Islam Quote by Efraim Karsh
““Khomeini espoused a militant religious doctrine rejecting not only the Middle Eastern political order, but also the contemporary international system since both perpetuated an unjust order imposed on the ‘oppressed’ Muslims by the ‘oppressive’ great powers. It was bound to be replaced by an Islamic world order in which the territorial nation-state would be transcended by the broader entity of the umma (or the universal Muslim community); and since Iran was the only country where the ‘Government of God’ had been established, it had the sacred obligation to serve as the core of the umma and a springboard for the worldwide dissemination of Islam’s holy message. As he put it: ‘We will export our revolution throughout the world … until the calls “there is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God” are echoed all over the world.””
About This Quote
Khomeini advocated a revolutionary Islamic order that supersedes nation‑states, positioning Iran as the spiritual nucleus for global Muslim unity.
In simple terms: Ideology seeks to replace existing geopolitical structures.
Religion can be mobilized for geopolitical ambition.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- Middle‑East studies
- policy analysis
Key Concepts
Practical Applications
- academic research
- strategic forecasting
Questions to Reflect On
- What are the implications of a trans‑national religious state?
- How does this vision clash with existing international law?