One of the parties was formed following the Islamic Republic victory and it was soon able to become an inclusive party in the country was the Islamic Republican Party.
Preparation for the founding and formation of this party dates back to 1986. In the summer of that year, meetings with a focus on Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hoseyni-Beheshti at Hujjat al-Islam Mohammad-Javad Bahonar’s house were held on how to form the Islamic Republican Party, but because of the scattered fighting forces that were either imprisoned or in exile or lived in secret, it was impossible to establish such a party. Ayatollah Beheshti in Muharram 1978, once again provided the foundations for the establishment of the party, and with the victory of the Islamic Republic, five of the Imam’s companions, with the consent of Ayatollah, established the “Islamic Republican Party.”
The Islamic Republican Party announced the existence with the centrality of Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Sayyed Mohammad Hoseyni-Beheshti, Sayyed Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardabili, Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and Sayyed Ali Khamenei on 18 February 1979. The party leaders stated the goals of the party by the release of guard declaration from the achievements of the revolution, these goals including combating the counter-revolution, creating hope in the people and taking advantage of the people’s anti-authoritarian struggles, building a strong organization and organizing active forces, and creating an iron disciplinary and cohesion. Thereafter, in order to recruit people to a large extent, questionnaires and membership application forms were distributed along with designing the statute and code of conduct of the party. In the early days, more than 80,000 people applied to join party centres around the country. The party was welcomed in such a way that it had accepted two million people on the 100th day of its founding, thus, the foundations of the largest party in Iranian history were established in terms of expansion, members, and clerical leaders.
After this phase, the Islamic Republican Party began its activities in various fields. The clear positioning and the attempt to hold a wide-ranging referendum on 1 April 1979 is one of the most effective measures taken by the Islamic Republican Party in the formation of an Assembly of Experts for the Constitution. The party also actively participated in the first term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and while in coalition with the Combatant Clergy Association, allocated a significant portion of its seats to its candidates.
The party has always faced hostility from the internal and external enemies of the Islamic Revolution since its inception, and its hostility peaked early on 1981, first, an assassination attempt on one of the party’s leaders, Ayatollah Khamenei, occurred on June 27 and the following day, Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad-Hoseyni Beheshti, the secretary-general of the party, and several senior members of the party were martyred.
After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Beheshti, Hujjat al-Islam Mohammad-Javad Bahonar became the secretary-general of the party, but after a while he was martyred and within a short time several other party members, including Hujjat al-Islam Sayyed Abdolkarim Hasheminejad (the secretary-general of the Islamic Republican Party of Mashhad in Mashhad), Hasan Ayat and... became victims of terrorism.
High-ranking members of the party rebuilt their organization despite heavy blows, and Ayatollah Khamenei was elected as the secretary-general of the party and continued the activities of the party. Introducing revolution, helping to uncover conspiracies, counter-revolution, lecturing, distribution of brochures and leaflets, extensive participation in holding the marches, publishing books, dispatch missionaries to foreign countries, setting up special training courses for the education and training of experienced forces, active and effective participation in the election arena and widespread participation in revolutionary programs were other activities of the party. The official newspaper of the Islamic Republican Party also played an important role in advancing its goals.
Islamic Republic Newspaper, the party’s official organ, played an important role in advancing its goals. The first national congress of the party was held in Tehran (Manzarieh camp) on 26 April 1983 and where the party’s statute and code of conduct were approved by the members. Under the statute, the party’s leadership and planning responsibilities were entrusted to the central council of thirty members. Ayatollah Khamenei was elected as the secretary-general of the party for the second time.
The activities of the Islamic Republican Party continued until 1984, but then declined until Ayatollah Khamenei and Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani wrote a letter to Imam Khomeini on 1 June 1987 asking for their opinion on the cessation of party activities. The letter of the party leaders stated: “... It feels like that the existence of another party has not had the benefits of getting started and, on the contrary, factionalism in the current situation may be an excuse to divide and disrupt the unity and cohesion of the nation... The Central Council of the Party overwhelmingly concluded that the current interest of the revolution is to shut down the Islamic Republican Party and to suspend its activities in general. Imam Khomeini also agreed to stop the party activities.
The positions and views of the Islamic Republican Party are published in detail in a book called “Our Positions.”
Archive of The History of the Islamic Revolution
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