The scars of a war as devastating as the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) do not easily heal. Some counts put the number of Iranian casualties 300,000 with another 500,000 wounded. The number of Iraqi dead numbered around 375,000.
The Iranian establishment refers to the war as the “Iraq-imposed war” and Iran’s part in it is known as the “Sacred Defense”. Hence, Iran’s war dead are shahid (martyrs). Shiite Islam, so steeped in the culture of mourning, gives them a place alongside the paradigmatic holy victims; Imam Ali and Hossein.
Tehran is dotted with large painted murals commemorating the most famous of the Iraq war martyrs. Their fixed gazes tell nothing of the conflict that robbed them of their lives. The colours have faded with time but their complexions remain unaging.
Guide to Tehran
© Iranvisitor.com
No comments:
Post a Comment