Basij

Basij
بسیج
Formation26 November 1979; 44 years ago (1979-11-26) (decreed)[1]
30 April 1980; 44 years ago (1980-04-30) (founded)[1]
FounderRuhollah Khomeini[1]
TypeParamilitary volunteer militia[1]
Purpose"To create the necessary capabilities in all individuals believing in the constitution and goals of the Islamic revolution to defend the country, the regime of the Islamic Republic, and aid people in cases of disasters and unexpected events"[1]
FieldsInternal security, law enforcement, moral policing, military reserves[1]
Membership
Over 25 million reserves (volunteers who hold membership)[2]
600,000 available for immediate call-up[3]
Commander
Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani

or

Unoffically Mojtaba Khamenei (alleged)
Parent organization
None (1980–81)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (since 1981)
Budget (1395 SH)
Increase $357.08 million[4]
Staff (2005)
90,000 (CSIS estimate)[1]
Websitebasij.ir

The Basij (Persian: بسيج, lit. "The Mobilization") or Niru-ye Moghāvemat-e Basij (Persian: نیروی مقاومت بسیج, "Resistance Mobilization Force"), full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (سازمان بسیج مستضعفین, "The Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed"),[5][6] is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five branches.[7] The force is named Basij; an individual member is called basiji in the Persian language.[1][8] As of July 2019, Gholamreza Soleimani is the commander of the Basij.

A paramilitary volunteer militia established in Iran in 1979 by order of Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Iranian Revolution, the organization originally consisted of civilian volunteers, often from poor, rural backgrounds,[9] who were urged by Khomeini to fight in the Iran–Iraq War.[10] Khomeini would occasionally refer to Basij as "The Twenty Million Army", claiming that about 75% of the time's population are Basijis. He would elaborate saying, that a country with 20 million of its people as their army, will be undefeatable.[11] Basij was an independent organization until 17 February 1981, when it was officially incorporated into the Revolutionary Guards organization structure by the Iranian Parliament[12] in order to end the interservice rivalry between the two, according to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.[1]

Today, the force consists of young Iranians, usually drawn from the traditionally religious and politically loyalist parts of Iran's society,[9] who volunteer, often in exchange for official benefits. With branches in "virtually every" city and town in Iran,[1][13] the Basij serve as an auxiliary force engaged in enforcing state control over society,[14] acting as a morality police at checkpoints and parks, and suppressing dissident gathering,[9] as well as serving as law enforcement auxiliary, providing social services, organizing public religious ceremonies.[15][16] The force was often present and reacting to the widespread 2009 Iranian election protests, 2017–18 Iranian protests, and the 2022-2023 Mahsa Amini protests.[17] The Basij are subordinate to and receive their orders from the IRGC and the Supreme Leader of Iran,[18][19] They are said to be "tightly affiliated" with the Islamic Republic's "hardline" political faction,[9] and "routinely" praised by the Supreme Leader,[20] but also called a "profound source of disquiet and rancor" among the general public in Iran.[21]

Basij, being part of the IRGC, is designated as a terrorist organization by the governments of the United States, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.[22]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Robin B. Wright, ed. (2010), The Iran Primer: Power, Politics, and U.S. Policy, US Institute of Peace Press, pp. 62–65, ISBN 978-1601270849
  2. ^ "تعداد اعضای بسیج بیش از 25 میلیون نفر". Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. ^ Kenneth Katzman (6 February 2017), "Iran's Foreign and Defense Policies" (PDF), Congressional Research Service, Federation of American Scientists, p. 24, archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2017, retrieved 1 March 2017
  4. ^ "Iran decreases IRGC budget for next year". AzerNews Newspaper. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. ^ John Pike. "GlobalSecurity.org Intelligence: Mobilisation Resistance Force". Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  6. ^ AEI Outlook Series: What Do Structural Changes in the Revolutionary Guards Mean? Archived 27 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Forozan, Hesam (2015), The Military in Post-Revolutionary Iran: The Evolution and Roles of the Revolutionary Guards, Taylor & Francis, pp. 56–58, ISBN 978-1317430735
  8. ^ "Iran Primer: The Basij Resistance Force". FRONTLINE - Tehran Bureau. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d "Iran's Basij force: specialists in cracking down on dissent". Reuters. 22 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Basij Militia". The New York Times. 2 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  11. ^ "سیر تأسیس ارتش بیست میلیونی؛ از سازمان بسیج ملی تا نیروی مقاومت بسیج / روایتی از اولین مأموریت‌های بسیج در کشور". Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  12. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (2013), Iran Unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards Is Transforming Iran from Theocracy into Military Dictatorship, AEI Press, p. 49
  13. ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, W.W. Norton, (2005), p.88
  14. ^ Golkar, Saeid (2015). Captive Society: The Basij Militia and Social Control in Iran. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press. ISBN 978-0-231-80135-5.
  15. ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, W. W. Norton, (2005), p. 88, 316–318
  16. ^ Neil MacFarquhar (19 June 2009). "Shadowy Iranian Vigilantes Vow Bolder Action". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  17. ^ "Amnesty urges Iran to stop using Basij militia". The Gazette. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ "The New York Times - Search". topics.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference english.khamenei.ir was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ "What we know about the Basij, the paramilitary volunteer group cracking down on protesters in Iran". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting). 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference tk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Saudi, Bahrain add Iran's Revolutionary Guards to terrorism lists". Reuters. 23 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.