military and nuclear power. Despite severe economic sanctions and confrontations with the West, Khamenei claims that Iran is not producing a bomb.

While he clings to an ideology that began over 50 years ago--ideals rooted in a government where religious rule is interpreted within a political setting--Khamenei is faced with discontent Iranian youth who feel isolated from the global community. With few emotional ties to the revolution, they prefer a government separate from religion. For Khamenei, however, there is no compartmentalization. He maintains his predecessor's isolation policy of resisting colonization, oppression, domination, and opposition (CODO). Out of the mouth of the leader presents Khamenei's ideology in his own words.