A section of the Iranian Resistance Museum in Ashraf 3 is dedicated to the founding of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), serving as a reminder of the seed planted on the very first day by its founders—now grown into a mighty tree with branches reaching across the world.
On September 6, 1965, the PMOI/MEK was founded by its great founders Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Asghar Badizadegan. At a time when traditional and passive methods of struggle had reached a dead end in Iran, and the Shah’s dictatorship had suffocated all voices of dissent, many opposition groups had either surrendered to compromise with the regime, remained indifferent, or fallen under the grip of SAVAK (the Shah’s secret police). However, the great founders of the PMOI/MEK—Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Asghar Badizadegan—established the organization as a new revolutionary force.
They analyzed the past national and pro-freedom struggles of the Iranian people and, for the first time in Iran’s history, founded a revolutionary organization based on Islam—rejecting all reactionary interpretations of Islam. They established a revolutionary strategy that relied on professional and dedicated revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for their cause.
Most importantly, Mohammad Hanifnejad and his comrades broke a historic dogma by removing the veil of reactionary interpretations from the ideals of Islam and monotheism.
The Early Years of the PMOI/MEK
The idea of establishing an organization with professional revolutionaries had been in development for years. Due to his widespread political activities, Mohammad Hanifnejad was arrested by SAVAK two days before the Shah’s sham referendum in February 1963. While in prison, he wrote his political analyses and ideological interpretations and sent them to his comrades outside.
After his release and in the aftermath of the brutal suppression of the June 5, 1963 uprising, Hanifnejad, alongside Saeed Mohsen, studied the history of revolutionary movements in Iran, focusing on why Iranian political parties had failed. They concluded that the primary reason for past failures was the absence of a competent leadership—one that was scientifically equipped for the struggle, armed with a revolutionary theory, and ready for both ideological and practical revolutionary action.
Following the suppression of the June 5, 1963 uprising, when reformist approaches had reached a dead end, the PMOI/MEK founders realized that the era of reformist efforts was over. This revolutionary discovery led to the formation of what would later be known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
In mid-September 1965, Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Asghar Badizadegan laid the foundation of the PMOI/MEK. With a fresh and innovative understanding of Islam and monotheism, free from reactionary and exploitative interpretations, Hanifnejad studied and explained the concepts of the Quran and Nahj al-Balagha (a collection of Imam Ali’s sermons) as the organization’s ideological foundation and guide to action.
At the same time, he studied various philosophical, social, and revolutionary schools of thought, focusing on solving the problems of humanity—particularly the suffering and exploitation of the Iranian people. Hanifnejad believed that any ideology that guides human development and liberates the oppressed is progressive and should be embraced.
The Legacy of the PMOI/MEK’s Founders
Mohammad Hanifnejad’slife exemplifies the path of great revolutionaries who refuse to submit to tyranny and oppression. Despite all the torture and pressure, he remained steadfast in his pursuit of a just and humane society.
Despite all the conspiracies and attacks by both the Shah’s and the mullahs’ regimes to destroy it, the PMOI/MEK has survived and thrived—paying the price of 120,000 martyrs for Iran’s freedom. It has endured brutal political, military, ideological, and organizational storms but has emerged stronger than ever, serving as a beacon of hope for Iran’s future.
Loyalty to the ideal of freedom and selfless sacrifice for the liberation of the Iranian people is the secret to the PMOI/MEK’s endurance—an organization founded on September 6, 1965, that has become the backbone of a lasting resistance and coalition for Iran’s liberation.