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Dubious Murder of Abdol-Majid Khoei

By M.Behnoud

The murder of Abdol-Majid Khoei in the religious city of Najaf, south of Iraq, in the early days of the fall of Baghdad reminded many of Ahmad Shah Masoud’s terror, the popular Afghan leader that similarly committed by some suicide group of Al Quadeh at the threshold of invasion of Afghanistan by coalition forces. Ahmad Shah Masoud was murdered when he was named as one of the most inevitable leadership candidates for the next government of Afghanistan. Abdol-Majid Khoei too was the main candidates for Shiite leadership in future regime of Iraq when the search has already begun for one who would be both popular among Shiite and familiar with laws and regulations in a democratic society.
Abdol-Majid Khoei, the 41 years old Shiite clergy whose father was the world wide Shiite leader until his death ten years ago, was a good alternative at least from the point of view of the English ally of US who is now running the southern cities of Iraq; an apropos candidate for calming Iraqi Shiites after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Having lived in Europe for a long time, he believed – in contrast to the majority of Shiite ecclesiastic -- that religious clergy should not have any role in Iraq future regime. He believed in keeping religion away from politics. Did he lose his life for his belief? Yet now that everybody whether for or against the Iraq war is waiting for it to end thinking that with the fall of Saddam Hussein peace can return to that unfortunate country and the world aid organizations and societies may start their emergent task immediately and prevent the intensification of this grave human tragedy in that rich war-ridden country, the more important question is whether this terror is going to be the beginning of a series of assassinations, a kind of approach that has always been prevalent among Moslems.
A well-known fiction, detective, political novelist has said, when intelligence systems disintegrate, it is the best time to rub out certain problems and clean certain dues which gives the best background for writing bitter novels and sweet political inquiries.
The story of the murder of Majid Khoei is among one of those tales that the above English writer says and considering its timing, it will remain as the subject of many discussions and inquiries for a long time. Who might have really killed this 41 years old clergy, moved to Najaj shortly after a meeting with Tony Blair, in the most respectable Shiite Shrine, where his family enjoyed high respect and authority and his father has thousands pupils and disciples? The simplest direct response is to condemn Iranian extremist clergies who disagreed with Majid Khoei and accused him of representing the interests of English and American governments in their news papers. But is really Iran in such a position to take such a risk, when she knows that marshaling thousands US forces near her frontiers implies a real danger to the future religious regime and she knows that she should behave in such a way as not to give them any excuse. It doesn’t seem to be the case, even though three months ago
on a trip to Iran for the purpose of inviting Iranian clergies to stay neutral in the Iraq war,
when Majid Khoei was giving a speech in a mosque in Qum, he was attacked by a group of people who cursed him on the basis that in this way he was defending a military war against an Islamic country. But this alone can not be a very convincing reason for involvement of Iranian clergy in his terror.
The main suspicious group in the Mijid’s assassination, is Saddam’s faithful forces. Four thousands republican guards and Fadaein and salary-paid members of Baath Party have disappeared. It is foolish to think that they are all among the people who are pulling down Saddam’s huge statutes or loot castles and luxurious houses. Even after the onset of bombardment of Baghdad they gathered in streets defending their leader. It is hard to accept that suddenly they have either changed or once all that TV political propaganda ended and TV cameras of Aljazire removed, they committed suicide
Ali Montazeri, Iranian journalist who has been in South of Iraq since the fifth day of war as a Lebanese TV correspondent, was arrested together with two other journalists and photographers in Faw Island; they were rescued only after the fall of Iraqi regime. In the story of his arrest and interrogation he said, the forces of Baath Party were active until the very day that Baghdad fell, although they had no specific place or offices to conduct their tasks and they took us to the houses of ordinary people for interrogation.
The third accused party in the event of Majid Khoei’s murder is Iraqi Shiite and their internal conflicts. Abdolmajid Khoei who arranged a gathering in London a few months ago found the chance to participate in a session against Saddam, had the son of another Shiite leader as a rival. Baker Hakim who has spent twenty years of his exile in Iran has been fighting against Saddam through all the means that Iranian government has provided him. The high parliament of Iraqi Shiite led by Hakim in Iran, has twenty thousands armed forces called Badr army and it is said that Americans have played the main role in their mobilization. However, following the attack of Coalition forces on Iraq, US defense minister warned Badr forces ready to move to the South of Iraq against any movement and told them that they should stop immediately and threatened them that if they join the scene they will be treated as enemies. Baker Hakim refrained from moving to Iraq after this threat, but he announced in Tehran that nobody can prevent his forces from moving to Iraq and prevent them from entering their own country. The Coalition forces prohibited Hakim to move to Iraq when they welcomed Majid Khoei in the chaotic city of Najaf and back to his birthplace to establish peace among Shiite, Majid was murdered together with three of his companions.
Another group that investigations in the future might consider responsible for the murder of Abdol-Majid Khoei is the evil fated Iranian organization of Mojahedin Khalgh, the only armed forces fighting against Islamic Republic stationed in Iraq since twenty years ago. Mojahedin Khalgh who had knotted their fate to that of Saddam are naturally quite badly disoriented and disintegrated, still not as much as to make it impossible for them to organize a terror in the chaotic city of Najaf, particularly as it could offer a very good excuse to Iranian opposition to condemn Islamic Republic for willing to create chaos in Iraq. Mojahedin Khalgh who in an act of showing their fidelity to US revealed the information regarding nuclear bases in Iran to American authorities a few months ago, were not successful in gaining American support and particularly that of the British; so now - based on the available information – they have no alternative other than escaping their bitter fate of getting arrested by Iraqi people.
Mojahedin Khalgh are an Iranian Moslem guerilla group and believe that they act according to the disciplines of Shiite leaders. During the seventh decade of the last century they killed four American military advisors and three American generals in Iran and participated with the clergy against Shah who had attempted a series of western type of reformation during the revolution. After failing to seize a share in the Islamic government of Iran, they took refugee to Iraq and plotted and organized hundred terrors against the Iranian clergies and authorities from there and succeeded to create the greatest headache for the clerical regime of Iran by killing thousands authorities and their followers. Is it possible to accuse them who are going through the last days of their life of murdering Majid Khoei? If so then we can claim that this is their last blow to Islamic Republic who has saved itself from the fire going on along its frontiers by following the policy of neutrality and impartiality.
Despite that, and considering the fact that it would take months for re-establishment of the rule of law and peace in Iraq, to search for those responsible for the most important political assassination in Iraq after the fall of Saddam is not a subject that anybody would wish to investigate. It is a not an easy task anyway as after twenty four years it is not still known who kidnapped Emam Mousa Sadr at the threshold of Iranian Revolution and where was he taken?
Emam Mousa Sadr who as the leader of Lebanese Shiite was the third powerful authority, disappeared in 1978, just as Ahmad Shah Masoud and Abdol-Majid Khoei disappeared from the scenes during big shifts of their governments and he was one of the most esteemed candidates for the new regime in Iran. When the Revolution had reached its peak in Iran and Shah’s overthrow seemed absolutely evident, Sadr who after a negotiation with Soviet leaders had just returned from his trip to Moscow, traveled to Libya by the invitation of Moamar Gazafi. At the end of this trip he never reached Lebanon and disappeared in a place between Libya and Italy.
During all these years, Sadr’s relatives have accused Libyan government of having a role in the disappearance of that modernist clergy and they have sometimes presented a film or certain other evidences that showed he had been in a prison in Libya until ten years ago, but Moamar Gazafi sent his Prime Minister Abdolsalam Jalud to Tehran to ensure Iranian clergy that Libyan regime had no role in Sadr’s kidnap and disappearance. A claim that Iranian never believed. In subsequent revolutionary developments in Iran where the number of the ruling moderate ecclesiastic, in favor of Western democracy has been quite insignificant and following the events that took place in Lebanon, the empty place of figures such as Emam Mousa Sadr was quite prominent. However, even the presence of some of the members of Sadr’s family occupying high positions in Iranian regime has had no effect in unraveling the dilemma of Sadr’s disappearance from the world scene at such vital time.
Those who in the future, might wish to investigate and even write a fiction story on Mijid’s Khoei’s assassination in Najaf, in the most famous holy Shiite shrine are bound to emphasize on the fact that in the past hundred years, many moderate Shiite clergies who were familiar with Western democratic norms and civilization lost their freedom and lives in this path.
A whole dynasty starting with Seid Jamal-aldin Asadabadi and ending with Majid Khoei. Seid Jamal-aldin fighting despotic royal regime in Iran during the closing years of nineteenth century, when driven out of the country by a Quajar King, continued his liberalist struggle all over the world from India, Istanbul (the capital of Ottoman Empire) to many European cities. Joining Freemason,s lodge in Cairo, he showed his interest in Western democracy in the articles he published while at the same time did his utmost to unite Moslems. Seid Jamal-aldin was murdered at the beginning of Twentieth century when in Istanbul as a guest of Ottoman king. Again exactly at the time when liberalist movement in Iran had reached its culmination and followers of law were succeeding in defeating the despotic regime with the support of British embassy.
Hundred years later, after Seid Jamal’s assassination, moderate Shiite ecclesiastic are still in danger and they risk their life in the struggle against fundamentalists. Perhaps it was this very danger that modernist and pro-democratic clergy in Iran took off their religious cloak and joined politics. One of them who was a great writer and wrote fierce articles against religious reactionary tendencies and superstition received a decree similar to the one that Ayatollah Khomeini issued against Salman Rushdi, the British writer. Kasravi a well-known modernist clergy was stabbed to death by an extremist Moslem in front of the House of Justice in Tehran, in the same way that Majid Khoei was murdered in Najaf last week.
The history of political and religious struggles of Shiite remembers tens moderate and pro-democratic clergies who have been murdered with two traditionalist yet extremist ones being executed by the order of the court. One of them was Sheikh Fazlolah Nouri whose death sentence was issued by the order of the revolutionary court after the victory of Constitutionalists in Iran and the establishment of the first constitutional law of the country. The other one was Mojtaba Navab Safavi condemned to death in 1957 on the charge of taking part in the terrors of a few Iranian authorities. By issuing his death sentence, ex-shah began a face to face struggle with the extremist clergy that finally led to his overthrow.
Once Iranian extremist clergy succeeded in overthrowing Shah’s regime and establishing an Islamic Republic, they glorified Fazolah Nouri and Navab Safavi everywhere and whenever they could. While calling one of the streets of Tehran by the name of Khaled Eslamboli, the man who murdered Anwar Sadat, the ex-president of Egypt, they named a few main streets of the capital after Fazolah Nouri and Navab Safavi whose followers hold the majority in Islamic Republic.
In the future, the authors of fiction stories and historians of Islamic struggles have a variety of subjects to write about many dubious terrors of moderate clergies in the region. Abdol-Majid Khoei will surely not be the last one of them.