Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (60)

Edited by Mohsen Kazemi

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (60)
Edited by Mohsen Kazemi
Soureh Mehr Publishing Company
(Original Text in Persian, 2000)
Translated by Mohammad Karimi

The Sad Destiny

Parviz and Khosrow (Ali and Ali Asghar Mirza Ja’far Allaf) who were living with us in the same team-house had the same positions as mine. They were also shocked badly with the newly created conditions. They had been suggested to choose one of two choices. They could remain in MKO and follow its strategies and keep their Islamic believes secret and personal. MKO was promising them it would create an Islamic branch for the Muslim comrades. The second choice them was going abroad and continuing the struggle there. There was a third choice too, but never said.
Parviz who was the lesser brother had lost his wife, job and money for MKO goals and it was really hard for him to miss what he believed; it was impossible. He was upset and restless and sometimes would say dangerous things. At first he had decided to separate from MKO without any coordination with it and enter the society. Since he had no security covering, it was possible for him to be arrested and killed. Observing his restlessness MKO became suspicious and worried about him. They were worried if he get out of MKO and make it hurt.
Iraj explained the restlessness in Parviz mind in a session and finally concluded that he was a betrayer and had to be killed. He suggested me to kill him. I was shocked by hearing this but controlled myself and began arguing. I could satisfy him not to get rid of Parviz. I said: “There are some other ways too. Let him go to another town. He had helped MKO about 500 thousand Tomans. Give him back 50 thousand Tomas of that money and let him buy a house out here and gradually his problem would be solved…” Iraj watching my hard position apparently accepted what I said.
Day by day Parviz was getting harder and harder to tolerate by MKO. I’d become more cautious too. I worried if MKO would find the same image about me. However, as a matter of fact they had planned much deeper wells on my way. Parviz was feeling lonely and alone. He was completely cut and in an unbalanced situation. I wanted to follow my own plans with him but his behavior and unbalanced actions would take the chance from me.
During these days, Iraj -the strictly faithful person to MKO- would report all of our actions and behavior to MKO from head to toe. There were several sessions held to discuss our situation. Iraj would say: “Shapour’s condition is completely different; he wants to go out to struggle but Parviz is cut from MKO and it is possible for him to be arrested and reveal everything. So he should be wiped out.” I would strictly oppose this idea. Finally I suggested sending him abroad.
One day Iraj came and told me that MKO had accepted my suggestion and decided to send Parviz abroad and I had to forge a perfect passport for him. It was the apparent figure of the story and actually MKO was following its own devil plan.
I was pessimistic to this inlet of hope and suspiciously began forging the passport for him along with Khosrow (his brother) and then delivered it to Ali.
Another day Iraj came and took the keys of car and said: “We are going to pass Parviz over the border.” I hopelessly gave the keys to him. Then I hugged Parviz and kissed and smelled him; I saw the worry in his eyes. He began crying in my arms; I also cried. He said: “Shapour! I am gone. But God knows what will happen…” I said: “Trust God!” I was burning in worry but there was no other way. We had to trust!
Two days later, Iraj came and said: “Hey pals! Parviz passed the border.” I was still worried and could not believe what he said; so I surprisingly asked: “He passed the border!!” Iraj understood that I was not meaning the geographical border but the border of this world and the other world. His face got red and angrily said: “What does it mean?” I said: “With this easiness!” He said: “We took him to the airport and nobody checked his passport; then he boarded the plane and went.” And then in order to make me trust said: “MKO thanked you for good forgery of that passport.” I laughed at their thankfulness.
Iraj said: “Now it is your turn! MKO has presented you two ways. First way is to go abroad and join the comrades in Zofar; second way is to join the new separated branch of MKO including some other Muslim members whom you know!”

The Religious Branch of MKO (1)

While I was still thinking about the 3rd way (?!), Iraj gave me the codes and signs of the Religious Branch to examine the 2nd suggested way by MKO. I made an appointment with one of them through Iraj somewhere around Lashkar Crossroads.
When the Religious Branch member came there, I saw he was my friend Farhad Safa(2). I knew him from Qezel Hesar Prison. In the prison, he was a rational moderate Muslim and he would not show any radicalism.
Farhad got closer and said: “Ahmad! Is that you?!” Then we hugged each other and walked and chatted together. Farhad said: “Ahmad! By this statement (Ideology Change) we have been beaten from two sides; MKO and the Muslims. Muslims will not help us and we have to take care of ourselves. At the time being Mohsen Tariqat, Mohammad Akbari and I have accepted to keep the Religious Branch. However, our team leader is a Marxist girl.” (!)
I found out what the hell MKO was doing to them. They had chosen a young veil-less girl as their leader to destroy their logic, thoughts, believes and religion gradually.
Farhad said: “… this is the way that we put behind and now we stuck in it. If you join us, our conditions may get better and there would possibly a way out…” I said: “No, Farhad. I cannot decide now. I should think and then answer you.” Their situation was not acceptable to me particularly considering that Marxist girl beside them.
MKO that had separated men and women in team-houses before, now in a new policy was mixing them together. By choosing this strategy MKO was creating a kind of mental engagement and thinking evolution. It was about the last days of living in Gorgan Street house that one day we were doing morning warm-up exercises Iraj called Shapourzadeh and said: “Shapourzadeh! Come and join us in warm-up!” I got surprised and angrily asked: “What do you mean?...What for? Here we have only two side by side rooms; how can she excersise?” Then Iraj answered in a mellow position: “Why do you get angry? We are brothers and sisters!” I angrily answered: “No way!” Fatima also did not show any interest. As a matter of fact I should say there were team-houses that girls and boys would live together without obeying the Islamic rules or being married or having the same parents.
Now for creating thinking evolution and passing this crisis, they wanted to use the same method for few young Muslims. I knew being with a young beautiful unveiled Marxist girl can ruin all the thinking foundations of a young Muslim man. So I decided not to join Farhad’s group but to help them come out of this dilemma as much as I could.
In the days after Moseh Tariqat, another member of this branch was permanently in contact with me and we had many sessions together. Contacts with him brought about some events.

1- Marxist Mujahedin wanted to keep realtions with Muslims and as it was possible by creating “Religious Branch” in MKO. They believed: “By creating religious branch we can reach to two goals; first, we can prove for people that we are not anti-religion and second we prove proletariat should lead any movement.” Following such goals MKO after issuing a statement helped group of Muslims inside MKO to create “Religious Branch of MKO”. This branch was shaped by the late Mohammad Hussein Akbari and Farhad Safa with the cooperation of Mohammad Sadegh and Mohsen Tariqat who had been in prison between the years of 1971 and 1974. Its establishment goes back to January or February of 1976. Marxist Mujahedin would deliver arms and Muslim people to this branch to prove their dependency to themselves. (Pamphlet of Groups’ Positions in Prison)
2- Farhad Safa was arrested after the great defeat of MKO in 1971 and sentenced to three years in prison. After freedom he continued to his activities in MKO. After the ideology change in MKO, he created the Religious Branch of MKO and gathered religious members around himself. His dead body was found on March 9th 1976 in a street. His death is in ambiguity. We about him in MKO Newsletter, dated June 13th 1977:
“In a street fight with SAVAK and Anti-Sabotage Committee agents in a blind street, possibly Tarjoman Street, the late revolutionary comrade Farhad Safa committed suicide not to be entrapped by the agents and got martyred.
The late revolutionary comrade Farhad Safa was one of ex-members of MKO who continued his activities in a religious revolutionary group after being freed and ideological evolution in MKO…”