Put Your Martyrdom Where Your Mouth Is
Iranian women’s magazine shut down for investigative article on Iran’s martyrdom movement. MEMRI:
In late January 2008, the Media Supervision Committee of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance ordered the closure of the women’s movement monthly Zanan, which had appeared in Iran for 16 years. The order came after the magazine published an investigative article on istishhad (i.e. martyrdom) operations. The conservative news agency Fars reported, citing a knowledgeable source, that the magazine had been shut down for “breaking the law and defaming military and revolutionary institutions, including the Basij,” and for “publishing reports and [raising] issues that undermine [society's] spiritual security, morale, and ideological strength, and that create a sense of insecurity in society and discredit the status of women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” [1]
The Zanan article in question dealt with the Iranian “martyrdom movement,” which has been registering Iranian men and women for suicide operations and training some to carry out these operations. Zanan focused on the women volunteers, quoting Firooz Rajai-Far, a leader of the martyrdom movement and secretary-general of the World Islamic Organization Headquarters for Remembering the Shahids, as stating that some 20,000 women have already signed up for martyrdom operations, constituting a third of the volunteers. Rajai-Far stated that because martyrdom was a “religious duty,” women did not require the permission of their fathers, their husbands, or “even of the ruling jurisprudent” - currently Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - to volunteer for martyrdom operations. She also stated that she approved of sending even seven-year-old children on suicide missions during a war. Rajai-Far herself has signed up for martyrdom operations, and has threatened the U.S. with suicide operations against its interests in the Gulf. [2]
In addition to presenting interviews with Rajai-Far and with women martyrdom-seekers, the article also described the controversy among religious scholars, clerics, and experts in Iran regarding martyrdom operations.
The Iranian regime has tried to present the martyrdom movement as a voluntary enterprise independent of the state. However, the presence of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) representatives at the movement’s registration ceremonies suggests that it is endorsed by the regime. [3] This assumption is further supported by the 2004 statement by Mohammad Ali Samedi, spokesman of the World Islamic Organization Headquarters for Remembering the Shahids, that “the martyrdom [operations] will begin only at the order of [Iranian Supreme] Leader [Khamenei].” [4] In a May 2008 speech to families of shahids, Khamenei characterized martyrdom as “a source of pride” and as “sacrifice in the path of God” which “gladdens [the heart of] God.”
I can’t speak for God, but it would gladden my heart if some people would lead by example.
… martyrdom is a value personally endorsed and promoted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and also by the official Iranian media, which stresses the importance of inculcating the “culture of martyrdom” in society. In a speech at a January 2008 Basij conference, Ahmadinejad stated that “today, more than ever, we must inculcate in the younger generation the culture of shahada [martyrdom]. This is a mission of supreme ideological [importance]… One who treads the path of martyrdom and brings himself to this extreme attains the pinnacle of human [achievement]. It is a duty incumbent upon [each member of] the public to bring himself, as well as others, to this pinnacle…”
… In a July 2005 speech, Ahmadinejad asked: “Is there an art more beautiful, more divine, and more eternal that the art of martyrdom? A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity. Those who wish to undermine this principle undermine the foundations of our independence and national security. They undermine the foundation of our eternity.” [7]
Blah blah blah. Do as I say, not as I do. Unfortunately, the Iranian regime thus far has be interested mainly in martyring other people elsewhere to further its goals. Read on here for excerpts from the banned magazine’s article.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:17 am on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
One Response to “Put Your Martyrdom Where Your Mouth Is”
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May 27th, 2008 at 11:12 am
If so much inculcation and training is necessary, why have they resorted to using little girls and mentally challenged women?