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The Peoples' Mojahedin Organisation of IranThe Peoples’ Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) was founded in 1965, through Iranian universities as a democratic, nationalist and Islamic organisation struggling for the restoration of a democratic and pluralist government in Iran under the repressive regime of the Shah. Since then it has become the largest anti fundamentalist movement in the Middle East. The PMOI has developed a modern and democratic interpretation of Islam and have been fighting for 40 years to establish democracy and human rights in Iran. The PMOI Biennial congress elected Madam Mojgan Passai, 40, a western educated journalist as secretary general. The term "Mojahedin" in modern Persian means freedom fighter. This term took on this meaning in the democratic constitutional revolution of 1906, when the freedom fighters, many of whom were Christians and Zoroastrians, were called Mojahedin. A secular and democratic interpretation of IslamThe modern and democratic interpretation of Islam made by the PMOI infuriates the fundamentalists. This interpretation quickly separated them from Khomeini, the fundamentalist leader, before he came to power in 1979. He disavowed the PMOI and rejected their interpretation of Islam as "deviant, eclectic and heretical". In contrast to the fundamentalists who believe that the deity is the sole source of political legitimacy, the PMOI agues that free and fair elections are the only indicator of political legitimacy. They support this belief with teachings from the Koran and other Islamic sources. The PMOI is the first mass Islamic movement to advance learned theoretical arguments demonstrating that, contrary to fundamentalist beliefs, there is no contradiction between Islam, modern civilisation, secularism and other values of a democratic, tolerant and pluralist society. Resistance as the last resortThe PMOI supports peaceful means to attain its objectives. Despite the brutal repression by the fundamentalist regime, notably the execution of 120,000 of their members and other opposition members over the last twenty years, the PMOI have publicly proclaimed several times, that if there were free and fair elections in Iran under the guidance of the United Nations, they would lay down their arms, participate in the elections and respect the vote of the people as the sole criterion of political legitimacy. So while the fundamentalists and mullahs in power in Iran support the use of violence, even against ordinary and innocent civilians, the PMOI have declared that, from the moment that those in power tolerate a minimum of liberty to carry out political activities, the recourse to violence is no longer justified, and that violence against civilians is not permitted under any circumstance whatever. The PMOI has always emphasised that all armed activity has to be carried out under the framework of international law regulating armed conflict, notably the Geneva Conventions. These laws totally forbid the targeting of innocent civilians and citizens. The PMOI after the 1979 revolutionAfter the overthrow of the Shah's regime in February 1979, the PMOI started to function as a political party at the national level. The courageous resistance of PMOI members in the Shah's prisons and their appeal to Iranian youth attracted hundreds of thousands of young men and women across Iran. Their newspaper with a daily circulation of 500,000, was the most important in Iran. Millions of people attended their meetings across the country. In order to counter the growing popularity of the PMOI, the fundamentalist regime intensified its repression. PMOI offices were closed, their newspapers outlawed and their demonstrations forbidden. At least 70 members were assassinated and 3,000 were imprisoned. For their part, the PMOI continued to promote peaceful forms of struggle. On June 21 1981, 500,000 Tehranians demonstrated peacefully against repression of the PMOI. Soldiers opened fire and dozens of people were wounded and others arrested. As night fell, mass executions started in prisons across the country. Thousands of people were executed in a few weeks. International SupportOver the last 20 years the PMOI has benefited from huge support from many political leaders, parliamentarians and governments across the world, despite continuous efforts by the fundamentalist regime to ban their international activities. Several thousand parliamentarians leading politicians and parties in Europe and in the US have declared their support for the PMOI as "a legitimate resistance movement" against the fundamentalist dictatorship. A majority of members of the US Congress and majorities of members of the parliaments of Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and large number of French, German, and Swedish Parliamentarians have made similar declarations. Source: PMOI information sheet, 2004 PMOI website |
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© Walk Against the War Coalition 2003. |
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