Mullahs Divided: Right-wingers vs. Khomeini (Time)

          
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          IRAN
          k u ahs DMded
          Right-wingers vs. Khomeini
          n less than three years. Iran's tumut
          ous revolution has spawned a staggahng
          array of problems: civil violence. war kvith
          Iraq. economic ruin, international isbb-
          Lion. Yet, however untidy their method
          the country's ruling clergymen seemed
          united in their dedication to establish an
          Islamic republic. Now, apparently, that
          solidarity is vanishing, if indeed it ever ex-
          isted in the first place. Having ruthlessly
          eliminated their secular opponents. the
          mullahs have lately turned on each other,
          arguing over everything from the sacred
          (Islamic law) to the profane (the spoils of
          political power).
          The divisions have pitted Muslim
          against Muslim, faction against faction—
          and. increasingly, right-wing mullahs
          against the revolution'3 leader, the Aya-
          tullah Ruhollah Khomeini. Though the
          disputes have so far been contained, they
          have become worrisome enough to elicit a
          pointed warning from Khomeini: “Let no
          one doubt that if dissension continues be-
          tween groups committed to Islam, it will
          spread nationwide and lead to armed
          confrontation.”
          The clerical battle lines have not been
          clearly drawn. But there have been strug-
          gles between the Islamic Guards, the cler
          gy's private army, and the Friday Prayer
          Leaders. Khomeini's personal representa-
          tives throughout Iran. And in recent
          weeks a number of right-wing clergymen
          have agitated publicly for a share of politi-
          cal power, now monopolized by the ruling,
          Khomeini-backed Islamic Republic Party
          (I.R.P.). One source of their discontent:
          Khomeini's announcement on Oct. 12
          that he was delegating some functions of
          the cherished Velayat-e-Faqih (Supreme
          Theologian's' Mandate)* to the Majlis
          (parliament).
          !1( homeini took that step to end a dead-
          lock between the parliament and the
          “guardian council.” a twelve-member
          constitu!onal watchdog committee.
          which for religious reasons had blocked
          needed reform legislation. Still, his ques-
          tionable action offended many right-
          wingers. Said one ayatullah: “It is bad
          enough that his understanding and appli-
          cation of the [ mandatel are faulty and self-
          ish. His decision to suspend Islamic law
          for political expediency is apostasy. If his
          so-called Islamic republic cannot survive
          the application of God's law, then there is
          something wrong with his system. God
          does not make defective laws.”
          The fundamentalist challenge is
          dangerous for Khomeini, particularly
          The founding principle of Khomeini's theocracy
          holds that peirding (he return of the promised Shi-
          ‘ite messiah, the Tweiflhl imam. a supreme theolo-
          gian with absolut . powers must lead the Islamic
          community.
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          because his right-wing critics can outdo
          him in blind radicalism and rabble-
          rousing.
          obr - ”tl ' L dangerous figures growing
          an 'gry with him is Sheikh Mahmoud
          Halabi. se' entyish leader of a Shilte
          purist society. Halabi. says one Iranian
          writer, “is so right ing that compared
          with him, Khomeini is Karl Marx.” Ha '
          labi criticizes the 1.R.P. for its. po1iUèàl
          . ç4jjl 1 'iJdeh Party,
          iran's pro-Moscow Communists. (The
          arrangement is designed to counter op-
          position from left-wing Muslims.) And
          he calls for a program against “heresy
          and atheism.” As for Khomeini's claim
          to the Supreme Theologian's Mandate,
          Halahi insists it is not binding. Khomei-
          ni may have great virtue and theological
          scholarship. he says, but “I have re-
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          lth meini waving to supporters In Tehran
          A challenge by unhappy funda nentahsts.
          ceived instructions from the absent
          Imam [ the Shi'ite messiah] himself.”
          As Iran's troubles deepen, divisions
          among the clergy are likely to grow. In an
          effort to strengthen their ranks, relative
          moderates in the I.R.P. have already be-.
          gun to rehabilitate thousands of techno-
          crats and politicians the party once
          purged for being “pro-Western and liber-
          al.” Among them: Mehdi Bazargan, the
          revolution's first Prime Minister, now a
          member of parliament. Last week, in a se-
          cret session of the Majlis, Speaker All Ak-
          bar Hashemi Rafsanjani asked his fellow
          legislators to spare Bazargan and the oth-
          ers from more ridicule. Said he: “These
          gentlemen are closer to the Imam [ Kho-
          meini] than many of you.” But recourse to
          “pro-Westerners” can only alienate the
          right-wingers more. And in a nation
          further divided, claims of friendship
          with the Imam may not mean what they
          once did.
          SEYCHELLES
          f st's Thursday
          This must be a coup—oops!
          s they boarded their flight in Swazi-
          fr ' land last week, the burly young men
          in blazers, sports shirts and flannels
          looked every inch a South African rugby
          club off on a holiday to the Seychelles. the
          small (pop. 65.000). sun-drenched chain of
          islands off the East African coast. But
          soon after they arrived at Mahé's airport,
          their vacation plans went abruptly awry.
          When a surprised immigration official
          discovered a gun in one of the visitors'
          bags. the chap's companions whipped out
          automatic weapons. Obviously, this was
          no ordinary package tour. This was a
          coup. and the sportsmen were mercenar-
          ies hired to topple the left-wing regime of
          President Albert René.
          After the mercenaries waged a-20-
          hour airport battle with government
          forces, the coup collapsed. Forty-four of
          the mercenaries escaped by hijacking an
          Air India Boeing 707 that had landed dur-
          ing the battle: the others were dead. ar-
          rested or in hiding. President René
          launched a nationwide man hunt and or-
          dered all foreigners in the is lands.—in-
          cluding visiting U.S. Ambassador William
          Harrop—confined to their hotels.
          The attackers—mostly said to be for-
          mer members ofRhodesian and South Af-
          rican army units as well as a few Ameri-
          cans, Britons and other Europeans—were
          reportedly paid $1,000 and promi ed a
          further 510.000 if their mission was suc-
          cessful. It was unclear who put up the
          money. René. 46, who was established in
          I power by a coup in 1977. has plenty ofene-
          mies. His Marxist leanings have embit-
          tered wealthy islanders and prompted two
          previous coup attempts.
          This time the mercenaries planned to
          infiltrate Mahé after they landed and
          stage the coup later in the week, possibly
          as the first phase of a bigger operation in-
          volving local sympathizers and a back-up
          force of other mercenaries. But the prema-
          ture shootout left the scheme in shambles
          and the first wave of attackers stranded at
          the airport—until they captured the con-
          trol tower and gave the Air India plane
          permission to touch down. The landing
          was nearly a disaster: the pilot just missed
          a Seychelles army truck parked on the
          runway and was forced to hop over anoth-
          er. which the plane did brush with a wing
          flap. “I'm afraid you have arrived at a
          most unfort,,.nate moment. ' one ‘of the
          mercenaries told the 79 startled passen-
          gers and crew on board as mortar and
          machine-gun fire blazed around them.
          “You'll just have to wait.' Three hours lat-
          er, the surviving soldiers of fortune. carry-
          ing the body of a dead comrade. trooped
          onto the plane and ordered it to fly to
          South Africa. Arrested upon landing at
          Durban. they now face prison termsof five
          to 30 years for hijacking.
          1 S TX( / Pt ‘I — .1
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