Chapter I The Rise of The Islamic Republic of Iran by Shughes

CHAPTER I : THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
CHAPTER I: Introduction
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a revolutionary theocratic Totalitarian state formed in 1979 following the overthrow of the last Shah (monarch), Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was the leader of the revolution and then of the Islamic Republic until his death in 1989. Iran at one time was one of Americas strongest ally in the Middle East. Tehran was held in high esteem, maintained friendly relations throughout the region including Israel. Under the Shah Iran was the first Muslim Nation to recognize the State of Israel. Chapter One is account of how one man change the face of the Nation of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. This is an exploration of the ascent of Khomeini, who refashioned the state of Iran into Religious Totalitarianism country based on Sharia Laws. Khomeinis theocratic government principle of guardianship of the jurisprudent was kept hidden until after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The idea that the ruler of the state must be the person best qualified to interpret Islam and enforce Muslim law upon the people is enshrined in the constitution of the Islamic Republic, which vests full power in the jurisprudent (faqih) at its head in the position commonly known as Supreme Leader. Khomeini had promised to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to make Iran into a representative democracy. After he seized power however, he formed an Islamic Republic making himself Head of State for life. One his most grandiose act, which shocked many Iranians, which Khomeini did when he came to power, was to rename himself Imam Khomeini. A title reserved for the first leader of the Shiites, Imam Ali. Granted that title Imam Ali, by the Prophet Mohammed, and reserved for Alis 11 descendants. None of Irans then grand ayatollahs endorsed him. This chapter divulges the thousands of innocent Iranians and Kurds that were executed in the 1979 Iranian Revolution for consolidation of power into the hands of one man Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini did not issue a fatwa for Jihad (Holy War) against the Shahs monarchist government. Nor did he issue one during the eight long years his regime fought Saddams Baathist regime. But he issued a fatwa for Jihad against his own Iranian Kurdish, Muslim countrymen.
1988-1989 Bloody purges, Children as young as 13 were hanged from cranes, six at a time, in a barbaric two-month purge of Iran's prisons on the direct orders of Ayatollah Khomeini, reported in a book by his former deputy. More than 30,000 political prisoners were executed in the 1988 massacre, from The Memoirs of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri,
This Chapter also illuminates the governmental structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the various governmental directorates, how officials are placed into power and removed, the matrix of Islamic Theocratic Totalitarian state of Tehran.
Contents
CHAPTER I: THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN .................................................. 4 Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah (19001989) ...................................................................... 5 Quotes of Ayatollah Khomeini Before & After the 1979 Iranian Revolution ....................... 8 The Purges: Mass Executions of 1979 and 1988 ................................................................ 9 The Doctrine of Taqiyya ................................................................................................... 10 The Islamic Clerics Will Lead the Revolution but Step Aside and Let Elected Civilian Representatives Rule ....................................................................................................... 11 Purges of the Iranian Kurds ............................................................................................ 13 The Iranian Kurds, One of the Largest Ethnic Minorities in Iran ...................................... 13 Major Time Line Events of Ayatollah Khomeini, To Current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei ........................................................................................................................ 15 Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, Velayat-I Faqih ....................................................... 17 Assembly of Experts: 86 Mujtahids (Islamic scholars) .................................................... 18 Guardian Council / Council of Guardians ......................................................................... 19 The President .................................................................................................................. 19 Majlis (Parliament) .......................................................................................................... 20 The Expediency Council ................................................................................................... 21 The Judiciary ................................................................................................................... 21 The Supreme Leader ........................................................................................................ 22 Timeline of Major Events of Ayatollah Khamenei ............................................................. 23 Bonyads, The Power in the Shadows ............................................................................... 24 Parastatal Foundations .................................................................................................... 24 Origins: Monarchy .......................................................................................................... 24 The 1990s: The Rise of the Bonyads ................................................................................ 25 Bonyad Shahid va Omur-e Janbazan (Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs) .......... 27 Goodwill Charitable Organization .................................................................................... 28 2009 Presidential Elections ............................................................................................. 29 Moharebeh, the term is widely used by Iran's Islamic Judiciary, ..................................... 30 Iran executed 670 known people in 2011, perhaps many more, United Nations Investigation Findings ..................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER I: THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN WEBSITE WWW: IRANTHREATASSESSMENTCBRN.COM ISBN: 978-0-9889851-1-7 (ePub edition) Copyright 2013 by Stephen E Hughes, Association of Strategic Analysis
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I : THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN CHAPTER I: CHAPTER THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
"Theocratic Totalitarianism is a view of the world that ones faith must reign supreme and can be affirmed and held passionately only if all others are negated. It advocates the use of force, violence, or terrorism, because these actions are just a tool when they believe they are righteous, sacred and all others are wrong. For all of their actions are the divine will of God.
CHAPTER I: THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Religious Totalitarianism and Totalitarian rule are political systems where the state recognizes no limits to its authority. Both strive to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. Totalitarian regimes stay in political power through repression, permits no individual freedoms. The religious totalitarian dogmas are asserted in an all encompassing propaganda, which is dictated through the state-controlled mass media and educational indoctrination systems. There is a single ruling religious party that is marked by political repression, personality cultism, control over the economy, regulations based on its dogma. Freedom of press is absent, restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of arrests, terror, and executions. Several characteristics can be seen in all totalitarian regimes. The first is strict government control of the media, with the media typically being used as a propaganda organ. Cultural, political, and artistic expression among the populace is also usually severely curtailed, as is access to outside news sources. People who criticize the government tend to disappear in a totalitarian regime, and their family members may fall under close scrutiny. These governments also cultivate a sense of deep devotion to the State, with citizens being encouraged to regard the State as being almost like a parent. People must file applications before changing residences, taking new jobs, or getting married. They may also be expected to serve the state in some capacity, ranging from the military to a labor camp, and the government has control over access to education, reproductive freedoms, health care, and a number of other aspects of life which many people consider personal. [1] In his 1955 book War and Peace in the Law of Islam, Majid Khadduri, an internationally renowned scholar of Islamic law, wrote: The Islamic state, whose principal function was to put Gods law into practice, sought to establish Islam as the dominant reigning ideology over the entire world.... The jihad was therefore employed as an instrument for both the universalization of religion and the establishment of an imperial world state.[2]
Because the tenets of Islamic belief are not open to question, and because as a religion Islam prescribes moral behavior for every aspect of individual and social life, Islamic law sharia is by its very nature totalitarian.
A religion that recognizes no principle of separation from governmental authority, whose prescriptions dictate what, is proper for every aspect of private life is the very definition of totalitarian rule. Where Islam becomes the religion of the state, violations of Islamic doctrine and heretical thoughts are inevitably seen as crimes against the state.
1). Reflections on a Ravaged Century 2000, Robert Conquest page 74 2). Majid Khadduri, War and Peace in the Law of Islam, Johns Hopkins University press, 1955. P. 51
Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah (19001989)

Khomeini was the leader of the Iranian revolution and then of the Islamic Republic until his death in 1989. Khomeini was an Iranian Shiite religious leader who received his education in Iran and Middle East Islamic theological schools. In the 1950s he was appointed to be the Ayatollah, a supreme religious leader, in the Iranian Shiite community.
In 1962, Khomeini launched a campaign against the Shah's regime for conflicting with Islamic values. In January 1963, the Shah of Iran announced the "White Revolution," a six-point program of reform calling for land reform, nationalization of the forests, the sale of state-owned enterprises to private interests, electoral changes to enfranchise women and allow non-Muslims to hold office, profit-sharing in industry, and a literacy campaign in the nation's schools.[3] Some of these initiatives were regarded as dangerous, Westernizing trends by traditionalists, especially by the powerful and privileged Shi'a ulama (religious scholars). Khomeini continued his denunciation of the Shah's programs, issuing a manifesto that bore the signatures of eight other senior Iranian Shia religious scholars. In it he listed the various ways in which the Shah had allegedly violated the constitution, condemned the spread of moral corruption in the country, and accused the Shah of submission to America and Israel.
Under the Shah Iran was the first Muslim Nation to recognize the State of Israel and more importantly maintained good relations with Arab Nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and etc. This caused a fiery hatred for the Shah in the Muslim Extremists camps, especially Ayatollah Khomeini.
While a Muslim himself, the Shah gradually lost support from the Shi'a clergy of Iran, particularly due to his strong policy of modernization, secularization and conflict with the traditional class of merchants known as, Bazaar, and recognition of Israel. Khomeini's criticisms of the Monarchy Government of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi led to his exile in 1964. From Iraq, Khomeini continued his outspoken denunciations, developing a strong religious and political following abroad. In Najaf, Khomeini perfected the religious philosophy that is the basis of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In particular, he established the principle that the only legitimate ruler over a Muslim state is the jurisprudent best qualified to interpret the Quran, the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith) and of the First Imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the traditional behavior of the early Muslim communities. This principle, known in Ira n as the guardianship of the jurisprudent (Velayat -e faqih), is an extension of some elements of the Shia sect of Islam, but it is not generally accepted outside of Iran.
Khomeinis theocratic government principle of guardianship of the jurisprudent was kept hidden until after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
The idea that the ruler of the state must be the person best qualified to interpret Islam and enforce Muslim law upon the people is enshrined in the constitution of the Islamic Republic, which vests full power in the jurisprudent (faqih) at its head in the position commonly known as Supreme Leader .
3). Iran: The White Revolution Time Magazine. 11 February 1966. 3a).History of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran Chamber Society Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini (Imam Khomeini) http://www.iranchamber.com/history/rkhomeini/ayatollah_khomeini.php
In 1978 he then moved to France. In 1979, following the revolution that deposed Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Khomeini returned triumphantly to Iran, declared an Islamic republic, and began to exercise ultimate authority in the nation. Khomeini's rule was marked by the Iran hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq War.
Khomeini shaped his rise to power while in exile from Iran. He carefully created a facade of his true intentions, rarely putting them on public display. While in exile he denounced the former Iranian shahs ruler, denouncing the lack of human freedoms, freedom of the pre ss. He spoke of true liberties lacking in Iran, and innocent deaths of Iranians by the Shah by hand. Khomeini felt the need for more freedoms in Iran and the need for an open government for the people.
One of the most potent strategies he used, to convince and deceive the Iranian people, along with the International Community was to draw up a draft constitution.
This draft constitution, was based Belgian and French ones, and presented a democratic government. The new nation was called, The Republic of Iran, it had a Parliament, no mention of Council of Guardians, ruling Mullahs or Velayat e faqih. [4] Khomeini promised free electricity for the poor, and many other such things. He became known internationally and believed as an old wise white breaded man that would one day rule Iran, peacefully. One of the most potent strategies he used, to convince and deceive the Iranian people, along with the International Community was to draw up a draft constitution. This draft constitution, was based Belgian and French ones, and presented a democratic government. The new nation was called, The Republic of Iran, it had a Parliament, no mention of Council of Guardians, ruling Mullahs or Velayat e faqih.
Khomeini while in France developed strong International Support and financial backing. Especially found in Europe and even America.
According to Mike Evans Book, a former Naval intelligence officer and CIA agent for the Carter gave Khomeini checks when he was in France [it's in and the CIA agent decided to remain anonymous]. In fact, the CIA agent was involved in giving him the checks Carter administration officials also expressed support to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. William Sullivan, Carters ambassador to Iran, said, Khomeini is a Gandhi-like figure. Carter adviser James Bill said that Khomeini is not a mad mujahidin, but a man of impeccable integrity and honesty. Khomeini will eventually be hailed as a saint, said Andrew Young, Carters ambassador to the UN. During that time, the Carter administration was duped by Khomeini when this Ayatollah spoke of human rights and freedom. Khomeini was claiming that he has no plans to head the post-Shah Iranian government. [5] France recklessly encouraged a succession of Muslim leaders, who proved to be implacably ho stile to the West, from Gaddafi to Saddam Hussein. It was the French who turned Yasser Arafat into a figure on the world stage and tolerated his terrorists in their midst. And it was the French who enabled Ayatollah Khomeini to launch his Islamic revolution from a suburb of Paris.[6]
4). The Religious Dignitaries Do Not Want To Rule.` (Declaration From The Iranian daily Ettelaat, October 25, 1978) What Happens When Islamists Take Power? The Case of Iran Elmer Swenson Last Updated: 6-27-2005 Promises Before and Results After Khomeini's Islamists Took Over http://gemsofislamism.tripod.com/khomeini_promises_kept.html 5). Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos." 2009, Mike Evans p14 6). (Daniel Johnson, JAccuse, Literary Review, http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/johnson_12_06.html.
"In the Islamic government all people have complete freedom to have any kind of opinion." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with Human Rights Watch, Paris, November 10, 1978)
Dominique Lorenz, a journalist for the French Libration, wrote that having picked Khomeini to overthrow the shah, [the Americans] had to get him out of Iraq, clothe him with respectability, and set him up in Paris; a succession of events which could not have occurred if the leadership in France had been against it. In France, it was reported Khomeinis Iranian visitors totaled more than 1,000 per day. A number from various American universities, were not coming just to sit at the feet of the Teacher and learn; their pockets, lined with money. Khomeini received the makeover of all times. The Khomeini compound was reportedly surrounded by representatives of covert agencies from the major powers: the CIA, Britains MI-6, (Some estimates place the contributions at approximately 20 million British pounds) Russias KGB and the French intelligence organization, SDECE. Intelligence officers from Israel, France and the U.S. stated that the U.S. government wrote checks to Khomeini while he was in Paris in increments of approximately $150 million each. They were delivered through the CIA. [7] As Khomeini loudly demonized America as its mortal enemy becomes the, Great Satan, .President Carters Washington strangely ignored this evolving threat. We can get along with Khomeini! was the motto in that summer of 1979. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski was Khomeini was an effective barrier against Soviet influence. Andrew Young, American Representative to the UN, described Khomeini as some kind of saint, Businesspeople were encouraged to invest in Iran. Members of Congress were subtly discouraged from making critical comments. Critical journalists who refused to follow the line were denigrated. The following episode, as described by Michael Ledeen and William Lewis, is illustrative of the atmosphere:
There was considerable consternation and disgruntlement in the State Department and the CIA when three American newspapers published extensive accounts of Khomeinis writings. The articles showed that Khomeinis books revealed him as a violently anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Zionist, and antiSemitic individual. Yet as Khomeini was returning in triumph to Tehran, Henry Precht [the head of the State Departments Iran desk] told an audience of some two hundred persons at the State Department open forum meeting that the newspaper accounts were severely misleading, and he went so far as to accuse Washington Post editorial columnist Stephen Rosenfeld of wittingly disseminating excerpts from a book that Precht considered at best a collection of notes taken by students, and at worst a forgery. Precht was hardly an isolated case, for the conviction was widespread that Khomeinis books were false, exaggerated, or misunderstood.
From Khomeini to Ahmadinejad by Matthias Kntzel, December 1, 2006 hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/7832 President Carters State Department and the CIA defended their false picture of Khomeini against all intrusion of reality. Some unconfirmed reports claim Khomeini had promised cheap oil prices to the EU and Washington.
7). Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos." 2009, Mike Evans "The number who lost their lives will probably never be known with certainty. Amnesty International documented 2,946 executions in the 12 months following Bani-Sadr's impeachment [on June 20, 1981]. A list compiled the following year by the Mojahedin-e Khalq cited 7,746 persons who had lost their lives through executions, in street battles, or under torture in the short period from June 1981 to Sept. 1983." (The Reign of the Ayatollahs by Shaul Bakhash p.221-222)
Quotes of Ayatollah Khomeini Before & After the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Khomeini had promised to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to make Iran into a representative democracy. After he seized power however, he formed an Islamic Republic making himself Head of State for life. "Personal desire, age, and
my health do not allow me to personally have a role in running the country after the fall of the current system." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with the Associated Press, Paris, November 7, 1978) "I have repeatedly said that neither my desire nor my age nor my position allows me to govern." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with the United Press, Paris, November 8, 1978) "I don't want to have the power or the government in my hand; I am not interested in personal power." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Paris, November 16, 1978) "I don't want to be the leader of the Islamic Republic; I don't want to have the government or the power in my hands. I only guide the people in selecting the system." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with an Austrian TV reporter, Paris, November 16, 1978) "It is the Iranian people who have to select their own capable and trustworthy individuals and give them the responsibilities. However, personally, I can't accept any special role or responsibility." Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with Le Journal newspaper, Paris, November 28, 1978) "After the Shah's departure from Iran, I will not become a president nor accept any other leadership role. Just like before, I limit my activities only to guiding and directing the people." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with Le Monde newspaper, Paris, January 9, 1979) "The Islamic regime does not have oppression." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with France Press news agency, Paris, October 25, 1978) "The foundation of our Islamic government is based on freedom of dialogue and will fight against any kind of censorship." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with Reuters news agency, Paris, October 26, 1978) "In the Islamic Republic the rights of the religious minorities are respectfully regarded." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with an Austrian TV reporter, Paris, November 6, 1978) "In Iran's Islamic government the media has the freedom to express all Iran's realities and events, and people have the freedom to form any form of political parties and gatherings that they like." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with the Italian newspaper Paese Sera, Paris, November 2, 1978) "Our future society will be a free society, and all the elements of oppression, cruelty, and force will be destroyed." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Paris, November 7, 1978) "In Iran's future Islamic system everyone can express their opinion and the Islamic government will respond to logic with logic." -Ayatollah Khomeini (in an interview with international reporters, Paris, November 9, 1978)
Quotes from Ayatollah I Khomeini, By Dr. Jalal Matini Translated by Farhad Mafie, July 25, 2003
The Purges: Mass Executions of 1979 and 1988

Iranian Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar dissolved SAVAK, (National Intelligence and Security Organization) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Shah, Reza with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency. Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar all political prisoners, and allowed the Ayatollah Khomeini to return to Iran after years in exile. He asked Khomeini to create a Vatican-like state in Qom, promised free elections and called upon the opposition to help preserve the constitution, proposing a 'national unity' government including Khomeini's followers. Khomeini fiercely rejected Dr. Bakhtiar's demands and appointed his own interim government, with Mehdi Bazargan as prime minister, demanding "since I have appointed him he must be obeyed." In February, pro-Khomeini Revolutionary guerrilla and rebel soldiers gained the upper hand in street fighting after the Iranian military announced their neutrality. [8] Upon returning Ayatollah Khomeini almost immediately set up a revolutionary court set to work in the school building in Tehran where he had set up his headquarters in 1979. Revolutionary courts were established in provincial centers shortly thereafter. The Tehran court passed death sentences. By 1982, Amnesty International had recorded well over 4,400 executions since the time of the Revolution. This count is the official count; it is well believed the number of executions was much higher. [9] Another 3000 and perhaps as many as 20,000 -30,000 political prisoners were executed between 1988- 1989. Accompanying these executions was a systematic political elimination of the Khomeini's erstwhile revolutionary allies turned opposition. The government banned their periodicals and arrested their leaders. Pro-government Islamist thugs beat their protestors, and smashed and looted their newsstands, bookstores, and offices. [10]
We Will Put An End To , Political oppression and killing - We must establish a government that will enjoy the trust of the people - God know that your capacity and courage are not less than those of others - unless, of course, the meaning of courage is oppressing and slaughtering the people; that kind of courage we certainly dont have. (Khomeini in exile, January-February 1970.)
One his most grandiose act, which shocked many Iranians, which Khomeini did when he came to power, was to rename himself Imam Khomeini. A title reserved for the first leader of the Shiites, Imam Ali. Granted that title Imam Ali, by the Prophet Mohammed, and reserved for Alis 11 descendants. None of Irans then grand ayatollahs endorsed him.
8). "The number who lost their lives will probably never be known with certainty. Amnesty International documented 2,946 executions in the 12 months following Bani-Sadr's impeachment [on June 20, 1981]. 9). A list compiled the following year by the Mojahedin-e Khalq cited 7,746 persons who had lost their lives through executions, in street battles, or under torture in the short period from June 1981 to Sept. 1983." (The Reign of the Ayatollahs by Shaul Bakhash p.221-222)"... in late summer and early autumn of 1989 ... thousand of political prisoners were dispatched. ... Amnesty International documented 3000 killed. Other sources estimated between 6000-10,000 executed. Many were nonviolent demonstrators." (p.278, Khomeini: Life of the 10). Ayatollah by Baqer Moin Thomas Dunne Books, c2000) Iran Human Rights Documentation Center 129 Church Street New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA Deadly Fatwa Irans 1988 Prison Massacre, September 2009 http://www.iranrights.org/english/attachments/doc_3723.pdf This list was compiled by the Mission for Establishment of Human Rights in Iran (MEHR Iran). It lists the number of executed at 4,525. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2469298/Crime-AgainstHumanity http://www.mojahedin.org/links/books/Crime_Against_Humanity.pdf
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The Doctrine of Taqiyya

Meaning, Religious Dissimulation, is a practice emphasized in Shi'a Islam.
Taqiyya is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it We can go so far as to say that the practice of Taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream . [11]
Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era.
According to Shari'athe body of legal rulings that defines how a Muslim should behave in all circumstancesdeception is not only permitted in certain situations but may be deemed obligatory in others. This means a legal dispensation whereby a believing individual can deny his faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts while they are under those risks. The doctrine of Taqiyya was developed at the time of Ja'far al-Sadiq (d. 148 AH/765 C.E.), the sixth Imamiya Imam. It served to protect Shiite when Al-Mansur, the Abbasid caliph, conducted a brutal and oppressive campaign against Alids and their supporters. Religious dissimulation or Taqiyya while maintaining mental reservation is considered lawful in Shi'ism "in situations where there is overwhelming danger of loss of life or property. [12]
The word "Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A oneword translation would be "Dissimulation." Taqiyya is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it We can go so far as to say that the practice of Taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream , Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era.
An Islamic religious book devoted to the subject, At-Taqiyya fi'l-Islam, (Dissimulation in Islam) makes it clear that Taqiyya is not limited to Shi'a dissimulating in fear of persecution. Written by Sami Mukaram, a former Islamic studies professor at the American University of Beirut and author of some twenty-five books on Islam, the book clearly demonstrates the ubiquity and broad applicability of Taqiyya. [13]
Taqiyya in reality is the art of deception. It is also considered necessary as an intrical part for Militant Islamic operations where they have to blend in among the unbelievers, Kafir, . Under Taqiyya they can live and act as non-Muslims.
11) How Taqiyya Alters Islams Rules of War Defeating Jihadist Terrorism by Raymond Ibrahim Middle East Quarterly Winter 2010, pp. 3-13 http://www.meforum.org/2538/taqiyya-islam-rules-of-war 12) IBID 1 13) IBID 1
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The Islamic Clerics Will Lead the Revolution but Step Aside Representatives Rule Khomeini repeatedly stated to the International Community and to the Iranian People, that government would not be run by Muslim clerics, and Iranians would have political freedom. This was aimed at his moderate and secular revolutionary allies. The moderates and secularist of the educated middle classes dominated the cities. Without their help to overthrow the Shah would have been difficult, if not impossible.
At first when he did come to power in Iran, he presented the appearance of a democratic government; there was political openness, freedom of expression, release of political prisoners.
and Let Elected Civilian
Islamic Clerics will help lead the revolution but then step aside to let others rule - The religious dignitaries do not want to rule,. Khomeini in exile in Neauphle-le-Chateau France, October 25, 1978.
But in a careful orchestrated campaign, gradually he marginalized, those he called liberals and western educated technocrats. He installed a covert group of secret interim legislators. Then in one of the most heinous moves to power, he forced public referendum vote from the Iranian people, which stated to replace the current Iranian monarchy system with Islamic Republic, yes or no. Khomeini and his secret interim legislators were able to keep out any democratic process out of this referendum vote. Any issues of democratic process of government, was considered as western, nonIslamic. Forced with only two choices, the Iranian people voted for an Islamic Republic. [14]
On March 1979, just one month later, Khomeini created his storm troopers, The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"The Islamic Revolutionary Guards or Sepah came from two groups, those who fought against the Shah
after training at various Arab Palestinian camps of Arafats or Lebanons camps and those who had fought against the Shah without any previous training. - Tactics Of the Crescent Moon, Militant Combat Methods J. Poole, Page 174
Criticism of Islamic government will be tolerated - The Islamic government will answer criticism by reason and logic, (Khomeini in exile, November 9, 1978.) I repeat for the last time: abstain from holding meetings, from blathering, from publishing protests. Otherwise I will break your teeth, (Threat issued to opponents of clerical rule by Khomeini in Iran October 22, 1979.)
Under Khomeinis constitution article 110, cancels out legitimacy of presidential elections in Iran. Any presidential candidates are subject to approval by the Guardian Council, a group appointed by the Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. [15]
14). Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos: A Carter/Obama Plan That Will Not Work Jan 2009 Time Worthy Books p.274275 15). Iran's closed cycle of power, The continued vetting of presidential contenders by the Guardian Council highlights the pitiful state of Iranian democracy Henry Newman guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 May 2009
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Thousands of Iranians who voiced criticism were rounded up. By the summer of 1981, some 70 members of the opposition party the Mujahedin-e Khalq, were murdered, and several thousands more of their followers were imprisoned. But this was just a warm up. Of course the Iranian people In June of 1981, a peaceful demonstration of about 500,000 gathered in Tehran to protest these actions. This crowd was openly attacked, fired upon by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard on the orders of Ayatollah Khomeini. The Christian Science Monitor reported that Khomeinis regime shot just about anyone they found on the streets in June of 1981. Khomeini had the prisons emptied out; thousands were brought before firing squads and executed. The New York Times reported in April of 1982, Mujahedin-e Khalq, were crushed in a wave of jailing, torture, executions that rivaled the worst days of the former Shah of Iran. However it was in 1980, in an essay written by Fergus M. Bordewich of Columbia University, for Harpers Magazine... Bordewich described Ayatollah Khomeinis new regime as , Fascism Without Swastikas,. Fascism Without Swastikas Bordewich targeted the American press for being blissfully ignorant of Khomeinis agenda leading up to the Iranian revolution. It was not until 1981 when Bordewich was proven correct.
Children as young as 13 were hanged from cranes, six at a time, in a barbaric two-month purge of Iran's prisons on the direct orders of Ayatollah Khomeini, reported in a book by his former deputy. More than 30,000 political prisoners were executed in the 1988 massacre - a far larger number than previously suspected. Secret documents smuggled out of Iran reveal that, because of the large numbers of necks to be broken, prisoners were loaded onto forklift trucks in groups of six and hanged from cranes in half-hourly intervals. just did not stand by. By 1981, their fight for a democratic government came to a head. Central was the right to be heard and petition Khomeinis government for promised and believed in human rights. However by 1981, Khomeini had a military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other like groups in position to enforce his brutal dictatorial Islamic form of government.
These Gruesome details are from the book, The Memoirs of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri , one of the founders of the Islamic regime. He was once considered Khomeini's anointed successor, but was deposed for his outspokenness, (deceased). The most damning of the letters and documents published in the book is Khomeini's fatwa decree calling for all Mojahedin (as opponents of the Iranian regime are known) to be killed.
History of Human Rights Abuses by the Islamic Republic of Iran (Pre-June 2009 Elections)
http://unitedagainstnucleariran.com/resources/human-rights-history
Law and Human Rights in The Islamic Republic of Iran Amnesty International, February 1, 1980 Law And Human Rights in The Islamic Republic of Iran Amnesty International Secretariat Southampton Street London WC2E 7HF England A report covering events within the seven month period following the Revolution of February 1979 http://www.iranrights.org/english/document-338.php Montazeri Memoirs Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Khatirat-I Ayatollah Montazeri, Majmuiyyih Payvastha Va Dastnivisha [Memoir of Ayatollah Montazeri, The Collection Of Appendices And Handwritten Notes] 303, 306 (2001) [Hereinafter Montazeri Memoirs].
Khomeini fatwa led to killing of 30, 000 in Iran' By Christina Lamb, Diplomatic Correspondent 12:00AM GMT 04 Feb 2001 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/1321090/Khomeini-fatwa-led-to-killing-of30000-in-Iran.html
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Purges of the Iranian Kurds
Khomeini did not issue a fatwa for Jihad (Holy War) against the Shahs monarchist government. Nor did he issue one during the eight long years his regime fought Saddams Baathist regime. But he issued a fatwa for Jihad against his own Iranian Kurdish, Muslim countrymen. P.9 Haunted Memories, The Islamic Republic Executions of Kurds 1979 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center 129 Church Street New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA September 2011
The Iranian Kurds, One of the Largest Ethnic Minorities in Iran Since the end of World War I, the territory of what is known as Kurdistan land of the Kurdshas been divided among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the former Soviet Union. It is famously rugged and beautiful mountainous terrain. The Iranian Kurdish regions are located in Northwest Iran on the borders with Iraq and Turkey, and are comprised of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and parts of Ilam and West Azerbaijan provinces. While it is difficult to know exactly how many Kurds live in Iran, during the 20th and beginning of the21st centuries, Kurds have represented about 12% of Irans population. Numbering between five and eleven million, Irans Kurdish community represents a significant ethnic minority among the Islamic Republic of Irans approximately 72 million people. About seventy -five percent of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, though the percentage decreases in Iran. It has been reported that about half of Iranian Kurds are Sunni Muslims. The vast majority of the other half are Shia Muslims, the official religion of the Islamic Republic of Iran. [16] Most Kurds in Iran reside in the countrys northwestern provinces of Kermanshah, Ilam, Kur distan, and West Azerbaijan. For Kurdish nationalists, the geographic space occupied by Iranian Kurds represents Eastern Kurdistan, in essence the eastern frontier of Greater Kurdistan. Kurdish political organizations were enthusiastic supporters of the revolution against the Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi, which brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power in February 1979. The Shah had shown himself to be no friend of Kurdish aspirations for greater autonomy and a loosening of Tehran's control over their affairs. As a result, Iranian Kurds of all faiths tended to support the Iranian revolution that ousted the Shah in 1979. Sunni Kurds, unlike the overwhelming majority of their countrymen, abstained from voting to endorse the creation of an Islamic republic in April 1979. That referendum institutionalized Shia primacy and made no provision for regional autonomy. The crisis deepened after Kurds were denied seats in the assembly of experts gathering in 1979, which were responsible for writing the new constitution. Ayatollah Khomeini prevented Dr. Ghassemlou, the elected representative of the region, to participate in the assembly of experts first meeting. Kurds were therefore deprived of their political rights under the new Iranian constitution, since the majority of them belonged to the Sunni branch of Islam.
16.) A Modern History of the Kurds David McDowall, (2005).
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Khomeinis Islamist regime adopted a harsh plan for suppressing the aspirations of Iranian Kurds, prompting a mass armed uprising that was eventually crushed. The Kurds, almost all Muslims, had supported the revolution and sought some form of autonomy in postrevolution Iran. Khomeini deemed any form of self-ruleby the Kurds as well as by other Iranian ethnic minority peoplesas non-Islamic and therefore unacceptable. On 19 August 1979, Khomeini proclaimed himself commander-in-chief of the armed forces and called the Kurdish leadership "corrupt" and the agents of Satan. [17] Days after his August speech, Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, ordering the military and the newly created Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (aka, Sepah-e Pasdaran) to crush the Kurds and take control of the Kurdish regions in Northwestern Iran. He declared a holy war against the Kurdish political parties. He ordered that Kurdistan be cleansed. Heavy fighting broke out; the Kurds retreated to the mountains. While fighting continued, the Kurds demanded negotiations. In October 1979, Ayatollah Khalkhali ordered the execution of 53 Kurds during his thirty-minute stopover at Sanandaj Airport. In the spring of 1980, government forces under the command of Abolhassan Banisadr took back most of the Kurdish cities through a huge military campaign, sending in mechanized military divisions to Kurdish cities. Entire villages and towns were destroyed to force Kurds into submission; thousands of Kurdish men were sentenced to execution after summary trials. It is estimated more than 10,000 Kurds were killed during this process In 1981, Inderghash villagers were massacred. In 1982, people of Kani-Mam-Sayyid and Mahmasha were massacred. The government began to destroy Kurdish villages and forced the Kurdish villagers to take up arms against their fellow Kurds fighting the IRI. The fighting continued again and by 1984, the government managed to oust the Kurdish political parties and control Kurdistan. The Iranian government deployed about 200,000 armed forces and established about 3,000 military bases across Kurdistan. The Kurds experienced sever suppression. During the government and Kurdish fighting many atrocities were committed. In summer 1979, the government forces massacred the people in the villages of Gharna and Ghalatan. The Khomeini regime drove the Kurdish forces out of Iran into Iraqi Kurdistan. [18]
Over the past 30 years, the Kurds have faced the dictatorship and brutal suppression. Branded as "enemies of God, has been used as a pretext for imprisoning and torturing Kurds or putting them in front of execution squads without any recourse. [19]
17.)On 19 August 1979, Khomeini proclaimed himself commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Timeline of Military and Security Events Semira N. Nikou http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/timeline-military-and-security-events 18.) Dialogue, The Kurdish Question in the Middle East , May 18, 2010 Hussein Tahiri Monash University, Australia http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/jgcg/2009/sp09/jgcg-sp09-tahiri.htm 19.)The Kurds and the Green Movement By Abdullah Mohtadi | Frieda Afary (Translator) 07 Jun 2010 22:57 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/06/the-kurds-and-the-green-movement.html#ixzz1oTcfEJLt
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Major Time Line Events of Ayatollah Khomeini, To Current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
1979 Jan. 16 The shah and his family went into exile. Feb. 1 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile in France and Iraq. Feb. 11 Mehdi Bazargan appointed interim prime minister. March 30-31 In a referendum, voters overwhelmingly approved the creation of an Islamic Republic. Khomeini declared April 1 the first day of the government of God. May-June Five prominent clerics close to Ayatollah Khomeini established the Islamic Republican Party. June 14 First official draft of the constitution was published. It did not include the position of velayate faqih (guardianship of the jurist). Oct. 24 - New constitution, with Velayat-e faqih, is approved by referendum after months of debate over the role of Islam in the state. The new constitution went into effect in early December, and Khomeini became supreme leader. Nov. 4 Students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The hostage crisis dragged on for 444 days. Nov. 5 Interim Prime Minister Bazargan resigned along with his cabinet to protest the hostage seizure. 1980 Jan. 25 Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was elected Irans first president. March-May The first parliament was elected. The Islamic Republican Party had the most members, but other parties such as the Freedom Movement also had significant representation. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was elected speaker. March 21 The Cultural Revolution began. In June, Khomeini ordered formation of the university jihad and began the Islamization of universities. Around 20,000 teachers were fired. Aug. 28 Amnesty International appealed to Iran to end executions and imprisonments, after citing at least 1000 post-revolution executions. Sept. 22 Iraq invaded Iran. The war lasted until August 1988. 1982 April 10 Former Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh and more than 1,000 others were arrested for plotting to assassinate Ayatollah Khomeini. He confessed on television. Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Shariatmadari, who advocated separating mosque and state, was implicated by Ghotbzadeh under torture and stripped of his religious rank. Ghotbzadeh was executed in September. Dec. 15 Ayatollah Khomeini outlined an eight-point human rights platform and warned the judiciary and Revolutionary Guards against abusing individual rights in arrests, searches and seizures. On Dec. 22, he said, We should not engage in oppression. We should not investigate what is going on in peoples homes. On Dec. 28, the Tehran and Qom prosecutors were dismissed. On Jan. 1, 1983, further purges of revolutionary tribunals were undertaken. [20]
20.) Timeline of Irans Political Events Semira N. Nikou http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/timeline-irans-political-events
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1987 May Ayatollah Khomeini disbanded the Islamic Republic Party because of internal conflicts. 1988 Feb. 6 Khomeini established the Expediency Discernment Council to mediate conflicts between the Guardian Council, the parliament. 1989 March 28 Khomeini fired heir apparent Ayatollah Montazeri, who later became the leading dissident cleric and was put under house arrest. June 3 Ayatollah Khomeini died. June 4 - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became the new supreme leader. July 28 A revised constitution eliminated the office of prime minister and made permanent the Expediency Discernment Council. The supreme leaders power was expanded. 2004 February in the seventh parliamentary elections, the Guardian Council disqualified thousands of reformist candidates, including many incumbents. Conservatives took control of parliament. Gholamali Haddad Adel was elected speaker. 2005 Enter Mahmoud Ahmadinejad June 24 in presidential elections, conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated Rafsanjani. 2009 June 12 Ahmadinejad won re-election, after defeating the following candidates : former Prime Minister Mousavi, former parliamentary Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei. The election featured the first televised debates. The defeated candidates and many others claimed massive voting fraud. June 13 The opposition Green Movement launched the most serious challenge to the theocracy since the revolution. Millions turned out on the streets of several Iranian cities for the next two weeks with banners declaring Where is my vote? June 21 the cell phone video capturing the shooting of Neda Agha Soltan, a 26-year-old student, was broadcast around the world. She became an international symbol of the Green Movement. July 29 Karroubi revealed incidents of death, torture and sexual abuse of protesters at Kahrizak Prison, which was followed by other first-hand accounts. Among the dead was the son of a senior Revolutionary Guards commander. The government closed the facility. Aug. 1 The judiciary launched televised trials of well-known reformers and former government officials such as former Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi and Mohsen Mirdamadi, leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the most popular reform party. They were accused of fomenting unrest and other anti-government activities. Five trials lasted into the fall. 2010 July 21 Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa declaring that the supreme leaders rule is a direct succession to the Prophet Mohammed and the Shiite imams. [21]
21.) Timeline of Irans Political Events Semira N. Nikou http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/timeline-irans-political-events
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Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, Velayat-I Faqih

Velayat-e faqih is rule by a religious leader called the Fiqih. The Fiqih is the man who is respected by the people as the just and pious jurist best qualified to lead Iran. The Fiqih is therefore the Supreme Leader. The first Fiqih was Ayatollah Khomeini.
The government of Khomeini and his successors is based on a theory of government called Velayat-e-faqih, literally meaning the guardianship of the religious jurist. The essence of the theory, developed and applied by Khomeini, is that one man with a thorough knowledge of Islamic law is designated as vali-e-faqih, heir to the Prophet Muhammad and the Imams (Leaders).
He also acts as vice regent to the Mahdi, the messianic Twelfth Imam of Shi'ite Islam. The vali wields absolute authority and sovereignty over the affairs of the entire Muslim nation. No public or private matter concerning a Muslim or anyone living in the Islamic world is beyond the vali's jurisdiction
Velayat-e-faqih is in fact the essence of the Iranian mullahs' Islamic Republic. Incorporated into the constitution after the shah's overthrow, the immense powers bestowed on the vali-e-faqih have been expanded since Khomeini's death. An understanding of exactly what the doctrine of Velayat-e-faqih is and how it functions is essential to understanding the theocracy in Iran and its drive to export fundamentalism
Governing is one dimension of the absolute authority of the Velayat-e-faqih and takes precedence over all secondary commandments, even prayer, fasting, and the hajj -Khomeini's open letter to Ali Khamenei, January 7, 1988
Khomeini likened the vali's authority over the people to that of a guardian over a minor or mentally incompetent adult. "The Velayat-e-faqih is like appointing a guardian for a minor. In terms of his responsibility and status, the guardian of a nation is no different from the guardian of a minor. The foundations of Ayatollah Khomeinis political philosophy are given in the book Hukumat e Islamic: Velayat e Faqih. The essentials may be summarized as follows:
Islam is a political religion and philosophy of governance by its nature and covers all aspects of life. Those who falsely claim that Islam is only relevant to matters of faith do so because they are servants of imperialists. If Muslim states employed Islamic governance than they would become more powerful than their rivals and that is why imperialists and their servants oppose rule by Islamic law. Sharia, as interpreted by a great scholar, must be the basis of governance, and Khomeini is the marj al taqlid (model worthy of emulation) an absolute leader who rules by fiat and is the stand-in for the hidden 12th Imam. Democracy is contrary to Islamic law, which is the rule of God. This principle was hidden following for a brief period just before the triumph of the revolution, when Khomeini promised democratic government. [22]
22). Islam And Revolution, Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini Translated and Annotated by Hamid Algar Mizan Press, Berkeley Contemporary Islamic Thought, Persian Series Mizan Press (June 1981) Language: English ISBN-10: 0933782039 Development of the Concept of velayat-i faqih since the Islamic Revolution in Iran,` paper presented at London Conference on wilayat al-faqih, in June, 1988, quoted in "The Rule of the Religious Jurist in Iran" by Abdulaziz Sachedina, p.133 in Iran at the Crossroads, Edited by John Esposito and R.K. Ramazani]
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Assembly of Experts: 86 Mujtahids (Islamic scholars)

The idea that the ruler of the state must be the person best qualified to interpret Islam and enforce Muslim law upon the people is enshrined in the constitution of the Islamic Republic, which vests full power in the jurisprudent (faqih) at its head in the position commonly known as Supreme Leader (currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khomeinis successor). The Supreme Leader is selected (and could theoretically be removed for misbehavior) by a group of jurisprudents known as the Assembly of Experts. However the Assembly of Experts is selected by the Supreme Leader, hence a closed loop of power exists.
One his most grandiose act, which shocked many Iranians, which Khomeini did when he came to power, was to rename himself Imam Khomeini. A title reserved for the first leader of the Shiites, Imam Ali. Granted that title Imam Ali, by the Prophet Mohammed, and reserved for Alis 11 descendants. None of Irans then grand ayatollahs endorsed him. At first when Khomeini came to power in Iran, he presented the appearance of a democratic government; there was political openness, freedom of expression, release of political prisoners. But in a careful orchestrated campaign, gradually Khomeini marginalized, those he called liberals and western educated technocrats. He installed a covert group of secret interim legislators. Then in one of the most heinous moves to power, Khomeini forced public referendum vote from the Iranian people, which stated to replace the current Iranian monarchy system with Islamic Republic, yes or no. Khomeini and his secret interim legislators were able to keep out any democratic process out of this referendum vote. Any issues of democratic process of government, was considered as western, non-Islamic. Forced with only two choices, the Iranian people voted for an Islamic Republic.
The Shiites believe that in every age there was an infallible Iman, a descendent of Ali; The Imams have the secret knowledge that makes possible a true interpretation of the Koran. They are the source of all truth, and the only beings with the right to men's obedience. These men are given miraculous guidance by God and because of this guidance they cannot err. Khomeini explains the place of the Iman in Shina as: "The Quran verse, 'O you believers, obey God, obey the prophet and obey that in charge among you' requires us to obey those in charge. The people in charge after the prophet are the Imams who have been entrusted with implementing these laws and rules. The just jurisprudents (jurists) have been required to carry out these tasks after the Imams."
Hence speaking out against the Supreme Leader is speaking out against God, that being blasphemy and that means death.
So the Supreme Leader in theory can removed for misbehavior by the Assembly of Experts, however this could never happen because that would be going against God. In theory, Irans constitution was meant to combine theocracy with republicanism. But in practice, Irans unelected institutions, namely the supreme leader and 12-man Guardian Council, wield far more power than elected institutions like the presidency and parliament. The Guardian Council has the authority to vet all candidates for public office and disqualify any who are not deemed sufficiently loyal to the supreme leader. Although the body Assembly of Experts is officially based in the holy city of Qom, sessions are also held in Tehran and Mashhad. Direct elections for the 86 members of the current assembly are held every eight years and are next due in 2014. Members are elected for an eight year term. Only clerics can join the assembly and candidates for election are vetted by the Guardian Council. [23]
23). A Country Study: 2008 Iran. Federal Research Division Library of Congress Call Number DS254.5 .I742 1989 p.220 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/irtoc.html
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Guardian Council / Council of Guardians

It consists of six theologians appointed by the Supreme Leader and six jurists nominated by the Judiciary and approved by parliament from a list of qualified candidates prepared by the head of the judiciary, who is appointed by the Supreme Leader. So in reality the Guardian Council members are placed in power by the Supreme Leader.
Guardian Council, Muslims are the only humans on earth all others are animals ,
Members are elected for six years on three years. The council has to approve if it considers them inconsistent with candidates from standing in elections to
a phased basis, so that half the membership changes every all bills passed by parliament and has the power to veto them the constitution and Islamic law. The council can also bar parliament, the presidency and the Assembly of Experts.
Reformist attempts to reduce the council's vetting powers have proved unsuccessful The Constitution provides the Council of Guardians the power to screen and disqualify candidates for elective offices based on an ill-defined set of requirements, including candidates' ideological beliefs. Allegations of manipulation of the electoral process by the Guardian Council have been widespread in subsequent elections, including that of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. [24]
For many Shiite clerics, the blood of nonbelievers does not have the same legal status as the blood of Muslims. On November 20, 2005, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who heads the powerful Guardian Council and is a close advisor to Khamenei, said, Human beings, apart from Muslims, are animals who roam the earth and engage in corruption,.
Shiite Jurisprudence, Political Expediency, and Nuclear Weapons, Part 1, Mehdi Khalaji September 20th 2011 Washington Institute Washington Institute for Near East Policy Iran Security Initiative http://www.washingtoninstitute.org The President Who can run for President is determined by the Supreme Leader. The president is popularly elected for a maximum of two four-year terms and is completely subordinate to the Supreme Leader. In is reasonably believed who becomes the President is really handpicked by the Supreme Leader regardless of popular vote. His freedom of action is also curtailed by a range of unelected bodies mostly controlled by hardliner clerics. These bodies, including the Guardian Council, have backed Ahmadinejad since he was elected in 2005, but thwarted his reformist predecessor Mohammad Khatami. The president is responsible for economic policy and, along with his cabinet of ministers, daily management of national affairs. The president also chairs the Supreme National Security Council, which coordinates defense and security policy. He can sign agreements with foreign governments and approve ambassadorial appointments, but this is coordinated with the Supreme Leader. The constitution also provides for a directly-elected president (currently Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), but the statutory powers of this position are relatively weak. The president does not have the right to veto legislation approved by the parliament. He nominates ministers and can dismiss them, but the parliament must approve all nominations and can remove ministers by a vote of no-confidence as well. [25]
24). A Country Study: 2008 Iran. Federal Research Division Library of Congress Call Number DS254.5 .I742 1989 p.222http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/irtoc.html 25). IBID p. 221
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The president is not by law the commander-in-chief of the military forces of the Islamic Republic. That role is reserved for the Supreme Leader, although it has been delegated on occasion to the president at the Supreme Leaders discretion. The Supreme Leader commands not only the regular armed forces of the The Islamic Republic state but also the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a body established of Iran absolute by the constitution for the purpose of guarding the 1979 Revolution and power in all matters its achievements.
The influence of the president and parliament on affairs depends by law largely on the willingness of the Supreme Leader to permit it. In practice other considerations affect the relative power and importance of various individuals within the Iranian government.
The president appoints a cabinet consisting of the heads of the governments 21 ministries, who must be approved by parliament, as well as an unspecified number of vice presidents, who are not subject to parliamentary approval. Cabinet ministers can be dismissed either by the president or in a no-confidence vote by a majority in parliament.
Majlis (Parliament) The elected Majlis or parliament has 290 seats sitting for four years. Parliament has powers to introduce and pass legislation, summon and impeach ministers or the president. These powers are checked by the Guardian Council. However the Supreme Leader and Guardian Council select those who can run for Parliament. The parliament has the authority to pass ordinary laws, i.e. those relating to the normal conduct of state business, but all laws and decisions of the parliament must be approved by the Guardian Council (a separate group of twelve jurisprudents) to ensure that they adhere not only to the constitution but also to Islamic law and tradition as interpreted by the Supreme Leader. In 1989, a new body was formed to mediate disagreements between the parliament and the Guardian Council, known as the Expediency Council. There are three levels at which a candidate's credentials have to be approved. Upon the completion of the registration period, provincial governors, county governors and district governors form a committee to investigate the background of candidates. They often send inquiries to the Ministry of Intelligence, the judiciary, the police and the National Organization for Civil Registration to inquire about the candidate's past.
rests formally with the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council (half of whose members the Supreme Leader selects; the others are selected by the parliament from a list of qualified candidates prepared by the head of the judiciary, himself appointed by the Supreme Leader).
They report the list of qualified candidates within a 10-day period to the Provincial Supervisory Councils, an arm of the Council of Guardians, and the Central Supervisory Body for the election, an arm of the Ministry of Interior. These local governors can inform the candidate in a written and private letter as to why he or she was disqualified. If the candidate asks for proof of the charges against him, the responsible authorities are supposed to provide that evidence as well. However, this rarely happens in reality. Beginning with the 2012 elections, candidates have to have at a minimum a Master's degree to stand for elections. In the previous elections a BA degree was deemed sufficient. [26]
The parliament has the authority to pass ordinary laws, i.e. those relating to the normal conduct of state business, but all laws and decisions of the parliament must be approved by the Guardian Council.
26). A Country Study: 2008 Iran. Federal Research Division Library of Congress Call Number DS254.5 .I742 1989 p. 221 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/irtoc.html
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The Expediency Council The Supreme Leader appoints members of the 42-member Expediency Council, set up in 1988 to resolve legislative disagreements between the Majles and the Council of Guardians. The Expedience Councils powers were expanded in 2006 to include oversight of the executive branch cabinet performance. Its members serve five-year terms. Articles 110112 of the constitution specify the three main duties of the Expediency Council. First, it mediates between parliament and the Guardians Council when these two bodies cannot reach agreement on legislation. Second, it serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, who is required to consult with it in setting general policy guidelines and resolving problems that cannot be remedied by conventional means. Third, it temporarily assumes the duties of the Supreme Leader if he is incapacitated, and it plays a similar role during the transition from one Supreme Leader to another. The president, the speaker of the parliament, and several other high-ranking officials are automatically members of the Expediency Council. The Supreme Leader appoints additional members for five-year terms. [27] The Judiciary From early 1979 until the end of 1982, revolutionary courts played a key role in suppressing political activity deemed counterrevolutionary. In June 1981, the revolutionary courts arrested thousands of suspected opponents; many were sentenced to prison or even death in trials that lacked due process protections for the defendants. The overall situation created an atmosphere of intimidation that silenced critics of the proceedings. Subsequently, as regular civil, criminal, and special courts developed and adopted similar routine procedures in suppressing political activity deemed counterrevolutionary, the role of the revolutionary courts works in the background. Articles 156174 of the constitution cover the composition and powers of the judicial branch of government. The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Leader for a five-year term and must be a mojtahedan authority on Islamic jurisprudence. The judiciary head has extensive powers, including responsibility for overseeing all activities of the judiciary, appointing the prosecutor general and all judges and Supreme Court justices, drafting legislation pertaining to judicial affairs, and nominating candidates for minister of justice. The minister of justice, who is chosen by the president from among the nominees, is responsible only for overseeing the administration of the ministry and coordinating relations between the judiciary and other branches of government. The chief justice of the Supreme Court and the prosecutor general also serve five-year terms and must have the status of mojtahed. The Supreme Court oversees the operations of 33 branch courts, to which the chief of the Supreme Court assigns cases. Branch courts are not regional in jurisdiction; all but two are located in Tehran. Individuals with strong power bases of their own, like former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani can to some extent distort the formal structures, drawing greater influence into the offices they hold. [28]
27). A Country Study: 2008 Iran. p. 222 Federal Research Division Library of Congress Call Number DS254.5 .I742 1989 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/irtoc.html 28). IBID p. 223
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The Supreme Leader and his subordinates have kept tight control of Iranian Government, people and foreign policy, while allowing others give the appearance they are major players such as the president, ministers, and parliament. Also these offices insulate the Supreme Leader from trouble waters of the Islamic Government. The Supreme Leader almost never uses his statutory powers to impose policies or decisions upon the system, relying instead on more discrete statements and actions to guide the decision-making process to the desired endstate. The system is designed to give the Supreme Leader a sort of plausible deniability with regard to any particular policy and its outcome, shielding him and his position from the repercussions of policy failures. Both Khomeini and Khamenei have shown a great degree of willingness to accept the loss of arbitrary power and control required by such a system in return for the protection it has afforded them. The new position of Supreme Leader powers which were established through of Khomeini s book Islamic Government (Hukumat-e Islami). [29]
29).Islamic Republic of Iran By Frederick W. Kagan http://www.irantracker.org/basics/islamic-republic-iran-0
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It was Khomeinis new Iranian Constitution that afforded the Supreme Leader a multitude of powers. Article 4 of the new constitution stated that all civil, criminal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and all other statutes and regulations (must) be keeping with Islamic measures; the Islamic legal scholars of the watch council (shura yi nigahban) will keep watch over this. It is made very clear that the new form of government defined by the constitution will involve the clergy in every level. Furthermore, Article 5 solidifies the position of Supreme Leader until the end days(more on this later). Article 107 in the constitution mentions Ayatollah Khomeini by name and praises him as the most learned and talented leader for emulation (marja-i taqlid). Khomeinis consolidated as much power as possible within the government. The clergy was also involved in the government and oversaw the affairs of many governmental branches on a daily basis. The responsibilities of the Supreme Leader are vaguely stated into the constitution thus any violation by the Supreme Leader would be dismissed almost immediately. As the rest of the clergy governed affairs on a daily basis, the Supreme Leader is capable of mandating a new decision as per the concept of Velayat-e Faqih. Ayatollah Khamenei in his own words is one of the students of Imam Khomeini in the areas of jurisprudence and its principles, and in revolutionary and political ideas. However, the first spark of his political activism and hatred for oppression was inspired by the great revolutionist and Martyr Sayyid Mujtaba Nawwab SafawiIn 1962 while Ayatollah Khamenei was still in Qom he joined the revolutionary Movement of Imam Khomeini, which opposed the pro-American, anti-Islamic politics of Muhammad Reza Shah. Despite all the ups and downs, persecutions, exiles, and imprisonment Ayatollah Khamenei fearlessly continued on this path for sixteen years. At the age of eighteen, Ayatollah Khamenei began studying the highest level - Darsi Kharij - of jurisprudence and its principles under the late grand Marja` Ayatollah al-Uzma Milani in Mashhad After the victory of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei continued to be very active in working for Islam and fulfilling the goals of the Islamic revolution. [30] Timeline of Major Events of Ayatollah Khamenei
1980 - Secretary of Defense. 1980 - Supervisor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. 1980 - Leader of the Friday Congregational Prayer. 1980 - The Tehran Representative in the Consultative Assembly. 1981 - Imam Khomeinis Representative in the High Security Council. 1981 - Actively presents at the war front during the imposed war between Iran and Iraq. 1982 - Assassination attempt by the hypocrites on his life in the Abuthar masjid in Tehran. 1982 - Elected President of the Islamic Republic of Iran after martyrdom of Shaheed Mohammad Ali Rajai. This was his first term in office; all together he served two terms in office, lasted until 1990. 1982 - Chairman of the High Council of Revolution Culture Affairs. 1988 - President of the Expedience Council. 1990 - Chairman of the Constitution Revisal Comity. 1990 - Ayatollah Khamenei became the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by choice of the Council of Experts, after the demise of Imam Khomeini.
30). History of Iran , Iran Chamber Society March 2012 Ayatollah Khomeini iranchamber.com/history/rkhomeini/ayatollah_khomeini.php 30a).Timeline of Iran's Political Events Semira N. Nikou http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/timeline-irans-political-events
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Bonyads, The Power in the Shadows Parastatal Foundations

One will be hard pressed to find much information on the Bonyads. Or Bonyads critical role in the IRI economics, military and support of militant proxy groups of the IRI. Origins: Monarchy Founded as royal foundations by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the original Bonyads were to help the poor, provide charity. Resembling more a secretive conglomerate than a charitable trust, these Bonyads invested heavily in property development, such as the Kish Island resort; but the developments' housing and retail was oriented to the middle and upper classes, rather than the poor and needy. [31] After the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Bonyads were nationalized and renamed with the declared intention of redistributing income to the poor and families of martyrs, i.e. those killed in the service of the country. The assets of many Iranians whose ideas or social positions ran contrary to the new Islamic government were also confiscated and given to the Bonyads without any consequence. Today, there are over 100 Bonyads (real number unknown) and they are criticized for many of the same reasons as their predecessors. They form tax exempt, government subsidized consortiums receiving religious donations answerable directly and only to the Supreme Leader. [32]
A large proportion of Irans wealthpossibly as much as 33 40 % of its gross domestic productis tied up in a number of large religious-charitable foundations called Bonyads (Parastatal Foundations). The Supreme Leader chooses the heads of these foundations, and they are not responsible to the parliament, the ministries, or the president. The foundations play an important role in the Iranian economy, running large-scale business enterprises of various sorts and employing perhaps 5 million Iranians. [33]
There are numerous Bonyads, although the Mostazafen Foundation of Islamic Revolution (Bonyad-e Mostazafen va Janbazan), which is the second-largest enterprise in Iran. The Mostazafen Foundation of Islamic Revolution formerly Bonyad-e Mostazafen va Janbazan (Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled or "MFJ") is a charitable Bonyad, or foundation, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the secondlargest commercial enterprise in Iran behind the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company and biggest holding company in the Middle East. [34]
(31).Graham, Robert, Iran : the illusion of power, St. Martin's Press, 1980, p.157, 8 (32).Millionaire Mullahs Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03 http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/0721/056_2.html (33).Statement of Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Congressional Research Service Joint Economic Committee Hearing on Iran July 25, 2006 iranwatch.org/government/US/Congress/Hearings/us-congress-jec-iran-energy-072506/us-congressjec-katzman-iran-energy-072506.pdf (34). Bonyad-e Mostazafan van Janbazan: Oppressed and Disabled Veterans Foundation (MJF)GlobalSecurity.org
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Exempt from taxes, they have been called "bloated", and "a major weakness of economy, and criticized for reaping "huge subsidies from government", while siphoning off production to the lucrative black market and providing limited and inadequate charity to the poor. The 1990s: The Rise of the Bonyads The Islamic Republic emerged from the 1980s with serious economic problems and some uncertainty about the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khomeini was a Quran scholar not an economist and squandered the bulk of Irans economic resources in a war with Iraq, and his own theological governing programs. The IranIraq War was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the 20th century. (More on this later)The war came at a great cost in lives and economic damage half a million Iraqi and Iranian ( up to 2 million according to some accounts) soldiers as well as civilians are believed to have died in the war with many more injured.
According to Shiite Muslim tradition, devout businessmen are expected to donate 20% of profits to their local mosques, which use the money to help the poor. By contrast, many Bonyads seem like straightforward rackets, extorting money from entrepreneurs. Besides the biggest national outfits, almost every Iranian town has its own Bonyad, affiliated with local mullahs. "Many small businessmen complain that as soon as you start to make some money, the leading mullah will come to you and ask for a contribution to his local charity," says an opposition economist, who declines to give his name. "If you refuse, you will be accused of not being a good Muslim. Some witnesses will turn up to testify that they heard you insult the Prophet Mohammad, and you will be thrown in jail." The Cosa Nostra meets fundamentalism.
IRIs Supreme Leader Khomeini had been gravely ill for many for the past 20 months. On June 3, 1989, after eleven days in hospital for an operation to stop internal bleeding, lapsed into a critical condition and died. Khamenei entered as the new Supreme Leader in 1989 promising to pursue the path that Khomeini had set forth, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was elected president and empowered with greater authority than his predecessors. With the support of the new Supreme Leader, whom he had helped install, Rafsanjani began a broad reconstruction program, key elements of which involved forging an alliance with the bazaari merchants and opening Iran to foreign trade. The alliance was one in which the mercantile elites effectively funded the state, mostly Millionaire Mullahs Paul through informal and often dubious business arrangements Klebnikov, 07.21.03 http://w with individual members of the elite and clerical institutions, ww.forbes.com/forbes/2003/ and in return the state, in the image of President Rafsanjani, 0721/056_2.html supplied an economic environment in which they could make money. The economic environment shunned government accountability and regulation, and although numerous organizations and interests in Iran could pursue lucrative short-term business ventures unfettered, the environment was anathema to long-term investments that would have broadened and deepened economic progress in oil-rich Iran. What resulted was, in the words of noted scholar Ali Ansari, the establishment of informal networks and cartels of business associates, unregulated and avaricious to the extreme. [35]
It was in this environment that the economic influence of the Bonyads became dominant.
(35). Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads An Exploration of Iranian Leadership Dynamics Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense RAND National Defense Research Institute, Published 2010 by the RAND Corporation 56-58 The 1990s: Era of the Bonyads
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Under Ayatollah Khamenei & Rafsanjani, They monetized political life in a way the clerics had not during the latters era of dominance in the 1980s. The Bonyads controlled and disbursed billions of dollars and greatly enriched those associated with them, using their own wealth to gain patronage, invest in a wide array of business interests, and generally advance their own power and influence.
The Bonyads have been actively involved in Iranian politics by propagating the dominant ideology in a wide range of social and cultural activities. This major function reinforced the consolidation of political authority for new men of power by sustaining the revolutionary ideology, assisting the disciples of religious leaders with secular backgrounds in occupying second-tier positions in the state, and facilitating social mobility for the lower middle classes. In fact, these organizations were established in order to assist institutionalization of the ideology of the ruling class by producing an ideological apparatus for the new regime, given that the revolutionary forces could not trust the old regime's bureaucratic apparatus. They also increased the rate of social mobility among the lower middle classes and supporters of revolutionary forces in order to extend the power of Islamic ideology. They assisted individuals from these classes in moving into new economic, social, and occupational positions.
Iran Para-governmental Organizations (Bonyads) By Ali A. Saeidi (Source: The Middle East Institute) 2/27/09 www.payvand.com/news/09/feb/1327.html
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani served as President of Iran from 1989 to 1997. In 2005 he ran for a third term in office, losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the run-off round of the 2005 election. He was also elected as the Chairman of Iranian parliament in 1980 and served until 1989. Rafsanjani has been described as a centrist and a "pragmatic conservative". He supports a free market position domestically, favoring privatization of state-owned industries. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until his resignation in 2011. Despite his resignation from the Assembly of Experts, he continues to hold his position as the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran.
Khamenei & Rafsanjanis Bonyads foundations became a huge conglomerate of multiple businesses and industries, including tourism, real estate, agriculture, petrochemicals, and transportation. Another powerful Bonyad is associated with an important religious shrine and pilgrim destination in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Headed by Vaez-Tabasi, the Imam Reza Shrine Foundation [astan-i qods-i razavi] amassed a fortune worth an estimated $15 billion. Bonyads are funded both actively and passively. Islamic almsgiving, known as Zakat, flows into Bonyads. As devout Muslims, Iranians and businesses are required to donate a percent of their earnings (Zakat). The Islamic Hawala system has been known to funnel money into established Bonyads as well. Completed 100% on trust, Hawala involves money exchanges among multiple entities. Some players need money now, others loan the money, an intermediary handles the transactions, and interest is paid through monetary means or through goods and services. The system never ends because payments must be made to those in need and to those who loan. [36]
The Bonyads were (and remain) unaccountable to anyone but the Supreme Leader.
However it is important to note Khomeini centralized control of the mosques and Bonyads under clerical leadership. As a result, Khomeini was able to enforce his own imprimatur on the overall strategic posture of the state in both the domestic- and foreign-policy spheres. [37]
(36). Bonyads: Iran's Greatest Strength against Sanctions By Kerry Patton January 5, 2012 americanthinker.com/2012/01/bonyads_irans_greatest_strength_against_sanctions.html#ixzz1oV5ySvqd (37) Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads An Exploration of Iranian Leadership Dynamics, The 1980s: Era of the Clerics , Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense RAND National Defense Research Institute, Published 2010 by the RAND Corporation p 54
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Quadrennial Defense Review Report, DoD, 2006 Defines Irregular Warfare As . Dispersed, Global Terrorist Networks That Exploit Islam To Advance Radical Political Aims. Tactically, Bonyads are often related to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC). Operatives from the IRGC along with members of Qods and Hezbollah go undercover, portraying themselves as employees or officials of trading companies. [38] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He became the first non-cleric president since 1981. Ahmadinejad As a former Revolutionary Guard officer himself, he is close to other former Guards and those who run the various Bonyads, particularly the Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled. [39] Khordad Foundation, in 1989, it offered $1 million to anyone who killed Salman Rushdie, (currently 3.3 million dollars) author of the Satanic Verses that Ayatollah Khomeini called blasphemous.
Bonyad Shahid va Omur-e Janbazan (Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs), one IRIs
largest with over 100 companies Mainly Know as Bonyad-e Shahid, Martyrs Foundation In July of 2007 the U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted Hezbollahs support network by designating the Iran-based Martyrs Foundation, including its U.S. branch (Goodwill Charitable Organization), and the finance firm Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH). The Martyrs Foundation is an Iranian parastatal organization that channels financial support from Iran to several terrorist organizations in the Levant, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). [40]
In addition to fundraising responsibilities, senior Martyrs Foundation officials were directly involved in Hezbollah operations against Israel during the July-August 2006 conflict. The Lebanon-based leader of the Martyrs Foundation directed and financed terrorist cells in the Gaza Strip that worked with Hezbollah and PIJ. Treasury's action also targeted Qasem Aliq, a Hezbollah official who was previously the director for the Martyrs Foundation branch in Lebanon. In addition to overseeing Martyrs Foundation's operation, Aliq worked closely with senior Hezbollah officials. Aliq served as the director of Jihad al-Bina, a Lebanon-based construction company (building bunkers, underground fortifications and harden shelters). [41]
38).Bonyads Irans Greatest Strength against Sanctions By Kerry Patton http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/bonyads_irans_greatest_strength_against_sanctions.html#ixzz1oV5ySvqd 39).Statement of Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Congressional Research Service Joint Economic Committee Hearing on Iran July 25, 2006 40). Twin Treasury Actions Take Aim at Hezbollahs Support Network 7/24/2007 treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/hp503.aspx 41).IBID 2
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Goodwill Charitable Organization (GCO), a fundraising office established by

the Martyrs Foundation in Dearborn, Michigan. Dearborn has the largest Lebanese Community in the U.S., and openly support the Hezbollah. GCO is a Hezbollah front organization that reports directly to the leadership of the Martyrs Foundation in Lebanon. Hezbollah recruited GCO leaders and has maintained close contact with GCO representatives in the United States. [42]
The Supreme Leader provides the only oversight for their activities. Not only are their financial accounts not publicly available, no numbers exist for the state funding or contributions they receive. The IRI government provides no information about its business and financial transactions with the Bonyads. The Bonyads powerful economic, political military and irregular war role in the Iranian political system serves to strengthen religious conservative forces. The foundations have entrenched interests in the continuation of the existing political system of clerical rule. Over 7 million Iranians (about 10% of the population) benefit from the governments officiallysanctioned social welfare network. The main official relief agencies are the Welfare Organization and the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee. They are overseen by the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security. The Relief Committee is said to assist as many as 7 million Iranians with basic foods. The Welfare Organization, as well as the Committee, provides social welfare services to women-headed households as well as other recipients. The Bonyads are technically not under the authority of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, and therefore the Bonyads criteria for deciding who should receive social welfare is often arbitrary, according to many observers, explaining why some Iranians who are not truly needy receive benefits. Those needy Iranians who are not well-connected or who are perceived as unsympathetic to the regime might often not receive social welfare benefits. By contrast, the official social welfare system overseen by the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security do have clear criteria and clearly stipulated benefits, for example for unemployment compensation, old age pensions, disability pensions, survivor benefits, and medical benefits. [43] The Bonyads are central to the Islamic Republic of Iran Irregular Warfare and political capabilities. In addition it is part and partial of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. It is hidden, intricately woven throughout the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition it reaches into the heart of International Community cloaked as innocent charities. More will be discussed about the Bonyads , their role in IRI C.B.R.N., nuclear black market activities and more .
42).Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil Tom Diaz, Barbara Newman, Presidio Press; (March 1, 2005) p223-224 43).Statement of Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Congressional Research Service Joint Economic Committee Hearing on Iran July 25, 2006
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Criminals should not be tried. The trial of a criminal is against human rights. Human rights demand that we should have killed them in the first place when it became known that they were criminals, Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah by Baqer Moin June 15, 2000 P 208 Khomeini "Don't listen to those
who speak of democracy. They all are against Islam. They want to take the nation away from its mission. We will break all the poison pens of those who speak of nationalism, democracy, and such things." In a meeting with Iranian students and educators, Qom March 13, 1979
2009 Presidential Elections On June 12, 2009, following a heated campaign between reformist candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi and incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranians turned out in record numbers to vote in the presidential election. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner within hours of the polls closing, the disbelief of many quickly turned into outrage, which burst onto the streets. Two of the four candidates were members of ethnic minorities and the fact that, according to official results, they did poorly in their home regions was seen by many in Iran as evidence of electoral fraud. The three defeated candidates themselves alleged widespread fraud. Iranian people outraged at this public demonstrations in several major cities of a size and intensity unprecedented since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. [44]
Singled out for arrest were foreign nationals, dual nationals and those with ties to other countries, particularly the USA and UK.
It a span of a few weeks over 4,000 people was arrested during the post-election unrest, more than likely many more. The majority was detained in Tehran, but arrests were recorded in other cities, such as Shiraz, Mashhad, Esfahan and Babol, as well as Ahvaz, Tabriz and Zahedan which have large minority populations. Many hundreds were held incommunicado for weeks, effectively victims of enforced disappearances. Possibly as many as 200 remained in key members of election campaign teams in towns and cities across the country, were harassed, arrested and detained. Journalists were rounded up, and newspapers and websites were shut down or occupied by security forces. [45]
In a December 2009 UN Report several thousand Iranians had fled the Islamic Republic of Iran in the wake of the 2009 election riots. United Nations says more than 4,200 Iranians world-wide have sought refugee status since Iran's controversial June presidential vote and bloody street violence and mass executions. An official with Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the refugee issue "is very complex and should be addressed by the international community." Noting that 67,000 people have sought refuge in Turkey since 1995 -- nearly half of them from Iran Thousands Flee Iran as Noose Tightens by Steve Stecklow and Farnaz Fassihi December 11, 2009http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126049484505086861.html
44.) Human Rights Watch January 2012 Country Summary / Iran hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/iran_2012.pdf 45). Iran Election Contested, Repression Compounded Amnesty International Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London Wc1x 0dw United Kingdom www.amnesty.org
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Moharebeh, the term is widely used by Iran's Islamic Judiciary, citing Sharia law, meaning defying
God, enemy of God. It is a capital crime in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The means used can be from stoning to death, firing squad or hung.
IRIs Article 500 of the penal code states that anyone who undertakes any form of propaganda against the state will be sentenced to between three months and one year in prison, but the code leaves propaganda undefined. Under Article 513, offenses deemed to be an insult to religion can be punished by death, or prison terms of one to five years for lesser offenses, with insult similarly undefined. In 2010, the government broadened the definition of the crime of Moharebeh, or enmity against God, in order to convict activists and journalists. Other articles provide sentences of up to two years in prison, up to 74 lashes, or a fine for those convicted of intentionally creating anxiety and unease in the publics mind, spreading false rumors, writing about acts that are not true, and criticizing state officials, though many prison sentences have been arbitrarily harsh, ranging from 6 to more than 10 years.[46]
The Iranian government's high rate of executions and targeting of rights defenders, particularly lawyers, in 2010 and early 2011 highlights a deepening of the human rights crisis that gripped the country following the disputed June 2009 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said in issuing its World Report 2011 Iran chapter. According to Iranian media reports, authorities have executed at least 73 prisoners an average of almost three prisoners per day - since January 1, 2011.
From a 2010 Report from Iran Human Rights Organization there were 400 known Iranian executions in 2009. The real count will never been known. According to their annual report on the death penalty in Iran, number of executions in 2009 was the highest in the past 10 years. Commenting the annual report, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: "This reports confirms that the situation of the human rights in Iran is worse than in many years". He continued: " We are especially concerned about the high number of arbitrary executions and execution of those convicted for Moharebeh,. (crimes against , God, State) in 2009". [47]
The Islamic Republic of Iran is number one along with China in the number of executions. It is number one in the world for executing Juveniles. Rape of women and torture is the normal function of prisons and a sanctioned government practice. [48] IRI law allows capital punishment for persons who have reached puberty, defined as nine-years-old for girls and fifteen for boys. There are currently more than a hundred juvenile offenders on death row in 2012.
In 2010 Hardliner Shiite cleric and the spiritual and religious father of members of the administration said during a speech he delivered at ayatollah Khamenei office in the city of Qom that opponents to the rule of the Islamic republic supreme leader are " Moharebeh " [enemies of God] and that "Democracy, freedom, and human rights have no place" in Islamic theology. [49]
46). Iran: Freedom of the Press 2011 http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2011/iran 47).Report on Iran: More than 400 Executions in 2009 March 11, 2010 http://persian2english.com/?p=8236 48).Iran /Death Penalty, A State Terror Policy, Idh.Org/Img/Pdf/Rapport_Iran_Final.Pdf 49).Mesbah Yazdi from Ayatollah Khamenei Office: Democracy and Human Rights Have No Place in Islamic Theology http://www.iranvandaag.com/2010/09/democracy-and-human-rights-have-no.html
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Iran executed 670 known people in 2011, perhaps many more, United Nations Investigation Findings
The investigator, former Maldives foreign minister Ahmed Shaheed, also reported what he said were a wide range of violations by Iran of U.N. human rights accords. "It is with great concern that I report the significant increase in the rate of executions in Iran from 200 in midSeptember 2011 to over 600 executions by the end of the year," Shaheed told a 47 Group UN council. Figures in his detailed report showed that by December 31, there were 421 executions and 249 secret ones had been reported to him by sources inside and outside the country. [50]
The Number of Public Executions in Iran Quadrupled In 2011
There were around four times as many public executions in 2011 than in 2010, and hundreds of people are believed to have been sentenced to death in the past year. The escalating pace of executions, this is a strategy to spread fear among the population and to deter protests. As the repression of dissenters widens, the risk of further death sentences and executions cannot be excluded. [51] The number of public executions in Iran quadrupled last year Iran leads the world in the execution of juvenile offenders, individuals who committed a crime before turning 18-years-old. The Iranian state executed at least three children in 2011, one of them in public. Iranian law allows capital punishment for persons who have reached puberty, defined as nine-years-old for girls and fifteen for boys. There are currently more than a hundred juvenile offenders on death row.
According to, Reporters Without Borders, there were 49 journalists and bloggers in Irans Prisons as of October 2011.
In March 2011 the UN Human Rights Council appointed a special rapporteur for Iran. In July 2011 the Iranian government announced it would not cooperate with or allow the special rapporteur access. On September 23 the special rapporteur submitted his first report on Iran in which he highlighted a pattern of systematic violations of human rights and repeated his call on the government to allow him to visit the country. Iran continued to refuse access to UN special procedures, despite their longstanding and repeated requests for invitations to visit. No special rapporteurs have visited the country since 2005. [52]
Human Rights Defenders and Lawyers
Authorities have imprisoned, prosecuted, or harassed dozens of defense lawyers since June 2009. In August 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi said at least 42 lawyers had faced government persecution since June 2009. In July the judiciary sentenced Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a prominent lawyer and co-founder (with Ebadi) of the Center for Defenders of Human Rights (CDHR), to nine years in prison and a 10-year ban from teaching and legal practice. On September 10 security forces arrested Abdolfattah Soltani, another CDHR co-founder. On September 27 a revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced Narges Mohammadi, an executive member of the CDHR, to 11 years imprisonment for acting against the national security and membership in an illegal organization. [53]
50).Iran Executed Some 670 People Last Year, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/12/us-iran-rightsidUSBRE82B16N20120312 51.) Human Rights Watch January 2012 Country Summary / Iran hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/iran_2012.pdf 52.) IBID 2 53). IBID2
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Clearly the Islamic Government of Iran does not govern Iran by the consent of the people. The only way the Mullahs retain power is through sheer brutality, torture and executions. Nor was the rise of the Islamic Government of Iran embraced by the majority Iranians, it was forced on them. Only through skillful deception by Khomeini by employing the Islamic principles of al Taqiyya did the Iranian People go down this road. The Islamic government which Khomeini formed is one he and his disciples want to bring to the world. As the follow chapters unfold they will provide the reader with depth of this threat. Key in building this dark brutal empire is a nuclear weapons umbrella. Under the heading of the Form of Government in Islam, Khomeinis constitution provides for the continuation of his form of government and for his revolution to be exported aboard.
The Constitution Will Strive With Other Popular Islamic Movements, To Prepare The Way For The Formation Of A Single World Community In accordance with the Quran verse, your community is a single community, and I am your Lord, Worship Me (21:92), and assure the continuation of a struggle for liberation of all deprived and oppressed people of the world.
Islam and Revolution: Writings and Declarations of Imam Khomeini, Translated and Annotated by Hamid Algar, Mizan Press, Berkeley, 1981. Ayatollah Khomeini in his 10 years of leadership established a theocratic rule over Iran. He did not fulfill his pre-revolution promises to the people of Iran but instead he started to marginalize and crash the opposition groups and those who opposed the clerical rules. He ordered establishment of many institutions to consolidate power and safeguard the cleric leadership. During his early years in power he launched the Cultural Revolution in order to Islamize the whole country. Many people were laid off, and books were revised or burnt according to the new Islamic values. Newly established Islamic Judiciary system sentenced many Iranians to death and long-term imprisonment as they were in opposition to those radical changes. After Khomeinis death in 1989, the Assembly of Experts appointed a n ew supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Follow in Ayatollah Khomeinis bloody foot prints crushes any attempts to move away from this government. Only the future will bear witness to how many more Iranians will be tortured and executed.
Khomeinis bloody rise to power: from its inception, his true intentions were hidden, camouflaged, cloaked in decency. His words of democratic process, and democratic openness, obscured a monster, in order to give birth to a most brutal form of Islam, Where anyone, anything is slaughtered, butchered, to give rise to Ayatollah Khomeinis conception of what the world should be. His chaos of Islamic Militant Theocratic Totalitarianism has been set free, it roams the world.

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CHAPTER I : THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN