The violent nature of the mujahedin khalq organization the mko mek pmoi the cult of rajavi has always been the important issue of critics and arguments between journalists, analysts and those politicians who support the group and consider it as a democratic alternative to the iranian government. The mek has a history that does go back to the time of the shah in the 1970s. Description the mek advocates the violent overthrow of the iranian regime. Mujahideen, in its broadest sense, those muslims who proclaim themselves warriors for the faith. Originally created to accommodate the iranian opposition group mojahedine khalq aka mek, mko, pmoi, rajavi cult and. In this book a leading authority on iranian political parties offers the first history of. Near the end of war, a military force of 7,000 members of the mek, armed and equipped by saddams iraq, went into action. They appropriated the mek name, and in a book entitled manifesto on. Mohahedine khalqe iran peoples mojahedin organization of iran. Mujahedinekhalq mek is an organization with a history of violent terrorism against americans and others, and was a key strategic asset of saddam hussein during his brutal crackdown on iraqi kurds in the early 90s. Special events marking the publication of this work will be announced shortly. Unsatisfied in crippling iran with sanctions, the us looks to be set for active operations there and already has an in.
Irans resurgent resistancea book on mek iran ashraf. In the washington times, former secretary of homeland security tom ridge strongly endorsed the book. In 1965, mek was formed by a group of iranian college students as an. Mujahedine khalq mek shackled by a twisted historyauthor by lincoln p. Read the fulltext online edition of the mujahedine khalq in iraq. Peoples mujahedin of iran mek was a participant or observer in the following events.
The fascinating story of the controversial life of camp ashraf in iraq from its foundation in 1986 to the present day is told in this book. A marxian iranian exile group with cultlike qualities, mujahideene khalq was responsible for the killing of six americans in iran in the 1970s, along with staging a handful of bombings. From the mujahedine khalq mekshackled by a twisted history. Peoples mujahedin of iran is an iranian exile organization officially declared a terrorist organization both in the united states and iran. Peoples mojahedin organisation of iran sourcewatch. Peoples mujahedin of iran wikipedia republished wiki 2. The mujahedin khalq mek is a cult which has a long history of terrorism. Mek only targets security and government officials. Mujahedine khalq mek shackled by a twisted history. In this book a leading authority on iranian political parties offers the first history of this littleknown underground group. And there were some in the administration who wanted to use the mujahideene.
But after the 1979 revolution, it fell victim to the new dictatorships onslaught. Few terrorists groups garner the bipartisan endorsement and support that irans mujahedin alkhalq organization mko has. The place of yervand abrahamian is secured into the pages of history. On october 20, 2005, several congressmen and many aides attended a briefing in congress. Through its front group, national council of resistance of iran ncri, it has been the main conduit for publicizing israeli intelligence on irans nuclear program. The peoples mujahedin of iran pmoi, also mek, mko persian.
The mujahedine khalq is a paradoxical concept in itself. Instead of putting the names of such criminal and terrorist groups as the mujahedin khalq organization mko and alahvaziya on its list of sanctions, the european. Yes, we do know the mek has a terrorist past politico. The iranian mojahedine khalq mek and its media strategy. The book takes you into the hardwiring works of a middle eastern cult. A rand study recommends that most mek members be repatriated to iran. During the war and later in the 1991 uprisings in iraq, the mujahedine khalq assisted iraqi baathist government in a series of systematic attacks against the kurdish fighters irans allies in northern iraq. The meks history is filled with antiwestern attacks as well as terrorist attacks on the interests of the clerical regime in iran and abroad. A brief history of the mek prior to operation iraqi freedom.
Osama bin laden, radical islam, and the future of america 2002, p. Bloomfields book raises painful questions about the limits of. Mujahedine khalq organization mek the investigative. The mek, an exterrorist group pushing regime change in iran, aligns with d. The book is about the 1988 massacres of political prisoners in iran, listing the location of 36 iranian mass graves and explaining that about 30,000 people were executed, with the majority being mek members. The following is a list of attacks on diplomatic buildings embassies, consulates anywhere in the world. The fall of saddam husseins regime affected the circumstances of the designated foreign terrorist organization mujahedine khalq mek. Mujahedeene khalq mek sazmane mojahedine khalqe iran mujahedine khalq organization mko national liberation army of iran nla. While more than one group in iran have called themselves mujahideen, the most famous is the peoples mujahedin of iran pmoi, as of 2014 an iraqbased islamic socialist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of irans current government. Maryam rajavi, coleader of the group and selfstyled presidentelect of iran, addressed the gathering by video from france. Peoples mujahedin of iran communpedia, the communist. A brief history of the mek prior to operation iraqi freedom b. Latest news on mek mujahedine khalq mek iran freedom.
Masoud rajavi is the leader of the pmoi, while his wife maryam rajavi is called president elect of the iranian resistance. The guardians audio long reads terrorists, cultists or champions of iranian democracy. If we were to look for a movement that sums up all the volatility, inconsistency and unpredictability of the middle east, one would point to the mujahedinekhalq mek peoples mujahedin in iran. No other book has matched such a magnificent factual history of the mek until 2011 and perhaps for many years to come. The untold story of the iran nuclear scare porter, 2014b, american journalist gareth porter identifies the role played by the iranian mojahedine khalq mek organization in israels. However, the term did not gain popular currency as a. Mujahedin definition of mujahedin by the free dictionary. The mujahedine khalq mekshackled by a twisted history is available at amazon. At the outset of oif, the mek was designated a hostile force, largely because of its history of cooperation with saddam husseins military in the iraniraq war and its alleged involvement in his suppression of the shia and kurdish uprisings that followed the gulf.
The mek now advocates the overthrow of the iranian regime and. The list does not include attacks on individuals outside or inside an embassy, such as assassinations of ambassadors, or incidents such as letter bombs to individuals. I have asked people to provide page number previously. Mujahedin khalq, an iranian dissident group, have been removed from the us list of foreign terrorist organizations, secretary of state hillary clinton announced friday.
The iranian mojahedine khalq and its media strategy. It was a group that propounded an ideology that mixed islamism and marxism. By jeremiah goulka, lydia hansell, elizabeth wilke, judith larson. Mujahedin khalq, iranian dissident group, removed from us. Sazmane mojahedine khalqe iran, abbreviated mek, pmoi or mko is an iranian politicalmilitant organization in exile that advocates the violent overthrow of the current regime in iran, while claiming itself as the replacing government in exile. The peoples mojahedin organisation of iran pmoi, also known as mujahedine khalq, is the largest and most militant group opposed to the islamic republic of iran. Mek kills us personnel in tehran the mujahedeene khalq mek, a militant iranian political organization formed in the 1960s, kills us military personnel and us civilians working on defense projects in tehran. This book is based on a bipartisan delegation that visited ashraf 3 in albania which is currently the home of thousands of peoples mojahedin organization of iran pmoi, mujahedine khalq or mek, members. Members of the mujahedeen khalq, or mek, an armed iranian opposition group in iraq, guard the road leading to the groups main training camp near baqubah, north central iraq, in may 2003. Its arabic singular, mujahid, was not an uncommon personal name from the early islamic period onward. The friends left in the shadow of war, july 17, 20. The peoples mojahedin organization of iran, or the mojahedine khalq is an iranian. He reportedly cooperated with it in the area of chemicalbiologicalradiologicalnuclear cbrn weapons and may have trained some fighters in iraq at camps run by saddams antiiran force, the mujahedin alkhalq. Abrahamian, thus began an act of violence unprecedented in iranian history.
Defined as holy warrior in arabic, the term mujahedin gained popularity in iran at. Five lessons from the delisting of mek as a terrorist group. New book on the mek and ashraf iiisupporters of mek iran. Mujahedine khalq mek shackled by a twisted history lincoln p. Global post, 29 sep 2012 mujahedin khalq, who have lived in a refugee camp for over 25 years, have been considered noncombatants since 2004. We, the supporters of the mek irans historical struggle for freedom in iran, are mainly a group of iranians from all occupations that feel motivated and inspired by the values and teachings of mujahedine khalq mek iran. Mek peoples mujahedin of iran us news the guardian. The story of the peoples mujahedin of iran, also known as the mujahedin e khalq mek, is all about the way image management can enable a diehard enemy to become a cherished ally. Mohammad hanifnejad, said mohsen, and aliashgar badizadgan founded the peoples mojahedin organization of iran pmoi or mujahedine khalq, mek on september 6, 1965. The united states, which listed national council of resistance of iran as a terrorist organization, closed the ncris washington office in 2003. The mujahedine khalqs mek advent in 1965 marked the beginning of an armed paramilitary campaign against iran, where collateral damage became a nonissue in their attempts to overthrow two successive regimes. Peoples mojahedin organization of iran the pmoimek seeks to replace irans religious dictatorship with a secular, pluralistic, democratic government that respects individual freedoms and gender equality. The mujahedin khalq mek, mko, ncri, a cultish death. The history of the us list of designated terrorist organizations, and its.
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