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Abstract
What explains the Islamic Republic of Iran’s considerable financial, military and diplomatic support for the nominally secular Bashar al-Asad government in the wake of the 2011 Syrian uprising? Iranian foreign policy is subject to realist considerations (security and power). However, realism does not adequately explain Iran’s Syria policy since 2011, given the price Iranian citizens are paying in casualties on the Syrian battlefield. This paper uses a constructivist framework to examine the role of identity in Iran’s foreign policy towards Syria. Moreover, it sketches Eid al-Ghadir as an identity marker for Twelver Shia Muslims. The aim of this paper is to show that Iranian martyrs are not only a consequence of Iran’s foreign policy towards Syria, but that martyrdom serves as a conduit for legitimacy.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the editor and anonymous referees for their comments and constructive feedback. I also thank Warren Searell, Jaco Jooste, Dr Ayca Arkilic and an Iranian colleague for their assistance in proofreading this article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Akbarzadeh and Barry, “State Identity in Iranian Foreign Policy,” 614.
2 Strategic depth is obtained through ‘diversified, multual relationships in multiple arenas’, as explained by Vakil, “Understanding Tehran’s Long Game,” 111, 17; see also Goodarzi, Syria and Iran Diplomatic Alliance, 5.
3 Stein, “Ideological Codependency and Regional Order,” 677.
4 Akbarzadeh and Conduit, “Charting a New Course?,” 134; Wastnidge, “Iran’s Own ‘War on Terror,’” 107–08.
5 Wastnidge, “Iran’s Own ‘War on Terror’,” 108; Vakil, “Understanding Tehran’s Long Game,” 114.
6 Juneau, “Iran’s Costly Intervention in Syria,” 8–9.
7 Hurd, “Legitimacy and Authority in International Politics,” 381.
8 Haynes, “Religion and International Relations,” 6.
9 Ibid., 8.
10 I am grateful to Associate Professor Alexander Maxwell for drawing my attention to Brubaker and Cooper’s argument on identity.
11 Aghaie, Martyrs of Karbala.
12 Brubaker and Cooper, “Beyond ‘Identity.’”
13 Telhami and Barnett, Identity and Foreign Policy in the Middle East, 8.
14 Ansari and Tabrizi, “View from Tehran,” 3–9; Akbarzadeh and Conduit, “Charting a New Course?,” 133–54.
15 Shaffer, “Islamic Republic of Iran,” 219–39.
16 Wastnidge, “Transnational Identity Claims,” 611.
17 Ibid.
18 Akbarzadeh and Conduit, “Charting a New Course?,” 133–54.
19 The IRGC was established in 1979 as a praetorian guard to protect the Iranian revolution.
20 Akbarzadeh and Conduit, “Charting a New Course?,” 148.
21 Phillips, Battle for Syria, 150.
22 Ansari, “Civilizational Identity and Foreign Policy,” 243.
23 Maloney, “Identity and Change in Iran’s Foreign Policy.”
24 Wastnidge, “Iran and Syria: An Enduring Axis.”
25 Ibid., 156.
26 Wastnidge, “Transnational Identity Claims.”
27 Ibid., 612.
28 Akbarzadeh and Barry, “State Identity in Iranian Foreign Policy,” 614.
29 Ibid., 628.
30 Ibid., 617.
31 Ibid., 616.
32 Barry, Armenian Christians in Iran, 52.
33 Holliday, “Politicisation of Culture,” 15.
34 Maloney, “Identity and Change in Iran’s Foreign Policy.”
35 Halm, Shi’a Islam, 25.
36 Cooperson, Classical Arabic Biography, 90.
37 Eid al-Ghadir is celebrated as a national holiday in Theocratic Iran, but not in nominally secular Syria.
38 Jami’at Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3713 (English), https://sunnah.com/urn/635920; Tafsir Al-Qummi, Vol. 1, p. 255 (Arabic).
40 Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imāmī-Shiism, 94.
41 Ibid., 93.
42 Brown, Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy, 112.
43 Cooperson, Classical Arabic Biography, 24.
44 Ibid.
45 Ibid.
46 Alids are the descendants of Ali.
47 See Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imāmī-Shiism, 95 for the Shia use of hadith al-thalaqalyn, which originated from the Prophet’s sermon at Ghader Khumm, ie that the term ahl al-bayt includes only Ali, the Imams, the descendants of Fatima, and the exclusive exegetical role of the family of the Prophet – that is, the Imams – in interpreting the Qur’an.
48 Cooperson, Classical Arabic Biography, 83.
49 Ibid., 90.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid., 83.
52 Pierce, Twelve Infallible Men, 52–53.
53 See Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imāmī-Shiism, 2–3.
54 Szanto, “Shi’a Islam in Practice,” 4.
55 Salamey and Othman, “Shia Revival and Welayat Al-Faqih,” 200; also see Nasr, Shia Revival, 72–75.
56 For a vivid description of the Iranian revolution, see Bakhash, Reign of the Ayatollahs.
57 Kaur, “Sacralising Bodies on Martyrdom,” 447–51.
58 Ibid., 447.
59 For an argument showing self-flaggellation is not the norm, see Szanto, “Beyond the Karbala Paradigm.”
60 Ibid., 78.
61 Kaur, “Sacralising Bodies on Martyrdom,” 448.
62 Ibid.
63 cf Aghaie in Szanto, “Beyond the Karbala Paradigm,” 78.
64 Kaur, “Sacralising Bodies on Martyrdom,” 449.
65 For an alternative argument that Muharram rituals can be both salvific and revolutionary, see: Szanto, “Beyond the Karbala Paradigm.”
66 Kaur, “Sacralising Bodies on Martyrdom,” 451.
67 See Gruber, “Message is on the Wall”; Gruber, “Martyrs’ Museum in Tehran”; Wellman, “Regenerating the Islamic Republic.”
68 Numerous public depictions of martyrs in various formats were observed and documented during the author’s study tour in Iran in August 2019.
69 Wellman, “Regenerating the Islamic Republic.”
70 Ibid., 564.
71 Kaur, “Sacralising Bodies on Martyrdom,” 444.
72 Ibid.
73 Saeidi, “Hojaji’s Gaze,” 359.
74 “Comic Strip on Martyr Mohsen Hojaji Published.”
75 Akbarzadeh, “Why Does Iran Need Hizbullah?”
76 “Iran/Syria: Iranian Soldier Beheaded by IS.”
77 Ibid.
78 Karimi, “Iran/Syria: Iranian Soldier Beheaded by Islamic State.”
79 “Mohsen Hojaji Gave Iranian Nation Dignity.”
80 Saeidi, “Hojaji’s Gaze,” 359.
81 Ibid.
82 Ibid., 358.
83 Karimi, “Iran/Syria: Iranian Soldier Beheaded by Islamic State”; Saeidi, “Hojaji’s Gaze,” 358.
84 “Families of Martyrs Also on Front Lines Defending Islam.”
85 Javad Zarif, Instagram.com, 11 August 2017.
86 Newberg, Neurotheology, 9, describes ‘myths’ as stories that incorporate a set of beliefs.
87 Osman, Female Personalities in the Qur’an and Sunna.
88 Dehghan, “Syrian Army Being Aided by Iranian Forces.”
89 Ansari and Tabrizi, “View from Tehran.”
90 Smyth, “Iran’s Afghan Shiite Fighters in Syria.”
91 Dagres, “Questioning Iran’s Regional Ambitions.”
92 Esfandiari, “Iran Praises ‘Martyrdom’ of Fighter.”
93 “Mohsen Hojaji Gave Iranian Nation Dignity.”
94 Ibid.
95 Smith, To Take Place, 109.
96 Durkheim, Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.
97 Stephenson, Ritual: A Very Short Introduction, 38–40.
98 Newberg, Neurotheology, 818.
99 Geertz, Local Knowledge, 124.
100 Vakil, “Qasem Soleimani’s Assassination.”
101 Fathollah-Nejad, “Islamic Republic of Iran Four Decades on,” 4.
102 Ibid.
103 Ibid. Fathollah-Nejad reports that at least 1500 protesters were killed and more than 2000 injured.
104 Fassihi, “Mourners Throng Iran’s Streets.”
105 Ahvaz hosted a crucial Iranian air base during the Iran–Iraq war, because of the city’s close proximity to Iraq.
106 Filkins, “Shadow Commander.”
107 “Iran Foreign Ministry Statement on Martyrdom.”
108 Bozorgmehr and Cornish, “Iran Draws Parallels with Suleimani Assassination.”
109 Pierce, Twelve Infallible Men, 74.
110 Lecomte, “al-Sakifa.”
111 Pierce, Twelve Infallible Men, 76. Vaglieri, “Fatima.”
112 Pierce, Twelve Infallible Men, 76.
113 Ibid., 76; Mandelung, “Shia.”
114 Pierce, Twelve Infallible Men, 77.
115 “Six Charts That Show How Hard.”
116 Verification and Monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
117 Arango, Bergman, and Hubbard, “Qassim Suleimani, Master of Iran’s Intrigue.”
118 Faghihi, “Supreme Leader Khamenei Weeps.”
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Hanlie Booysen
Hanlie Booysen is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Religious Studies programme at Victoria University of Wellington and a founding member of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Aotearoa (MEISA) network. Her research interests include the relationship between Islam and politics, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and Muslim communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. She served as a diplomat in Jordan, Palestine and Syria.