Mullah, Mother, and Soldiers, 1981
September 25th, 2016
This Socialist-Realist montage unites archetypal figures from the war: the religious cleric, soldiers, and a mother. The mother carries an infant in one arm and holds with her other a red tulip: the former represents new life, and the latter death and self-sacrifice. In one of the soldier’s arms appears a book, most likely a copy of the Qur’an. His other arm thrusts a rifle up into the air, upon which sits a dove (representative of a martyr’s soul). The woman is depicted wearing a traditional chador, illustrating the Islamic Republic’s desire to represent Iranian women as religiously devout. These members of society played important roles in both the Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, and thus are depicted as a united front working together for the future of Iran.