Word: khomeini
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...politician who was jailed by the Shah but then served as his last Prime Minister, lives in exile outside Paris; he has no sizable following. Within Iran, most opposition groups now tacitly support the Mujahedin. The pro-Soviet Tudeh (Communist) Party has discredited itself for the moment by supporting Khomeini...
...most prominent opponent is Banisadr, forced out as President of Iran because he opposed the mullahs' attempts to impose a theocratic state. Banisadr, however, has never enjoyed a strong personal power base: his 75% landslide in the January 1980 presidential election resulted largely from his strong identification with Khomeini. Having relied on Rajavi to escape from Iran and subsequently forming an alliance with the Mujahedin leader, Banisadr may have compromised his independence, though he rejects that view. "In a struggle everyone is beholden to the others," he told TIME Paris Bureau Chief Jordan Bonfante. "I am beholden...
...removing Banisadr, Khomeini eliminated the last channel for peaceful opposition to his regime. He certainly invited the violence of the Mujahedin, a tightly structured group that had helped Khomeini come to power by organizing huge street demonstrations on his behalf in the last months of the Shah's rule. The movement dates from the mid-'60s, when it was formed to oppose the Shah. By 1969 some members of the Mujahedin, organized in cells, were receiving military training from Palestinian guerrillas in Lebanon and Jordan. From the start, the group integrated Islam into an ideology favoring a classless...
...base in France, Rajavi is now making statements designed to gain broader acceptance outside Iran. He says that he would govern with a national council including representatives of all the forces "who agree with our line of independence and freedom, except the allies of the Shah and Khomeini." Asked why his promises should be more credible than those of Khomeini, who also pledged free speech and a pluralist society during his exile in France, Rajavi answers: "We are not just a group of intellectuals without any responsibility. We have been a popular movement for 17 years, and that means...
...Mujahedin strategy is to keep whittling away at Khomeini's increasingly disjointed government. Only 15% of Iranians support the mullahs, the guerrillas believe, while 20% support the Mujahedin, with the middle ground occupied by a huge silent majority passively opposed to Khomeini but afraid to speak out. The purpose of the current campaign, says one Mujahedin leader, is to "break the barrier of terror" that keeps many Iranians from opposing Khomeini openly. The Mujahedin do not shy away from applying their 3 own brand of terror. Dozens of Iranians heeding Khomeini's call to be "informers...