Mujahedin-e Khalq

Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) is the main body in the political
coalition of Iranian opposition groups, the National Council of Resistance of
Iran (NCRI), which is Iran’s
parliament-in-exile. Mujahedin-e
Khalq (abbreviated MEK, PMOI or MKO) advocates the overthrow of the current
government in Iran.
It was
founded on 5 September 1965 by leftist Iranian students affiliated with the
Freedom Movement of Iran to oppose the Shah Pahlavi. Mujahedin-e Khalq was the first Iranian organization
to develop systematically a modern revolutionary interpretation of Islam. It opposed
the rule of Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, considering him corrupt and
oppressive, and considered the Liberation Movement too moderate and ineffective.
They had previously been involved with the Freedom/Liberation Movement, created
by Medhi Bazargan in May 1961, which advocated for the democratic principles
that were laid out in the Iranian constitution following the 1905 resolution.
The group had been allowed to peacefully assemble and advocate for political
freedom and the separation of powers for two years. Mujahedin-e Khalq’s ultimate goal was to update and
modernize their interpretation of radical Islam. Today, the organization’s
mainly focuses on human rights and respect for "personal property".
Mujahedin-e Khalq has long been led jointly by husband-and-wife team Massoud and Maryam
Rajavi. The U.S. State Department, in an August 2011 report, put its global
membership between 5,000 and 10,000, with significant contingents in Paris and
other European capitals where the group maintains offices.
Category:Iran
Category:Organizations