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Iran
Index
Among the armed leftist guerrilla groups operating in Iran in
1987, the Fadayan was the most active. The Fadayan was established
when smaller groups operating in Tabriz, Mashhad, and Tehran merged
in 1970. Its founders were university students and graduates who
saw violence as the only means to oppose the shah. As Iran's
economic situation deteriorated in the mid-1970s, the Fadayan
recruited workers from large manufacturing industries and the oil
sector. Recruitment expanded to include such national and ethnic
movements as those of Kurdish, Turkoman, Baluch, and Arab
minorities. The Fadayan opposed both imperial and republican
regimes but did participate fully in the Revolution, taking over
various military barracks and police stations in Tehran, Tabriz,
Hamadan, Abadan, and Shiraz in 1979. In early June 1980, the
Fadayan split into two factions: the Fadayan "Minority" and the
Fadayan " Majority." The "Minority" faction, which was actually the
larger of the two, has consistently opposed the Republic and
considered Khomeini "reactionary." It vehemently condemned the
Tudeh's cooperation with Khomeini prior to 1983. It also rejected
the armed activities of the Mojahedin and advocated instead the
expansion of underground cells. The "Minority" faction refused to
join the NCR because of Bani Sadr's past association with the
Khomeini regime. Subsequently, the "Minority" faction, along with
a number of smaller leftist groups, established a new organization
known as the Organization of Revolutionary Workers of Iran.
The Fadayan "Majority" faction moved closer to the views held
by the Tudeh and supported Khomeini because of his anti-imperialist
stance. This support of Khomeini changed in early 1983 when
Khomeini turned against the Tudeh. In late 1987, the "Majority"
faction was a satellite of the Tudeh
(see Opposition Political Parties in Exile
, ch. 4).
The falling out of the Fadayan with the Islamic government
within the first year of the Revolution was attributed to the
ideological rift that emerged between the Fadayan's leftist-secular
agenda and the religious and ideological views of the clerical
leadership. Khomeini's
velayat-e faqih (see Glossary)
was a
powerful concept that swept aside all leftist arguments; the
Khomeini view of the Revolution was appealing precisely because of
its nationalist aspects, which were easily assimilated by the
Iranian population.
Data as of December 1987
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