Excerpts from the Memoirs of Martyr Seyyed Asadollah Lajevardi

First Encounter with the Mojahedin-e Khalq

Selected by Faezeh Sasanikhah
Translated by Kianoush Borzouei

2025-5-6


One day, four members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq from Tabriz—who had been affiliated with Mohammad Hanifnejad[1]—were brought into the prison. These were individuals we had long yearned to connect with, to bask in the radiance of their spiritual glory and revolutionary dedication.

In complete sincerity, I laid out the prison atmosphere and the prevailing conditions for them, cautioning them about the dynamics of our current. Since we regarded them as Muslims, my discourse was distinctly anti-Marxist in tone. Yet, contrary to my expectations, I found their response to be rather cold—even toward the limited resources we had managed to acquire through great hardship and sacrifice. I thought that the prison mindset had gotten into them and that, in time, they would return to normal.

When I raised the issue of separating the religious inmates from those living in Marxist communes, they responded by saying, “No, the organization’s principle is to live communally.” They exhibited an unusual admiration for the Fadayean-e Khalq[2], even hailing them as the greatest human beings of the century. I countered: “These communists are from groups like Sāka and Toofan, some of the vilest Marxist elements—spies, traitors, or defectors—whom even the Fadayean themselves did not confirm.”

I began to describe the books in our possession, and when I mentioned the works of Seyyed Qutb[3], one of them immediately exclaimed, “That bastard is a traitor to Islam!” Though we were still under the spell of the Mojahedin’s revolutionary aura and, admittedly, held certain political criticisms of Seyyed Qutb and Jamal Abdol Nasser[4], we had not yet fully grasped that such insults stemmed from deep-rooted ideological conflicts. I initially assumed their criticisms were political in nature—perhaps stemming from seasoned ideological analysis. But a subtle alarm went off in my mind.

The next day, I asked directly: “What exactly are your criticisms of Seyyed Qutb?”
He replied, “Man, that bastard attacked Marxism—which is a science—in his books! Does Islam contradict science? If someone attacks Marxism, he’s attacking Islam itself. That man is an enemy of Islam and a traitor!”

At that point, I adopted a posture of concealment[5]. I accepted a life of quiet observation, and we each kept to ourselves. Still, they considered themselves clever strategists and would say, “We must attract all religious elements—even those in tier three, meaning us reactionaries!”

In order to win us over, they organized informal evening gatherings from which the Marxists were excluded. A handful of us would gather, and a variety of topics would be discussed. I usually just listened and refrained from speaking. They were fond of statistics—for example, saying things like, “We’ve collectively spent 4,000 hours, X minutes, and Y seconds working on the Qur’an and Nahj al-Balaghah.” They had also managed to persuade some of the younger inmates that collective intellectual effort was immensely superior. Mathematically speaking, they argued, the cumulative output of several hours of group work could equal hundreds of years of individual labor.

Back at Qasr Prison, I had developed a particular method of Qur’anic study, dedicating ten to twelve hours a day—a discipline I continued at Ghezel Hesar. When they saw me engaged in Qur’anic research, they grew curious about my methodology. As soon as they entered our two-person cell, I would respectfully close the Qur’an and set it aside. They kept inquiry, trying to uncover my approach, but I was determined to first hear their own interpretations.

Other brothers had advised us to benefit from their supposed expertise in Qur’anic exegesis, so I awaited their insights. Each time I urged them to share their perspectives, they would flatter me excessively—“You're so learned, so principled...” and so on. Eventually, after about thirty days, they agreed to present their interpretation of Surah Muhammad, claiming it was their magnum opus in Qur’anic commentary.

Once they reached the verse about those who “bar from the path of God,”[6] the discussion suddenly veered toward Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh[7]. They poured forth lengthy explanations under the guise of Qur’anic interpretation. Allahu Akbar! What did blocking the path of God have to do with Vietnam? They equated sabil Allah with Ho Chi Minh’s political struggle!

For an entire week, we endured such speeches—how al-Fatah[8] did this, how Mao[9] did that. That’s when we truly realized what they meant by “interpretation”! Eventually, even those sessions came to an end, and we began to detect the contours of their ideological orientation.

I had received word that Moddarresi[10]—my childhood friend, adolescent companion, and comrade in the revolutionary execution of Mansour—had turned Marxist during his years in Kermanshah prison. During a prison visit, I was informed that inmates in Qasr had sent a message: “Modarresi has now been transferred to Qasr and is taking a hardline stance against religion and the religious. Given your longstanding emotional connection, perhaps your presence might influence him.”

The most well-equipped ophthalmology clinic in the prison system was located in Qasr. Due to the eye injuries I had sustained during torture—and despite knowing there was no real treatment—I insisted on being examined. The physician at Ghezel Hesar approved my transfer to Qasr for a more thorough examination[11].

During that period, Modarresi launched some of the fiercest attacks against religious inmates. The brothers, remembering our past, believed his turn to communism stemmed from isolation and a lack of religious companionship. They tried to win him back and bring him to Islam. Ironically, the root cause of his leftist shift was a thrill-seeking and utterly ignorant individual[12].

In my interactions with him, I pretended to be unaware of his Marxist turn. Even though, during a visit while he was still in Kermanshah, I had sensed a change in his thinking—especially from how he reacted to an Imam Khomeini flyer I had risked a great deal to smuggle in as a gift—I hadn’t realized he had gone fully to the left.

The Mojahedin saw Modarresi—because of his religious past and his ability to speak in terms appealing to religious sentiments—as an ideal target for recruitment. They worked hard to win him over, and indeed, following their tactical line of spreading leftist ideology through infiltration of religious circles, he eventually joined their ranks. Today, he is among the leadership of the Monafeqin.[13]

 

[1] Mohammad Hanifnejad, born in 1938, became the student representative in the National Front while studying at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran. He was imprisoned during the events of June 5, 1963, and upon his release, co-founded the Mojahedin Organization alongside Saeed Mohsen and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan. He was arrested in June 1972 and executed by firing squad.

[2] The ideological founder of the Marxist guerrilla organization known as the “Fadayean-e Khalq” was Bijan Jazani. Prior to establishing his secret group, he had been active within the youth wing of the Tudeh Party. While incarcerated, he authored theoretical booklets for the Fedayeen organization. The core figures of the second group instrumental in founding the Fedayeen were Masoud Ahmadzadeh and Amir Parviz Pouyan, both of whom had prior involvement in the National Front. The movement officially commenced in 1970.

[3] Seyyed Qutb (October 9, 1906 – August 29, 1966) was an Egyptian theorist and a prominent member of the ikhvan-al-moslemin. He is chiefly known for reinterpreting the influence of Islamic fundamentalism on socio-political transformation, particularly through his seminal work Milestones (Ma‘alim fi’l-Tariq). Qutb joined Egypt’s Ministry of Education in 1939 and, between 1948 and 1950, pursued studies on educational systems in the United States on a government scholarship, where he earned his master’s degree. In 1953, he resigned from public service to fully commit to the  ikhvan-al-moslemin, eventually becoming its most influential ideologue. His intellectual legacy is now referred to as “Qutbism.”

Both Qutb and the  ikhvan-al-moslemin initially welcomed their alliance with Egypt’s Free Officers Movement during and after the 1952 coup. Many  ikhvan-al-moslemin members hoped Nasser would establish an Islamic government or at least an Islamic democracy. However, the alliance soon soured when it became clear that the Free Officers neither held elections nor banned alcohol. The incompatibility between the  ikhvan-al-moslemin’s Islamic principles and the secular ideology of Nasserism soon emerged. Following the failed assassination attempt on Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954, the regime began cracking down on the  ikhvan-al-moslemin. Qutb and many others were imprisoned for vocal opposition to the state. Though briefly released through the mediation of then Iraqi Prime Minister Abd al-Salam Arif, Qutb was re-arrested in August 1965, accused of plotting to overthrow the government. He and six others were sentenced to death. On August 29, 1966, Qutb was executed by hanging.Qutb argued that adherence to Sharia as an all-encompassing system for all facets of life would preclude corruption and misguidance and allow humanity to flourish. In Iran during the 1930s and 1940s (Solar Hijri calendar), translations of his works intellectually nourished many revolutionaries, particularly young seminarians seeking to understand colonial and Marxist doctrines.

[4] Jamal Abdol Nasser, born in 1918, was Egypt’s second president, serving from 1956 until his death. Alongside Muhammad Naguib—the first president—he led the 1952 revolution that overthrew the Egyptian and Sudanese monarchy. In office, Nasser accelerated modernization and enacted socialist reforms. He championed Pan-Arabism and briefly unified Egypt and Syria under the United Arab Republic. He also nationalized the Suez Canal, turning the 1956 Suez Crisis into a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance and giving rise to the ideology of Nasserism.

Nasserism was characterized by Arab nationalism, socialism, and secularism. He played a pivotal role in anti-colonial efforts across the Arab world and Africa and was a founding leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. Nasser brought all religious institutions under state control and opposed theocratic rule, fueling conflict with the Muslim Ikhvan-al moslemin. His first major effort toward Arab unity was the Egypt-Syria union. Prominent Arab journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal once suggested on Al Jazeera that Anwar Sadat may have poisoned Nasser. After Nasser’s death, Sadat—his vice president—assumed leadership of Egypt.

 

[5]Habibollah Asgaroladi: He was the first to recognize the duplicity of the Mojahedin-e Khalq in prison. Although figures like Imam Khomeini, Martyr Morteza Motahhari, and several others outside prison had identified the group’s deviation, such judgments was difficult behind bars. Even some senior clerics were deceived by the group's outward religiosity. Martyr Lajevardi, however, was able to detect the underlying hypocrisy in their rhetoric. When I first discussed the issue with him, he was surprised that I wanted to engage him in such a topic. (Witnesses of the Comrades, Martyr Seyed Asadollah Lajevardi, p.

[6] "Indeed, those who disbelieve and obstruct [others] from the path of Allah—He will nullify their deeds." — Surah Muhammad, Verse 1.

[7] In 1932, Ho Chi Minh founded the Communist Party of Vietnam. Between 1945 and May 1954—culminating in the fall of Dien Bien Phu—he led a broad coalition of independence groups in defeating French colonial forces. The Vietnam War, encompassing military operations from 1950 to 1975, pitted North Vietnam and its southern affiliate, the Viet Cong (Red Liberation Front), against South Vietnam and its allies, especially the United States. The North sought to expel U.S. forces and unify the country under communist rule. By war’s end, these goals were achieved, resulting in the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. At the time of John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, nearly 16,000 American troops and advisors were stationed in South Vietnam.

[8] The Fatah movement (Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini) launched its first operation within Israeli territory in January 1965. In its official publication, the organization declared: “...Revolutionary violence is the only path to liberate Palestine. The entire masses must engage in this endeavor...” Fatah's initial military actions drew opposition from most Arab regimes, including Nasser’s Egypt, though Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Syria offered support. China also issued a statement of praise through Fatah’s representative. After the martyrdom of 15,000 Palestinian fighters in Jordan in 1970, Fatah relocated its base to Lebanon. In 1994 (1373 SH), the organization ultimately opted for reconciliation with Israel.

[9] Mao Zedong, born on December 26, 1893, died in 1976. He joined the founding congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 and was elected to its Central Committee in the third congress three years later. Throughout a 23-year civil war, Mao rose to prominence within the party. Backed by the Soviet Union, he received military and financial assistance. To bolster his anti-imperialist image, he also funneled food and funds to communist movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.In 1958, defending his political agenda before the Party Congress, Mao stated: “You must not fear death resulting from party policy—rather, you should welcome it.” Earlier, in Moscow, he had declared that China was prepared for the death of 300 million people. From Mao’s rise as a Marxist-Leninist theorist and leader of the Chinese Communist Party to his death, it is estimated that approximately 70 million people perished under his rule.

[10] Abbas Modarresi-Far, born in 1938, was an early member of the Islamic Coalition Societies. He was arrested in connection with the revolutionary execution of  Mansour and sentenced to life imprisonment. Initially an extreme religious zealot, he later befriended Parviz Nikkhah in Ghasr Prison and was influenced by him to adopt communism. After returning from exile in Kermanshah Prison, he joined the People's Mojahedin and, upon release, assumed the role of treasurer within the organization. When the group entered its armed phase, he left the country.

[11]Habibollah Asgaroladi: Martyr Araki and I asked [Martyr Lajevardi]: “Why don’t you live with these Mojahedin youths who identify as Muslims?” Martyr Araki added, “We’ve managed to prevent them from joining the communists. We’ve found a way to live together.” Martyr Lajevardi turned to me and asked, “How are you feeling?”—a tactic he often used to deflect serious discussions with humor. When Araki realized he was joking, he left us. Lajevardi then told me: “I thought you were asking why I live separately so that you could understand and perhaps do the same. I didn’t expect you to encourage me to live with those who fundamentally do not believe in God or the afterlife. These individuals conspired in Evin and Qezel Qaleh prisons to pray regularly for several years just to gain public trust.” I was dismayed and replied, “This sounds like hearsay, based on one person’s account.” He said, “I wouldn’t risk my hereafter on hearsay. But I also won’t insist that you think like me.” (Witnesses of the Comrades, Martyr Seyed Asadollah Lajevardi, p. 66)

[12] The individual referred to is Parviz Nikkhah

[13] Source: Islami, Javad. The Struggle in the Words of Martyr Seyed Asadollah Lajevardi. Tehran: Iran Cultural and Press Institute, Iran Publishing, 2022, p. 129.



 
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Boycotting within prison

Here I remember something that breaks the continuity, and I have to say it because I may forget it later. In Evin Prison, due to the special position that we and our brothers held and our belief in following the line of Marja’eiyat [sources of emulation] and the Imam, we had many differences with the Mujahedin.
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