The Hojjatiyeh Society in Iran: Ideology and practice from the 1950s to the present

The Hojjatiyeh Society is one of the most fascinating religious groups in modern Iran. The society began in the 1950s as an anti-Baha'i movement but found itself fighting Khomeini's Velayat-i Faqih and leading an anti-Khomeini and messianic agenda. Despite the Hojjatiyeh's fight against Khomeini, the Hojjatiyeh became, unwillingly and unintentionally, a leading faction in the Islamic Revolution, with its members coming to occupy some of the highest echelon posts in Iranian politics. While the Hojjatiyeh was banned form official politics by Khomeini in 1983, it seems the society never truly left the political sphere. Today, its traces can still be found in Iranian politics. Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his mentor the Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi are reported to be Hojjatiyeh members.