Mujahedin-e Khalq

Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) 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. Mujahedin-e Khalq (abbreviated MEK, PMOI or MKO) advocates the overthrow of the current government in Iran.

It was founded on 5 September 1965 by leftist Iranian students affiliated with the Freedom Movement of Iran to oppose the Shah Pahlavi. Mujahedin-e Khalq was the first Iranian organization to develop systematically a modern revolutionary interpretation of Islam. It opposed the rule of Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, considering him corrupt and oppressive, and considered the Liberation Movement too moderate and ineffective. They had previously been involved with the Freedom/Liberation Movement, created by Medhi Bazargan in May 1961, which advocated for the democratic principles that were laid out in the Iranian constitution following the 1905 resolution. The group had been allowed to peacefully assemble and advocate for political freedom and the separation of powers for two years. Mujahedin-e Khalq’s ultimate goal was to update and modernize their interpretation of radical Islam. Today, the organization’s mainly focuses on human rights and respect for "personal property".

Mujahedin-e Khalq has long been led jointly by husband-and-wife team Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. The U.S. State Department, in an August 2011 report, put its global membership between 5,000 and 10,000, with significant contingents in Paris and other European capitals where the group maintains offices.