Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization
Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (Persian: سازمان مجاهدین انقلاب اسلامی, romanized: Sāzmān-e Mojāhedin-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmi, lit. 'Holy Warriors of the Islamic Revolution') was an umbrella political organization in Iran, founded in 1979 by unification of seven underground Islamist revolutionary paramilitary and civil[4] organizations which previously fought against the Pahlavi monarchy.[6]
Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization سازمان مجاهدین انقلاب اسلامی | |
---|---|
The group's emblem includes an Arabic negative article La (لا; standing for La ilaha illa-llah) out of which grows a clenched fist holding rifle, and a globe symbolizing its commitment to Internationalism[1] | |
Paramilitary wing commander | Mohammad Boroujerdi[2] |
Supreme Leader representative | Hossein Rasti-Kashani[3] |
Founded | April 1979 |
Dissolved | October 1986 |
Succeeded by | Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization (left faction) Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution (right faction) |
Headquarters | Tehran, Iran |
Membership (1979) | <1,000[4] |
Ideology | Islamism Khomeinism[1] Anti-communism[1] Statism[5] |
Political position | Left/Right factions[4] |
Religion | Islam |
National affiliation | Islamic Coalition (1979) Grand Coalition (1980) |
The organization was firmly allied with the ruling Islamic Republican Party and was given a share of power[7] and three of its members were appointed as government ministers under PM Mir-Hossein Mousavi: Behzad Nabavi (minister without portfolio for executive affairs), Mohammad Salamati (agriculture) and Mohammad Shahab Gonabadi (housing and urban development).[8]
History
Most members were among those formerly associated with the People's Mujahedin of Iran but left the organization after it declared ideology switch to Marxism.[6] The groups were:[6]
- "United Ummah" (Persian: امت واحده; Ommat-e-Vahede)
- "Monotheistic Badr" (Persian: توحیدی بدر; Towhidiye-Badr)
- "Monotheistic Queue" (Persian: توحیدی صف; Towhidiye-Saff)
- "Peasant" (Persian: فلاح; Fallah)
- "Daybreak" (Persian: فلق: Falaq)
- "Victors" (Persian: منصورون; Mansouroun)
- "Monotheists" (Persian: موحدین; Movahedin)
Dissolution
The organization dissolved in 1986 as a result of tensions between the leftist and rightist members.[4]
Legacy
Left-wing members of the organization decided to resume activities in 1991 and established leftist Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization (adding the words “of Iran” to the name) which later emerged as a reformist party.[4] Some right-wing members founded Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution in late-1990s.[9]
Notable members
Name | Original group | Faction | Later career | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Behzad Nabavi | Ommat-e-Vahedeh | Left | Politics | [6][10] |
Mohammad Salamati | Ommat-e-Vahedeh | Left | Politics | [6][10] |
Sadegh Norouzi | Ommat-e-Vahedeh | Left | Politics | [6] |
Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Ommat-e-Vahedeh | Left | Cinema | [6] |
Abdulali Ali-Asgari | Right | Media | [10] | |
Ahmad Tavakoli | Right | Politics | [11] | |
Alireza Afshar | Right | Military → Politics | [12] | |
Abbas Duzduzani | Left | Military → Politics | ||
Hashem Aghajari | Left | Academia | [12] | |
Feyzollah Arabsorkhi | Ommat-e-Vahedeh | Left | Politics | [6] |
Abdollah Nasseri | Left | Media | [12] | |
Hossein Fadaei | Towhidiye-Badr | Right | Military → Politics | [6][10] |
Safar Naeimi | Towhidiye-Badr | Right | Military → Politics | [6] |
Mohammad Boroujerdi | Towhidiye-Saff | Military | [6] | |
Mojtaba Shakeri | Towhidiye-Saff | Right | Military → Politics | [6] |
Mohsen Armin | Towhidiye-Saff | Left | Politics | [6][10] |
Morteza Alviri | Fallah | Left | Politics | [6] |
Mostafa Tajzadeh | Falaq | Left | Politics | [6][12] |
Mohsen Rezaei | Mansouroun | Right | Military → Politics | [6][12] |
Ali Shamkhani | Mansouroun | Left | Military | [6] |
Hossein Nejat | Mansouroun | Right | Military | [6] |
Esmaeil Daghayeghi | Mansouroun | Military | [6] | |
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr | Mansouroun | Right | Military → Politics | [6][10] |
Gholam Ali Rashid | Mansouroun | Right | Military | [6] |
Hosein Alamolhoda | Movahedin | Military | [6] |
References
- Afshon Ostovar (2016). Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–54. ISBN 0190491701.
- Forozan, Hesam (2015), The Military in Post-Revolutionary Iran: The Evolution and Roles of the Revolutionary Guards, Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series, 38, Routledge, p. 107
- Moslem, Mehdi (2002). Factional politics in post-Khomeini Iran. Syracuse University Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-8156-2978-8.
- "Organization of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran" (PDF). Iran Data Portal. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- Pesaran, Evaleila (2011), Iran's Struggle for Economic Independence: Reform and Counter-Reform in the Post-Revolutionary Era, Taylor & Francis, p. 94, ISBN 1136735577
- Alfoneh, Ali (2013), Iran Unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards Is Transforming Iran from Theocracy into Military Dictatorship, AEI Press, pp. 8–10
- Hiro, Dilip (2013). Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. p. 241. ISBN 1135043817.
- Baktiari, Bahman (1996). Parliamentary Politics in Revolutionary Iran: The Institutionalization of Factional Politics. University Press of Florida. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-8130-1461-6.
- "Association of the Devotees of the Islamic Revolution" (PDF). Iran Data Portal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- Mohammadighalehtaki, Ariabarzan (2012). "MIRO, a Historical Background". Organisational Change in Political Parties in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With Special Reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat) (Ph.D. thesis). Durham University. p. 168.
- "Nepotism & the Larijani Dynasty". Tehran Bureau. PBS. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Muhammad Sahimi (12 May 2009). "The Political Groups". Tehran Bureau. PBS. Retrieved 21 August 2015.