Imam Khomeini the founder of the Islamic Republic believed in free and fair politics and underscored the importance of observing moral values in politics.
According to the great leader of the Muslim world, the matter went to such an extent that most of the scholars and holy men] had accepted the notion that “religion has its own boundary and so with politics” and even if they wanted to backbite somebody, they would dub him as ‘political or politicized’.
The great Imam himself narrates that Pakravan, the then chief of the State Organization for Security and Information (SAVAK approached him and said, “Sir, politics consists of telling lies, cheating, trickery, jugglery and, in short, chicanery of the highest order; leave all this to us.” Since the occasion was not appropriate, I decided not to argue with him and said, “From the very beginning we have not been engaged in the kind of politics that you mention.”
In reality, this tenet has two premises. One is that ethics and politics belong to two distinct realms while the other is that political values are different from those of ethics. Proponents of this view propound that the realm of ethics is that of individual realm and his private affairs, while the realm of politics concerns the assurance of wholesome social life and regulation of social relations of individuals with one another, as well as with the government. In addition, moral value is a function of truth, whereas in politics the criterion of value judgment is interests and benefits.
The great Imam emphasized that the religious and moral values must be implemented in politics and that they were inseparable. According to the great Imam, implementation of moral and divine values in politics and international systems could bring prosperity and salvation to the human societies.