from the freedom to organize and create religious societies to preach and make sure that the laws passed by their representatives are based on Ja'fari jurisprudence. Democracy should include minority voices Many scholars believe that protection of minority rights is an essential element that distinguishes democracy from majoritarianism and prevents fascist persecution of minorities. During the democratic revolution, those who supported dictatorship against democracy, started to portray democracy as a conspiracy of non-Muslim minorities. This resulted in violent attacks against them from thugs, backed by the imperial court's clerical employee Shaykh Fazlullah Nuri. Akhund Khurasani issued a fatwa that made it obligatory for Muslims to protect the rights of non-Muslims. He said: {{blockquote|text= “In the name of Allah, terrorizing or insulting the Zoroastrians or other non-Muslims living in peace is forbidden. Muslims are obliged to be kind and generous towards them and protect their lives and properties, as advised by the last prophet, Muhammad (PBUH), by the grace of God.” |sign=Muhammad Kazim Khurasani|source=|title=}} Akhund Khurasani is praised by Iran's Zoroastrians for his positive role in protecting their rights during the constitutional movement. His legacy was carried on by major Shia jurists that followed. Ayatullah Khoei showed great flexibility and tolerance, for example he considered non-Muslims as equal citizens of the nation-state, stopped the harsh punishments like stoning and favored the use of holy books other than Quran for oaths taken from non-Muslims. In modern Iraq, Ayatullah Sistani has also associated legitimacy of democratic process with inclusion of minority voices. Sistani helped Sunni, Christian, and Yazidi displaced families during the ISIS takeover of Iraq's cities. Ayatullah Fayyad said that the source of emulation has a role to play in equality and unity among Iraq's citizen irrespective of their religion. Economic independence Akhund Khurasani believed that economic dependency on colonial powers is one of the major hurdles in achieving maximum liberty. In 1898, a rich trader from Isfahan, Hajj Kaziruni, established a textile company, shirkat-i-islami, and requested Akhund Khurasani for support. He issued a decree stopping his followers from buying British cloth in an attempt to protect the interests of Iranian traders in tough competition. A similar economic boycott was also practiced by indians and other anti-colonial movements of the 20th century as a means of resistance against economic exploitation. Akhund Khurasani supported the idea of establishment of a national bank to facilitate trade, and he kept reminding his followers about the