The Forqan group was an Islamic Shia group that promoted a view of Islam that opposes the existence of religious clergy. Most of its members came from a lower middle-class background, with a large portion originating from Qolhak in the northern part of Tehran. According to the
Shariati thought, the rule of the unity of
God forms the basic element of an equal and just society in the tradition of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad. He believed that
the Twelve Imams (not
Rashidun except
Ali) are the real successors of Muhammad and they tried to make an equal society. He considered
Shia Islam above all ideologies and religions, but believed clerics should not have key political positions. Akbar Goodarzi was affected by the revolutionary thought of Shariati and authored an interpretation of the
Quran named "monotheistic ideology." Shariati believed in Islam without clerics, similar to
Abul A'la Maududi's ideas but Goodarzi was more fanatical than Shariati and in 1970 the Forqan group was founded by Goodarzi. Another person who had important effect on forming the ideology of the Forqan group was
Habibollah Ashouri, a disgruntled cleric. The climax of the Forqan group's activities came in the early days after the
1979 Iranian revolution. By early 1980, the group was effectively eliminated due to a series of arrests. == Activities ==