Holy Shrine Defender

Holy Shrine Defenders, known in Persian as Modāfe'ān-e-Haram (مدافعان حرم), is a phrase used by the Iranian government to refer to their advisers and military personnel, whether Iranians or otherwise, fighting in Iraq and Syria in defense and protection of Shia peoples and holy shrines often targeted by Sunni fighters. The most prominent shrine associated with the mission of the "holy shrine defenders," and to which their presence in Syria is ostensibly dedicated, is the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Damascus.

Background

Part of a series on Islamism
Fundamentals Islam History Culture Economics Politics Secularism
Ideologies Islamism Qutbism Khomeinism Salafi movement International propagation by country/region Shia Islamism Islamic fundamentalism
Concepts Apostasy in Islam Takfir Caliphate Islamic democracy Islamic socialism Islamic state Islamic monarchy Islamic republic Islamization (of knowledge) Jihad Islamic terrorism Jihadism Pan-Islamism Political Islam aspects Post-Islamism Sharia Shura Two-nation theory Ummah
Influences Anti-communism Anti-imperialism Anti-Zionism Islamic Golden Age Islamic revival
Movements Scholastic Barelvi Dawat-e-Islami Ahl-i Hadith Deobandi Madkhalism Nurcu Sahwa movement Wahhabism International propagation by country/region Political Hizb ut-Tahrir Iranian Revolution Jamaat-e-Islami Millî Görüş Muslim Brotherhood Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan List of Islamic political parties Militant Militant Islamism based in MENA region South Asia Southeast Asia Sub-Saharan Africa
Key texts The Caliphate or the Grand Imamate (Rashīd Rīďha 1922) Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Iqbal 1930s) Principles of State and Government (Asad 1961) Ma'alim fi al-Tariq ("Milestones") (Qutb 1965) Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist ("Velayat-e faqih") (Khomeini 1970)
Heads of state Ali Khamenei Omar al-Bashir Muammar Gaddafi Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ruhollah Khomeini Mohamed Morsi Zia ul-Haq Ziaur Rahman Alija Izetbegović Mohammed Omar House of Saud House of Thani Hibatullah Akhundzada
Key ideologues Muhammad Abduh Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī Qazi Hussain Ahmad Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani Muhammad Asad Hassan al-Banna Rached Ghannouchi Safwat Hegazi Muhammad Iqbal Ali Khamenei Ruhollah Khomeini Necip Fazıl Kısakürek Abul A'la Maududi Abul Hasan Nadwi Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani Yusuf al-Qaradawi Sayyid Qutb Tariq Ramadan Ata Abu Rashta Rashid Rida Navvab Safavi Ali Shariati Haji Shariatullah Hassan Al-Turabi Ahmed Yassin Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
Criticism of Islamism Criticism of Islamism Criticism of Islam Liberal and reform movements within Islam in Europe in North America Khaled Abu al-Fadl Farag Foda Abdelwahab Meddeb Maryam Namazie Maajid Nawaaz Olivier Roy Bassam Tibi
Related topics Islam and modernity Modernism Islam and other religions Islamophobia
Islam portal  Politics portal
v t e

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Command
Supreme Leader Commanders Joint Staff
Military branches
Ground Forces Aerospace Force Navy Quds Force Basij
Intelligence agencies
Intelligence Organization Intelligence Protection Organization
Personnel
Ranks insignia
Facilities
Imam Hossein University Baqiyatallah University University of Command and Staff Amir Al-Momenin University
v t e

The term "holy shrine defender" refers to advisers and military personnel who fight on behalf of Iran to defend and protect Shia sites and peoples in Iraq and Syria from groups such as ISIS, and in support of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.^[2] The term not only includes Iranians, but also Afghan and Pakistani fighters, such as those who fight with Liwa Fatemiyoun or Liwa Zainebiyoun.^[3][4][5]

According to Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani, the "holy shrine defenders" guarantee the "security, awareness and dignity of the Iranian people" by fighting against ISIS.^[6] The term itself begins to appear throughout Iranian media in 2013 in response to the perceived danger facing the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque from Sunni rebels and an actual shelling of the shrine in July of that year.^[7]

"Holy shrine defenders" is meant to evoke the memory of the Iran-Iraq War, often referred to in Persian as the Holy Defense (دفاع مقدس defā'-e moqaddas), and can further be connected to those fighting on the frontlines against Covid-19 in Iran, known as "health defenders" (مدافعان سلامت modāfe'ān-e salāmat).^[8]

Involvement in Syria and Sayyidah Zaynab Shrine

The Damascene shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of Islam and first Imam of Shia Islam, features prominently in Iranian state narratives about the involvement of "holy shrine defenders" in Syria. Protection of the shrine from outside attack, and possible destruction, has been used as a key mobilizing tactic for the Iranian state to attract Shia forces from across the region, especially those in Afghanistan who lived under Taliban rule.^[9] Hezbollah has claimed the threats against the shrine are what motivated it to send fighters to Syria and Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has called protecting the shrine "a duty".^[10]

Despite the clear political aim of "holy shrine defenders" and other Iranian proxies to support the Assad government in Syria, the justification to be in Syria in order to protect and defend the shrine is not without merit. In April 2013, reports emerged that Al-Nusra Front, associated with Al-Qaeda in Syria, disinterred the dead body of Hujr ibn 'Adi and threatened to repeat this action at Zaynab bint Ali ’s shrine.^[11][12][13]

Protecting the Sayyidah Zaynab Shrine features heavily in the experiences of "holy shrine defenders." Forces entering Syria often stop at Zaynab's shrine after first arriving and stop there before departing. It also serves as a prominent site for "holy shrine defenders" to participate in Ashura and Arba‘ein commemorations.^[14]

Recognition and promotion in Iran

In Iran, "holy shrine defenders" are recognized by the state as martyrs for their role in defending both Shia Islam and the Islamic Republic. They are often given official funeral processions, sometimes coinciding with the death anniversary of a Shia Imam or alongside martyrs from the Iran-Iraq War, and buried in the designated martyr's section in cemeteries.^[15]

Those "holy shrine defenders" who have been designated as martyrs are often depicted in funerary posters and other visual iconography, perhaps none more so than Mohsen Hojaji.^[16] Hojaji's status as an iconic martyr of the "holy shrine defenders" can be seen in the multitude of depictions, such as those appearing on the billboard at Tehran's Vali Asr Square,^[17] which seek to relate his image and death on the battlefield to the events occurring at the Battle of Karbala.

Other symbols related to the designated mission of the "holy shrine defenders," namely the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Damascus, also feature heavily in iconography sponsored by the Islamic Republic and are used to create connections between current events and Shia history. Relating the experiences of Karbala to contemporary events has been an ongoing feature of state-sponsored narratives of national identity and belonging in the Islamic Republic, especially when faced with crisis.^[18][19]

Subgroups

See also

• Shia Crescent
• Axis of Resistance
• Khan Tuman (operation)

References