Navvab Safavi (born
Mojtaba Mir-Lowhi) (1924 – 1955) was a cleric responsible for founding of the
Fadayan-e IslamFadā'iyān-e Islam , was an Iranian Islamic fundamentalist or Islamic terrorist secret society founded in 1945, by "a charismatic" 21 year-old "theology student" named Navvab Safavi...
group and with them the assassination of several leading
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ians, primarily politicians.
Early life
Born in Khānīābād (southern
TehranTehran is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the administrative center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a sprawling city at the foot of the Tochal mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in Western Asia...
), Safavi studied in
NajafNajaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 900,600 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
,
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
and worked in
AbadanAbadan is a city in the Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. It lies on Abadan Island , from the Persian Gulf, near the Iraqi-Iran border. It is the capital of Abadan County...
's petroleum installations in the province of Khuzestan for a while. He is said to have been known for his striking looks and his "mesmerizing" speaking ability.
Career
He founded the
Fadayan-e IslamFadā'iyān-e Islam , was an Iranian Islamic fundamentalist or Islamic terrorist secret society founded in 1945, by "a charismatic" 21 year-old "theology student" named Navvab Safavi...
organization in 1946, and began recruiting like-minded individuals. Like the Ikhwan (
Muslim BrotherhoodThe Muslim Brothers is a Sunni transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly Egypt...
), Navvab-Safavi believed that Islamic society needed to be purified. To do this he organized carefully planned assassinations to rid Islam of “corrupting individuals,” often prime ministers of Iran's government.
He is said to be “the man who introduced Ayatollah
KhomeiniSayyid Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
to the
Muslim BrotherhoodThe Muslim Brothers is a Sunni transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly Egypt...
and their ideas,” who “spent long hours together” with Khomeini in discussion, and visited him in Qom on a number of occasions during 1943 and 1944.
He and his organization were responsible for the assassinations, or attempted assassinations of politicians Abdolhosein Hazhir, Hossein Ala (he survived the attempt), Prime Minister
Haj Ali RazmaraSepahbod Haj Ali Razmara was a military leader and Prime Minister of Iran....
, historian
Ahmad KasraviAhmad Kasravi , was a notable Iranian linguist, historian, and reformer.Born in Hokmabad , Tabriz, Iran, Kasravi was an Iranian Azeri Initially, Kasravi enrolled in a seminary. Later, he joined the Iranian Constitutional Revolution...
, and
Major GeneralMajor General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General...
Teymur BakhtiarTeymur Bakhtiar was an Iranian general and the founder and head of SAVAK from 1958 to 1961, when he was dismissed by the Shah. In 1970, SAVAK agents assassinated him in Iraq.-Early life:...
.
Safavi and his group were closely associated with
Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem KashaniAyatollah Seyyed Abol-Ghasem Mostafavi Kashani was a prominent Twelver Shi'a Muslim cleric and former Parliament Minister of Iran.- Early life :...
and supported but were not members of Mohammed Mosaddeq's
National FrontThe National Front of Iran or Jebhe Melli is a Democratic, political opposition group founded by Muhammad Mossadegh and other secular Iranian leaders of Nationalist, Liberal, and Social-Democratic political orientation who had been educated in France in the late 1940s...
. Safavi worked with Kashani, helping organize bazaar strikes against Premier Ahmad Qavam, public meetings in support of Palestinian Arabs, and a violent demonstration in 1948 against Premier
Abdolhossein HazhirAbdolhosein Hazhir was a Prime Minister of Iran.He served as Minister 10 times, and eventually as Prime Minister.When serving as Minister of Royal Court , he was assassinated at the age of 50 by Sayyed Hosein Emami Esfahani, who was a member of Navab Safavi's militant organization in...
. When the Shah appointed National Front leader Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh to the post of prime minister, Safavi expected his objectives would be furthered. He demanded the government drive the British out, and that it release “with honor and respect” the assassin of Razmara. When that didn't happen, Safavi announced “We have broken away irrevocably from Kashani's National Front. They promised to set up an Islamic country according to the precepts of the Koran. Instead they have imprisoned our brothers.” He later warned, “There are others who must be pushed down the incline to hell.”
However relations between Kashani and Safavi, not to mention Mosaddeq, became "strained." On 10 May 1951, Navvab Safavi declared: 'I invite Musadizz, other members of the National Front and Ayatollah Kashani, to an ethical trial,`
Arrest and execution
Prime Minister Mosaddeq, who was preocupied with the nationalization of the oil industry, found these activities "disruptive." On June 8 1951 he ordered the arrest of Safavi, who stayed there until his release in February 1953. Six months later Mosaddeq was overthrown in a coup detat. Like Kashani, Safavi supported the coup against Mosaddeq and "in the years immediately following the coup Navvab Safavi enjoyed a close association with the court and the government of Prime Minister General
Fazlollah ZahediMohammad Fazlollah Zahedi was an Iranian general and statesman-Early years:Born in Hamedan in 1897, Fazlollah Zahedi was the son of Abol Hassan "Bassir Diwan" Zahedi, a wealthy land owner at the city of Hamedan...
." By 1955 it became clear the regime would not be instituting strict enforcement of Shariah law and Islamizing Iran, and was instead becoming more pro-Western. On 22 November, after an unsuccessful attempted to assassinate Hosein Ala, Navvab Safavi and some of his followers were arrested. Following a summary trial Safavi and three other members of
Fadayan-e IslamFadā'iyān-e Islam , was an Iranian Islamic fundamentalist or Islamic terrorist secret society founded in 1945, by "a charismatic" 21 year-old "theology student" named Navvab Safavi...
were executed on 25 December. The clerical establishment did not attempt to intervene on their behalf.
Legacy
The Islamic Republic of Iran considers him an Islamic hero and
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, and an
expresswayShahid Navvab Safavi Expressway starts from Tohid Square and it is Chamran Expressway renamed after passing the square. it continues going south until it reaches the junction between Qale Morghi Expressway and Niruye Havaei Expressway...
and metro stop are named after him in Tehran.
See also
- Fadayan-e Islam
Fadā'iyān-e Islam , was an Iranian Islamic fundamentalist or Islamic terrorist secret society founded in 1945, by "a charismatic" 21 year-old "theology student" named Navvab Safavi...
- Pahlavi Dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran from the crowning of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925, following the overthrow of Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty, already weakened by Soviet and British occupation....
- List of Prime Ministers of Iran
- History of fundamentalist Islam in Iran
The history of fundamentalist Islam in Iran covers the history of Islamic revivalism and the rise of political Islam in modern Iran. Today, there are basically three types of Islam in Iran: traditionalism, modernism, and a variety of forms of revivalism usually brought together as fundamentalism...
External links