Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 41
city‘s Imam Jom‘eh, and exploded two hand grenades, killing himself, his intended victim, and 17
pasdars.... On 29 September, another Mojahed blew up himself and Hojjat al-Islam Hasheminezhad,
the IRP leader in Khorasan. This Mojahed was a 17-year-old high-school student who had joined the
organization during the street demonstrations of 1978. On 8 December, a 21-year-old woman killed
herself and Ayatollah Abol Hosayn Dastghayb, The Iam Jom‘eh of Shiraz, by walking up to him after
his Friday sermon and exploding a hand grenade hidden under her full chador.... The assassination
campaign continued into 1982. On 26 February, a 20-year-old Mojahed shot dead Hojjat al Islam
Mostawfi Hojjati just as he was concluding his Friday prayer.... On 7 March, another young Mojahed,
armed with a machine gun, successfully ambushed the country‘s chief of police in the middle of
Tehran.... On 15 April, a 15-year-old Mojahed threw a hand grenade at Hojjat al -Islam Ehsanbaksh,
the Imam Jomeh of Rasht. On 2 July, a 22-year-old Mojahed, attending Friday prayer in Yazd,
detonated a hand grenade, killing himself, 13 Pasdars, and Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Sadduqi, the
city‘s Imam Jom‘eh and one of Khomeini‘s closest advisors.... On 15 October, a 20-year-old college
student, chanting pro-Khomeini slogans, exploded a hand grenade just as he embraced Ayatollah
Etaollah Ashrafi, the Imam Jom‘eh of kermanshah...‖ (Ervand Abrahamian, Iranian Mojahedin, pp.
220, 222).
[9] Strangely, President Bush gave the same slogan on 20th February, 2001, and also labeled his ―war
against terrorism‖ a crusade, both of which fell into the hands of Al-Qaeda. Many Muslims saw the
―war against terrorism‖ as a ―war against Islam.‖
One Al-Qaeda ideologue, to justify the group‘s black and white ideology and the killing of other
Muslims, states: ―A vanguard must set out ...marching through the vast ocean of Jahillyya
[ignorance, implying that ordinary people are not Muslim but ignorant. If you look at Jahillyya
throughout Islamic history and philosophy, it has a much deeper meaning, but let us for now stick to
this simple definition.], which encompasses the whole world. Unless they separate themselves from
the influence of the Jahillya they will be contaminated and unable to follow the true path followed by
the Salaf. [Salaf means ancestor, but here he means prophet and the first few of his disciples. By the
way, this is why Wahabiis don‘t like to call themselves Wahabii but prefer to be called Salafii instead
this includes all Al-Qaeda members. Anyway, let me continue...] We must free ourselves from the
clutches of the Jahili society … it is not a worthy partner for compromise. Our aim is first to change
ourselves so we may later change society. (Cited from AL-Qaeda, by Jason Burke, pp. 54, 55.)
[10] Micewski explains: ―Whilst terrorism is not bothered about either morality—moral law—or the public
law that rests upon it, terrorism does not hesitate to go public with claims that are devoid of any
moral or legal claim.‖ (from Terror and Terrorism: A History of Ideas and Philosophical-Ethical
Reflections, by Brig. Gen. Edwin R. Micewski, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social
Sciences, National Defense Academy, Vienna. Cited from Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, Special
Issue: Terrorism, p. 224.)
[11] In a little book called Democratic Centralism, MEK (when it was a popular organization) outlined its
form of organization. In that book was mentioned that ―MEK is against one-man leadership and it
believes if the organization is being led by just one person, it will end up in some sort of dictatorship.‖
The book‘s formula for leadership of the organization was a committee of highest experts or
vanguards of the group. At least as long as the group had popular support inside Iran, even if the
organization was a one-man show, still it pretended that it was run by a group of vanguards, called
Daftar Siasi or the political bureau, and it seemed that these people were controlled by a central
committee. Then, after MEK left the country, on its path toward changing into a cult, first in 1981, it
introduced a new title called Masoul Aval, or ―first person in charge,‖ who was Masoud Rajavi. Then, at
the end of its transformation into a cult, in 1985, MEK, by announcing Rajavi‘s marriage to Maryam
Azdanlo, wife of his First Lieutenant Abrishamchii, announced a new era in the life of the organization,
which joined the ideological leadership of Masoud and Maryam Rajavi. Later, Abrishamchii, in his
famous speech that became a book explaining the ideological revolution of MEK, announced that
anybody within the organization has a masoul or a person in charge, except for the Rajavies, who are
not responsible in front of anybody except God. Later, in 1990, during another phase of the
organization‘s ―Ideological Revolution,‖ all members, apart from divorcing their spouses, had to go
through a procedure called ―Signature of Sins.‖ This meant that they had to accept all the sins of their
leader as their own, or accept all his sins except one, the armed struggle against the Khomeini
regime. I believe that now, by surrendering all their weapons to the American Army and under
pressure from the EU and having to announce the end of the armed struggle, they have to accept this
―sin‖ of their leader, as well. As you can see, in losing their popular support, the MEK had to move
city‘s Imam Jom‘eh, and exploded two hand grenades, killing himself, his intended victim, and 17
pasdars.... On 29 September, another Mojahed blew up himself and Hojjat al-Islam Hasheminezhad,
the IRP leader in Khorasan. This Mojahed was a 17-year-old high-school student who had joined the
organization during the street demonstrations of 1978. On 8 December, a 21-year-old woman killed
herself and Ayatollah Abol Hosayn Dastghayb, The Iam Jom‘eh of Shiraz, by walking up to him after
his Friday sermon and exploding a hand grenade hidden under her full chador.... The assassination
campaign continued into 1982. On 26 February, a 20-year-old Mojahed shot dead Hojjat al Islam
Mostawfi Hojjati just as he was concluding his Friday prayer.... On 7 March, another young Mojahed,
armed with a machine gun, successfully ambushed the country‘s chief of police in the middle of
Tehran.... On 15 April, a 15-year-old Mojahed threw a hand grenade at Hojjat al -Islam Ehsanbaksh,
the Imam Jomeh of Rasht. On 2 July, a 22-year-old Mojahed, attending Friday prayer in Yazd,
detonated a hand grenade, killing himself, 13 Pasdars, and Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Sadduqi, the
city‘s Imam Jom‘eh and one of Khomeini‘s closest advisors.... On 15 October, a 20-year-old college
student, chanting pro-Khomeini slogans, exploded a hand grenade just as he embraced Ayatollah
Etaollah Ashrafi, the Imam Jom‘eh of kermanshah...‖ (Ervand Abrahamian, Iranian Mojahedin, pp.
220, 222).
[9] Strangely, President Bush gave the same slogan on 20th February, 2001, and also labeled his ―war
against terrorism‖ a crusade, both of which fell into the hands of Al-Qaeda. Many Muslims saw the
―war against terrorism‖ as a ―war against Islam.‖
One Al-Qaeda ideologue, to justify the group‘s black and white ideology and the killing of other
Muslims, states: ―A vanguard must set out ...marching through the vast ocean of Jahillyya
[ignorance, implying that ordinary people are not Muslim but ignorant. If you look at Jahillyya
throughout Islamic history and philosophy, it has a much deeper meaning, but let us for now stick to
this simple definition.], which encompasses the whole world. Unless they separate themselves from
the influence of the Jahillya they will be contaminated and unable to follow the true path followed by
the Salaf. [Salaf means ancestor, but here he means prophet and the first few of his disciples. By the
way, this is why Wahabiis don‘t like to call themselves Wahabii but prefer to be called Salafii instead
this includes all Al-Qaeda members. Anyway, let me continue...] We must free ourselves from the
clutches of the Jahili society … it is not a worthy partner for compromise. Our aim is first to change
ourselves so we may later change society. (Cited from AL-Qaeda, by Jason Burke, pp. 54, 55.)
[10] Micewski explains: ―Whilst terrorism is not bothered about either morality—moral law—or the public
law that rests upon it, terrorism does not hesitate to go public with claims that are devoid of any
moral or legal claim.‖ (from Terror and Terrorism: A History of Ideas and Philosophical-Ethical
Reflections, by Brig. Gen. Edwin R. Micewski, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social
Sciences, National Defense Academy, Vienna. Cited from Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, Special
Issue: Terrorism, p. 224.)
[11] In a little book called Democratic Centralism, MEK (when it was a popular organization) outlined its
form of organization. In that book was mentioned that ―MEK is against one-man leadership and it
believes if the organization is being led by just one person, it will end up in some sort of dictatorship.‖
The book‘s formula for leadership of the organization was a committee of highest experts or
vanguards of the group. At least as long as the group had popular support inside Iran, even if the
organization was a one-man show, still it pretended that it was run by a group of vanguards, called
Daftar Siasi or the political bureau, and it seemed that these people were controlled by a central
committee. Then, after MEK left the country, on its path toward changing into a cult, first in 1981, it
introduced a new title called Masoul Aval, or ―first person in charge,‖ who was Masoud Rajavi. Then, at
the end of its transformation into a cult, in 1985, MEK, by announcing Rajavi‘s marriage to Maryam
Azdanlo, wife of his First Lieutenant Abrishamchii, announced a new era in the life of the organization,
which joined the ideological leadership of Masoud and Maryam Rajavi. Later, Abrishamchii, in his
famous speech that became a book explaining the ideological revolution of MEK, announced that
anybody within the organization has a masoul or a person in charge, except for the Rajavies, who are
not responsible in front of anybody except God. Later, in 1990, during another phase of the
organization‘s ―Ideological Revolution,‖ all members, apart from divorcing their spouses, had to go
through a procedure called ―Signature of Sins.‖ This meant that they had to accept all the sins of their
leader as their own, or accept all his sins except one, the armed struggle against the Khomeini
regime. I believe that now, by surrendering all their weapons to the American Army and under
pressure from the EU and having to announce the end of the armed struggle, they have to accept this
―sin‖ of their leader, as well. As you can see, in losing their popular support, the MEK had to move
