The Iranian Mojahedin

Abrahamian argues that the Mojahedin-e Khalq, an Iranian political party perpetually in violent opposition to the regime in Tehran, was important between 1968 and 1981. The party played a key oppositional role during those years and it developed an original and highly consequential ideology of revolutionary Islam. After 1981, however, the Mojahedin bumbled so often, outside observers can be excused for not taking it entirely seriously. The party dissimulated its doctrines with painful transparency, allied with an enemy government (that of Iraq) against its own countrymen, and celebrated the sorry spectacle of its leader stealing a colleague's wife and turning her into a revolutionary queen. Abrahamian paints a devastating portrait of a leadership which knowingly transforms a political party into a cult, and gets increasingly caught up in its own rituals and circular arguments. Eventually it spins off into an irrelevance of its own making. Abrahamian's evidence suggests the Mojahedin had its unique moment a decade back, and that it is unlikely ever to have a second chance.

The Iranian Mojahedin has its share of problems; in particular, too much space (a third of the text) is devoted to a very general analysis of Iranian politics. Also, the author allows himself to get overly caught up in a Marxist analyses - for example, his interpretation of the Mojahedin's social bases. Such criticisms aside, this first full-length study of the Mojahedin is enormously valuable for the masses of data it brings to light and its insights into the vagaries of life in the Iranian opposition.