Chapter 156. Islam, Shia Iran and the Ayatollahs: Keshe’s Islamic Critique and Iranian Politics

Mehran Tavakoli Keshe was born in Iran. In the Knowledge Seekers Workshops (KSW) he speaks about Islam mostly through the case of Shia Iran and its clergy. His religious claims about Muhammad, Mecca and the ayatollahs run into his political claims about Iran’s nuclear programme, its negotiations with the 5+1 powers and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), its sanctions, and its wars, and the two cannot be separated. This chapter therefore treats them together. It first sets out his historical and doctrinal statements on Islam, then his proposals on the hijab and on the Sunni–Shia conflict, and finally his account of the Keshe Foundation’s (KF) role in Iranian politics from 2018 to 2026. Unless another source is named, every statement is Keshe’s claim as transcribed by KF volunteers.

1. Muhammad, Mecca and the “Shah”: KSW 518

In KSW 518 (28 December 2023) Keshe offers a revisionist geography of early Islam. He states that “the historical papers, shows Muhammad was not born at all in Mecca. Could not be. He’s born in different position in Middle East”. He adds that the transcript’s editors place this “in Jordan, where he was actually born, then everything they tell us fits together” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 518, #378230]. As evidence he cites mosque orientation: “In the first, about 100 original mosques that were ever built, the ‘praying wall’ face Jordan and not Mecca. After around the year 200 they started facing Mecca”. In another variant of the transcript the figure is “120, 150 of them”. He asks: “Why did it suddenly change to present Mecca, 150 years after the death of Muhammad? These are the data’s we don’t have” [#378230]. He also says that the distance of the Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem (about “1,400, 1,600 kilometers”) does not fit the traditional geography, and that “the city of Mecca, didn’t exist the way we know today” [#378230]. The editors’ summary puts the dispute at the same level as the Vatican: “One of the biggest controversy going on is not just about the Vatican and the Pope, it’s about where is the true birth place of Mohammed” [#378230].

The traditional account on the reference shelf differs. In Islamic tradition the Kaaba was made the qibla by Qur’anic revelation in the second Hijri year, and before that the first Muslims prayed in another direction [Wikipedia: Qibla]. Keshe’s claim that the early prayer walls pointed to Jordan has no counterpart in that article.

The same session extends the critique to Iranian kingship and symbols. Keshe says that “the word ‘Shah’ means God, and Shah of Shah, means ‘God of the Gods'”. He calls the lion-and-sun flag and the Islamic crescent forms of continued “paganism”: “Muslims came with the Moon. Again, paganism, we still worship Mecca” [#378230]. He presents Persian culture as one in which “Woman ruled with an ‘iron fist'”, in contrast to the Arab side “of the mountain” [#378230].

2. Messengers, ayatollahs and the “true Koran”

Keshe’s position on the founders hardens over time. In KSW 134 (2016) he had said that “Mohammad lost his way not by his own but by his followers” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 134, #377777]. By KSW 467 (12 January 2023) a questioner asks whether the killing that followed the prophets was “the fault of the Messengers, rather than the fault of their followers”. Keshe answers: “The Messengers set the example (and those close to them who followed afterwards, (made up the) path”. He tells Knowledge Seekers that “we have to correct and perfect the (STP) of the Messengers”, and that “Some of you who come to elevate the Soul of the Christ, will end up touching Muhammad, because that’s what was needed” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 467, #378179]. In this account the prophet’s soul was “connected to the Knowledge of the Universe and had no fault in it”, while his Soul of Physicality “still had his own impurities” [#378179].

KSW 412 (23 December 2021) predicts the end of the three Abrahamic religions as institutions: “We see the end of Islam as a religion, but as a path of correct conduct, the true writing in Koran. We see the end of Christianity … We have already abolished the Judaism” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 412, #378124]. KSW 629 (12 February 2026) gives the most general form of the critique: “why does Man need an intermediary in a fake name of Prophets and ayatollahs to understand the work of his Creator? There is no room”. Humanity “need[s] no charlatans in the name of Ayatollahs, Mullahs, Priests, Rabbis and the rest”. He adds: “religions … were created to save Man, but nothing has killed more than religion”, and asks whether “the religions [are] just made up to abuse the Man, because it’s a profitable market. … Abuser never stops the abuse and it is a fault of the abused” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 629, #378341]. KSW 578 (2025) adds the charge of wealth: “Some of Iran Ayatollahs are on the top richest people in the world” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 578, #378290].

3. Sunni and Shia; the hijab

KSW 198 (16 November 2017) is headed “War between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been planned for 100 years”. In it Keshe warns: “There is a huge conflict setup between Iran as a Shia country and its allies, and the Sunni countries, Saudi Arabia and their allies”. He answers it with a call “through the soul” to “the leaders of the Iranian government … and the Saudi leadership and the rest of the Islamic world”, and argues that “The line of descendants of Mohammad doesn’t change the book of Mohammad” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 198, #377841]. That is, he holds that the succession dispute does not alter the scripture both sides share. Kim Ghattas places the modern Saudi–Iranian rivalry from 1979 onward and traces it into sectarian killings such as the 1987 Sunni–Shia violence in Pakistan [Ghattas, Black Wave, #72495, Part II]. The reference shelf dates the “Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war” from 11 February 1979 [Wikipedia: Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war].

During the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in Guidance Patrol custody in September 2022 [Wikipedia: Mahsa Amini protests], Keshe made a non-violent proposal. In KSW 457 (3 November 2022) he said: “We ask the Iranian women, to not burn your scarf’s. Give them as a gift to the soldiers and the Revolutionary Guard, to cover their eyes, so that you remain free”. He framed it as a reversal: “the Iranians told the Arabs, that we cover our own eyes, so that our women stay free” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 457, #378169]. A variant transcript in the same work, headed as the 453rd workshop of 6 October 2022, adds: “You want to be free, you’ll be Iranian, the way Zoroastrian has been, ‘think good, do good, and talk good.’ You don’t need to cover the woman. Give your scarf’s as a gift to the Revolutionary Guard and kiss them for it. Do not fight, do not burn the scarf’s” [#378169]. He applied the same rule to Ukraine: “Greet the Russians, don’t fight. They dissolve themselves … Greeting them they can’t shoot you” [#378169].

4. KF and the Iranian nuclear file

In Keshe’s account KF has acted as an intermediary on Iran’s nuclear programme. In KSW 410 (9 December 2021) he says KF “approaches IEA (IAEA) as independent negotiator”. He argues that “Iran cannot be sanctioned for 3 & 5%, or 20% enrichment, where the T of the space needs 100% pure nuclear material”. He calls 100% enrichment Iran’s “God given right … with a proviso, that Iran mutually shares the T and knowledge of Keshe Foundation (KF) with American government, Chine[se]” and others [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 410, #378122]. He praises the incoming IAEA team as “people with the right caliber” [#378122]. A week later, in KSW 411, he accuses Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump of having used “photos of KF reactors to make sanctions on Iran” without checking their validity: “It’s the new sanctions which is brought, because of this picture, this video by Netanyahu to Trump. This is the biggest problem for us”. He describes the user as a “demented fear driven guy” who “used our Technology”. He says that, as a result, the “IAEA has literally been snookered”, and that KF’s job is to “create a doubt” in the sanctions case. He ties the sanctions to “hundreds of thousands of people suffering … with the lying and cheating of these people” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 411, #378123].

KSW 554 (9 September 2024) claims a direct effect. Keshe says KF warned the Iranian leadership against “going to the war to destroy the whole of Iran”, and that “last Thursday … Iran changed its position … Instead of attacking … suddenly changed, we go to nuclear negotiation. Why? … Who is behind 5+1 nuclear negotiation? Keshe Fou[ndation]”. The index adds: “Open Iranian embassy in US in 2025” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 554, #378266]. KSW 564 (14 November 2024) is indexed under “IAEA in Tehran – reignite 5plus1 negotiations” and “Iran Nuclear Space Program – T in Exchange for Peace (TIEP)”. It also says “5plus1 is dead – Iran is a nuclear T nation” and refers to transfer of technology “through Iranian President – Office of Ayatollah Khamenei”. Keshe announces: “In our future negotiations with the IAEA in Vienna … and United Nations, we’ll transfer the Universal operations (of Earth) to the Universal Council” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 564, #378276]. The P5+1 group itself (the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany) negotiated the 2013 Joint Plan of Action and the later nuclear agreement with Iran [Wikipedia: P5+1].

Earlier he had made diplomatic overtures. KF Plasma Times (September 2018) reports a letter, announced by Keshe on 2 August 2018 and drafted with the KF Earth Council, sent to “His Excellency President Donald J Trump, as well to the embassy of Iran”. In it “Keshe extends an invitation on behalf of the nation of Iran for the meeting with Donald Trump, to reach an agreement for world peace” [Keshe Foundation, KF Plasma Times 2018-09, #38313]. In KSW 311 (16 January 2020) Keshe predicted that a peace treaty between Iran and the US would conclude by late 2020, that “the release of this EU will force Tehran peace talks and conference”, and that the Universal Council would open in January 2021 [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 311, #378023]. In KSW 488 (2023) he declared that KF and its management “stay loyal to the Iranian nation. But we serve the other nations equally. We will never betray Iran”, spoke of the “interaction” of “his Eminency Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran” with KF, and predicted that Iranian nuclear physicists would teach in US universities [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 488, #378200].

5. COVID-19 in Iran

In February–April 2020 Keshe gave a conspiratorial account of the epidemic in Iran. In KSW 317 (27 February 2020) he said the virus “was put just before election and at the place where all the Moslems of Shia background go. They sprayed the shrine and people touch the shrine and they carried it”. He said that “This virus is tailor made and tailor controlled”, that “Many Iranian ministers are being held in quarantine because of the way the virus was spread deliberately”, and that “They killed the head of Sepah, and then they spread the virus and now they have to be saved through Sepah” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 317, #378029]. Five weeks later, KSW 322 (2 April 2020) was headed “Coronavirus solved by Iran”. Keshe said: “we have managed to clean one city, one hospital, in Iran, totally of the virus”. He attributed this to the Cup of Life (CL) given to families, so that “there are no more new patients coming to the hospital. The city is being announced to be clean … on the national television”. He announced that “The Iranian officials, military and the Sepah, will deliver the T on the official levels … to all the nations”, and that GANS water thrown on streets and buildings would create a “Dome of Peace” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 322, #378034].

6. 2025–2026: leadership, gold and SWIFT

The 2025–26 workshops, held during open conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States, are the most combative. In KSW 582 (20 March 2025) Keshe says “the problem is two sided. The Iranian leadership all the Ayatollahs are Lebanese, they’re not Iranians”. He says they “are paid by the Israelis to poke” (in the edited variant, “to poke (and provoke) by the Israelis (and those in the background)”). The session index adds “We are the end to religions; Work closely with Ayatollahs – Vatican”. In the transcripts examined here the leaders are called “Lebanese”; the session’s remarks about Israel concern who pays and who provokes, not the leaders’ descent. He follows this with a threat: “If they try to touch the Iranian Central Bank I’ll release so much gold that the banking system will collapse within hours. … There’s a message directly to Jerusalem and to the White House” [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 582, #378294]. In KSW 642 (14 May 2026) he describes the war and its consequences: “There is a massive amount of cable, goes from Saudi, Dubai, Iran, Iraq … It’ll be the end of Swift. Because nobody can use the Swift, no banking can be confirmed. Chinese system will take over … the Chinese love the Iranians, cut this line off”. He also claims that “Iran 90% of missiles … are usable” and that Iran exports oil to China by rail on the “One belt, one road” line [Keshe, Knowledge Seekers Workshop 642, #378354].

Key points

• In KSW 518 Keshe claims Muhammad was born in Jordan and that the first 100–150 mosques faced Jordan until about 150–200 years after his death. Islamic tradition, by contrast, dates the turn to the Kaaba to the second Hijri year [#378230; Wikipedia: Qibla].
• Over time Keshe moves blame for religious violence from the prophets’ followers (2016) to the Messengers themselves (2023), whose “STP” Knowledge Seekers are told to “correct” [#377777; #378179].
• He calls for bypassing “Ayatollahs, Mullahs, Priests, Rabbis” and describes religion as a “profitable market” of abuse. KSW 412 foresees Islam surviving only as “a path of correct conduct, the true writing in Koran” [#378341; #378124].
• On the 2022 hijab protests he proposed a non-violent gesture: give the scarves to the Revolutionary Guard to cover their own eyes. He offered it in the name of the Zoroastrian maxim “think good, do good, talk good” [#378169].
• He presents KF as a hidden actor in Iran’s nuclear diplomacy. In his account KF argued for 100% enrichment for space use, accused Netanyahu and Trump of using KF images to justify sanctions, and claimed credit for Iran’s 2024 return to talks [#378122; #378123; #378266; #378276].
• In 2020 he said COVID-19 was deliberately spread at a Shia shrine before elections and that KF products, delivered with the Iranian military, cleared an Iranian city [#378029; #378034].
• In 2025–26 he called the ayatollahs “Lebanese, … not Iranians”, threatened to collapse banking with gold if Iran’s Central Bank were “touched”, and predicted the end of SWIFT [#378294; #378354].