Women spend time in devotion at the Iranian border with Iraq. Caravans called "Pilgrims of Light" visit former sites and memorials of the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) to pay tribute to Iranian martyrs of the conflict.
A burnt-out Iraqi jeep, relict of the Iran-Iraq War is covered by early spring vegetation.
Mourners try to reach the coffin carrying the corpse of Majid Ghorbankhani who died 3 years earlier in Khan Tuman during the Syrian conflict to earn blessings. The corpse has been identified through its DNA and was handed over to the family of the martyr prior to a public farewell ceremony.
A sheep is sacrificed in honour of Alireza Akbari as his corpse is carried through the Fallah neighbourhood of Tehran on Thursday April 18th, 2019 in celebration and mourning of his martyrdom. Alireza Akbari died in Syria four years earlier serving the Fatemioun brigade, a military unit connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in which Afghan citizens serve. Many of its members are refugees residing in Iran.
Visitors to the Martyrs' Memorial pray sitting on the earth were fighters are said to have bled during the Iran-Iraq War.
A speaker broadcasting anthems, laments and march music is decorated with a red tulip, symbol of martyrdom in Iran at the Shalamcheh Memorial.
6th graders of Refah girls' elementary school in Tehran sing anthems from the Iran-Iraq War in choir on Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 as a part of an event commemorating the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini to this school upon his return from French exile exactly 40 years earlier during the 1979 Revolution.
Stacks of T-shirts printed with portraits of prominent martyrs from different generations Ali Sayyad Shirazi, Mehdi Bakeri, Mostafa Chamran, Ghassem Soleimani, Hassan Bagheri and Ebrahim Hadi, lay out for sale around ones depicting the Supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a market at the Martyrs' Memorial. Martyr related merchandise in "Che Guevara style" is an important industry addressing a pious clientele across the Shiite Middle East.
Volunteers pray to the corpse of Alireza Akbari after carrying it through the Fallah neighbourhood of Tehran on Thursday April 18th, 2019 in celebration and mourning of his martyrdom. Alireza Akbari died in Syria four years earlier serving the Fatemioun brigade which is a military unit connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in which Afghan citizens serve. Many of its members are refugees residing in Iran. It has been active in the Syrian conflict over the past years.
A volunteer of the memorial, called "servant of the martyrs" advertises for the children animation programme as caravans called "Pilgrims of Light" visit former sites and memorials of the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) to pay tribute to Iranian martyrs of the conflict.
An unkonwn martyrs' memorial is under construction.
Former prisoners of the Gulf War wearing yellow prison overalls during pray for their dead comrades at Tehran's central cemetery (Behesht-e Zahra).
Caravans called "Pilgrims of Light" visit former sites and memorials of the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) to pay tribute to Iranian martyrs of the conflict.
Depictions of famous martyrs of different generations hang above an aquarium at Refah girls' elementary school in Tehran.
Visitors of the Holy Defense Museum pass by a panorama of Khorramshahr destructed by the Gulf War.
Mother (wearing sunglasses) of Mohsen Hojjaji who was beheaded by IS in Syria sits among mothers of more famous martyrs in a front row as some thousand supporters of the Islamic Republic came together in Tehran for a ceremony branded as "Daughters of the Revolution" on January 31st, 2019 setting off a series of arranged events marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Revolution.
A visitor wears a t-shirt depicting the deceased and the current leaders of the Islamic Republic.
Hojjat Choobin adjusts his scarf with a poster of Major General Ghassem Soleimani hanging on the wall. Mr Choobin is a "Servant of the Martyrs" and has been a five time victims of mines and other explosives as he has been searching for remains of the bodies of fighters who have died during the war. He also cooks for other servants and the producers of the Iranian state television who are taking a rest at noon at the Martyrs' memorial where they have live broadcasts from for 30 consecutive days.
Visitors pray at the tomb of the unknown martyr.
Life size paper figuers of fighters decorate the martyrs' memorial.
Decoration of pillars at a memorial mosque depict sand sacks which were used to protect trenches reminding of the Iran-Iraq war.
Female relatives of Alireza Akbari of the Fatemioun brigade mourn prior to the release of his corpse in the Fallah neighbourhood of Tehran on Thursday April 18th, 2019.
Huge crowds in Tehran take part in the public funeral procession of the of the IRGC Al-Quds brigade commander Major General Qassim Suleimani who was assassinated through a US-led drone strike in Iraq three days earlier.
A visitor spends time at the graveyard of unkown martyrs' in Tehran's central cemetery (Behesht-e Zahra).
A giant digital billboard in Haft-e Tir square in central Tehran runs a picture of assassinated Revolutionary Guards Major General Qassim Suleimani as the evening traffic unfolds. Following the US-led assassination of the Al-Quds brigade commander through a drone strike in Iraq the prior night, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared three days of public mourning.
May Tulips Grow from Your Blood
Martyrdom, a religious motif deeply rooted in Shiite Islam has been playing a central role in the process of cultural identity establishment ever since the foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A majority of streets in every town are named after martyrs. Already at primary school pupils are taught about the herosim of martyrdom. The education includes visiting sites and collective mourning for martyrs’ sacrifices. The sites of the First Gulf War, officially termed the “Holy Defense”, have been turned into memorial theme parks. It is part of the Iranian collective memory that once children were blown away there in mine fields. Now people visit these parks on sponsored trips to pay tribute to martyrdom.
Four decades after the foundation of the Islamic Republic, Iran is supranationally engaged alongside Shia allies in conflicts around the Persian Gulf and the Levant. Fatalities produced by these conflicts form a new generation of martyrs. Symbolized by red tulips, new martyrs sustain a narrative of hailing sacrifice to justify hardships for the people. One that claims the Shia theme of an everlasting battle between “the just against the corrupt” and promises martyrs an eternal place in paradise. Thus constant conflict, martial aesthetics and martyrdom build the core of an identity narrative in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
