Islamic fundamentalism, as propagated by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and currently by his heirs, imperils the new world order. The ruling mullahs are using diplomacy, bribery, terrorism, and carefully crafted propaganda to woo Muslim nations, especially the newly independent Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. This is especially dangerous because Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles from these republics.
Policymakers have too often overlooked threats until confronted with a full-fledged crisis. One cannot afford this approach in dealing with Tehran's brand of Islamic fundamentalism. The spread of pro-Iranian regimes, backed by a nuclear-armed government in Tehran, would be a disaster. We have to prevent that threat before it happens.
This book clearly defines the Khomeini form of Islamic fundamentalism and gives a well-documented, authoritative account of its history, reasons for its appeal, and its frightening goals for the future. It also presents a realistic policy to neutralize Tehran's campaign against democracy and peace.
The book's strength is a reflection of the background and position of the author, Mohammad Mohaddessin, who is a ranking member of the People's Mojahedin of Iran. The Mojahedin derive their ideology from Islam, as Khomeini did. But there the similarity ends. Unlike Khomeini and his heirs, the Mojahedin believe in freedom, human rights, and democratic values. The clash between the Mojahedin and the ruling mullahs has been a war between two very different Islams.
In 1965, the Mojahedin formed an underground organization and launched a battle for democracy against the shah's corrupt dictatorship, losing hundreds of men and women in the course of that struggle or to the shah's firing squads.
When the Ayatollah took over in 1979, the Mojahedin immediately denounced the new regime's dictatorial policies and campaigned for democratic rule. The Mojahedin exhausted every opportunity for peaceful political struggle until June 1981, when Khomeini ordered his followers to open fire on a nonviolent demonstration of half a million Tehran residents. This left the Iranians and the Mojahedin with no choice but armed resistance to defend themselves.
The Mojahedin have lost tens of thousands of men and women so far in their crusade for a free and democratic Iran that will follow the laws of the civilized family of nations. They have a full-fledged, highly trained army based along the Iran-Iraq frontier and a huge underground in Iran. As this book demonstrates, Khomeini-style Islamic fundamentalism leaves no room for "moderates" and "moderation." Any slackening of repression at home will invite a rising by the citizenry that is chafing under a brutal regime. Any real opening to the West will threaten to disclose the ruling clergy's grisly crimes against humanity. Tehran can afford neither. Deception is thus one of the key elements of Khomeiniism that persists to this day. The Ayatollah used it to persuade Iranians that he was fighting for everything they craved: freedom, democracy, human rights, and social justice. Yet after the Pahlavi throne toppled, he ordered the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, created an international crisis, and used it to gag his opponents at home, railroad a theocratic constitution, and build institutions of political repression and coercion. In the same way, he used the war with Iraq, which he prolonged for eight years, to equate all popular complaints and criticisms with treason.
The crisis in the Persian Gulf, in this light, was a godsend for Khomeini's heirs. Behind all the blue smoke and mirrors, the ruling mullahs are spreading lies, money, weapons, and agents throughout the region to encourage the creation of one Islamic republic after another, styled after Tehran.
This book is a timely expose. It offers us a chance to give Khomeini-style Islamic fundamentalism a prominent place on the agenda of public debate here and abroad. We cannot afford to leave unchallenged the claims of Iran's publicists that the regime has become more moderate and "normal."
The Mojahedin's message is that Muslim nations should not look to Khomeini for guidance in their struggles for freedom, democracy, and social justice. The Mojahedin's ideology shows how Islam can support all these ideals. Thus, the Mojahedin illustrate a powerful truth to Iranians and, in my view, to other Muslims: Renouncing Khomeini-style fundamentalism is in no way tantamount to renouncing Islam. On the contrary, renouncing Khomeiniism is the first step for Muslims who want Islam as well as individual liberties and social progress.
The new world order has given the United Nations the moral and physical authority its founders intended. If we use it to unmask Khomeiniism, we need not use force. This is a vitally important mission.
With this book, the Mojahedin have formally launched their battle on a worldwide scale. They deserve support-above all, because of our children. The end of the Cold War means our children can now sleep without fearing death in a nuclear holocaust; by exposing the true nature of the Tehran regime, we can help them continue their untroubled sleep.
Dr. Davina Miller
Lecturer in International Relations Salford University
Manchester, England
March 1993
