A UN observer takes photographs as he inspects the damage inside the Shi'ite holy shrine in the Sayida Zeinab suburb of Damascus following a suicide car bomb in June 2012.
Iranian Religious Orator Reportedly In Syria To Defend Holy Shrine
Iranian religious orator Hamid Alimi is a well-known figure in the city of Isfahan, where he regularly attends religious ceremonies to chant about Shi'ite figures.
But Alimi is now far from home, reportedly in Syria.
His trip is a rare instance of a publicized visit by an Iranian to Syria during its bloody civil war.
Iranian websites have quoted Alimi as saying that he has joined those defending the shrine of Sayida Zeinab, a granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. The golden-domed mausoleum, located in the southern suburbs of Damascus, is a center of pilgrimage for Shi'ites from around the world.
The news about Alimi's trip to Syria broke earlier this week after photos emerged on the Internet showing him posing with a rifle, apparently somewhere in the Syrian capital.
Iraqi Shi'ite fighters salute to the shrine of Sayeda Zeinab, a granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad, in Damascus on May 25.
The origin of the photos is a blog in Alimi's name that is said to be maintained by some of his supporters. The same blog also posted a short explanation of the reason behind the trip, said to be written by Alimi himself.
The photos and the comments have been picked up by a number of Iranian news sites, including the semiofficial ISNA news agency and the popular website Tabnak. They have also been shared widely on social media in Iran, leading to discussions about the country's role in Syria.
The United States has accused Iran of sending members of its powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to Syria to assist President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Iranian officials have rejected the charges.
Alimi is quoted in his blog as saying that he wasn’t sent to Syria by any figure or any official group.
"It took me 20 days to get here," he reportedly said. "Most of the flights between Tehran and Damascus have been canceled. I entered Syria through another country."
He also claimed to have "nothing to do" with the Assad government, which has brutally cracked down on opposition forces during the more than two-year-long war.
Western media outlets have reported that Shi'ite fighters from countries including Iraq and Lebanon are in Syria to protect Shi'ite holy sites -- especially Zeinab's shrine -- that are in danger because of the conflict.
Last month, several Iranian news agencies posted photos of a meeting held in a Tehran mosque in which volunteers could sign up to travel to Syria to defend the shrine. It is not clear whether anyone did so or whether the meeting was primarily for show.
Golnaz Esfandiari is managing editor of RFE/RL's Radio Farda, which breaks through government censorship to deliver accurate news and provide a platform for informed discussion and debate to audiences in Iran. She has reported from Afghanistan and Haiti and is one of the authors of The Farda Briefing newsletter. Her work has been cited by The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other major publications. Born and raised in Tehran, she is fluent in Persian, French, English, and Czech.
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