Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi will testify today before a US Congress subcommittee exploring what drives ISIS and Islamic fundamentalists to murder Christians and Muslims and how to counter their ideology.
Mrs Rajavi will draw on decades of wisdom from combatting the theocratic regime in Iran when she gives evidence before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi is President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition of Iranian opposition forces including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Homeira Hesami, chairwoman of Iranian American Society of South Texas, said of Mrs Ravjavi’s appearance at the Congressional hearing: “The Iranian opposition is more than qualified to address the burning issue of how to deal with and neutralize the rising threat of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism, as the core of the ideology of ISIS.
“The rule of the ayatollahs in Iran constitutes the only theocracy in recent history. The absolute rule of clergy in Iran established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 is the predecessor and mirror image of the Caliphate espoused by the Islamic State.
“The overwhelming majority of the over 100,000 Iranian dissidents who have been executed by the Iranian regime for their stand against Islamic fundamentalism and in favor of democracy and gender equality belong to Mrs. Rajavi’s movement, which has helped to galvanize a global campaign against human rights offenses within Iran.
“Actually Mrs Rajavi’s movement has been a trailblazer in alerting the world about Tehran’s ominous interference in other countries and its export of Islamic extremism. The 1993 book ‘Islamic Fundamentalism, the New Global Threat’ is just one example of this warning. Yet Iranian opposition warnings went unheeded; the dire consequences are self-evident.
“Little noticed is the fact that the Iranian opposition was the unsung hero in alerting the world about Iranian regime’s clandestine nuclear weapons program.”
She added: “The NCRI has exposed some of the most important dimensions of the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program, namely the Natanz uranium enrichment and the Arak heavy water facilities, the Lavizan-Shian site, the Fordo underground enrichment site and the Defensive Innovation and Research Organization, which is wholly responsible for coordinating the Iranian military nuclear program.
“The attitude to shun the main Iranian opposition is treated as a victory by Iranian mullahs, who chant ‘death to America’ as their terror groups run wild throughout the Middle East, creating chaos and frenzy, nurturing the survival and growth of extremist groups like ISIS. In fact no analysis of ISIS would be comprehensive if we don’t see the critical role the Iranian regime has played in paving the way for ISIS, even though it may sound as though Iran is its sworn enemy.”
As long as Tehran continues to export terrorism and fundamentalism, to sponsor terror groups like Hezbollah, Bashar Assad in Syria and to maintain the world’s highest rate of executions per capita, it is more than prudent to listen to Iranians who know Iran inside and out and are willing to stand up, and Mrs Rajavi is ‘first among them’, she said.
The Organization of Iranian American Communities said in a statement: “Mrs Rajavi is to testify via satellite… to define the enemy within the Islamic fundamentalist world and offer solutions to eliminate this threat.
“The Iranian-American communities all over the country are encouraged by this opportunity, since this is the time for the voice of the Iranian people, who have been victims of Islamic fundamentalism to be heard by the US Congress.
Mrs Rajavi has presented a cultural alternative to the Islamic fundamentalist rulers in Iran as well as those in ISIS. Mrs. Rajavi’s movement has decades of experience in fighting the clerical rulers of Iran.
“Key members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee from both parties including subcommittee chairman Ted Poe should be commended for including Mrs Rajavi on the panel of witnesses for the hearing.
“She is indeed a highly credible witness who is uniquely qualified to testify on the ideology, conduct and weaknesses of ISIS as well as those in the leadership in the Iranian regime, since, as a devoted Muslim woman leader, she has confronted the extremists for over three decades.
“Mrs Rajavi has testified before a number of prominent parliamentary and legislative bodies, including The Council of Europe as well as the Canadian and Norwegian parliaments.”
The Organization of Iranian American Communities added: “The nearly 2,500 residents of Camp Liberty, Iraq who are members of the Iranian opposition, the MEK, have extensive bi-partisan support in the United States Congress. Given their secular and anti-fundamentalist nature, they are now under the threat by both the Shiite militias sponsored by Tehran and the ISIS.”
