Islamic Revolution Committees or Committees of Islamic Revolution (), simply known as the Committee (; commonly referred to as ''Komiteh'', pronounced koh-mee-TAY), was a revolutionary organization turned

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

agency in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Founded in 1979, it was succeeded by the

Guidance Patrol The Guidance Patrol () or morality police is an Islamic religious police force and vice squad in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its role is to enforce Sharia law as defined by Iranian legislation, with a particula ...

in 2005.

History

Founded as one of

Organizations of the Iranian Revolution Several organizations, parties and guerrilla groups were involved in the Iranian Revolution. Some were part of Ayatollah Khomeini's network and supported the theocratic Islamic Republic movement, while others did not and were suppressed when Khome ...

in 1979, after the overthrow of the Shah they served as substitutes for some of the governmental institutions no longer functioning after the fall of the shah, "such as social services, security, and police". Komiteh were "more widespread and active in cities than rural areas". They were often "located in captured police centers, in the houses of former government officials, and in some public places such as the parliament". As an arm of Ayatollah

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

's network of clerics, they also served as "the backbone of a second power within the state, along with the militia, the army, the revolutionary tribunals", and the wealthy Islamic foundations. Before the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

(IRGC) was established in 1979, the komiteh "were responsible for eliminating counterrevolutionary elements within Iran", and worked to eliminate liberal, leftist, and Islamic leftist opposition to Khomeini's power. They have been described (by Gilles Kepel) as much like the

Committees of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General De ...

of the French Revolution, and served to control the working class supporters of the revolution who made up most of the revolution's mass of demonstrators. During the Iran-Iraq War, the revolutionary committees also served on the war front. Following the crushing of opposition, the komiteh turned to "enforcing Islamic regulations on social behavior", hunting down bad hejabi and enforcement of other measures, particularly among the secular middle class. They made Made up of "mostly uneducated, undisciplined revolutionaries", at least as of 1990 they were allegedly more "feared or detested" than any of the other post-revolutionary Iranian government agency. After the death of Khomeini and "during the first period of Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani's presidency", the police

Shahrbani ''Shahrbani'' ( ; ), formerly called ''Nazmiyeh'' ( ; ), was a law enforcement force in Iran with police duties inside cities. Founded during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era, it was eventually merged in 1991 with the Iranian Gendarmerie and the Islam ...

Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

, and kominteh were merged, and a new organization, called the "Disciplinary Force" (''Niru-ye entezami'') or

Law Enforcement Command of Islamic Republic of Iran The Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, abbreviated as Faraja ( ), is the uniformed police force in Iran. The force was created in early 1992 by merging the Shahrbani (, ), Gendarmerie (, ), and Islamic Revolutionary Committees (, ) ...

(FARAJA), under the direct control of the

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

, was established in 1991.Schirazi ''The Constitution of Iran'' (1997), p.152 As of 2005, a branch of FARAJA known as the

serves as a successor organisation to the Komiteh.

References

{{Iran Military Organizations established in 1979 1979 establishments in Iran Islamic religious police Defunct law enforcement agencies of Iran Revolutionary institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran Sharia in Iran