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Many officials have described the MEK as a "cult", including the United States government,[1] Foreign Ministry of France.[2] a 2008 report by the United Kingdom's Home Office,[3] and Samir Sumaidaie (Iraqi ambassador to the U.S.).[4] Academics who have described the MEK as a cult include Ervand Abrahamian,[5] Stephanie Cronin,[6] Wilfried Buchta,[7], Eli Clifton[8] and others.[9] Some journalists who visited MEK camps in Iraq, including Reese Erlich,[10] Robert Scheer,[10] and Elizabeth Rubin[11] described it as a cult. Claims that MEK is a cult have also been denied by Raymond Tanter,[12] and the European Parliament,[13] who has accused Iran of falsifying information.

According to Country Reports on Terrorism, in 1990 the second phase of the 'ideological revolution' was announced during which all married members were ordered to divorce and remain celibate, undertaking a vow of "eternal divorce", with the exception of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. The wedding rings of women were replaced with pendants engraved with Massoud's face.[14][15][16] During the second phase of the ideological revolution, all members were forced to surrender their individuality to the organization. A report commissioned by the US government, based on interviews within Camp Ashraf, concluded that the MEK had "many of the typical characteristics of a cult, such as authoritarian control, confiscation of assets, sexual control (including mandatory divorce and celibacy), emotional isolation, forced labour, sleep deprivation, physical abuse and limited exit options".[14] Rubin argued the cult revolves around the husband-and-wife duo, Maryam and Massoud Rajavi.[17][18]

According to a RAND Corporation policy report, while in Paris, Masoud Rajavi began to implement an "ideological revolution", which required members an increased study and devotion that later expanded into "near religious devotion to the Rajavis". After its settlement in Iraq, however, it experienced a shortfall of volunteers. This led to the recruitment of members including Iranian dissidents, as well as Iranian economic migrants in countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, through "false promises of employment, land, aid in applying for asylum in Western countries, and even marriage, to attract them to Iraq." MEK also gave free visit trips to its camps to the relatives of the members. According to the RAND report, the recruited members were mostly brought by MEK into Iraq illegally and then were asked to submit their identity documents for "safekeeping", an act which would "effectively trap" them. With the assistance of Saddam's government, MEK also recruited some of its members from the Iranian prisoners of the Iran-Iraq war.[19]

  1. ^ Merat, Owen Bennett Jones (15 April 2012). "An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. ^ "France lashes out at Iranian opposition group" The Associated Press, June 27, 2014
  3. ^ "COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT IRAN 6 AUGUST 2009". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28.
  4. ^ Rogin, Josh (25 August 2011), "MEK rally planned for Friday at State Department", Foreign Policy, retrieved 25 March 2018
  5. ^ Abrahamian 1989, pp. 260–261.
  6. ^ Cronin, Stephanie (2013). Reformers and Revolutionaries in Modern Iran: New Perspectives on the Iranian Left. Routledge/BIPS Persian Studies Series. Routledge. p. 274. ISBN 978-1-134-32890-1.
  7. ^ Buchta, Wilfried (2000), Who rules Iran?: the structure of power in the Islamic Republic, Washington DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, p. 144, ISBN 978-0-944029-39-8
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Saeed Kamali was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Axworthy, Michael (2008). Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran. Hachette Books. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-465-01920-5. ...the MKO kept up its opposition and its violent attacks, but dwindled over time to take on the character of a paramilitary cult, largely subordinated to the interests of the Baathist regime in Iraq.
  10. ^ a b Reese Erlich, Robert Scheer (2016). Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis. Routledge. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-1-317-25737-0.
  11. ^ Elizabeth Rubin (13 July 2003). "The Cult of Rajavi". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  12. ^ Raymond Tanter (2006). Appeasing the Ayatollahs and Suppressing Democracy: U.S. Policy and the Iranian Opposition. Iran Policy Committee. ISBN 978-1599752976.
  13. ^ Brie, André; Martins Casaca, José Paulo; Zabeti, Azadeh (2005). People's Mojahedin of Iran. L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782747593816.
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference r4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Banisadr, Masoud (2016), "The metamorphosis of MEK (Mujahedin e Khalq)", in Barker, Eileen (ed.), Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements, Ashgate Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements, Routledge, p. 173, ISBN 9781317063612
  16. ^ Anthony H. Cordesman; Adam C. Seitz (2009), Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Birth of a Regional Nuclear Arms Race?, Praeger Security International Series, ABC-LIO, pp. 325–326, ISBN 9780313380884
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rubin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Fadel, Leila. "Cult-like Iranian militant group worries about its future in Iraq". mcclatchydc.com. McClatchy. Retrieved 10 April 2019. However, they have little support inside Iran, where they're seen as traitors for taking refuge in an enemy state and are often referred to as the cult of Rajavi, coined after the leaders of the movement, Mariam and Massoud Rajavi.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference RAND was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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