In killing Soleimani, the US gave Iran what it reveres: a martyr
In life he was a hero to many, but in death Gen. Qassem Soleimani became what all Iranians revere: a martyr.
As Soleimani’s casket made its way through the streets of Tehran, his image instantly became part of a near-sacred iconography that in times of turmoil and conflict has united and emboldened this nation against its enemies. Pictures and murals of Iran’s most glorified figures, including religious leaders and soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war, tower over cities and towns, as if protectors watching from on high.
Donald Trump’s decision to target Soleimani in an airstrike may have killed Iran’s most gifted military strategist, but it elevated the general to a pantheon of martyrs that has endured for centuries. Their images are sewn into a folklore that is at once government propaganda and a vivid reminder — some murals flash like rainbows over street corners — of how deep national devotion and the piety of Islam inspire the country.
“Religious leaders in Iran are extremely apt and capable in producing symbolism and creating a culture of politics in which they can incorporate nationalism and faith,” said Ali Akbar Mahdi, a sociology professor at Cal State Northridge. “They are utilizing all kinds of symbolism and tying it in sense of victimhood and how Shiites have suffered and now have to fight.”
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