Heroes of the 8-year Holy Defence (4)

Welcome to the fourth part of our special series on the occasion of the Holy Defence Week marking start of the 8 year war imposed in 1980 by the US through its agent Saddam of the tyrannical Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad in a bid to overthrow the newly established Islamic Republic.

But the nefarious plot was foiled by the astute leadership of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), who instilled in the Iranians the spirit of jihad and sacrifice to emerge victorious. The first edition of Heroes of the 8-year Holy Defence, focused on the achievements of the martyred defence minister, Mostafa Chamran.

The second edition featured the exploits of two teenaged Iranian students, Behnam Mohammadi of Khorramshahr, and Mohammad Hussain Fahmideh of Karaj against the might of the Ba’thist war machine.

Yesterday we presented you glimpses of the heroism of Ahmad Motavasselian, who after service against the anti-revolutionaries in Kurdistan and participation in the liberation of the port city of Khorramshahr, was kidnapped in Beirut by the Phalangist terrorist militia, while on a diplomatic mission to Lebanon, and handed over to the illegal Zionist entity, along with four other Iranian officials. It is not known whether Ahmad Motavasselian and colleagues are still languishing in Israeli dungeons or have achieved martyrdom.

Today in the 4^th edition of Heroes of the 8-year Holy Defence, we will highlight the achievements of Mohammad Borujerdi, whose ethics and appearance earned him the title of Messiah of Kurdistan by its people.  

The Iranian defenders had deep faith in God Almighty and the values of the dynamic school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The atmosphere at the warfronts was remarkably spiritual with the combatants reciting the holy Qur’an, supplicating to God Almighty and saluting the Immortal Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). The commanders led a simple and pious life, without any sign of arrogance towards the men under their command.

One such commander was Mohammad Borujerdi, who was born in a poor family in Borujerd in 1954. After having lost his father at the age of 6 years to the cold hands of death, he along with his mother and five elder siblings moved to Tehran, and at the tender age of 7 began work as an apprentice to a tailor in order to augment the income of the family, while studying in a night school.

At the age of 14, he started attending Qur’anic and theological courses, which opened his mind to the realities of the society. He realized the oppression and corruption of the British-installed and American supported Pahlavi regime, and was profoundly influenced by Imam Khomeini, who was in exile in Iraq. He soon joined the struggle of the Muslim masses against the hated Shah.

While attempting to go to Iraq to meet the Imam, he was captured by the security forces in Khuzestan, and confined to 6-month imprisonment by the dreaded SAVAK. His mother recalling those crucial days, says that when she was allowed to meet him in Susandgerd, she was horrified to see him being hung upside down from the ceiling during interrogation. Nonetheless, following his release, he became all the more active against the despotic regime, until the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the return home from exile of Imam Khomeini.

He was among the volunteers chosen by Ayatollah Dr. Mohammad Beheshti for accompanying the Imam from Mehrabad airport to Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery. Later he was placed in charge of the team providing security to the Imam. Soon, he became one of the 12 members who founded the IRGC or the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

When US agents created disturbances in the western border regions of Kurdistan Province, Mohammad Boroujerdi was dispatched as IRGC commander to Kermanshah and then to Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan, to restore law and order. He personally set the example for Islamic behaviour, and despite the atrocities of the Ba’thists, helped the local people, to the extent that once on hearing that a pregnant woman was trapped perilously near to the area of disturbance, he dashed towards that place, risking life and limb to rescue her and bring her to a hospital. He avoided the media and was popular amongst the masses.

During the battles of the imposed war, he would earnestly pray to God and then thank the Lord Most High for having granted victory. In 1983, the vehicle of this heroic commander was hit by a landmine near Mahabad where he achieved martyrdom.

FK/AS/SS