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The Martyrs' Museum in Tehran: Visualizing Memory in Post-Revolutionary Iran

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 25; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/08949468.2012.629171

1545-5920

Christiane Grüber,

Turkey's Politics and Society

Abstract The Central Martyrs' Museum in Tehran is the largest cultural repository in Iran displaying personal items and art relating to individuals who died during the Islamic Revolution (1979) and the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). Although scholarship often considers the museum a secular invention of the Enlightenment, this study argues that it also can provide a ceremonial setting that prompts ritual activity. The Martyrs' Museum, a case in point, reveals how a cultural institution can provide a dramatic field in which visitors engage in communal acts of remembrance and mourning, thereby uniting them into a civic body. Based on analysis of this museum, its layout and displays, and interviews with its staff and visitors, this study explores the institutionalization and aesthetizication of trauma and violence in post-revolutionary Iran with the aim to expand and challenge prevailing theoretical approaches to the concept of "the museum." Notes The term "martyr" (singular, shahid; plural, shuhada') is adopted throughout this study since it is used in Iranian sources to describe those who died for the cause of the Islamic Revolution or on the battlefield during the Iran–Iraq War. The term's religious overtones are thus retained, because those who perished "in the way of God" (fi sabil Allah) or in "holy war" (jihad) are believed to receive divine redemption in the afterlife. For a general discussion of martyrdom in Islam, see Cook [2007 Cook , David 2007 Martyrdom in Islam . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]]; and for an analysis of martyrdom in the writings of prominent figures of the Islamic Revolution, see Abedi and Legenhausen [1986 Abedi , Mehdi , and Gary Legenhausen , eds. 1986 Jihad and Shahadat: Struggle and Martyrdom in Islam . Houston : Institute for Research and Islamic Studies . [Google Scholar]]. Due to constraints of space, the museum's section on female martyrs will not be discussed in this article. Other martyrs' museums are located in Karaj, Varamin, Kermanshah, Qazvin and Isfahan, as well as in other cities in the provinces of Zenjan and Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiyari. Most prominent among the war-zone martyrs' museums is the complex in Khoramshahr, a southern city that was severely damaged by Iraqi forces during the first two years of the Iran–Iraq War; on Khoramshahr, see Bombardier's contribution to this issue. For a discussion of murals representing martyrs of the Iran–Iraq War sponsored by the Bunyad-i Shahid, see Gruber [2008b 2008b The Writing is on the Wall: Mural Arts in Post-Revolutionary Iran . Persica , 22 : 15 – 46 . [Google Scholar]: 25–37], and Marzolph [2003 Marzolph , Ulrich 2003 The Martyr's Way to Paradise: Shiite Mural Art in the Urban Context . Ethnologia Europaea , 33 ( 2 ): 87 – 98 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]]. As noted by Mr. Alizadeh, Director of the Administration of Treasuries (Idara-yi Ganjinaha) at the Bunyad-i Shahid, these strategies of lighting and isolation are purposefully used so that the objects seem more like artworks. They are treated as such not only in the display cases but also in the museum's conservation lab, which is dedicated to preserving and stabilizing a wide array of materials, including metal objects, paper fragments and blood-stained textiles. These kinds of materials, especially those with traces of blood, require the expert attention of specialist conservators [author's interview, November 2007]. For a discussion of life-story approaches or life-history narrations in conveying trauma, see Leydesdorff et al. [1999 Leydesdorff , Selma , Graham Dawson , Natasha Burchardt , and T. G. Ashplant 1999 Introduction: Trauma and Life Stories . In Trauma and Life Stories: International Perspectives . Kim Lacy Rogers , Selma Leydesdorff , and Graham Dawson , eds. Pp. 1 – 26 . London and New York : Routledge . [Google Scholar]: 12–17]. This relic-painting includes an inscription signed by the artist Ansari that specifies that it was given by the Isfahan branch of the Bunyad-i Shahid to the Martyrs' Museum in Tehran to commemorate the Week of the Holy Defense in 1379 AH (2001 CE), a year that was dubbed the "Year of Amir al-Mu'minin" (i.e., the year of Imam Hoseyn). The painting thus functions as a kind of votive offering with Shiite overtones within the context of the yearly commemorative ceremonies of the Iran–Iraq War known as the "Week of Holy Defense" (hafta-i dafa-i muqaddas) or the "Week of War" (hafta-i jang). Avini is best known for his war documentaries as well as a television series entitled The Chronicles of Victory (Rivayat-i Fath). A statement lauding martyrdom, attributed to Avini, is included in his relics case—"No one knows the secret of blood except the martyrs. Life is beautiful but martyrdom is more beautiful than life." For a recent study of Avini and his life, see Tajdini [(1374) 1995]. For a more detailed discussion of the circumstances of Fahmida's martyrdom, the Tehran mural dedicated to him, and an illustrated children's book on his exploits, see Gruber [2008b 2008b The Writing is on the Wall: Mural Arts in Post-Revolutionary Iran . Persica , 22 : 15 – 46 . [Google Scholar]: 31–33, Figs. 8-9]. For a discussion of cenotaphs in the Islamic world, see Blair [n.d.]. In this sense, the mission of the Foundation for the Oppressed and Wounded is rather similar to that of the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). It is also worthwhile to note here that local branches of the VA have opened a number of Veterans' Museums throughout the United States, which likewise contain war artifacts, personal memorabilia and dioramic displays lauding the contribution of soldiers to American war efforts over the centuries [McDaniel 1994 McDaniel , Dennis 1994 Wisconsin Veterans Museum . Journal of American History , 81 ( 1 ): 212 – 215 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]]. Often these museums provide a carefully smoothened narrative by omitting oppositional voices or competing narratives. For example, in the Wisconsin Veterans Museum's exhibit on the Vietnam War, there is not a single mention of the anti-war movement of the 1960s. For a museum of war art in the United States, see the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. A cross-cultural study on war memorials (functioning also as art museums) would be fruitful, as it would shed further light on the museological iterations of war and trauma in various cross-cultural contexts. Sometimes these laminated portrait cards of Khomeini include an image of Karbala on their reverse, since Khomeini wished to liberate the shrine of Imam Hoseyn during the Iran–Iraq War (images of Karbala on the backs of these cards are mentioned in Sciolino [2000 Sciolino , Elaine 2000 Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran . New York : Free Press . [Google Scholar]: 179]). The white silken fabrics could also be compared to white burial shrouds or the white sheets worn by Muslims during hajj; the latter are called ihram, a word literally meaning "consecrated" or "sacred." If one were to interpret such fabrics in the museum cases as burial shrouds or ihram, then these add yet another sacramental dimension to the gallery spaces. On the use of the modern Persian term Kalimi to designate the Jewish community of Iran, see Netzer [n.d.]. The term derives from the nickname given to Moses in Islamic sources, i.e., Kalim Allah or "God's Interlocutor" [Koran 4: 164]. The clenched fist is of course a salute and logo associated outside Iran with left-wing activists such as modern Marxists, socialists, communists, anarchists, trade unionists and black nationalists. It is an expression of solidarity, strength or just defiance of authority. For Khomeini's discussion of how Ashura mourning sessions can spur national and martyrial zeal, see Davis [2003 Davis , Joyce 2003 Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance, and Despair in the Middle East . New York : Palgrave Macmillan . [Google Scholar]: 49]. A second saqqakhana is also found on the third floor of the museum, dedicated to female martyrs. On the panjah—also known in Arabic as khamsa (five) and yad Fatima (Hand of Fatimeh)—and its various uses and symbolic meanings in both Sunni and Shiite spheres, see Suleman [forthcoming]; and also Bombardier's contribution to this issue. The Martyrs' Museum celebrates and hosts a number of celebrations during the year. These include two major military commemorations: the "Week of Holy Defense" (hafta-i dafa-i muqaddas) and the "Week of the Volunteer Paramilitary Forces" (hafta-i basij), as well as religious holidays, most especially Ashura. Author's interview, November 2007. See the analysis of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor in Chidester and Linenthal [1995 Chidester , David and Edward Linenthal 1995 Introduction . In American Sacred Space . David Chidester and Edward Linenthal , eds. Pp. 1 – 42 . Bloomington : Indiana University Press . [Google Scholar]: 4]. These authors point out that profane space is mixed in with ceremonial and religious practices (including prayer and pilgrimage practices), resulting in a complex dynamic that extols patriotic heroism, divine mission, and the redemptive power of martial sacrifice. Additional informationNotes on contributorsChristiane GruberCHRISTIANE GRUBER, Associate Professor of Islamic Art at the University of Michigan, studies Islamic book arts, paintings of the Prophet Muhammad, and ascension tales and images, about which she has written two books and edited several volumes. She also specializes in modern Islamic visual culture. With Sune Haugbolle, she recently edited a volume on Visual Culture in the Modern Middle East [2012]. Her next book, The Art of Martyrdom in Modern Iran, will examine the visual and material culture of the Islamic Revolution and Iran–Iraq War from 1979 to today.