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Hojjatie Society

Anjoman-e Hojjatieh, also called The Hojjatie Society (Persian: انجمن خیریه حجتیه مهدویه, romanized: Anjoman-e Kheyriyeh Hojjatiyeh Mahdaviyeh, lit. 'Charity Society of Allah's Proof Over Creation', also spelled hojjatiya), is a traditionalist Iranian Shi'i lay religious organization. It was founded by Mashhad-based cleric Mahmoud Halabi in the 1950s[1] to counter pioneers of the Baha'i Faith, "who claimed that the long-awaited Twelfth Imam of Shi'ite Islam had returned", and that Shia Islam was now superseded by the Baháʼí Faith.[2] Along with training "cadres for the 'scientific defense'" of Shiʿi Islam against the Baháʼí,[3] the group promotes religious orthodoxy through evangelism, works to hasten the return of the Mahdi (the prophesied redeemer/messiah of Islam). Its socio-economic roots are in the bazaar and the traditional middle class of Iran,[4] and has been called "semi-clandestine".[5]

While the Hojjatieh has not been alone among religious Muslims in Iran in strongly opposing the Baháʼí Faith (whose persecution has involved dozens of killings and the destruction and desecration of Baháʼí communal and private property),[6] Mahmud Sadri, a Hojjatieh member, claims that the Society is committed to eliminating the Baháʼí faith non-violently. According to him, its leader Ḥalabi has repeatedly warned his followers against persecution of Baháʼís, saying: "This is not the way, this is not our way".[7] On the other hand, a more accurate depiction of their activities by its members as well as by Baha’is who been physically attacked by the group shows the violent nature of Hojjatieh.[8]

Hojjatieh Society played a significant role in intimidating, and persecuting Baha'is.[9][10] Having infiltrated the Baha'i community, they played an effective role in the kidnapping, arresting and mass executions of Baha'i leaders, as well as trying to paralyze the daily lives of Baha'is in Iran.[10] After Ruhollah Khomeini threatened the Hojjatieh Society and accused them of treason and reaction, the Society dissolved itself.[4] The voluntary dissolution of Hojjatieh did not reduce its activities and influence in the government institutions of the Islamic Republic, but on the contrary, it expanded its influence in suppressing of the Baha'is of Iran after the Iranian revolution.[10]

Since its dissolution, members of Hojjatieh have since been active in Iran’s judiciary, security system, and in offices responsible for staffing Iran’s governmental institutions.[11] There are several political figures who had a history of membership in the association, or sympathized with its anti-Bahá'íism, and after the 1979 revolution assumed power in the Islamic Republic; Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad Ali Rajaei, Kamal Kharazi, Haddad Adel, Ali-Akbar Parvesh, and Javad Zarif are a few examples.[10][12] Mehdi Abrishamchi was formerly a member of the association before joining MEK.[13]

Despite sharing many of the same conservative religious Shi'i values as the Islamic Republic of Iran and its founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 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, (sometime) populist leftist government policies, and involvement by the religious in politics in general (until the appearance of the Mahdi); and the regime's opposition to the (alleged) secret members of the Hojjatiyeh who have (allegedly) infiltrated the Iranian government.[4] 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,[4] although some believe Hojjatieh (or at least the "Ḥojjatiya's line") "remains alive"[14] and "began a silent comeback" in the 1990s.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mohebat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Samii-2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference goal-EI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference pbs2910 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "[blurb for] The Hojjatiyeh Society in Iran: Ideology and Practice from the 1950s to the present". Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  6. ^ Fischer, Michael; Abedi, Mehdi (1990). Debating Muslims. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN 0-299-12434-7.
  7. ^ Mahmoud Sadri. "Hojjatiya". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  8. ^ Yazdani, Mina (2017). "Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979". S2CID 194701071. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Karlberg, Michael (2010). "Constructive Resilience: The Bahá'í Response to Oppression". Peace & Change. 35 (2): 222–257. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0130.2009.00627.x. ISSN 0149-0508.
  10. ^ a b c d IHRDC (3 February 2011). "A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran". Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Encyclopedia of Islam and The Muslim World". bahai-library.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  12. ^ Alfoneh, Ali; Gerecht, Reuel Marc (24 January 2014). "An Iranian Moderate Exposed". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  13. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1989). Radical Islam: the Iranian Mojahedin. Society and culture in the modern Middle East. London: Tauris. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-85043-077-3.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference eiranica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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