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The Iranian Mojahedin's Struggle for Legitimacy

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The Iranian Mojahedin's Struggle for Legitimacy ”The blood of our martyrs, the suffering of those imprisoned, all come together in you brave Rajavi” THE IRANIAN MOJAHEDIN’S STRUGGLE FOR LEGITIMACY Lina Aarseth Bakke A Thesis Presented to The Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages The University of Oslo In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for The MA Degree in Area studies of Asia, the Middle East and Africa Spring Term 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank: My professor, Kjetil Selvik, who patiently guided me during this process and provided me with professional advice and good spirit. I would not have managed without! Pervez Khaza’i, leader of the NCRI in Scandinavia, for answering all my questions, and especially for organizing the interview with Maryam Rajavi. Birgit Frøytlog for introducing me to the Mojahedin for the first time, which eventually inspired me to write this thesis. Kristine, Kjersti, and Kerosha for constructive discussions. Henrikke for good advice and never-ending encouragement. Jo for critical comments, encouragement, and patience. My father, Geir Aarseth, for comments, and my father in-law, Olav Bakke, for all the help with Word! And finally, all my friends in Iran, and everyone who has contributed to this study! PREFACE “Iran Iran!” “Rajavi Rajavi!” Berlin, February 2005. I am standing outside in the pouring rain listening to a vast crowd of Iranian exiles shouting anti-regime and pro-Mojahedin slogans. The previous night I’m on one of three chartered planes on my way to observe a demonstration against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the same Iran I’m leaving for in three months time. The Islamic Republic of Iran was created in 1979 after an Iranian uprising against the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. This uprising is known as the Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Khomeini replaced the Shah’s dictatorial rule, and became the supreme leader of the controversial republic. After Khomeini died in 1989, Ayatollah Khamene’i took his place as the leading faqih. The Mojahedin-e Khalq were one of the key actors in the Islamic Revolution. In the post-revolutionary period they became the Khomeini regime’s strongest rivals, which consequently got thousands of them killed and the rest thrown in exile. During this study I have gotten to know several representatives and sympathizers of the Mojahedin. I know them as dedicated, resourceful, and interesting people. This study, to use Ervand Abrahamian’s exact phrase, is not written to “praise or to damn the Mojahedin”. Although it has been challenging at times to keep an objective opinion, I consider myself to be neither friend nor foe of the Mojahedin. Paris, July 2006. The crowd of Iranians chanting, waving flags and posters of their leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, go wild as the latter enters the stage. They are shouting “Maryam, Maryam!” “Iran, Iran!” I can feel the hair on my neck rise as I find myself in the middle of an inferno of extreme emotions, passion, and sympathy. I TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................1 Social Movements’ need for Legitimacy..........................................................................2 Research Problem.............................................................................................................4 Structure of Study ............................................................................................................5 2 THEORY AND METHOD ...............................................................................................6 Theories of Legitimacy.....................................................................................................6 Max Weber’s sources to legitimacy _________________________________________ 7 David Easton’s classification system ________________________________________ 8 Research Method..............................................................................................................9 Qualitative Research ......................................................................................................10 Critical Discourse Analysis ............................................................................................11 Data Collection ...............................................................................................................12 Literature_____________________________________________________________ 12 Observation and interviews_______________________________________________ 13 3 HISTORICAL AND IDEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND..............................................15 Before the Islamic Revolution........................................................................................15 The Beginning_________________________________________________________ 15 The Mojahedinian ideology ______________________________________________ 16 Two Mojahedins _______________________________________________________ 18 After the split _________________________________________________________ 19 After the Islamic Revolution ..........................................................................................21 Biggest secular opposition _______________________________________________ 21 The Iran-Iraq war ______________________________________________________ 22 In exile ______________________________________________________________ 23 The transformation _____________________________________________________ 24 Politically isolated______________________________________________________ 25 The National Liberation Army ____________________________________________ 26 Terrorist organization ___________________________________________________ 27 The Mojahedin and the NCRI .......................................................................................29 4 LEGITIMACY BY DE-LEGITIMISATION.................................................................31 Dictatorship in the name of Islam..................................................................................32 Velayat-e Faqih: “the pillar of suppression”__________________________________ 32 Suppression of women and violation of human rights __________________________ 34 Dictatorship vs. people’s support __________________________________________ 36 Tehran: “The Global Threat”........................................................................................39 The threat of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions____________________________________ 39 The threat to world peace ________________________________________________ 41 The Iranian Monafeghin ................................................................................................42 II 5 TRADITION, CHARISMA, AND LEGALITY.............................................................45 Longest-Running Resistance..........................................................................................45 Charismatic Authority and Sectarian Behaviour..........................................................49 The “symbol” Massoud Rajavi ____________________________________________ 50 The extraordinary Maryam Rajavi _________________________________________ 51 Charisma or cult _______________________________________________________ 53 Institutionalising the Armed Struggle ...........................................................................56 6 IDEOLOGY IN SEARCH FOR LEGITIMACY...........................................................60 Democracy in the name of the Mojahedin.....................................................................60 Islam: “the pillar of freedom”_____________________________________________ 60 Emancipation of women _________________________________________________ 63 The Third Option: A Global Solution............................................................................66 Visions for the Future.....................................................................................................70 “I have a dream” _______________________________________________________ 70 7 THE EFFECT OF MEK’S STRATEGIES ....................................................................74 De-legitimisation.............................................................................................................74 Tradition, Charisma, and Legality ................................................................................76 Traditional legitimacy___________________________________________________ 76 Charismatic legitimacy __________________________________________________ 78 Legal legitimacy _______________________________________________________ 79 Ideology...........................................................................................................................80 8 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................83 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................85 APPENDIX 1. Questions to Maryam Rajavi 2. Questions to Pervez Khaza'i List of informants III 1 INTRODUCTION After they were brutally thrown out of their own country in the mid 80s, the Mojahedin-e Khalq, MEK aka PMOI, MKO 1, have continually fought the Islamic Republic, with military actions supported by Saddam Hussein, up until the violent attacks ceased in 2001. Although quite popular in Iran during and right after the Islamic Revolution they now have seemingly little support among their fellow countrymen, who openly compare them to the contemporary regime, and do not see them as a better alternative. Thus, in spite
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