Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 44
Later they changed very much as they started considering people were either with them or with the
regime therefore, whoever is not with them is collaborating with the regime and worthy of being
killed. Therefore, within one year, they killed more than 2,000 people and proudly announced it
themselves (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh number 55 24/9/1982 also in MEK‘s publication Mojahed
Number 163 4/8/1983 the number of killed by MEK between 20th of June 1982 and 20th of June
1983 was announced as 2800 people.). Of course later, as they gradually lost all their supporters in
Iran due to their being killed either by execution or during armed struggle, they had to send terrorist
teams from Iraq therefore, it was not so easy to target high officials, and so they started exploding
oil pipe lines (MEK‘s publication Mojahed, June 14, 1993) or putting bombs in places like the tomb of
Khomeini, which could result in the killing of ordinary people. (MEK‘s publication Boltan, October 16,
1992).
[22] The Rules of Jihad: Muslims generally realize that Jihad has its rules and conditions. In the Quran,
God has emphasized that no one should violate these rules and overrule them. Abu Baker, the first
Caliph after the prophet, referring to the Quran and the prophet‘s sayings, instructed those who
wished to consider themselves Muslim soldiers, ―Do not betray do not carry grudges do not deceive
do not kill children do not kill elderly do not kill women do not destroy beehives or burn them do
not cut down fruit bearing trees do not slaughter sheep, cattle, or camels except for food. You will
come upon people who spend their lives in monasteries leave them on what they have dedicated
their lives…‖ (from Heirs of the Prophet Muhammad by Barnaby Rogerson, p. 162). Furthermore, Ali,
the fourth Caliph, set out more rules to put a stop to killing, including safeguarding POWs. He says,
―No one turning his back shall be pursued no one wounded shall be killed whoever throws away his
arms is safe.‖ Ali had pardoned with goodness. The dead from both sides were buried only captured
arms and animals could be held as war booty (from Heirs of the Prophet Muhammad by Barnaby
Rogerson, p. 298).
[23] ―[when] Mojahedin realized that the second revolution was not at hand, and so began to prepare
for a prolonged armed struggle, organizational militancy now took precedence over political
expediency. Hard-core militants became more important than ―fair-weather friends‖ and ―fellow
travelers‖ the ―quality‖ of members more important than quantity of sympathizers, organizational
discipline more important than the appearance of internal democracy, and ideological purity in the
rank and file more important than frequent contacts with outside sympathizers, especially if such
sympathizers could contaminate the ordinary members. Thus, the outward-reaching attitude was
replaced with an inward-looking attitude that treated allies as if they were potential enemies. The new
view perceived those who were not fully for the Mojahedin as being against it. Having reached those
conclusions, the Mojahedin began to squeeze ―half-hearted friends‖ out of the National Council—some
former members of the National Council believe that the Mojahedin could have ironed out its
differences with Banisadr and the Kurdish Democratic Party. It destroyed Iranshahr when that paper
[the Mojahedin] dared to publish a series of interviews with prominent exiles mildly critical of the
organization. It freely accused critics of being SAVAK agents.‖ (from Ervand Abrahamian, Iranian
Mojahedin, p. 249)
[24] Arthur Dole establishes four conditions for recognizing a cult looking at these conditions, one can
see how MEK gradually, since 1979, started changing into a cult and by 1985 had completed its
transformation. These ―Four conditions for recognizing a cult: 1) Compliance: Measures the extent to
which members sacrifice their own goals, serve leaders who make decisions, and comply with group
norms. 2) Exploitation: Implies the group seeks power unethically. A cult manipulates, abuses, and
uses people. 3) Mind Control: Measures the extent to which members are deceived, leaders use
personal dominance, and the group uses coercive persuasion. 4) Anxious Dependency: Reflects a cult
situation in which dependency can be absolute and fear tends to color all experiences.‖ (From ―Are
Terrorists Cultists?‖ by Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D., ABPP Emeritus Professor, Psychology in Education,
University of Pennsylvania. Cited from Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2. Special Issue: Terrorism,
p. 204.)
[25] Of course, they lost almost all the remainder of their public supporters, especially in Iran, when in
1983 Rajavi met Tareq Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, and signed a peace treaty with him and
later moved the MEK bases to Iraq.
[26] MEK‘s publication, Nashrieh, March 19, 1982.
Later they changed very much as they started considering people were either with them or with the
regime therefore, whoever is not with them is collaborating with the regime and worthy of being
killed. Therefore, within one year, they killed more than 2,000 people and proudly announced it
themselves (MEK‘s publication Nashrieh number 55 24/9/1982 also in MEK‘s publication Mojahed
Number 163 4/8/1983 the number of killed by MEK between 20th of June 1982 and 20th of June
1983 was announced as 2800 people.). Of course later, as they gradually lost all their supporters in
Iran due to their being killed either by execution or during armed struggle, they had to send terrorist
teams from Iraq therefore, it was not so easy to target high officials, and so they started exploding
oil pipe lines (MEK‘s publication Mojahed, June 14, 1993) or putting bombs in places like the tomb of
Khomeini, which could result in the killing of ordinary people. (MEK‘s publication Boltan, October 16,
1992).
[22] The Rules of Jihad: Muslims generally realize that Jihad has its rules and conditions. In the Quran,
God has emphasized that no one should violate these rules and overrule them. Abu Baker, the first
Caliph after the prophet, referring to the Quran and the prophet‘s sayings, instructed those who
wished to consider themselves Muslim soldiers, ―Do not betray do not carry grudges do not deceive
do not kill children do not kill elderly do not kill women do not destroy beehives or burn them do
not cut down fruit bearing trees do not slaughter sheep, cattle, or camels except for food. You will
come upon people who spend their lives in monasteries leave them on what they have dedicated
their lives…‖ (from Heirs of the Prophet Muhammad by Barnaby Rogerson, p. 162). Furthermore, Ali,
the fourth Caliph, set out more rules to put a stop to killing, including safeguarding POWs. He says,
―No one turning his back shall be pursued no one wounded shall be killed whoever throws away his
arms is safe.‖ Ali had pardoned with goodness. The dead from both sides were buried only captured
arms and animals could be held as war booty (from Heirs of the Prophet Muhammad by Barnaby
Rogerson, p. 298).
[23] ―[when] Mojahedin realized that the second revolution was not at hand, and so began to prepare
for a prolonged armed struggle, organizational militancy now took precedence over political
expediency. Hard-core militants became more important than ―fair-weather friends‖ and ―fellow
travelers‖ the ―quality‖ of members more important than quantity of sympathizers, organizational
discipline more important than the appearance of internal democracy, and ideological purity in the
rank and file more important than frequent contacts with outside sympathizers, especially if such
sympathizers could contaminate the ordinary members. Thus, the outward-reaching attitude was
replaced with an inward-looking attitude that treated allies as if they were potential enemies. The new
view perceived those who were not fully for the Mojahedin as being against it. Having reached those
conclusions, the Mojahedin began to squeeze ―half-hearted friends‖ out of the National Council—some
former members of the National Council believe that the Mojahedin could have ironed out its
differences with Banisadr and the Kurdish Democratic Party. It destroyed Iranshahr when that paper
[the Mojahedin] dared to publish a series of interviews with prominent exiles mildly critical of the
organization. It freely accused critics of being SAVAK agents.‖ (from Ervand Abrahamian, Iranian
Mojahedin, p. 249)
[24] Arthur Dole establishes four conditions for recognizing a cult looking at these conditions, one can
see how MEK gradually, since 1979, started changing into a cult and by 1985 had completed its
transformation. These ―Four conditions for recognizing a cult: 1) Compliance: Measures the extent to
which members sacrifice their own goals, serve leaders who make decisions, and comply with group
norms. 2) Exploitation: Implies the group seeks power unethically. A cult manipulates, abuses, and
uses people. 3) Mind Control: Measures the extent to which members are deceived, leaders use
personal dominance, and the group uses coercive persuasion. 4) Anxious Dependency: Reflects a cult
situation in which dependency can be absolute and fear tends to color all experiences.‖ (From ―Are
Terrorists Cultists?‖ by Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D., ABPP Emeritus Professor, Psychology in Education,
University of Pennsylvania. Cited from Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2. Special Issue: Terrorism,
p. 204.)
[25] Of course, they lost almost all the remainder of their public supporters, especially in Iran, when in
1983 Rajavi met Tareq Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, and signed a peace treaty with him and
later moved the MEK bases to Iraq.
[26] MEK‘s publication, Nashrieh, March 19, 1982.
