The rise and fall of the Mojahedin Khalq, 1987-1997
Subtitle: their survival after the Islamic revolution and resistance to the Islamic Republic of Iran
By: Ronen Cohen.
Publisher: Sussex Academic Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Portland
Language: eng
Number of pages: 233
ISBN-13: 9781845192709
Subjects: Sāzmān-i Mujāhidīn-i Khalq (Iran) -- History; Iran -- Politics and government -- 1979-1997
Description: "The Mojahedin Khalq Organization is an Iranian political party that helped Khomeini's religious sect in Iran bring about the Islamic revolution of 1979, after being at the forefront of opposition to the rule of the Shah. However, as the revolution got underway the Mojahedin, which used some elements of Mao Tse Tung's political and warfare philosophy, were sidelined by the religious clerics and were expelled from the political arena. They responded by attacking the dominant polity through democratic means (such as political demonstrations, increasing the role of women), and later through armed resistance via Iraq, to become the most significant opposition powerbase to the current regime of Iran." "The author details the Organization's relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, European host nations, and most particularly with Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military, and the end of war (1980-1988) negotiations between Iran and Iraq. Towards the end of its major activities, the Organization acted as little more than a cult, demanding total reverence to its leader Massoud Rajavi. Since 1997 the Organization has dissolved and depleted, and now functions at little more than a rhetoric level." "This book provides a detailed history of the Organization and its members, and addresses its complex relationship with western and international powers, most specifically the United States, in its endeavours to harness agreement to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword; title: Preface; title: Part I. The organization : an inward look: 1. The organization's renewal; title: 2. Ideology; title: 3. The ideological revolution; title: 4. The role of women; title: Part II. The national liberation army of Iran and Iraq: 5. The Mojahedin-Iraqi relationship; title: 6. The Iraqi Ba'ath government and the Mojahedin organization; title: 7. The National Liberation Army of Iran; title: 8. The Islamic Republic's reactions to the Mojahedin's presence in Iraq; title: 9. The National Council and its development; title: 10. Towards achieving international recognition; title: Bibliography; title: Index.