As we mark the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), it is a moment to reflect on the organization’s remarkable journey. For almost six decades, the PMOI has weathered the storms of relentless onslaught from the Shah and mullahs’ dictatorships. These tyrannical regimes used their vast financial, propaganda, military, political, and diplomatic resources to annihilate the PMOI.
But the organization stands today and thrives as the main and most organized Iranian opposition movement, consistently challenging the mullahs’ dictatorship. The question that then arises is: what is the secret to the PMOI’s glorious persistence?
First, the PMOI embodies dedication. The founders of the PMOI, Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeid Mohsen, and Ali Ashghar Badizadegan, understood that the fight for freedom is not a part-time occupation, but rather, a full-time commitment. Inspired by the previous chapters of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, they realized that a dedicated organization was essential to combat the tyrannical regime. To this day, PMOI members dedicate their lives to this struggle. Rather than waiting for favorable domestic and international circumstance to take shape arbitrarily, they proactively strive to create conditions conducive to freedom.
Second, the PMOI prides itself on its independence. It has relied solely on the Iranian people and the great family of the Iranian Resistance in its struggle. Although the PMOI appreciates the support of politicians, organizations, and states who aid in the quest for freedom and democracy in Iran, it has never compromised its independence for that support. This steadfast belief has allowed the PMOI to withstand major geopolitical shifts in the past six decades. The PMOI emerged from the heart of the Iranian people and their decades-long struggle for freedom. And today, it is still nurtured, funded, and provisioned by the great people of Iran.
Third, the PMOI is built on conviction and courage. A testament to this is the undying spirit of the PMOI’s founders, who, under the tortures and pressures of the Shah regime and its murderous SAVAK police, remained unwavering. They embraced their death sentences, knowing the struggle for freedom would continue and the Shah regime would fall.
This is why Moussa Khiabani, a senior member of the PMOI killed by the mullahs’ regime in 1982, said, “You might kill us, you might imprison us. But the Mojahedin can’t be destroyed… This ideal can’t be destroyed because it is just. It will find its place in the society and history. If this flag falls from our hands today, other hands will certainly grasp and lift it again.”
This is why tens of thousands of PMOI members went to the gallows of the mullahs’ regime in the summer of 1988 but refused to give up on their ideals. This is why thousands of other PMOI members laid down their lives across of Iran and other corners of the world. And this is why Iran’s youth are joining the ranks of the Resistance Units every day despite the threats that come with supporting the PMOI.
Lastly, the PMOI’s focus on the fight against tyranny has been unerring. Its founders believed the main demarcation was between the tyrant and the oppressed. Despite being a Muslim organization, the PMOI has never shied away from collaborating with individuals or organizations of different ideologies or faiths.
In the early years after the 1979 revolution, the mullahs tried to create a dichotomy between Muslims and non-Muslims. But under the leadership of Massoud Rajavi, the PMOI focused on defending freedom. In the later decades, the PMOI has stayed true to that principle. Even today, as the regime and the remnants of the Shah dictatorship try to create artificial demarcations based on ideology, religion, and ethnicity, the PMOI remains focused on its original goal: Overthrowing the mullahs’ regime to empower the people of Iran to choose their leaders and destiny in free and fair elections.
In essence, the PMOI discovered the scientific principles of the struggle for freedom and has stayed true to those principles for 58 years. Today, the evidence of the righteousness of the path that the PMOI’s founders set in 1965 is evident in the thousands of youths that are joining the Resistance Units, the continued resistance of PMOI members in Ashraf 3, and the persistence of the brave supporters of the PMOI across the globe.
The PMOI’s journey is an emblem of dedication, independence, conviction, courage, and focus. As we commemorate the 58th anniversary of the founding of the PMOI, we pay tribute to the 120,000 martyrs of the Iranian Resistance, whose memory is very much alive today in every corner of Iran and in every uprising that brings the mullahs’ regime closer to its overthrow.
