Forqan Group

Forqan Group (Persian: گروه فرقان, named after Sura Al-Furqan) was an Iranian opposition militant group with clandestine cell system[2] adhering to a Shia anti-clerical Islamist ideology.

Forqan Group
Leaders
Dates of operationc. 1976–January/May 1980
HeadquartersTehran, Jamalzadeh St., 23 Akhavan Alley [lower-alpha 3]
Active regionsTehran, Urmia, Tabriz[lower-alpha 4]
Ideology
Size49 [lower-alpha 8]
OpponentsIran Islamic Republic
Battles and warsConsolidation of the Iranian Revolution

Forqan assassinated some senior officials, including Gen. Valiollah Qarani, Morteza Motahari, Mohammad Mofatteh and Mohammad Ali Qazi Tabatabaei[lower-alpha 10] but it was soon eliminated following the arrest and execution of its key members in 1980. The group also attempted to assassinate future Supreme Leader Khamenei in 1981.

The group opposed other social sectors such as the "wealthy bazaaris", the "liberal politicians" and the "Marxist atheists" who, in their view, "were plotting to betray the Islamic Revolution".[lower-alpha 11] The group self-proclaimed to be followers of Ali Shariati, however, according to Ronen Cohen, the claim was used instrumentally to look more "prestigious" and allow them to develop their combined ideology.[lower-alpha 12]

Etymology

The Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic describes "forqan" as a meaning criterion or standard. Uri Rubin introduced Forqan as one of the names of the Quran. The root of this word means "separate". In the Tarikh al-Tabari and Tafsir al-Kabir (al-Razi) the root of this word means "God's separating or distinguishing between truth and falsehood, defined as f-r-q".[2]

History

The Forqan group was an Islamic Shia group that promoted a view of Islam that opposes the existence of religious clergy.[4]

According to the Shariati thought, the rule of the unity of God forms the basic element of an equal and just society in the tradition of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He believed that the Twelve Imams (not Rashidun except Ali) are the real successors of Muhammad and they tried to make an equal society. He considered Shia Islam above all ideologies and religions, but believed clerics should not have key political positions. Akbar Goodarzi was affected by the revolutionary thought of Shariati and authored an interpretation of the Quran named "monotheistic ideology." Shariati believed in Islam without clerics, similar to Abul A'la Maududi's ideas but Goodarzi was more fanatical than Shariati and in 1970 the Forqan group was founded by Goodarzi. Another person who had important effect on forming the ideology of the Forqan group was Habibollah Ashory, a disgruntled cleric.[2]

The climax of the Forqan group's activities came in the early days after the 1979 Iranian revolution. By early 1980, the group was effectively eliminated due to a series of arrests.[2][5]

Activities

The Forqan group was a radical Iranian organization that claimed responsibility for a number of assassinations during the 1979 Revolution.[6] The responsibilities of following assassinated persons had been undertaken by this group:[5][4] Mohammad-Vali Gharani, Morteza Motahhari,[7] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,[7] Mohammad Taghi Haji Tarkhani, Abbas Amir-Entezam, Seyed Razi Shirazi, Seyed Mohsen Behbahani, Hosein Mahdian, Mahdi Iraqi, Hesam Iraqi, Mohammad Baqir Dashtianeh, Hans Joachim Leib, Mohammad Ali Qazi Tabatabaei, Mohammad Mofatteh, Javad Bahmani, Asghar Nemati, Faqih Imani and Qasim Rouhani.

The assassination attempts on prominent Iranians Ahmad Ladjevardi,[8] Ali Khamenei and Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili were attributed to the Forqan group.[5][9]

See also

Note
  1. Revolution Under Attack, p. 30
  2. Revolution Under Attack, p. 30
  3. Revolution Under Attack, p. 116
  4. Revolution Under Attack, p. 177
  5. Revolution Under Attack, p. 41-42
  6. Revolution Under Attack, p. 41-42
  7. Revolution Under Attack, p. 66
  8. Revolution Under Attack, p. 30
  9. Revolution Under Attack, p. 30
  10. Revolution Under Attack, p. 80
  11. Revolution Under Attack, p. 51-52
  12. Revolution Under Attack, p. 76–77

References
  1. Barry M. Rubin, ed. (2010), Guide to Islamist Movements, vol. 2, M.E. Sharpe, p. 260, ISBN 9780765641380
  2. Ronen A. Cohen (2015), Revolution Under Attack: The Forqan Group of Iran, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, doi:10.1057/9781137502506, ISBN 9781137502506
  3. Mohammadighalehtaki, Ariabarzan (2012). Organisational Change in Political Parties in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With Special Reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat) (Ph.D. thesis). Durham University. p. 166.
  4. Shahidi, Hossein (2007). Journalism in Iran: From Mission to Profession. Routledge; Reissue edition. ISBN 978-0415583169.
  5. Staff Writer (2010). "Take a look to assassinations of Forqan groupe". jamejamonline. Archived from the original on 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  6. "Forqan." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Nov. 2018
  7. E. Marty, Martin; Appleby, R. Scott; H. Garvey, John; Kuran, Timur (1996). Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance. University of Chicago Press. p. 524. ISBN 978-0226508849. terrors of forqan group.
  8. Cumming-Bruce, Nicholas (August 9, 1979). "Staff of Iranian Newspaper Faces Trial". The Washington Post.
  9. Alavi, Hamid. "Assassination attempt on Ali Khamenei 35 years later". BBC.
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