An article in the French daily The Liberation, dated Thursday 24 May 2007 written by Christophe AYAD, draw my extreme attention:
http://www.liberation.fr/transversales/portraits/255706.FR.php?mode=PRINTERFRI
The article refers to a 48 year old Iranian-French man called Raphael-Karim Djavani who is living in exile in France for about 20 years. According to this commentary the man is a former member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MKO) lead by Mas’ud and Maryam Rajavi which is aiming to topple the regime in Iran. Apparently this man has published a book called "Allah and I". In this controversial book, he describes how he broke with Islam and God after breaking with the MKO. Djavani was an Iranian Shiite Moslem who has now turned his back, not only to MKO or even Islam, but to God himself too.
As a former member of the MKO, I have spent a good deal of time and efforts to study about cults in the past four years since I left the organisation. I have come to the absolute conclusion that the MKO is a destructive cult with every characteristic of a modern cult as described by the sociologists and the psychiatrists. This cult is operating under the banner of Shiite Islam. But in reality it is practicing mental manipulation and utilising coercive techniques and psychological methods to gain total control over the minds and lives of its members and followers.
One example of the social destruction of cult practices could be observed with the case of Mr Djavani. He has not only abandoned the organisation but every kind of religion and the Almighty God too. He has lost his faith with God all together after being disappointed with a cult claiming to be a religious establishment.
I believe that this case needs to be carefully and thoroughly examined by the media as well as social workers as an example of how cults could damage social and moral relations.
Ebrahim Khodabandeh, July 2007
ebrahim_khodabandeh_2006@yahoo.com
http://www.banisadr.info/PointOfViewEbi220707.htm