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A Tehran mural entitled “Martyr”
depicts the 12th Shiite Imam Mahdi
holding the body of a lifeless martyr.
Commissioned in 2003 on Ashura,
the day commemorating
Imam Hussein’s martyrdom,
it reads:
“Martyrdom is our inheritance
from the prophet and his lineage.” |
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Iran’s supreme leaders
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei (left)
and Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (right). Photo: Fotini Christia image via wcfia.harvard.edu |
The issue of martyrdom operations and their religious legitimacy has been repeatedly discussed by Iranian ayatollahs. In a recent fatwa posted on his website in response to an online inquiry, Iranian Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah-e Yazdi ruled that martyrdom operations were not only legitimate but were a duty incumbent upon every Muslim.... Regarding the question about Israeli civilians, he ruled that it was forbidden to harm them only if they had openly declared their opposition to their government. He said it was even permissible to target Israeli civilians used as human shields and in other cases when fighting "the aggressors," i.e. Israel, necessitated it. (MEMRI) via docstalk.blogspot.com
...and they bitch when Israel has to shoot when there are civilians used as human shields
