Word: mujahedin
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Dates: during 1979-1979
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...Khomeini regime falls, it is quite possible that the Iranian left will come to power because of the virtual disintegration of all political forces in the mod erate center. Of the three major leftist parties, the Fedayan and Tudeh believe in Marxism and the Mujahedin in Islamic socialism, a variant that provides for a belief in God. Only the Communist Tudeh Party appears to be closely associated with the Soviet Union. All three parties are hostile to the West...
...Fedayan and Mujahedin are the more dynamic groups with a degree of support among the masses and in the armed services. The most persistent and ferocious of the Shah's opponents, they were brutally suppressed and suffered heavy losses. But they continued to provoke bloody clashes with SAVAK and played a major role in the battle for Tehran, which led to the Shah's downfall. Says a Mujahedin leader: "We have waded through blood and fire to our present status...
...Mujahedin is the more moderate of the two parties. It practices the same religion as Khomeini, but it differs in wanting to establish a classless society, or "pure Shi'ism." The party boycotted the referendum on the theocratic constitution, and it refused to surrender the arsenal it had built up during its long struggle against the Shah. Persecuted by Khomeini forces, the Mujahedin nevertheless feel they are spiritually akin. Says a party leader: "The struggle is between two kinds of Islam, two kinds of Shi'ism, not them...
Unlike the Fedayan and Mujahedin, the Communist Tudeh Party operates openly in Iran despite its firm ties to the Soviet Union. It has cheerfully supported the establishment of a rigid Islamic state in Iran. Says Tudeh Leader Noureddin Kianuri: "Our party's objectives are identical with those of Khomeini: the eradication of all forms of imperialism, particularly from America...
Three major political groups jostle for position on Iranian campuses. The Mujahedin, the largest and most influential group, consists of radical Islamic nationalists who support Khomeini as a leader, but fear his reactionary approach to Islam. Another leftist group, the Pishgam, is the student affiliate of the Marxist Fedayan. Reportedly the group's members have received training from the Palestine Liberation Organization. The far-right Hezb-Ollahis, which gives Khomeini unquestioning obedience and represents religious fundamentalism, is in the minority...