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The Mojahedin Khalq Organization is an Iranian political party that
helped Khomeini’s religious sect in Iran bring about the Islamic
revolution of 1979, after being at the forefront of opposition to
the rule of the Shah. However, as the revolution got underway the
Mojahedin, which used some elements of Mao Tse Tung’s political
and warfare philosophy, were sidelined by the religious clerics
and were expelled from the political arena. They responded by attacking
the dominant polity through democratic means (such as political
demonstrations, increasing the role of women), and later through
armed resistance via Iraq, to become the most significant opposition
powerbase to the current regime of Iran.
… The author details the Organization’s
relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, European
host nations, and most particularly with Saddam Hussein and the
Iraqi military, and the end of war (1980–1988) negotiations
between Iran and Iraq. Towards the end of its major activities,
the Organization acted as little more than a cult, demanding total
reverence to its leader Massoud Rajavi. Since 1997 the Organization
has dissolved and depleted, and now functions at little more than
a rhetoric level.
… This book provides a detailed
history of the Organization and its members, and addresses its complex
relationship with western and international powers, most specifically
the United States, in its endeavours to harness agreement to topple
the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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Acknowledgment
Foreword
Preface
Part I: The Organization – An Inward Look
Chapter 1: The Organization’s Renewal
1. Development Outside Iran
2. The Mojahedin Outside Iran
3. The Organization's Structure and its Extensions
4. The Inner Structure
The Mojahedin’s Hierarchical Structure 1965-1985
The Mojahedin’s Hierarchical Structure 1985-1989
The Mojahedin’s Hierarchical Structure from 1989 Onward
5. The Leadership
Massoud Rajavi
Maryam Rajavi
Chapter 2: Ideology
1. The Mojahedin's Ideological Development
2. An Innovative Ideology
3. Applying Mao Tse-Tung’s Values within the Mojahedin’s Ideology
4. The Mojahedin’s Revolutionary Character
5. The Mojahedin’s Ideological Content
The Anti-Imperialistic Propaganda
Between State and Religion
Losing Support
Denying Marxist Motives
Preventing the People’s Vengefulness Against the Republic
Chapter 3: The Ideological
Revolution
1. Structural Changes, Teaching Methods, Indoctrinations and
Psychological
Manipulations
Ideological Teaching Methods Within the Organization
Indoctrination and Psychological Manipulation
2. The Internal Revolution: From Revolutionary Organization
to Worshipping
Sect
Information Sources Regarding the Mojahedin
The Attitude towards Family and Marriage
Training and Goals
Martyrdom in the Eyes of the Organization
Hierarchical Advancement within the Mojahedin
Labeling within the Organization
The Organization’s Future and Members who Wanted to Quit
The Organization’s Future
3. Changing from a Revolutionary Organization into a Sect
that Worships its Leader
Chapter 4: The Role of Women
1. Integration of Women into the Mojahedin’s Ideology
2. From Theory to Pragmatism
3. The Velayat-e Faqih and Women
4. The Mojahedin and Family
5. Secrecy with the Organization
Part II: The National Liberation Army
of Iran and Iraq
Chapter 5: The Mojahedin—Iraqi Relationship
1. Exit from Iran and Relocation in France
2. Iran—France Relationships and the Mojahedin's Deportation
from France
3. The Gabon Crisis
4. The Mojahedin's Exit from France to Iraq
5. Iraq's Adoption of the Mojahedin
6. The Mojahedin's Arrival in Iraq
Chapter 6: The Iraqi Ba'ath
Government and the Mojahedin Organization
Chapter 7: The National Liberation
Army of Iran
1. The Army Establishment Stages
2. The National Liberation Army of Iran: Establishment Goals
3. The Structure of the National Liberation Army of Iran
4. The Mojahedin Intelligence Gathering
5. The Major Headquarters – The Ashraf Camp
6. The Integration of Women into the Iranian National Liberation
Army
7. Financing and Equipping the National Liberation Army of
Iran
Chapter 8: The
Islamic Republic's Reactions to the Mojahedin's Presence in
Iraq
1. Normalization Attempts
2. Iran's Activities Against the Mojahedin Throughout the
Normalization Process
3. The Mojahedin's Attempts to Maintain the Diplomatic Flame
between Iraq and Iran
4. Iran's Success in Defeating the Liberation Army in the
International Arena
Part III: The National Council of
Resistance of Iran
Chapter 9: The National Council and its Development
1. Establishment
2. Structure
The 25 National Council of Resistance of Iran Committees,
and their
Chairpersons
3. Working Rules
4. Values and Principles that Consolidated its Character
5. Women and Their rights
6. Goals and Plans
7. The Constitution and the Temporary GovernmentThe Constitution's
Ten Sections
8. The Temporary Government - Plans and Missions
The First Six Months of the Temporary Government Transition
Period
Action Plans and Principles against the Islamic Republic
Action Plans and Principles after the Establishment of the
Temporary
Government in Iran
9. Maryam Rajavi's Presidency Proposed Changes
10. Maryam Rajavi's Manifesto, July 16, 1995
11. The National Council – its Emblem and Anthem
Chapter Ten: Towards Achieving
International Recognition
1. The Council's Activities in Europe and in the United States
2. Gathering Legitimization and Support in the European Diplomatic
and Political Arena
3. Back to the American Arena
4. The Mojahedin's Diplomatic and Political Focus on the American
Congress
5. Congress' Request to Clarify US's Policy Regarding the
National Council of Resistance of Iran and the Mojahedin
6. The American State Department's Report regarding the National
Council of resistance of Iran and the Mojahedin
7. Reaction to the State Department's Report
8. The Continuing Struggle Towards International Recognition
9. The Critical Dialogue
10. The Mojahedin's Struggle for the Defense of Their Image
11. The Continuous Struggle for International Support
Bibliography
Index
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“For
those who have wondered about internal opposition to the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Cohen examines the Mojahedin Khalq Organization,
the main opposition movement lead by Maryam Rajavi. He discusses
the MKO’s organizational structure, Rajavi’s emphasis
on the role of women in opposing the regime, reasons behind its
shift from supporting to opposing Khomeini’s regime, exile
activities in Iraq, and the West’s labelling of it as a terrorist
group. Although the MKO has largely faded away, another area expert
warns against counting it out given the cyclical nature of politics.
Rajavi and her women fighters are pictured.” Reference
& Research Book News
“Since the publication of Ervand Abrahamian’s
Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin two decades ago, there
has been little in the way of academic research into this controversial
Iranian exile organization despite its highly visible public presence
in the West and the ongoing political debates about its activities.
This significant gap in the literature makes Ronen A. Cohen’s
study a welcome contribution, focusing on a decade in which the
Mojahedin’s campaign against the Islamic Republic made it
the main source of external opposition to the regime.
… Those
interested in the history of the Islamic Republic, Iran–Iraq
relations, and the activities of opposition groups in the Middle
East will no doubt benefit from Professor Cohen’s multifaceted
account. Clearly written and logically organized, it helps us understand
some of the complexities and challenges involved in mounting a campaign
in exile as well as the changes that have taken place within the
Mojahedin in the process
… In
terms of sources, Cohen utilizes a range of primary and secondary
material. His account draws on scores of official Mojahedin publications
and testimonies from former group members, official documents from
the United States, Europe, and the United Nations, and reports from
the Western press as well as various Persian- and Arabic-language
media outlets. Nearly thirty pages of footnotes provide those interested
in further research with a useful starting point.” Naysan
Rafati University of Oxford and the Graduate Institute of International
and Development
Studies, in Iranian Studies
“The Mojahedin Khalq is a perplexing
and historically important organization for anyone researching the
Islamic Revolution of Iran and its aftermath. It has proved, over
the years, to be one of the only durable mass movements that have
continually opposed the Ayatollahs in Tehran. Given the recent interest
in Iran as evidenced by numerous books, such as Ray Tayekh’s
Guardians of the Revolution and Dore Gold’s Rise of a Nuclear
Iran, and the demonstrations following Iran’s 2009 Presidential
election, the Mojahedin Khalq deserves renewed scholarly interest.”
Digest of Middle East Studies |
Publication Details
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Hardback ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-270-9 |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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240 pp. / 246 x 171 mm |
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Release Date: |
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November 2008 |
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Illustrated: |
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Yes |
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Hardback Price: |
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£55.00 / $85.00 |
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