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*Shaheed*

Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh
Shaheed; Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh
	Portrait of Fahmideh in the Martyrs' Museum, Tehran
Native name	محمد حسین فهمیده
Born	6 May 1967; Qom, Imperial State of Iran
Died	30 October 1980 (aged 13); Khorramshahr, Iran
Buried	Behesht-e Zahra, Tehran
Allegiance	Islamic Republic of Iran
Service / branch	Basij
Engagements	Iran–Iraq War First Battle of Khorramshahr †; ;
Awards	Order of Fath (first-grade)

Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh (Persian: محمد حسین فهمیده;^[1] (1967-05-06)6 May 1967 – (1980-10-30)30 October 1980) was an Iranian child soldier and an icon of the Iran–Iraq War. During the First Battle of Khorramshahr in 1980, he served with the Basij and fought invading Iraqi forces in and around the city of Khorramshahr. Fahmideh is credited with having halted the advance of an Iraqi tank column after he jumped underneath an Iraqi tank and detonated a full grenade belt, killing himself in the process. He is celebrated as a war hero in Iran.^[2]

Background

In September 1980, Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran, sending five armoured and mechanized divisions across the Shatt al-Arab to attack the oil-rich Khuzestan Province in southern Iran, quickly seizing several towns in the area. By 10 November, Iraqi forces had captured the key city of Khorramshahr after a protracted battle with Iranian resistance.^[3]

Military service

According to his official biography,^[4] Fahmideh was a 13-year-old boy from Qom who, at the outbreak of the war in 1980,^[5] left his home without his parents knowing to go to southern Iran and aid in the defence of Khorramshahr, then a city at the frontlines of the conflict.^[6] In the besieged city of Khorramshahr, he fought side-by-side with older Iranian soldiers.^[7] Fahmideh was amongst the Iranians who engaged in fierce house-to-house battles in which thousands of Iraqis and Iranians were killed.^[3] At one point, Iraqi forces had pushed the Iranians back as they were passing through a very narrow canal. Due to a lack of RPG-7 rockets and the sensitive formation of the Iraqi tanks, Fahmideh, seeing that his older comrades were already dead or wounded,^[8] wrapped himself in a grenade belt from a nearby corpse, pulled the pins out, and jumped underneath an advancing Iraqi tank, killing himself and disabling the tank.^[7] This led the Iraqi tank column to believe that the Iranians had extensively mined the area, and ceased their advance. Later, Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran broadcast a breaking news story describing the incident.^[9]

In Iran, Fahmideh's story inspired many Iranians during the war to risk death to protect the country, and has been heralded by leaders in Iran from Ruhollah Khomeini to Mohammad Khatami.^[3] Khomeini declared Fahmideh to be an Iranian national hero,^[10] and made references to him in several of his speeches:^[3]^[8]

Our leader is that 13-year-old child, who, with his small heart—worth more than hundreds of tongues and pens—threw himself with a grenade under the enemy tank, destroying it and drinking the nectar of martyrdom himself.

Fahmideh is buried in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran in section 24, row 44, number 11.^[9] A monument to him was erected on the outskirts of Tehran and has become a place of pilgrimage for young religious Iranians.^[11]^[12] In the years following Fahmideh's death, murals have been erected throughout Iran, book bags displaying him were sold to children, and, in 1986, a postage stamp was issued in his memory.^[13] Streets, hospitals, schools, and a sports stadium have been named in his honour.^[3] The day of his death, October 30, marks the "Student Basij Day" in the official calendar of the Iranian state.^[14]

Fahmideh was posthumously awarded the first-grade Order of Fath on 27 September 1989 after the Iran–Iraq War, becoming its first recipient.^[15]

References

^ Persian pronunciation: [mohæmmæd hoˌsejne fæhmiːˈde]
^ "Panorama". Iran Daily. Archived from the original on 2004-12-16. Retrieved 2004-12-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Davis, Joyce (2004). Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance, and Despair in the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 49–50. ISBN 9781403966810.
^ Badrkhani, Assal (8 October 2003). "Put a stop to it". The Iranian. Archived from the original on Jun 7, 2023.
^ "Chapter Eight: Martyrdom" (PDF). Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on Mar 4, 2016. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
^ Bunker, Robert J. (2007). "Suicide bombers". FBI Academy Library. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
^ ^a ^b "Commander Stresses IRGC Readiness to Combat Enemy Troops in PG". Fars News Agency. 2007-10-29. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
^ ^a ^b Mitchell, Jolyon (2012). Promoting peace, inciting violence : the role of religion and media. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 9780415557467.
^ ^a ^b "شهادت دانش آموز بسیجی محمد حسین فهمیده". tebyan.net.
^ "Father of Martyr at Soccer Field". Nader Davoodi's Collection. January 6, 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
^ "The Times & The Sunday Times". thetimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on Feb 4, 2024.
^ "Nojavan en". occasions. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
^ Saturen, Valerie (2005). "Divine Suffering In Shiism: Origins And Political Implications" (PDF). Iran Analysis Quarterly. 2 (4). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on Mar 8, 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
^ "The martyrdom of Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh, the 13-year old student". Islamic Revolution Document Center. October 30, 1980. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
^ "از «اقدس» تا «فتح»؛ مدال‌هایی که بر سینه سرداران ایرانی نشسته است". خبرگزاری فارس. Archived from the original on 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2015-07-31.