Abstract
The Iranian political system, based on Islamic law (Shari'a law) since 1979, as well as its current government, are facing various challenges typical of a society marked by the contradictions of societies in transition. One of the main such contradictions concerns the respect of Islamic legal-moral principles, which were the fundamental aim behind the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This article intends to question, at least in part, the deep roots of the current problems through an analysis of the Iranian political power and its evolution, returning to the country's first modern popular movement and the failure of the first Persian constitution of 1907, the effects of which continue to today. In this framework, a reflection on the role of the Iranian secular intellectuals and religious scholars and their influence on the public debate will be considered. Finally, the current constitutional charter and on how it was established will be examined, in particular the principle of velāyat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist) and its theoretical-practical consequences, after the Iranian people had been governed by a secular government like Pahalvi (1925 -1979) for almost half a century.