Although they played an important part in the chaos of 1978 before the overthrow of the regime, they had been weakened considerably by government repression and factionalization in the first half of the 1970s. They subsequently failed to pose much of a threat to the regime once it had assumed power, although the People’s Mujahedin of Homeland, an organization that opposed the influence of the clergy, fought against Khomeini’s Islamic government.Islamists were divided into several groups. In addition to the People’s Mujahedin of Homeland was the Freedom Movement of Homeland, made up of religious members of the National Front of Homeland who wanted to use lawful political methods against the Shah; they were led by Bazargan and Mahmoud Taleghani.