{"id":399,"date":"2018-05-10T07:27:54","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T07:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?page_id=399"},"modified":"2023-11-02T17:49:13","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T16:49:13","slug":"massoud-rajavi-mek-pmoi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/massoud-rajavi-mek-pmoi\/","title":{"rendered":"Massoud Rajavi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

Massoud Rajavi<\/strong><\/a> was born in the town of Tabas in 1947. He attended Tehran University where he earned his degree in political science. Rajavi became influenced by PMOI\/MEKI<\/a>\u2019s modern interpretation of Islam early in life. Joining the PMOI in 1967, he was involved in discussions on religion, history, and revolutionary theory. Rajavi later became a member of the Central Committee.<\/p>\n

In 1971, all the founders and the Central Committee of the PMOI\/MEK, including Rajavi, were arrested and sentenced to death by SAVAK, the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran\u2019s Mohammad Reza Shah. From 1975 up until his release in 1979, Massoud Rajavi<\/a> led the Mojahedin<\/a>\u2019s resistance against all three fronts while incarcerated in different prisons. He stressed the need to continue in the fight against Shah\u2019s dictatorship and warned against the emergence and growth of religious backwardness and despotism symbolized by Khomeini.<\/p>\n

After his release, Rajavi was dedicated to rebuilding the PMOI\/MEK<\/a>. He gave weekly lectures at Sharif University that attracted large audiences. An article in Le Monde described the occasion:
\n\u201cOne of the most important events not to be missed in Tehran are the courses on comparative philosophy, taught every Friday afternoon by Mr Massoud Rajavi. Some 10,000 people presented their admission cards to listen for three hours to the lectures by the leader of the People\u2019s Mojahedin on Sharif University\u2019s lawn.\u201d
\nIn 1980, Massoud Rajavi was nominated for the Iranian presidential election. In his book, The Iranian Mojahedin, Ervand Abrahamian writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cRajavi\u2019s candidacy was not only endorsed by the Mojahedin-affiliated organizations\u2026; but also by an impressive array of independent organizations including the Feda\u2019iyan, the National Democratic Front, the Kurdish Democratic Party, the Kurdish Toilers Revolutionary Party (Komula), the Society of Iranian Socialists, the Society for the Cultural and Political Rights of the Turkomans, the Society of Young Assyrians, and the Joint Group of Armenian, Zoroastrian and Jewish Minorities. Rajavi also received the support of a large number of prominent figures: Taleqani\u2019s widow; Shaykh Ezeddin Hosayni, the spiritual leader of the Sunni Kurds in Mahabad; Hojjat al-Islam Jalal Ganjehi\u2026; fifty well-known members of the Iranian Writers\u2019 Association, including the economist Naser Pakdaman, the essayist Manuchehr Hezarkhani and the secular historians Feraydun Adamiyyat and Homa Nateq; and, of course, many of the families of the early Mojahedin martyrs, notably the Hanif-nezhads, Rezais, Mohsens, Badizadegans, Asgarizadehs, Sadeqs, Meshkinfams, and Mihandusts. The Mojahedin had become the vanguards of the secular opposition to the Islamic Republic.\u201d
\nKhomeini denied and vetoed Rajavi\u2019s candidacy for the Iranian presidential election. Khomeini\u2019s reasoning was that Rajavi had opposed the national referendum on Iran\u2019s new constitution, which established a theocratic government. Rajavi ran for a seat in Iran\u2019s new Majlis (parliament), but lost the race after a discrepancy in the vote tally and election process.<\/p>\n

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