Anjoman-e Hojjatieh, also called The Hojjatie Society ( fa, انجمن خیریه حجتیه مهدویه, Anjoman-e Kheyriyeh Hojjatiyeh Mahdaviyeh, lit=Charity Society of
Allah's Proof Over Creation, also spelled ''hojjatiya''), is a traditionalist
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian
Shi'i
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
lay religious organization. It was founded by
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
-based cleric Mahmoud Halabi in the 1950s
[ to counter missionaries of Bahaism, "who claimed that the long-awaited ]Twelfth Imam
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justic ...
of Shi'ite Islam had returned", and that Shia Islam was now superseded by the Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
. Along with training "cadres for the 'scientific defense of Shiʿi Islam against the Baháʼí,[ the group promotes religious ]orthodoxy
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
through evangelism, works to hasten the return of the Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
(the prophesied redeemer/messiah of Islam). Its socio-economic roots are in the bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
and the traditional middle class of Iran,[ and has been called "semi-clandestine".
While the Hojjatieh has not been alone among religious Muslims in Iran in strongly opposing the ]Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
(whose persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
has involved dozens of killings and the destruction and desecration of Baháʼí communal and private property), according to ''Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
'', Hojjatieh is committed to eliminating the Baháʼí faith non-violently. Its leader Ḥalabi has repeatedly warned his followers against persecution of Baháʼís, saying: "This is not the way, this is not our way".
Despite sharing many of the same conservative religious Shi'i values as the Islamic Republic of Iran and its founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
, the society has clashed with Khomeini and his supporters over several issues. These include the Hojjatiyeh's opposition to the Khomeini doctrine of ''Velayat-e faqih
The Guardianship or Governance/''Wilāyat'' of/by an Islamic Jurist/''Faqīh'' ( fa, , Velâyat-e Faqih; ar, وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, Wilāyat al-Faqīh), is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the re ...
'', (sometime) populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
government policies, and involvement by the religious in politics in general (until the appearance of the Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
); and the regime's opposition to the (alleged) secret members of the Hojjatiyeh who have (allegedly) infiltrated the Iranian government.[ Halabi officially suspended the operation of the society and all its activities in 1983, after what was widely seen as a verbal attack on the society by Khominei,][ although some believe Hojjatieh (or at least the "Ḥojjatiya's line") "remains alive"][ and "began a silent comeback" in the 1990s.][
]
Name
The name of the organization, Hojjatieh, originates from the word ''Hojjat'',[ often translated in English as "proof".][ One of the titles of the ]Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
in Shiʿi Islam is ''Hujjatullah'' ("Proof of Allah").
An earlier organization, the ''Anjoman-e Imám-e Zaman'' (called ''Anjoman-e Zedd-e Baháʼí'' privately), was founded by Halabi. After the Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
it was renamed ''Anjoman-e Hojjatieh Mahdavieh'' (called Hojjatieh for short).
History
The organization was founded in 1953 in Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
by a member of the Shiʿi clergy, Shaikh Mahmoud Halabi, with permission of Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Hossein Ali Tababataei Borujerdi (Luri/ fa, آیت الله العظمی سید حسین طباطبایی بروجردی; 23 March 1875 – 30 March 1961) was a leading Iranian Shia Marja' in Iran from approximately 1947 t ...
. The founding premise of the organization was that the most immediate threat to Islam was the Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
, which they viewed as a heresy whose elimination was imperative. Halabi believed "that whatever had gone wrong politically and in society at large was due to the influence of Baha'i and, therefore, he had to confront it".[ Halabi and his followers supported Prime Minister ]Mohammad Mosaddegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...
, but following the toppling of Mosaddegh by supporters of the Shah (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
), their activities were allowed to continue "in return" for their support of the Shah's rule .[
;During the Shah's reign
In March to June 1955, the ]Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
period that year, a widespread systematic program against the Baháʼí was undertaken cooperatively by the government and the clergy.[ During the period they destroyed the national Baháʼí Center in Tehran, confiscated properties and made it illegal for a time to be Baháʼí (punishable by 2 to 10 year prison term). Founder of ]SAVAK
SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prime ...
, Teymur Bakhtiar
Teymur Bakhtiar ( fa, تیمور بختیار; 1914 – 12 August 1970) was an Iranian general and the founder and head of SAVAK from 1956 to 1961 when he was dismissed by the Shah. In 1970, SAVAK agents assassinated him in Iraq.
He was an as ...
, took a pick-axe to a Baháʼí building himself at the time.
Halabi is said to have worked with SAVAK
SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prime ...
security agency under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...
, offering his full cooperation in fighting "other heathen forces, including the Communists." By doing so he was given freedom to recruit members and raise funds. By the early, 1970s Hojjatiyeh was active not only all over Iran but also in neighboring countries;[ and by 1977 the society was said to have had 12,000 members.
;During the Islamic Republic
According to Taheri, in Halabi's view the Shah's regime allowed the Baháʼís too much freedom, and as Khomeini's movement to overthrow the Shah gained momentum, he gave his support to them.
However, ]Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
states the Islamic revolution "caught Ḥojjatiya by surprise", and the "initial reaction of the leadership" toward the revolution was "one of skepticism and suspicion".[
According to Muhammad Sahimi writing for the American ]PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
, after the fall of the Pahlavi Shah to Khomeini's supporters in February 1979, Halabi attempted to "maneuver his association into prominence, counting on its religious credentials". This was despite his doctrinal differences with Khomeini about Shia involvement in politics and the need to hasten the Mahdi, Halabi's cooperation with the old regime which Khomeini's supporters loathed passionately, and the group's fierce opposition to "leftists and communists", who had played a part in the Shah's overthrow.[ Nonetheless, many Hojjatiyeh members were appointed to administrative positions because of their "impeccable" religious credentials.]
Khomeini's supporters began openly criticizing the association for its apolitical nature and its “conservative bias” in interpreting Islam. Khomeini allowed this criticism, and on 12 July 1983 he went further, declaring,
Those who believe that we should allow sins to increase until the 12th Imam reappears should modify and reconsider their position.... The Imam will return to eliminate sin, but we should sin so that he will return? Set aside such wrong thinking. If you are Muslim and if you believe in your country, get rid of this factionalism and join the wave that is carrying the nation forward; otherwise, it will break you.
This was widely seen as a "thinly veiled"[ attack on the Hojjatieh's approach to hastening the Mahdi (see "Doctrine" below). Khomeini also made what was seen by many as an accusation of opportunism against the Hojjatiyeh:][
]Those who had declared the struggle gainst the Shahas haraam inful and had tried to break the call against the Shah for not celebrating 15 Sha'baan nniversary of the birth of Imam Mahdihave become more revolutionary than the revolutionaries.
Halabi responded by announcing the suspension (but not the dissolution) of Hojjatiyeh the same day, but did not admit that "the group was the target of the ayatollah's wrath".[ The announcement was "followed by a widespread campaign to purge Ḥojjatiya affiliates from decision-making, academic, and educational bodies throughout Iran."][ Since then both Iranian conservatives and reformists have "accused their rivals of Hojjatie tendencies".] However, after the death of Khomeini, the group was reportedly able to "engineer a return to favor" with the help of Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi
Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوهچی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...
.[ Filiu, ''Apocalypse in Islam '', 2011: p.150]
In addition, because of the ambiguity of Khomeini's attack, at least as of 2010, "it is still a matter of debate whether Khomeini truly ordered Hojjatiyeh to stop its activities," with one Hojjatiyeh adherent stating, "there is no document indicating a confrontation between Ayatollah Khomeini" and Hojjatiyeh.[
In July 2006, the Tehran newspaper "]Kayhan
''Kayhan'' ( fa, کيهان, '' en, The Cosmos'') is a newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered "the most conservative Iranian newspaper." Hossein Shariatmadari is the editor-in-chief of ''Kayhan''. According to the report of the '' ...
" reported that several Hojjatieh Society members had been arrested, while a number of reformist sources warned of a Hojjatieh revival under the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), from 2005–2013.
According to Ronen A. Cohen, a split within the Hojjatiyeh "led to the creation of the "Mahdiviyat movement" that was "terminated by the Iranian regime" and blamed for unsuccessful planned assassinations of Ali Razini, President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
and Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...
and Ayatollah Yazdi.
Doctrine
As a traditionalist Shia organization, Hojjatieh opposes not only the Baha'i, but also Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
ism and Ruhollah Khomeini's heterodox concept of Velayat-e Faqih
The Guardianship or Governance/''Wilāyat'' of/by an Islamic Jurist/''Faqīh'' ( fa, , Velâyat-e Faqih; ar, وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, Wilāyat al-Faqīh), is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the re ...
, which many Shi'a clergy viewed as heretical. The organization has also been called "semi-clandestine".
The slogan of the Hujjatiyeh was "any flag raised before the coming of the Mahdi, its carrier is ''taghut'' n idolatorand worships something other than God .e. is a heretic" According to Michael M. J. Fischer, the name Hujjatiyeh had "a dual function". Just as Halabi (and Hujjatiyeh) denied the claim of the Baháʼí that al-Báb (the forerunner of the Baháʼí faith) was the ''Imam-e Zaman''/Mahdi, so Halabi also denied Khomeini the title of ''Nayeb-e-Imam'' (aide to the Imam).
Halabi himself (according to Fischer), "hinted that he was in daily contact" with the ''Imam-e-Zaman''".
; Nonviolent stance
Whether Hojjatieh is nonviolent, or nonviolent but still dangerous is disputed.
According to legal scholar Noah Feldman
Noah R. Feldman (born May 22, 1970) is an American academic and legal scholar. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and chairman of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He is the author of 10 books, host of ...
, the idea that supporters "want to bring back the imam by violence, rather than ... wait piously and prepare for the imam's eventual return on his own schedule," is a common misinterpretation of the society's position by those "outside Iran". In fact, the unfavorable treatment of Hojjatiya Society by Khomeini's government and supporters was in part because of the group's "quiescent view that the mahdi's arrival could not be hastened."[Islam, Terror and the Second Nuclear Age By Noah Feldman](_blank)
''New York Times'' 29 October 2006 Ronen A. Cohen writes that violent activities against the Baháʼí by some members of the organization were in violation of the society's doctrine.
According to an interview with a Hojjatie leader in the ''Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
'', the organization does not follow the state sanctioned persecution of Iran's Baháʼís, and remains strictly pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and totally opposed to violence and persecution:
As the leaders of Ḥojjatiya were committed to a non-violent, persuasive strategy in dealing with Bahais, the Association did not take part in persecution of Bahais in post-revolutionary Iran. For all Ḥalabi's animus against Bahais, he was a disciplined pacifist. He was distraught by violence and repeatedly warned his followers: "This is not the way, this is not our way"
;Encouraging the appearance of the Mahdi
However according to other sources, while the organization may oppose violence and political activity by its own members, it believes disorder and suffering (and sin and violence) are necessary to hasten the appearance of the Mahdi. This concept was the basis of Khomeini's statement that "those who believe that we should allow sins to increase until the 12th Imam reappears should modify and reconsider their position".[
In an article in '']Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
'', Jerry Guo claimed that the Hojjatieh society is "an underground messianic sect ... which hopes to quicken the coming of the apocalypse" in order to hasten the return of the Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
, the prophesied future redeemer of Islam.
Another (hostile Israeli) source (Herzliya), also talks of the group's belief that "true Islamic government must await the return of the Hidden Imam" aka Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
, which it desires to "hasten". Although the group is "quietist" in that "the essence" of its doctrine is that Muslims should avoid political activity (including Khomeini's "Islamic government") until the appearance of the Hidden Imam", Shia doctrine holds that because the Imam is full of compassion for Islamic believers and because his appearance will lead to the establishment of perfect order and justice on earth, he is less likely to appear when earthly conditions are good and more likely when conditions are chaotic and intolerable and he "will feel obliged to" step in and "save the believers". According to Muhammad Sahimi, writing for PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
, "association members believe that the return will happen only when the Islamic world is in chaos and sin prevails."[
It is this "element of the Hojatiyeh doctrine", according to Shmuel Bar, "which implies willingness to incur risks that otherwise would be unreasonable" if they were not trying to encourage the Mahdi to reappear;] (In contrast, Khomeini and his supporters maintain that they have created a just Islamic society, and this, not injustice, will encourage the Mahdi to come.)[
]
Accusations
Harassment
According to Michael M. J. Fischer, a local leader of Halabi's group in Yazd
Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Worl ...
—Sayyid Reza Paknejad—boasted that "he had some 50 double agents who had infiltrated the Bahah'is, kept tabs on them and harassed them when feasible."
Rumored secret members and sympathizers
Since the 1980s, the accusation has frequently been made that the real power in the Islamic Republic lies in hands of people who are secretly affiliated with Hojjatieh.
According to Muhammad Sahimi some high ranking officials within the government or networks of the Islamic Republic who have been alleged to be secretly members of the Hojjatieh are:
*Ali-Akbar Parvaresh
Ali Akbar Parvaresh ( fa, علی اکبر پرورش; 1942 – 27 December 2013) was an Iranian politician. He was Minister of Education from 1981 to 1985 and also a parliament member for three terms, first elected in 1980 and served again f ...
, a former minister of education, deputy Majles speaker, and member of the right-wing Islamic Coalition Party, who has been implicated in the explosion of the Jewish center in Argentina in 1994;[
*Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali, a reactionary former member of the Guardian Council;][
*Ayatollah ]Ahmad Azari Qomi
Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli was an Iranian cleric. Born in 1925 in Qom, after the 1979 Iranian Revolution he served on the Special Clerical Court, and Assembly of Experts, founded the conservative Resalat Newspaper. He was arrested ...
(1925-1999), the country's prosecutor general in the 1980s. He is known to have questioned the system of Velayat-e Faqih.[
Iranian sources report ]Ayatollah
Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیتالله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Etymology
The title is originally derived from ...
Mesbah Yazdi
Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوهچی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...
is the highest-ranking member of the Hojjatieh. He denies this and has declared that if anyone finds a connection between him and Hojjatieh, he will denounce everything he stands for. In defense of his denial, it has been argued that Yazdi's involvement with the government of the Islamic Republic is in violation of Hojjatieh doctrine that political involvement must wait for the arrival of the twelfth Imam.
The president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), from 2005–2013 is also rumored to be an advocate of Hojjatieh through the influence of Ayatollah Yazdi, who was his mentor. ''Asia Times
''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...
'' reports that Ahmad Tavassoli, a former chief of staff of Khomeini, claimed in 2005 that "the executive branch of the Iranian government as well as the crack troops of the Revolutionary Guards have been hijacked by the Hojjatieh,[ which, he implied, now also controls Ahmadinejad." According to the report, Hojjatieh were endangering Iran by working for Shia supremacy.] Feldman writing in 2006 in the ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' suggests this rumor was spread by Ahmadinejad's enemies. It is also reported that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیممشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ...
, who was to have been Ahmedinejad's First Vice President, may be a Hojjatieh member, but the source of this information is unclear.
Leading clerics who supported the revolution were sympathizers of the organization, including Ali Akbar Parvaresh, Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani
Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani ( fa, محمدرضا مهدوی کنی, 6 August 1931 – 21 October 2014) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian Shia cleric, writer and conservative and Iranian Principlists, principlist politician who was Acting ...
, and Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri.
According to an article published by Ali Alfoneh and Reuel Marc Gerecht
Reuel Marc Gerecht is an American writer and political analyst focused on the Middle East. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing primarily on the Middle East, Islamic militancy, counterterrorism, and intelli ...
, the memoirs of Iranian foreign minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif
Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in th ...
strongly suggest a family upbringing with the Hojjatieh.
Structure and characteristics
;Instruction
According to information compiled from interviews made after the suspension of the association, beginning in the early 1970s the group organized itself to reflect "increasing complexity and division of labor". Training in the group involved basic instruction (''pāya''), intermediary training (''viža''), and graduate training (''naqd-e Iqān''). Training classes met weekly in private homes across Iran. Instructional material was distributed in typed and copied form. These materials "were retrieved within a week so that no copies would leave the provenance of the association", and "students were instructed not to share or discuss the material with outsiders."[
;Finance
Money needed for "logistical purposes" came from religious tithes (''sahm-e emām'')" for which the society obtained "religious dispensations from Shiʿite grand Ayatollahs. Otherwise the society received no outside funding and all its members were volunteers.][
;Teams of operations
The official goal of Hojjatiyeh was "to train cadres for the 'scientific defense'" of Shiʿi Islam in the face of the Bahai theological challenge.][(author's interview with Maḥmud Ḥalabi, July 1994; quoted in ]
Members received "basic instruction" on Shiʿite and Bahai history and theology, after which they might be recruited into "specialist teams of operations". These included:
* The Guidance Team (''Goruh-e eršād''), which was in charge of "debating Bahai missionaries, persuading Bahais to return to Islam, and neutralizing the effects of Bahai missionary activity on those exposed to it".[
* The Instruction Team (''Goruh-e tadris'') along with the
* Authorship Team (''Goruh-e negā-reš'')
They worked jointly to standardize instructional material and levels.
* The public speaking team (''Goruh-e soḵanrāni'') organized weekly public gatherings in various venues that featured trained Ḥojjatiya speakers discussing Shiʿite theology, critiquing Bahai positions, and fielding questions.
* The intelligence or "Investigation Team" (''Goruh-e taḥqiq'') "operated in three distinct regiments, as a 'fifth column' within the Bahai ranks". It allegedly "thoroughly" penetrated "the Bahai hierarchy", including the ranks of "prominent Bahai missionaries".][According to interview with Aṣḡar Ṣādeqi, June 2000, by the author of the ]
The "most salient specialists" in Hojjatieh were known as "polemical activists (''mobārez''), public speakers (soḵanrān), instructors (modarres), and intelligence operatives (mo-ḥaqqeq)". Most full-fledged Ḥojjatiya members "carried out at least two of the above duties in the course of weekly meetings".[
;Culture
Unlike more traditional conservatives, Hojjatiyeh worked to present a "modern image".][ Hojjatieh used lecterns, tables and chairs, instead of sitting on carpets.][ Members are clean shaven and wore "sharp-looking suits",][ with Halabi being the only one who wore a turban.] According to Michael Fischer, the suits were worn to avoid giving Bahai forewarning they were dealing with traditionalists.
According to Hojjatieh, its campaign was so effective that Bahais adopted "a more defensive and reserved posture ... avoiding open debates and confrontations".[
]
See also
*Political objections to the Baháʼí Faith
Opponents of the Baháʼí Faith have accused the faith's followers of committing various acts of political mischief, such as having a supposed " dual loyalty" and being secretly in the employ of foreign powers supposedly inimical to the interest ...
*Haghani Circle
Haghani school (also Haqqani) is a Shi'i school of thought in Iran based in the holy city of Qom and formerly headed by Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, an influential theologian. The Haghani Circle has its origin in the Haghani seminary, fo ...
References
Bibliography
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* {{cite news, last=Sahimi , first=Mohammad , title=Hojjatiyeh, Mesbahiyeh, and Ahmadinejad , url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/09/hojjatiyeh-mesbahiyeh-and-ahmadinejad.html , access-date=3 August 2013, work=PBS, date=29 September 2010
Islamist groups
Political organisations based in Iran
Mahdism
Persecution of Bahá'ís