Mujahedin-e Khalq

Mujahedin-e Khalq is the main body in the political coalition of Iranian opposition groups, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is Iran’s parliament-in-exile. Founded on 5 September 1965 by leftist Iranian students, it was the first Iranian organization to develop systematically a modern revolutionary interpretation of Islam. Today, the organization mostly advocates the overthrow of the current government in Iran, while mainly focusing on human rights and respect for "personal property". Its political foundation is based off their interpretation of Islam as a democratic, peaceful, and tolerant religion, which is fully compatible with modern society.

The Mujahedin-e Khalq’s arrival into the political scene, as the first democratic Muslim organization in contemporary Iran, changed the landscape completely. Intellectuals and youths now felt their ideals revived in an organization with potential mass appeal that could materialize their democratic desires.