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.
Headquarters: Tehran, Jamalzadeh St., 23 Akhavan Alley
Active regions: Tehran, Urmia, Tabriz
Ideologies: Shia Islamism, Islamic extremism, Anti-clericalism, Anti-imperialism, Anti-capitalism
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