Ahmad Moftizadeh
Encyclopedia
Ahmad Moftizadeh (Kurdish
:-Kak Ahmed Moftizadeh Persian
: ) was an influential political and religious thinker among the Sunni Kurdish
minority in Iranian Kurdistan
. He is best known for his leading role in negotiating democratic freedoms for the Kurdish people
in Iran
during the country's Islamic Revolution. Moftizadeh led one of three major Kurdish
factions during the Islamic Revolution that were demanding increased rights for Kurds in the new government. His negotiations ultimately failed and the new revolutionary authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran ordered the arrest of Moftizadeh and several of his followers. Moftizadeh died shortly after his release from prison in 1993 due to severe torture and mistreatment by Iranian
prison authorities.
nationalist and Islamist leader that emerged during the Shah's rule of Iran just prior to the time of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He was widely regarded as one of the most influential Sunni personalities in Iran
and rose to fame among the larger Kurdish
community in Iran
after being targeted by government authorities of the Shah of Iran for his demands for Kurdish
autonomy.
Moftizadeh was the son of the then Mufti (religious leader) of the Iranian Kurdistan
region, but decided by his own will not to assume the clerical role in the same capacity as his father. Moftizadeh studied at the University of Tehran where he was in constant contact with members of the outlawed Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
and he began to develop his political ideas as a student in Tehran. He left the university in the 1960s and began visiting various centers of religious education in the cities of Halabja, Biyareh and Khaneqin across the border in Iraqi Kurdistan
due to the restrictions on Sunni religious schools in Iran.
Moftizadeh eventually took a role in the Kurdish
city of Sanandaj
as the Friday prayer leader in the 1970s where he began to gather support among religious Kurds concerning the mistreatment of both the ethnic Kurdish and religious Sunni minority in Iran
. He also drew support from religious Kurds that were dissatisfied with the current nationalist Kurdish movements in Iran at the time through his preaching of nonviolence in response to Kurdish
infighting throughout the region. Moftizadeh and some of his supporters were imprisoned by the Shah's government in 1976 when his political activities in Sanandaj became known to the local authorities but were released less than a month afterwards.
followers that supported the notion of a unified Islamic and democratic state of Iran
with special autonomy for the Kurdish people
. In 1978, Moftizadeh founded the Maktabe Koran or the Quranic School of Thought in Sanandaj
. As a leader of a large segment of people in the Kurdish
city of Sanandaj
, he drew opposition from communist and nationalist groups early on for supporting the notion of an Islamic state. However, despite a brief confrontation and continued heavy disagreements about the role of Kurds in the Islamic Revolution, Moftizadeh maintained a neutral relationship with other more influential nationalist factions such as the secular Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
.
After multiple discussions with the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, through intermediaries, Moftizadeh was reported to have said that the "guarantee of autonomy for the Kurds is in my pocket". The new leaders of the Islamic Republic
reportedly offered a number of guarantees to Moftizadeh, which included some autonomy for the Kurds, in return for his followers' support of the revolution.
by the new Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmad Moftizadeh had announced that his agreements with the new government were completely violated, and that he no longer supported the Islamic State. He decided to resign from the consultative body of which he had been a member and unofficially gave up his leadership role over the Kurdish
faction that he had developed. In 1983, Iranian
authorities arrested Moftizadeh on the account that he was endangering national security and a court later sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The specific charges against him were never publicly announced.
While in prison, Moftizadeh reportedly suffered continuous brutal torture at the hands of authorities. Just two weeks after his release from prison, he died. Individuals close to Moftizadeh claimed that nearly all the bones in his body had been repeatedly broken and blamed his death on the torture and mistreatment by Iranian
authorities.
After Moftizadeh's death, some of his followers including influential figures - Sabhani Naser and Farough Farsad - were arrested and killed by Iranian
authorities in order to ensure that any further movement developing under Moftizadeh's faction would be exterminated.
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
:-Kak Ahmed Moftizadeh Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: ) was an influential political and religious thinker among the Sunni Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
minority in Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province, Ilam Province and parts of West Azerbaijan province....
. He is best known for his leading role in negotiating democratic freedoms for the Kurdish people
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
during the country's Islamic Revolution. Moftizadeh led one of three major Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
factions during the Islamic Revolution that were demanding increased rights for Kurds in the new government. His negotiations ultimately failed and the new revolutionary authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran ordered the arrest of Moftizadeh and several of his followers. Moftizadeh died shortly after his release from prison in 1993 due to severe torture and mistreatment by Iranian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
prison authorities.
Rise to Influence
Ahmad Moftizadeh was a KurdishKurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
nationalist and Islamist leader that emerged during the Shah's rule of Iran just prior to the time of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He was widely regarded as one of the most influential Sunni personalities in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and rose to fame among the larger Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
community in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
after being targeted by government authorities of the Shah of Iran for his demands for Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
autonomy.
Moftizadeh was the son of the then Mufti (religious leader) of the Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province, Ilam Province and parts of West Azerbaijan province....
region, but decided by his own will not to assume the clerical role in the same capacity as his father. Moftizadeh studied at the University of Tehran where he was in constant contact with members of the outlawed Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan , abbreviated as PDKI, KDPI, PDK-I, is a Kurdish political party in Iranian Kurdistan which seeks the attainment of Kurdish national rights within a democratic federal republic of Iran....
and he began to develop his political ideas as a student in Tehran. He left the university in the 1960s and began visiting various centers of religious education in the cities of Halabja, Biyareh and Khaneqin across the border in Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
due to the restrictions on Sunni religious schools in Iran.
Moftizadeh eventually took a role in the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
city of Sanandaj
Sanandaj
Sanandaj , also Romanized as Senneh and Sinneh) is a city in and the capital of Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 311,446, in 81,380 families....
as the Friday prayer leader in the 1970s where he began to gather support among religious Kurds concerning the mistreatment of both the ethnic Kurdish and religious Sunni minority in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. He also drew support from religious Kurds that were dissatisfied with the current nationalist Kurdish movements in Iran at the time through his preaching of nonviolence in response to Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
infighting throughout the region. Moftizadeh and some of his supporters were imprisoned by the Shah's government in 1976 when his political activities in Sanandaj became known to the local authorities but were released less than a month afterwards.
Leadership during Islamic Revolution
By the time the Islamic Revolution swept Iran in 1978, Ahmad Moftizadeh had already developed his own faction of KurdishKurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
followers that supported the notion of a unified Islamic and democratic state of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
with special autonomy for the Kurdish people
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
. In 1978, Moftizadeh founded the Maktabe Koran or the Quranic School of Thought in Sanandaj
Sanandaj
Sanandaj , also Romanized as Senneh and Sinneh) is a city in and the capital of Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 311,446, in 81,380 families....
. As a leader of a large segment of people in the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
city of Sanandaj
Sanandaj
Sanandaj , also Romanized as Senneh and Sinneh) is a city in and the capital of Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 311,446, in 81,380 families....
, he drew opposition from communist and nationalist groups early on for supporting the notion of an Islamic state. However, despite a brief confrontation and continued heavy disagreements about the role of Kurds in the Islamic Revolution, Moftizadeh maintained a neutral relationship with other more influential nationalist factions such as the secular Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan , abbreviated as PDKI, KDPI, PDK-I, is a Kurdish political party in Iranian Kurdistan which seeks the attainment of Kurdish national rights within a democratic federal republic of Iran....
.
After multiple discussions with the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, through intermediaries, Moftizadeh was reported to have said that the "guarantee of autonomy for the Kurds is in my pocket". The new leaders of the Islamic Republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
reportedly offered a number of guarantees to Moftizadeh, which included some autonomy for the Kurds, in return for his followers' support of the revolution.
Imprisonment and Torture
Within three years of the Islamic Revolution and just prior to military operations against Iranian KurdistanIranian Kurdistan
Iranian Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province, Ilam Province and parts of West Azerbaijan province....
by the new Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmad Moftizadeh had announced that his agreements with the new government were completely violated, and that he no longer supported the Islamic State. He decided to resign from the consultative body of which he had been a member and unofficially gave up his leadership role over the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
faction that he had developed. In 1983, Iranian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
authorities arrested Moftizadeh on the account that he was endangering national security and a court later sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The specific charges against him were never publicly announced.
While in prison, Moftizadeh reportedly suffered continuous brutal torture at the hands of authorities. Just two weeks after his release from prison, he died. Individuals close to Moftizadeh claimed that nearly all the bones in his body had been repeatedly broken and blamed his death on the torture and mistreatment by Iranian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
authorities.
After Moftizadeh's death, some of his followers including influential figures - Sabhani Naser and Farough Farsad - were arrested and killed by Iranian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
authorities in order to ensure that any further movement developing under Moftizadeh's faction would be exterminated.