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Reza Alghurabi, Mehr News, August 22 2019:… The terrorist People’s Mojahedin Organization (MEK) is a leftist political organization that was formed in the 1940s and gradually changed in nature into a true cult. The leader of this cult, Masoud Rajavi, has been missing in the past 13 years, just after the US-led war against Iraq in 2003 that toppled Saddam, Rajavi’s friend and ally. Why has Rajavi disappeared since then, or where is he now, are questions that occasionally come to the minds of those who deal with this cult . MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
The MEK : Illusion vs. Reality
MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
TEHRAN, Aug. 2 (MNA) – All cults in the world are composed of a base and top of the pyramid. The top of the pyramid is the highest position in a cult that finds itself needless to consult and decides on the basis of its own thoughts or desires.
The bodies of these pyramids are forced to follow their hierarchical superiors, which eventually reaches the top of the pyramid.
The terrorist People’s Mojahedin Organization (MEK) is no exception: A leftist political organization that was formed in the 1940s and gradually changed in nature into a true cult.
The leader of this cult, Masoud Rajavi, has been missing in the past 13 years, just after the US-led war against Iraq in 2003 that toppled Saddam, Rajavi’s friend and ally.
Why has Rajavi disappeared since then, or where is he now, are questions that occasionally come to the minds of those who deal with this cult. There is no doubt that members of this group, especially those living in the MEK’s camp in Tirana, Albania, have repeatedly asked this question from themselves. they can only ask this question from themselves because asking questions in cults, such as the Rajavi’s cult, is a sign of criticism and would immediately be repressed or harshly responded.
But why Rajavi disappeared?
Massoud Rajavi has been the leader of the MEK for more than two and a half decades. He is accused of killing several thousand Iranian citizens and officials over the years by his death squads. In addition, Iraqis believe his group has worked directly with Saddam’s military and security apparatus to suppress the Kurds and Turkmen in the country after the 1991 war with Kuwait. Along with these allegations, which have been admitted by hundreds of the cult’s ex-members, his migration to Iraq during the country’s war with Iran is seen as an unforgivable betrayal by the Iranian people and even by political opponents of the Iranian government.
Thus, with the overthrow of Saddam’s regime and the prosecution of its officials, it was very likely that Massoud Rajavi be prosecuted by Iran or Iraq on charges of murder and war crimes.
In addition, the fear of assassination and physical extermination has obviously scared Rajavi. By his absence, Rajavi appointed his well-dressed wife, Maryam, at the head of the pyramid to indicate that the MEK has changed from a violent armed group to a political movement led by a woman.
In the years following his absence, Massoud Rajavi repeatedly sent audio messages to members of the group in order to prevent the frustration of members out of his prolonged absence.
However, this absence has been so prolonged that it has led members to criticize and even flee the group. Fear of the group’s collapse has forced Maryam Rajavi to repeatedly move from her Paris headquarters to Tirana to lecture to members in order to show that the situation is under control.
It seems that measures such as former Saudi intelligence chief Turki al-Faisal’s statements among members of the cult a few years ago in which he had called Masoud Rajavi dead or putting Masoud’s image among Iran’s deceased historical leaders, and, at the same time, denying his death by the cult’s ringleaders by occasionally broadcasting Masoud’s voice messages are the cult’s game to confuse members and even Iranian officials about the status of the group’s leader. The goals of this game are preventing the members’ exit as well as blinding Iranians’ desire to prosecute or exterminate Rajavi.
It seems that under the current circumstances, whether Massoud is alive or not will have little effect on the group’s situation. The MEK continues to be viewed as a notorious group with a bad record among Iranian people and the Iranian opposition groups; A group which had been on the list of terrorist organizations in the US and the EU, with no credible social base in Iran, dozens of its members fled its camps since 2014 when the group was relocated to Albania, the average age of its members on the rise, and many of them already too old. It is even feared that because of its relocation to Albania, the MEK could be considered a serious obstacle to Albania’s EU accession negotiations and the group’s presence in Albania could turn into a challenge for the Balkan country.
Desperate widow of Massoud Rajavi (Maryam Azodanloo, “Rajavi”)
So whether or not the elderly leader of this cult is alive, when the MEK is facing a lot of challenges, may not matter much.
Reza Alghurabi is an Arab journalist who lives in Iran. He is a former researcher at the Beirut Center for Middle East Studies and an independent researcher and journalist writing in Iranian newspapers including the Khorasan daily.
(End)
MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
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Also read:
https://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/?p=7500
Grand Controversy as MEK can’t prove leader Massoud Rajavi is dead or alive
Massoud & Anne Khodabandeh, Huffington Post, July 14 2016:… Whether Rajavi is already dead or now killable is not known – only he can answer this – but he and his whole organisation are certainly now, body and soul, in the capable hands of the Saudi Prince. If he is still alive, Rajavi’s only role is to act as go-between to instruct his wife what she must do on behalf of the Saudis. If he is dead, some other operative will easily do instead. The Saudis, like Saddam Hussein, regard women of equal importance to goats and sheep. It would, therefore, be inconceivable they deal directly with her as the so-called feminist leader of a group whos
Council of Foreign Relations, 2014: Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK). Backgrounders
Grand Controversy as MEK can’t prove leader Massoud Rajavi is dead or alive
Co-authored by Anne Khodabandeh
Massoud Rajavi
Maryam Rajavi’s Grand Gathering in Paris on 9 July was billed as her promise of imminent regime change at her behest. Instead it turned into a Grand Controversy of a different kind. This annual propaganda show advertises Rajavi’s propaganda skills in order to secure continued funding from regime change pundits. This year was dramatically different due to the unannounced presence of Prince Turki al-Faisal, former Saudi ambassador to the UK and US. Certainly not a person you invite from a list in a speakers’ agency.
This year, Prince Turki’s involvement changed everything for the MEK. Not least because of public perception of Saudi Arabia as a repressive regime, particularly toward women. Turki insisted the venue be moved from Villepinte to Bourges for reasons of security. He then ordered changes to the layout of the stage and the speakers panel. Suddenly someone else was in charge of the event. Undaunted, perhaps even pleased to have such a prestigious guest, Maryam Rajavi opened the rally by praising her husband Massoud Rajavi. “May God protect the everlastingly vigilant lion” she announced while gesturing to his picture posted large around the arena. This was only to be expected. Even though he disappeared just before allied forces attacked Iraq in 2003, Massoud Rajavi is known to be the actual leader of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK – NCRI is a front name for the MEK), his wife being second-in-command.
When it was the turn of the Saudi Prince to speak, he gestured for Maryam Rajavi to sit down with the rest of the audience and listen, ensuring at the same time that she was not photographed with him in any capacity. Turki, former head of Saudi intelligence with which he is still involved, is a notoriously shrewd operator. As Ambassador to Washington he famously convinced some Americans that the backing for 9/11 came not from Saudi but from Iran. He is known to never talk off script. Therefore, there can be no doubt that when he twice announced Massoud Rajavi’s death it was not a mistake. The word ‘marhoum’ – which is understood by Arabic speakers as an expression of condolence – appeared clumsily, and thereby deliberately, inserted into his sentence.
Until that moment Maryam Rajavi had been blissfully unaware. Her lack of reaction the first time he turned to look directly at her and said ‘marhoum Massoud Rajavi’, shows that she didn’t catch what had been said. The second time the penny dropped, as did her smile. Clearly Turki had not consulted the MEK in advance on the content of his speech. And if he had made a mistake there was plenty of time afterwards to correct it. He didn’t.
So, what does this mean? Is Massoud Rajavi dead? And if so, why doesn’t his wife know, or if she does, why not say so? More importantly, why did Prince Tuki make this announcement in public during the most important event of the MEK?
Although Saudi support for the MEK goes back to the time of Saddam Hussein, the relationship was never made public. (Indicatively, the MEK have used Al Arabiya as their mouthpiece for years and much more in recent months.) Analysts have surmised that Prince Turki attended the MEK rally in order to publicly announce himself the new owner of the group.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the MEK needed new backers. Massoud Rajavi sold the services of his group to the Israelis, the neoconservatives and of course to Saudi Arabia. This is why we saw the MEK used during the P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Iran. Once agreement was reached their anti-Iran rhetoric shifted towards human rights abuses. Unfortunately for MEK backers the group has history in this respect, with Human Rights Watch and the RAND Corporation revealing human rights and cultic abuses taking place inside the MEK. As a fake opposition, the group is so reviled by Iranians that it has even attracted its own opposition!
With the rise of Daesh and other violent gangs and groups in Syria and Iraq, the MEK found new opportunities. Maryam Rajavi made overtures to the Syrian Free Army. It looked for a while as though the MEK would be able to use a new base in Albania – to which its ageing, but deeply radicalised fighting force in Camp Liberty, Iraq are currently being transferred – as a facilitating camp. The idea was to provide training and logistics to newer terrorist groups from a country on the edge of Europe but close to the Middle East. This was blocked when Albanian experts exposed it on national television.
Events in the Middle East have shifted. Saudi Arabia has come to the fore and covert threats of military conflict against Iran are an open secret in the region. But after being left in the cold by the United States, the Saudis have had to search for other allies in this venture. While Turki knows very well the MEK is nothing more than a propaganda machine and irritant for Iran, this is apparently better than nothing.
Turki’s appearance at the rally signals that whoever was handling Rajavi previously – presumably western intel services – have handed him over to the Saudis as they did in 1986 when Rajavi was expelled from France and handed over to Saddam Hussein to help his war effort against Iran.
Massoud Rajavi, being as naïve as he is, thought he would retain the old masters and work on new projects for the Saudis. Instead, MEK experts believe that Maraym Rajavi will have understood Turki’s message as this: ‘There are no old masters, they are all gone. It is only me. And Saudi intel will not treat you like Saddam did. At that time you had a fighting force in Iraq ready to attack Iran. Now your only use is as a propaganda outlet. Nor will we treat you with the leniency that the Israelis or UK or US have shown. And so that you understand your position as our slave I have just announced your husband’s death. Now, forget about disobeying my commands. His actual death can easily be arranged at any time’.
Whether Rajavi is already dead or now killable is not known – only he can answer this – but he and his whole organisation are certainly now, body and soul, in the capable hands of the Saudi Prince. If he is still alive, Rajavi’s only role is to act as go-between to instruct his wife what she must do on behalf of the Saudis. If he is dead, some other operative will easily do instead. The Saudis, like Saddam Hussein, regard women of equal importance to goats and sheep. It would, therefore, be inconceivable they deal directly with her as the so-called feminist leader of a group whose services they are paying for.
Days have now passed since this Grand Controversy erupted. The MEK reaction following the rally was near hysterical. They issued messages in places they would never normally talk to – VOA and BBC Persian – to emphasise beyond doubt that Rajavi is still alive. In spite of this, the MEK has still not been able to actually prove this to be true. Somebody therefore is lying.
The fact is, nobody outside the MEK really cares whether Rajavi is alive or dead. But for his followers the grim reality of their future must by now have sunk in. If the MEK cannot prove – by voice or appearance – that their leader is alive, or proclaim instead that he is actually dead, it means the whole organisation has died. For if they cannot accomplish this simple task, how can they promise regime change?
Prince Turki al-Faisal and the Mojahedin Khalq arms
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Also read:
Ted Snider , Counter Punch, July 29 2019:… Two senior officials in the Obama administration revealed to NBC news that the assassinations were carried out by the MEK. They also confirm that the MEK was being financed, armed and trained by the Israeli Mossad and that the assassinations were carried out with the awareness of the United States. The State,… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Melissa Etehad, Les Angles Times, July 29 2019:… For decades, the United States categorized the Mujahedin Khalq, or MEK, as a terrorist organization. In the Trump era, members of the Iranian dissident group, which seeks to topple the government in Iran, have found key allies in Washington. People close to President Trump, including national security advisor John Bolton, and Trump’s… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Tehran Times, July 28 2019:… Government spokesman Ali Rabiei draws a parallel between the MEK’s false belief that it had popular support in Iran when it launched attack on Iran in late July 1988, and the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement, which President Rouhani has attributed to Washington’s false belief that the Iranian people were fed-up with the… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Alex MacDonald, Middle East Eye, London, July 28 2019:… The most important of these facts is that the MEK is a cult which keeps its members in Albania in conditions of modern slavery. If the MEK’s supporters want to believe that after not being paid for three decades, they are just ‘volunteers’, then there is not much else they won’t… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Iran Interlink, July 27 2019:… It’s become a fashion. Every week someone in the MEK’s Albania camp dies. This week two people died in the camp. Interestingly there is no doctor, no coroner, no investigation and no involvement with any Albanian whatsoever. When asked about it the authorities say they are afraid of the Americans and that anyway the inside… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Iran Press, July 27 2019:… The commemoration ceremony of the 31st anniversary of MKO defeat anniversary (Mersad operation) held in Strait of Mersad, Islamabad, Western Iran with the presence of provincial officials, commanders and combatants of the eight years imposed war of Iraq against Iran. The MKO has a dark history of assassinations and bomb attacks against the Iranian government… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Nejat Society, July 26 2019:… Bolton has always been the star of the show,” according to the Open Secrets News website. “Records show that the MEK has paid Bolton at least $180,000 in speaker fees to attend the group’s annual Paris conference for more than a decade . The Magic Formula to Turn MEK Terrorists to Proxies for False Flag… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Neri Zilber, The Daily Beast, July 25 2019:… The account had over 2,000 followers, including the verified profiles of several prominent Israeli journalists, the French ambassador in Israel, and the French embassy in Tel Aviv. A picture of the consul general visiting a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem was tweeted out around the same time as the MEK thread; a… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Iran Front Page, July 23 2019:… A top leader of the Muhajedhin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) calls the US an imperialist regime, and accuses its presidents – from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama – of committing crimes against the terrorist cult, a leaked audio released by the Iran Front Page reveals. Mehdi Abrishamchi, a founding member of the anti-Iran terror group,… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Iran Front Page, July 23 2019:… A member of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group has, in an interview, narrated the story of his life, including the way he was recruited in a refugee camp in Europe, and the terrorist operation he was about to carry out in Iran. Europe, which claims to be and advocate of human rights… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Nejat Society, July 22 2019:… The peak of the MEK’s successful deal –to sell fake news and buy war drums—was the case of the fictional persona named Heshmat Alavi that was revealed by the Intercept, a few weeks ago. “His purported work has appeared in a wide variety of journals over the years, write Robert Fantina of the Global Research.… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
Reza Alghurabi, American Herald Tribune, July 21 2019:… Listed for 17 years as a terrorist organization in the United States and the European Union, with various reports published about its violations of Human Rights and acts of violence and terror, the MEK enjoyed a significant increase in its activities during the first term of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s cabinet . The… MEK a Cult With a Missing Leader
