This photo series portrays the cultural and social impacts of a phenomenon in Iranian society that has systematically grown since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Children are deliberately exposed by some families, with direct support and encouragement from the government, to religious ideologies, the culture of martyrdom, and apocalyptic beliefs. The government, through budget allocation and systematic planning, actively promotes these beliefs.
One of the methods employed is the creation of institutions that design new rituals and practices—innovations that did not exist in the past—leveraging people’s religious beliefs to spread religious ideas starting from early childhood and infancy.
In these images, children from a young age are exposed to ceremonies and symbols that lead them towards the acceptance of death, self-sacrifice for ideological goals, and the glorification of martyrdom. Financial support for specific institutions and events strengthens this culture, and various tools, such as media, schools, and religious gatherings, are used to promote this ideology.
This series presents images of children immersed in these teachings and propaganda.
A child watches a group of men posing for a photo after slaughtering sacrificial sheep during a religious ritual. Every year on the eighth day of Muharram, a gathering and religious mourning are held in the city of Zanjan to commemorate the martyrdom of the third Imam of Shia Islam. In front of large crowds on the streets, hundreds of sacrificial sheep are slaughtered by volunteer butchers.A young girl in Islamic attire is preaching to a group of other children. In Quranic schools, some children are trained to preach religious sermons to their peers, much like adult preachers, and to promote Shia beliefs.Two mothers practicing with their children moments before the Quran memorization competition. Each year, Iran holds Quran competitions in two categories: memorization and recitation, offering awards and benefits to the winners. Benefits for Quran memorizers include bachelor’s and master’s degrees, membership in the National Elites Foundation with its associated privileges, employment advantages in government departments and organizations, insurance for Quranic practitioners, vacation benefits, and preferred assignments for military service locations.A child participating in a mourning ritual on the anniversary of the third Shia Imam, engaging in chain-beating. One of the annual Muharram ceremonies is the ritual of “sineh-zani” (chest-beating) and “zanjir-zani” (chain-beating). Adults form chain-beating processions, striking their backs with heavier chains, while children, imitating them, perform the ritual with lighter chains.A group of women holding up a flag that was previously mounted on the dome of the shrine of the eighth Shia Imam in a hospital.They visit the children’s ward at the hospital, touching the flag—which they consider sacred and blessed—to the patients’ faces in the hope of bringing healing to the children.They even visit the neonatal intensive care unit for premature infants, gently touching the blessed flag to the babies’ faces in hopes of bringing them healing.A group of women is seen packing special mourning clothes for infants. Over the past decade, an organization called the Ali Asghar Global Assembly has emerged as one of many religious organizations established to promote Shia beliefs. This organization primarily focuses on organizing mourning ceremonies specifically for infants, and is named in memory of Ali Asghar, the infant son of the third Shia Imam, who was martyred in battle 1400 years ago. Shia beliefs hold that the Twelfth Imam is in occultation and will reappear in the end times. Followers of this tradition believe that by conducting these ceremonies, they are raising the future soldiers of the Twelfth Imam.In the past decade, a ceremony called ‘Hosseini Infants’ has been established by the Ali Asghar Global Assembly. On the first Friday of the Islamic month of Muharram, mothers of infants gather together, dressing their children in green clothes and headbands as a form of mourning. This ritual is performed in memory of Ali Asghar, the infant son of Imam Hussain, the third Shia Imam, who was martyred at the Battle of Karbala. Through this act, participants express solidarity with Imam Hussain’s sacrifice and pass down the spirit of devotion to their children.A mother, holding her infant close in her arms, weeps during the Hosseini Infants’ ceremony.The organizers of the ceremony symbolically carry an empty cradle representing Ali Asghar through the crowd, and mothers offer their vows and donations as part of the ritual.Mothers mourning during the Hosseini Infants’ ceremony.A grandmother has brought her twin grandchildren to the mourning ceremony.In addition to the special ceremonies for infants that have emerged in recent years, similar rituals have been designed for various age groups. A few children are watching the mourning ceremony called ‘Three-Year-Olds of Zahra,’ which is performed in honor of Ruqayyah, the daughter of Imam Hussain, in a mosque.Mothers mourning during the Hosseini Infants’ ceremony.A small child, imitating the mothers, has dressed their doll in the attire of Ali Asghar and is participating in the Hosseini Infants’ ceremony.
