PMOI’s Ideological Revolution

The fall of Ashraf: Collapse of Rajavi’s strategy

Years ago, when Rajavi’s strategy for “ cutting the regime’s finger tips” failed, he fled to Iraq and claimed a new strategy called “ New Liberating Struggle” and formed a tool to fulfill this strategy ; “ Iran Liberation Army”. This strategy was allegedly taken due to the particular situation ruling Iraq which was fighting Iran.

Liberation Army and Camp Ashraf were introduced by Rajavi as the symbols of the new strategy. Considering that Rajavi was always seeking for manipulating the members’ minds, labeled all his acts as ideological; he claimed himself as ideological leader; his so called Liberation Army was also the ideological aspect of his strategy.

Following the ceasefire between Iran and Iraq, the Liberating strategy and consequently, the existence of Liberation Army came under question. Thus Rajavi tried to remove the label of being remnant of the war, launching a deadly attack on Iran, through his “Eternal Light Operation”. The attack ended with heavy casualties for the group and expiration of that strategy but heavier casualties were collapsed on Massoud Rajavi as “owner of the theory.”

Rajavi couldn’t admit this fact so he continued his presence in Iraq and prolonged strategic existence of his organization in Iraqi territory. Camp Ashraf found a typical ideological aspect in Iraq.

When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1992, Rajavi was disappointed since he could see no more hope for another war between Iran and Iraq. His NLA theory was blocked in Iraq that was attacked by the US in the first Gulf War.

Rajavi didn’t want to admit the failure of his strategy so urging on his so called armed struggle strategy he tried to heighten pressure on Iraqi internal relations and to band members from leaving the organization in order to cover his scandalous failure.

Second American invasion to Iraq, once more, pointed out the fact that NLA and also MEK’s existence in Iraqi territory was not feasible. Massoud Rajavi insisted on the presence of his disarmed NLA in Camp Ashraf, although he and his wife fled the Camp to France.

To flatter American forces, Rajavi ordered his members in Camp to sign an agreement with US army. The MEK were engaged to condemn any act of violence, but residents of the camp continued wearing military uniforms and chanting “Viva NLA, solid arm of heroic Iranian people.” however, NLA was an army neither in form nor in content.

The last step of Iraqi government to inform Rajavi that he can’t stay in Iraq any more, was the takeover of Iraqi security by Iraqi forces but Rajavi still forces his members to maintain Camp Ashraf.

Why does Rajavi never admit the failure of the so–called Liberating struggle insisting on it?

The reason is that Ashraf is the symbol of Rajavi’s strategy and ideology. Losing Ashraf results in losing everything, at least for a few years.
If Rajavi accepted to leave Iraq, he would accept the failure of many of his claims and slogans such as:

• Being the alternative to IRI
• Being the Leadership of new revolution or resistance
• Being the president elect of resistance

Now that Iraqi government has gained the sovereignty on its territory, the recent ultimatum to MKO for its expulsion from Iraq would leave Rajavi with many questions.

Why didn’t he leave the liberating struggle strategy in 1998 after the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq?
Why did he maintain his members in Iraq despite the fact that their presence in Iraq was of no use?
Why did he capture a large number of people physically and mentally for years?
Why did he encourage the residents to resist against Iraqi forces, causing them to die?

He might have left his slogans and accepted the failure of his strategy and ideology. Maryam Rajavi’s statement, on her conditional return to Iran, Massoud Rajavi’s letter to Experts Assembly, are signs of deviation in MKO’s strategy. The outcome of this deviation will end the Rajavis with disastrous problems including denouncification of the cruelty they impose on Ashraf residents, capturing them behind bars of their cult-like organization.

September 3, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Sobhani broaches US ties with Rajavi cult

Sobhani was separated from his daughter and wife for more than eight years.

A former member of the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) claims the US turned a blind eye to the terrorist nature of the ‘Rajavi cult’.

Mohammad-Hossein Sobhani, 49, from the central Iranian town of Saveh, came into contact with the MKO two years before the 1979 revolution in Iran, which overthrew the pro-US Iranian monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Five year later, after working in the organization’s administrative and student departments, he was whisked away to Iraq to assume his role”as a unit commander at the training school for urban guerrilla warfare.”

After questioning the organization’s”armed struggle and presence in Iraq”, Sobhani claims he was beaten, tortured and”held in solitary confinement for eight-and-a-half years, from September 1992 to January 2001.”

“The reason why I started to raise my objection was that I believed that the strategies employed by Masoud Rajavi were meant to secure his domination on its members,”Sobhani said in an exclusive interview with Press TV.

The former senior MKO official said Rajavi resorted to”cult-like”practices, including forced divorce and celibacy.

He would separate couples claiming that”such practices would liberate the members”from competing loyalties. Their children were also sent to European countries, Sobhani said.

“Rajavi would justify forced divorces by claiming that these practices would free a member, and pave the way to transform a micro society into a macro one and overthrow the Islamic Republic,”Sobhani said.

During his interview, he also claimed that because”the organization forbids matrimony, for the past 25 years no child has been born to a man and woman inside the organization.”
He said the US had committed a colossal mistake in not dealing with the residents of the MKO training camp in eastern Iraq, known as Camp Ashraf.

The camp, home to 3,400 Iranians loyal to Rajavi, was the base for operations against the Tehran government during the eight-year war as well as operations against Iraqi Kurds and Shias during the 1991 uprising against former dictator Saddam Hussein.

“Rajavi maintained a mercenary-like relationship with Saddam Hossein, after Iraq’s invasion he wanted to forge the same relationship with the Americans so he announced that he was ready to [willingly] lay dawn his arms,”Sobhani explained.

“Although the Americans were fully aware of the fact that the MKO was a terrorist organization, they still cooperated with Rajavi,”he claimed.

Americans in Iran were one of the primary targets of the group throughout the 1970s. They assassinated a number of American citizens, namely William C. Cottrell, Colonel Lewis L. Hawkins, Donald G. Smith, and Colonel Jack Turner inside Iran.

“As a former member of the group, I feel that the Americans have made a grave mistake with regards to the organization. Six years after overthrowing Saddam, the MKO is still brainwashing the residents of Ashraf Camp with the help of the Americans,”Sobhani said.

The MKO was founded in Iran in the 1960s, but its top leadership and members fled the country some twenty years later after carrying out numerous acts of terror inside the country.

The group masterminded a series of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, including the 1981 bombing of the offices of the Islamic Republic Party, in which more than 72 senior Iranian officials were killed, including the then Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.

Click here to view the video file Download MKO dissident broaches US ties with Rajavi cult

August 27, 2009 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

Temporal Marriage, Rajavi’s Latest Scandal

After the appearance of the first round of interviews of Sahar site with Mrs. Batool Soltani, a female member of council of leadership of MKO that has recently managed to escape Camp Ashraf, many noted the necessity of the continuation of these interviews. Now there are more than 20 episodes of these statements in Sahar site that confirms their accuracy and truthfulness. The surprising nature of her statements was anticipated yet the great extent to which they have caused surprise in readers was unexpected. She implies the fact that the extent of disclosure against the organizational activities of MKO depends on the extent of direct contact and interaction of members with the top layers of the organization. In other words, the closer the detached members to the top layers, the more shocking would be the exposé of the internal relations of the organization. The significance of her statements lies in the fact that she is the first female detached member of the organization from the highest echelon of MKO and one of the closest to the leadership. Therefore, she is an eyewitness and her statements are not but the description of her own observations in the organization.

It is evident that her statements on some aspects like the relation of Rajavi with the members of leadership cadre are so shocking for other detached members since as she asserts, even the ranks below the level of leadership cadre have not been aware of these affairs and Rajavi has insisted on secreting these information in the council of leadership. Consequently, members of a high organizational status that have been unaware of these relations appear terribly surprised. The statements of other detached members like Mr. Shahsavandi confirm the hierarchical order of MKO and its intra organizational censorship. Control of information is the common practice of Rajavi in all organizational issues. For example, what Mr. Shahsavandi knew about the trial of Ali Zarkesh as well as his own discussions with Rajavi in this regard was buried away up to his separation from the organization. This is another cultic profile of MKO reveled by many detached members like Mr. Shahsavandi and Mrs. Soltani.

Likewise, the issue of Rajavi’s temporary marriage with the female members of council of leadership has to be investigated from a cultic point of view as it is a common practice almost in all cults in which the leader has relation with female members. This is the latest news on the scandals of MKO leadership leading to numerous negative consequences. Before, many detached members as well as dissident opposition groups to MKO condemned the marriage of Masoud Rajavi with Maryam Azdanlu and considered it the result of love affair between the two while Rajavi tried to prevent its internal and external feedbacks by calling it an ideological marriage. Despite all the accusations made by MKO dissidents against Rajavi in this regard, we held out hope that this marriage was merely a solution for ending the political and ideological cul-de-sac of the organization rather than a love affair. Unfortunately, the statements of Mrs. Soltani raise our doubts in this regard.

A brief look at the past and the time when Mrs. Soltani escaped MKO and the intentional silence of Mojahedin on her first interviews refraining from confirming the news of her escape indicates that there was a rationale behind the silence of the organization. It is the common practice of the organization to take a hostile position toward any detached member (even of the lowest organizational status) and publicize a writing of the member implying that all his/her future statements against the organization would be baseless as it was practiced for Marzieh Qorsi and many more after their separation. Surprisingly enough, Mojahedin have refrained to take any position against Mrs. Soltani or accuse her abusively, why? Some reasons on this silence were elaborated on before. However, the statements of Mrs. Soltani give us a better understanding of the issue.

The silence of the organization as well as making contacts with Ms. Soltani on the part of the organization promising to prepare the ground for her to live wherever she likes with her children has its roots in the fact that the organization is well aware of the negative consequences of her escape and revelations so is making its utmost efforts to convince or tempt her to maintain silence on the secrets of the council of leadership. Undoubtedly, her statements on the temporal marriage of Rajavi with the female members of council of leadership would raise many complaints, doubts and questions like that of the marriage of Maryam and Masoud. Likewise, it is likely that Rajavi’s justifications for these marriages would be similar to that of his marriage with Maryam.

The only persons to answer the questions on this issue are Ms. Soltani and those aware of it yet taking silence due to some reasons. Therefore, Sahar site would act as a bridge between Ms. Soltani and the readers in this regard. Also, those researchers studying on cults and MKO in particular are supposed to devote a part of their efforts to this subject and publicize the results of their studies. Evidently, this was an introduction to the issue that will be followed by more specialized and detailed articles in this regard.

August 18, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Rajavi and The Leadership Council

Memoirs of Ms. Batoul Soltani – Part 19

As I described in previous parts of my memoirs, I felt that Rajavi liked the women to be around him and he couldn’t bear the presence of even one man in his surroundings. But there were apparently other factors to select these women for the leadership council. There were some individuals who were so devoted to the ideas of the leadership and they were so eager to work hard but they didn’t succeed to be a member of the Council due to the lack of some factors. There were too many arguments on these cases. For example they said: ”Although, she (a particular person) has ideologically reached an acceptance level, she cannot be a member of the leadership council because she doesn’t have the skills to take responsibility to carry out the organizational tasks, she cannot manage well or she cannot speak fluently.”

Being a good speaker or having executive skills was prior to ideological competence of the member. I remember when they selected Sediqe Husseini, they always told her: ”we assign you as a member of the leadership council but you have to increase your knowledge and correct your mistakes [remove your negative points] .

I don’t think that appearance is a factor but there are some examples that raise the doubt that personal appearance matters in selection of some female members. For instance in the case of Maryam Rajavi when she was selected as the first secretary of the organization she was actually the most beautiful woman among high-ranking members. Or, about Fahime Arvani who was at that time the prettiest woman in the organization. She was really beautiful. So her selection caused too many accusations and protests. Members were implicitly complaining to the authorities: ”You select the beautiful ones.” This was a question in member’s minds that they stated it indirectly, for example they stated it as if it was an accusation against Rajavi or Mojahedin from outside the organization.

Even Rajavi tried to answer the question saying “we are accused of such affairs”. He emphasized that the selections were not based on beauty or appearance. Then he made some examples including Mozhgan “that she was selected although she was not beautiful.” He tried to prove that sections were just based on organizational rules and regulations. Actually he made the most use of these accusations to condemn the dissidents and he had also his own expression: ”our job is to close corrupt businesses” he meant that people who made such accusations have opened corrupt businesses.

Another accusation was that they select educated people. Rajavi tried to justify it by saying “for example Nasrin was not educated but she was selected as the first secretary of the organization. So these examples challenged the claims. But I think these people were just selected to remove such label inside or outside the organization. Therefore, I can say that at least the selection of Maryam Rajavi and Fahimeh Arvani was based on their beauty. Maybe, when they elected a person who was not so beautiful among 4 or 5 people who were the most devotees to the leadership, they wanted to remove such a label.

About the relationship between Rajavi and women of the leadership Council, I would say that it was so friendly and comfortable that if a stranger came in their meetings, he thought that this guy was all these women’s husband. I mean that the meetings in the level of the Leadership Council, was completely different from regular meetings that were held in the public hall.

Within the Leadership Council, Rajavi talked about the most personal affairs with the women trying to use his sense of humor. He apparently showed a lot of respect for these women and gave them compliments like:”You are all my hopes”,”I only rely on you”. These compliments made the members to become self-centered. The relations in the Leadership Council were totally different. As I said the relation between Rajavi and women of the Leadership Council was so comfortable that the women told him words like: ”we love you, we are your devotees..” such words basically showed the close relationship.

Rajavi sent presents for these women. I remember a few times that he specifically sent some presents for women, they tried their best to get closer to him and tell him that they are in love with him. I remember a woman of the Leadership Council who justified such relations by saying “I have read in a lot of books that the women at prophet Mohammad‘s (peace be upon him) era, in order to draw prophet Mohammad’s attention to themselves, tried to show off in his way or even they tried to marry him in order to wipe out their sins. All prophets’ wives tried to get a better position before him.” In fact, by the comparison that they made between Masud Rajavi and Prophet Mohammad, they wanted to justify their strange relationship with Rajavi. Also through these arguments, they tried to heighten Rajavi’s position to the level of a prophet.

On the other hand, Rajavi’s reaction to the compliments was arranged in a way that no opposition was stated. I remember an example of his reaction to the compliments: Dr. Yahya [Hussein Forsat] who was a dentist, in a meeting flattered Masud Rajavi by saying that: ”what you are saying is beyond our time and the world would see its result in the future” and then he concluded that “You [Rajavi] are Imam Zaman” (Shiite’s absent twelfth Imam). Now look at Rajavi’s response to such a compliment, he said: ”Yahya what do you say? I will pull out your teeth”. So he indirectly encouraged him to continue his compliments. Sometime, he took a special gesture and pretended to disconnecting the person’s microphone.

Indeed he was really happy with the situation. They had succeeded to manipulate the members in order to put them into this illusion. When the members started their compliments, Maryam and Masud Rajavi waited for their words to be listened completely and the atmosphere of the hall be influenced by the compliments. Then they apparently complained that they were not glad with such a compliment. Sometimes some fanatic members interrupted the discussion by saying “You are Imam Zaman yourself; the messiah of our time!”
Translated by Nejat Society

July 19, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

MKO key Formula: Why Maryam … Because Masud

Memoirs of Ms. Batoul Soltani – Part 18
Supposedly Rajavi has always tried to manage his behaviors and relations like the ones of Imam Ali (the first Imam of Shiites and the fourth Caliph of Sunnis). He didn’t declare this claim orally, but implicitly it was obvious he acted in a way that his tendency was to represent such a personality.

He led the affairs in such a direction that his followers or Maryam were made to emphasize on this aspect of his personality.

Rajavi smartly showed off these distinct aspects of his personality through main arguments in the group. He tried to represent the patterns as theoretical and instructional while he was actually leading the audience to view him as the real example of those patterns or personalities [like Imam Ali]. For example, in case of his marriage with Maryam, he arranged the scene so skillfully that everyone believed he was the main person who accepted all the heavy accusation of the marriage due to ideological and political necessities. He or Mehdi Abrishamchi set the table very well that we couldn’t see behind the scene. Finally people like Abrishamchi or Davari (Pins of MKO) arranged a scenario implying that they were inspired Masud was the only one to bear all charges against him after Maryam Rajavi divorced Abrishamchi.

They tried to confirm that such devotion needs an extraordinary super-natural capacity. For instance, when Rajavi spoke of Spiritual Struggle [Jihad Akbar] he said: ”once fighting and martyrdom was the highest level of faith in the struggle, but today honesty and devotion are higher than martyrdom. He categorized them as holy warriors and revolutionary people. He said that Imams were pious men and prophets were sincere men. In fact he wanted to categorize himself in the group of Imams and prophets which are in a higher level than martyrs stand.

Following his interpretations, others were supposed to evaluate his ranking based on what they received from his words. The pins (like Maryam Rajavi) had the responsibility to introduce Masud Rajavi according to the interpretations he gave from Quran. Therefore, gradually they could give him the position of Imam Ali or Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).

When he wanted to form the leadership Council consisting of female members, he stated viewpoints on woman claiming that these are of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) that he couldn’t perform them at his era due to the ignorance ruling his time, and now he [Rajavi] is accomplishing the Prophet’s task.

He claimed that one of the ideas of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and Imam Ali was that all political and administrative systems be based on women but they couldn’t actualize it. And now he is fulfilling their wish.

To choose the members of the leadership Council, the main criterion for Rajavi was how much they are devoted. There is a formula in MKO discussions:
They ask:”why Maryam” and then they answer: “because Masud”.
It means that Maryam is the first woman linked with Masud.

Maryam, herself asked:”why Maryam?” and then she answered herself:”because I love Masud more than anyone else does, because I was the first person who melted into Masud, I was unified in Masud, and I was just for Masud.”

In our ideological discussions, we tried to step forward after Maryam (following Maryam’s path) and talk about this kind of relationships. Every man or woman had to follow the same way to be melted into the leadership.

Following this argument, she said that we should love Masud instead of our husbands. If the members could have the same emotions and feelings for Masud as they have for their spouses, they could be true revolutionary fighters. This showed the extent of your devotion to Masud. Naturally, they chose the members of the leadership council according to this criterion.

About my own selection as a member of the leadership council, Maryam asked me: ”Do you know why you are selected despite the fact that you have recently entered the organization? Why we didn’t choose other people who have a longer period of membership?”

She made too many arguments and reasoning to prove that they have chosen me because I could comprehend the essence of revolution very well. She meant that I was totally melted into the leader’s ideas, because I could pass over my husband and children. The best criterion for MKO leaders was that a member could solve his problems and obstacles and could reach Maryam and Masud.

Any selection in MKO is based on the fact that how you have solved your contradictions: this measures your absolute devotion to the leaders.
Translated by Nejat Society

July 15, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

On MKO’s Ideological Revolution

Memoirs of Batoul Soltani – Part 17
As a high ranking member of the leadership Council, I was in charge of a series of meetings, and I received special trainings from Maryam Rajavi on how to deal with the contradictions arising from ideological divorce which forced a woman to leave her husband in order to stay loyal to the organization’s ideas.

Besides, Masud managed the meetings of the ideological revolution himself saying:”suppose that you have brought an Iranian youth to the organization and you want to explain and justify the ideological revolution to him. You should clarify it to him that he cannot be married and be a fighter at the same time. You should explain that one cannot think of sexual or emotional problems while one is struggling.

Then you should ask this question that whether one wants to be in the path of struggle and liberty or in the path of a normal life. So, this was the way we encountered the newcomers explaining that they would fail to succeed in their struggle to the extent that they are involved in external problems. For example, when we argued with an unmarried girl, we told her: ”in the core of your personal relations and emotions, there is a symbol which is the idol of the society”. Then we asked her:”what‘s your symbol and idol, as a girl in the society?” and then we answered the question ourselves: ”a good husband according to your ideals.”

Also for a married woman, there has always been a person in the heart of her emotions. I remember the example that Rajavi always used to use: ”what does a revolutionary person have to give as the price of his revolution? You have left your homes, your families, your spouses, and your children, so what do you offer to your revolution now?” Then he added “But I’d say that you have a lot to give for the revolution and that is your emotions.” They dealt with the center of emotions in individuals because it is the origin of motives and interests. Thus, they analyzed the members’ internal motives to remove all other motives from the members’ minds except the motive of struggle. On the other hand, we tried to suppress the alleged anti-revolutionary motives of the members saying that: “all your motives have to be for the organization and according to the desires of the leaders.”

If an individual has a problem with understanding such a mechanism, he will be likely to leave the group someday.” Then the officials try to guess in which phase that individual will have problems with the internal ideological revolution so they recognize if the person is an appropriate recruit or not. In fact, for Mojahedin, recruitment means total devotion to the organizational relations. They try to reach their goals by using these anti-human levers.

About the marriage of Masud and Maryam, they make some examples: they believe that Maryam’s efficiency has become much higher than the time she was Abrishamchi’s wife and when she removed the obstacle of her ex-husband and linked herself to Masud, she raised her abilities to the level of the first authority of MKO while before her ideological marriage with Masud she was just in charge of a single unit! Then they make it a practical fact in the routine life of members. They try to convince members that the only way to promote your abilities is to link yourself with Masud by abandoning your spouses, your families, and your children… For instance, they asked Maryam:”could you do your current tasks before your divorce and marriage with Masud?” she replied:”No, I was unable to do so, I was weak. I could not even manage two persons. Then my energy was liberated, my abilities flourished. I could rely on another point which was Masud Rajavi so I could accept higher responsibilities.” This has become a proof for their arguments.

I believe that Masud Rajavi has a very poor relationship with men. This aspect of his personality is very clear within his regular relations. I remember that he seriously disagreed with men to film his internal meetings. So he ordered that all leadership Council meetings should be filmed by women only. He planned a time schedule for some women to learn how to work with a camera. He hysterically opposed the men. Now, when I look back, I see the roots of this characteristic in his sensuality and jealousy. Maybe, it is natural that when a man is among a number of women, he would not like another man to be there. This is my internal feeling. That’s why Rajavi tried to choose women for all needed forces related to him. I think he couldn’t tolerate a camera man in front of himself.

He tried hard to remove the members of the political office since they were all men. Apparently he believes that women work very hard so he was always fond of women. When a new woman entered the organization, he was fascinated by her. He welcomed her by joking and having fun. In the high ranks of the hierarchy of the group he was all the time seeking to remove a man from the high ranks and replace him with a woman. Due to this personal tendency he filled up his leadership Council with a selection of female members.
Translated by Nejat Society

July 2, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Masud Rajavi’s Marriages

Memoirs of Ms. Batoul Soltani – Part 16
Before my involvement with MKO I had no indication of Masud’s marriages. I just knew that Rajavi had fled from Iran but I didn’t have any idea of what had happened after he left Iran along with Masud Rajavi got married with Firouzeh Banisadr Banisadr. I had no idea about the "ideological marriage"! In 1981, when the office of MKO in Iran was shutdown, I was studying at school and I was completely unaware of activities of the organization. At high school I expressed some sort of opposition. For Example I complained about inspecting students’ bags at schools or why they forced the students to take part in group prayers. These were my challenges against the regime. In fact, I didn’t have enough knowledge about MKO in the way that I could arrange my activities along with their goals. Basically, all the information I could get about MKO, Masud and Maryam Rajavi, and the Ideological Revolution was in 1985 and 1986 when I arrived into the organization. When I entered into the group, I started knowing about the elevations in their movements.

During the training process that I passed after I entered into MKO, they never dealt with Masud’s marriage with Firouzeh Banisadr in open organizational arguments. Later on, it was discussed in the higher levels of the Leadership Council. In 1994, we had a meeting in which the arguments about the MKO’s second founders were presented and Masud pointed out his marriage with Firouzeh. I don’t think the issue was transmitted to the meetings in lower levels of the group. Masud said that he was forced to marry her due to political affairs and this was the cost he had to pay to maintain the existence of the National Council of Resistance and Abul Hassan Banisadr as an ally in NCRI. Actually he claimed that he was not willing to marry her but he did it for political interests only. As he said, he wanted to make a family relationship with Banisadr in order to prevent him getting close to the Islamic Republic. He claimed that Banisadr’s position against the Islamic Republic was not clear and he was likely to return back to it. In fact, Rajavi wanted to say that his marriage was supposed to be an obstacle to stop Banisadr tending towards the Iranian Regime. He only spoke of such an issue in private meetings of the Leadership Council and never presented it in lower ranks.

When I entered into the organization, the members were not able to think of these questions at all, since the superiors assigned so many duties for the members that they never found time to think about such questions. They even were sensitive about what members were reading or were thinking about. I don’t remember that I made any questions on this issue during broader meetings. But since I left the organization, I have thought on it and I believe that they didn’t talk about it because they wanted to hide Rajavi’s immoral or sensual desires.

When I got to knew it for the first time, it was long after my involvement with MKO; I asked myself why they avoided talking about it while they discussed a lot of other unimportant cases for a long time. Deep in my mind, I guessed that it was to cover Rajavi’s sensuality. They had nothing to say about that marriage. On the other hand, they always voiced Masud’s marriage with Maryam Qajar Azdanlu discussing its outcome. ”This marriage is the path that leads you to be dissolved in the leadership. Members should abandon their spouses " they asserted. So how could they justify or theorize the marriage of Masud Rajavi with Firouzeh Banisadr. I suppose that they didn’t mention it because of the sensual motives behind that marriage.

Until four years after my involvement with MKO I had no idea of that marriage at all. Nothing could be found in the archive or media of the organization. You should find no news or analysis on this second marriage in MKO’s resources.

I even think that a large number of forces have no idea about it.

When I was aware of such a marriage, I wanted to learn more about her but I never asked a question. I remember a meeting where a woman stood up and asked: ”what was Firouzeh’s case?” Maryam immediately replied but she didn’t make it clear, she just said: ”Firouzeh is still in love with Masud and she’s not married since her divorce from Masud”. Actually, Maryam wanted to promote Masud’s personality. Also she noted that their marriage was in result of a public suggestion and due to an organizational decision so she explained that the marriage, as well as the divorce, was imposed to Masud Rajavi. She meant that Masud didn’t want to divorce Firouzeh because he didn’t find it moral but the public opinion forced him to do so.

It is worth knowing that she used the same justification for her own marriage with Masud. She clearly said:”I imposed myself to Masud and caused him to go under accusations but I wanted to put away all obstacles and to belong to the leader, not to any other man. I just wanted to walk along the leader.’ She said the fact that she didn’t want to be owned by another man is opposed to leadership’s ideal. She discussed it for both men and women inside the group.

Translated by Nejat Society

June 23, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq 's Function

Mujahedin and manipulation of religion

There are arguments that Mojahedin from the very beginning have put emphasis on having adopted a fundamentally religious ideology. It cannot be denied since at the time when the MKO and manipulation of religion organization started its activities, it was mainly due to the specific social, political and religious conditions of the society rather than sincere faith in religion that made the organization to make such claims. In fact, the early Mojahedin were very anxious to create an ideology that justifiably approved armed struggle according to Islamic decrees.

In fact, Ideology is a tool best utilized by Mojahedin leadership for the fulfillment of his political and cultic objectives and through which he has so far lured a remarkable amount of sympathizers. It has played a crucial role in the development of the organization up to now and has served a variety of historical, social, and political purposes. Mojahedin had well perceived that the emotional essence of religion rose out of spontaneous mass agitations and the collective passions these generated. It could draw masses into the streets, arm them with the smallest weapons to highest effectiveness, and could instigate a revolution as it could distract an already started one.

Basically having adopted an eclectic Islamic-Marxist ideology, the ideology of the organization, through its history and in any phase, depended much on the main objectives it pursued and functioned as a pretext for the fulfillment of its objectives. On the one hand, they looked at it instrumentally with regard to political and social conditions of the society; on the other hand, some others have extracted the necessity of struggle from religious doctrines. However, religion has been considered mainly as a means to achieve political goals.

The first ostensive move in this respect is the occurrence of the ideological schism of the organization into Islamic and Marxist wings due to the fact that some members came to believe that religion in itself was not capable to solve all social and political challenges of the society. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to replace the eclectic ideology of the organization with a clearly unveiled one that well defined their position in the path of the struggle they followed. Although the former wing claimed to have remained loyal to Islamic principles, it was nothing but a mere sham.

As Torab Haqshenas, an ex-Mojahedin member in states when giving details on dualistic views of Mojahedin on the form of religion and ideology they had to adhere to, “Mojahedin tried to confirm the fundamental concepts of their ideology by means of religion that was intermingled with the [Iranian] dominant and conventional culture. Therefore, they had to be cautious about whatever could be regarded as anti-religion and they justified whatever they told according to Quran. For example, if members theorized that working was of great value, they had to present evidences from the Quran.”

The following events, especially after the beginning of the Islamic regime in Iran, brought to surface what the organization had long masqueraded as Islamic ideology. As it was expelled from Iran and it had no more any hope of winning the Iranian people’s support, it had to search for the ways to preserve the remnant of its body to survive. Now the ideology had to be abused as an instrument to advance certain non-collective interests and to secure authoritarian hegemony of Rajavi. Considering the course of events after the beginning of ideological revolution within MKO well clarifies the organization’s real intention and how Rajavi in all these years had misused ideology and religion in order to justify his egocentrically made decisions.

His so-called ideological marriage with Maryam Azodanlu, considered to be a turning point in the history of the organization, was an evident example of misusing religion for his selfish, egocentric ends. Although Rajavi made justifications for this revolutionary move with a focus on religious values, nobody doubted that Rajavi was heretically misusing off course. In the amazement of the majority of the members neither Maryam Azodanlu’s divorce from her husband, Mehdi Abrishamchi, nor her immediate remarriage with Rajavi corresponded with Islamic conventions.

Rajavi exploited religion and the ideology that was intended to help advance a struggle for a certain cause; he abused it for the establishment of a most anti-social phenomenon that somehow makes people have a jaundiced view of religion that is a cult. He accredited himself a god-like and prophetic status whose mission was, and still is, to guide not only his followers but the world. The mere claim of being a cult’s maharishi with a developed eclectic ideology is enough to jeopardize the security and well-being of any society. The problem is even greater with MKO and the Rajavis at the lead; they have developed traits and characteristics of a notorious terrorist organization synthesized with that of a dangerous cult.

June 10, 2009 0 comments

Massoud Rajavi

Elevation of Rajavi from charismatic leadership to cult of personality

A common characteristic among all cult leaders is charisma which by itself is not evil but when the leader’s charisma is used as a tool to exploit members including their whole-hearted After his release, Rajavi tried to represent himself as a charismatic leader devotion to the charismatic leader and their fanatical submission to his orders. To achieve such an objective, the charisma should be combined with mind control techniques since the members would not submit to the leader automatically. So the charisma leader uses this powerful attribute together with manipulation practices. This mixture will end with the total devotion of members to the cult and its goal. The brainwashed members are always ready to run the cult’s objectives.

In the early years of the foundation of Mujahedin Khalq Organization, Masud Rajavi was not as experienced as most members including founders of the movement or those who were more related to the founders, but after the Islamic Revolution he could assume leadership in MKO despite he didn’t have qualifications of a leader since he was among those few people who were not executed by Shah’s Savak and there were allegations on his cooperation with Savak when he was interrogated by them. Therefore after his release he tried to represent himself as a charismatic leader because despite his expectations, he couldn’t achieve any powerful position in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Republic.

As a good lecturer, he started holding meetings, publishing articles, attending interviews to elevate himself as a charisma personality and of course he succeeded to accomplish this goal and his success was actually originated in his ambitious, egotic characteristics. Thus he began to eliminate all his rivals in the organization by criticizing them. In 1980, when he fled Iran to France, he had partly achieved his primary goal: being accepted by his sympathizers as a charisma leader. In France he pursued his ambitions by establishing his so –called National Council of Resistance in which he and his group were the dominating elements. In 1986 after the settlement of the organization in Iraq, most of the way was paved to establish a cult of personality. Their landlord, Saddam Hussein offered them the very isolated Camp Ashraf to perform all cult-like practices Rajavi needed for his cult of personality.

During the Iran-Iraq war, due to Rajavi’s cooperation with the invading enemy, Saddam Hussein, MKO lost its little support among its Iranian compatriots, and also its supporters in other parts of the world.

Now, Rajavi had to launch a new trick to keep his cult of personality that was his ideological marriage with Maryam Qajar Azdanloo and then the so-called ideological revolution. It was firstly accepted by high-ranking members who were indoctrinated by himself. These members showed passionately their complete devotion to Masud Rajavi. Therefore, the others who still hesitated to agree with Ideological Revolution were convinced and even forced by their superior officials.

Rajavi, since then continued his egocentric activities in a more convenient situation. The public power had reached its least level and the atmosphere was prepared for Rajavi’s Megalomania.
By Mazda Parsi

May 14, 2009 0 comments

European Union

Open letter of Ms Batul Soltani to the members of EP

Ms Batul Soltani, former member of the Leadership Council of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), has written the following letter to the members of the European Parliament about the situation of the MKO terrorist cult (aka National Council of Resistance of Iran–NCRI) in Iraq and their base known as Ashraf garrison:

My name is Batul Soltani and I was a leading member of the MKO when I left the cult about two years ago. I was born in Isfahan in 1965 and I left Iran along with my husband to join the organization in 1986. We were married for 8 months then and I was pregnant. We entered Iraq from Pakistan in 1987 when my first child was 2 months old. My second child was born in Iraq.

In 1991 the MKO leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, introduced the compulsory divorces to the members, and forced us to separate from our spouses and to abandon our children and send them all to Europe and the US. My 5 year old daughter was sent to Sweden and my 6 month old son was sent to the Netherlands, both with false identities. I have not seen them since. I objected these practices at that time but I had no choice as we were all trapped in a dangerous destructive cult. The terrorist MKO still prevents me from having normal contact with my children.

I was sent to England with a fake passport for about 3 years (1994 – 1997) and even during this period I had no chance to see my children. I was mainly based in a collective house working with a computer.

I spent about two decades of my life with this organization and I know how the people inside Ashraf garrison, which is run like a prison, feel. I managed to escape from Ashraf risking my life in late 2006 and reached the American forces base nearby and sought refuge with them for about a year. Finally I managed to settle in Baghdad. Now I try to help the MKO dissidents in Iraq. I traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan and to Turkey to help the former members of the MKO who have escaped from Ashraf garrison and who are living in a very difficult situation.

I had a series of interviews for Sahar Family Foundation in Baghdad about my experiences with the MKO. Up to number 10 of these interviews have been translated into English and you can read them at the following link:

saharngo.com

The main issue of the MKO is the matter of violation of human rights (Human Rights Watch report – May 2005). The leaders of the MKO terrorist cult are denying the most basic rights of their members who are mentally manipulated using sophisticated psychological methods. The some 3400 individuals in the Ashraf garrison have no access to the outside world. They have been made to believe that they are obliged to stay there and like all other cult followers they think that the outside world is satanic and corrupt and they will only be saved in that heaven!

I have been informed that a resolution on Ashraf garrison in Iraq which is the headquarters of the National Liberation Army (NLA – aka MKO) is going to be discussed early next week in the EP at the request of the supporters of this terrorist cult.

As a member of the MKO for about 20 years, I wish to ask all European Parliamentarians to focus on the following basic considerations for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Ashraf garrison:

– Free access of all members to their families using communication means such as post and telephone, and letting them to visit their family members who come to Iraq to see them somewhere outside Ashraf garrison without the presence of the MKO officials.

– Free access to the general media as well as books and publications for all members without any limitations imposed by the MKO officials

– Free access of all members to the Iraqi authorities without going through the channels of the MKO officials (in this regard every individual in the Ashraf garrison must initially be interviewed privately outside the garrison by the Iraqi authorities to learn whether the person wishes to remain an MKO member or not).

I should emphasize that the major threat against the lives and morals of the inhabitants of Ashraf garrison comes from the leaders of the cult since they have warned on many occasions that if they are not allowed to run their cult as they are doing now they will force all their followers to commit self-immolations the same way they did in 10 European cities in June 2003 after the detention of Maryam Rajavi in Paris charged with planning and conducting terrorism.

I am ready to meet anyone interested, anywhere and at any time to discuss what is going on inside this notorious cultic base called Ashraf in Iraq. I also urge all parliamentarians to take into consideration the issue of human rights for the captive members of the MKO in Iraq and also the just stances of the Iraqi government in this regard.

Many thanks

Batul Soltani – Baghdad April 20, 2009

April 20, 2009 0 comments

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