Sep 28, 2017

Mohsen Hojjaji, who was captured on the Syria-Iraq border and beheaded in August by the Islamic State (IS), was buried today in Esfahan among thousands of mourners who poured into the famous Naghsh-e Jahan Square. It was Hojjaji whose haunting, stoic picture shortly after his base was overrun captured the attention of Iranians and came to symbolize Iran’s fight against IS.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei read prayers at a large funeral procession for Hojjaji in Tehran. He also met with Hojjaji’s father, mother and widow, telling them, “There are many martyrs; all of our martyrs are dear. But there are special qualities in this young man.” Hojjaji’s 2-year-old son was also present at the Tehran service, dressed in military fatigues.

Tasnim News Agency called the funeral “the most incomparable funeral for a martyr of the shrines in Tehran.” Iranians who fight in Syria or Iraq are often referred to as “Defenders of the Shrine” in Iranian media. The article said the funeral was likely the biggest for any martyr in Tehran in this decade, and it noted that the large turnout was even more surprising given that the 25-year-old Hojjaji is not even a Tehran native — he is from Najafabad in Esfahan province, and he was not well known before his death.

Saeed Haddadian, a famous religious singer aligned with conservatives in Iran, sang at the funeral procession in Imam Hussein Square in Tehran. Sadegh Ahangaran, another well-known religious singer, also performed.

Hard-line Iranian cleric Hojat ol-Islam Alireza Panahian addressed crowds at the funeral. “It is not needed for all of us to seek martyrdom or for all us to have desires to become martyrs like Hojjaji,” Panahian said. He continued, “Some of us do not have this high level of spiritual capacity. If they have respect for the martyrs of the shrine, that is enough.”