Iran opens museum to expose Daesh atrocities and create resistance in the Islamic world

The crimes of Daesh through the spoils obtained by Iran

photo_camera AFP/BULENT KILIC - Members of the Daesh arrested by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Baghouz, in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, on 22 February 2019

An explosive belt, a home-made submarine and several armoured vehicles that belonged to the Daesh are exposed to the public in Iran so that the crimes committed by the terrorist group are not forgotten. 

They were obtained as spoils in operations commanded in Syria and Iraq by the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard general Qasem Soleimani, whose image is omnipresent in this exhibition recently opened to recall his fight against the Daesh. 

"We are exhibiting the equipment used for military purposes and for committing suicide attacks against the Daesh, and we have dedicated a space to the countries that have been active and successful in the area of resistance until now," Moytaba Ebadí, head of international affairs at the Museum of Sacred Defence, told EFE. 

This museum in Tehran, devoted to the war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988), has dedicated its so-called panorama room to Iranian participation in the fight against the EI in Syria and Iraq, countries which Tehran supported with military advisors and Shiite militiamen.

Attacks and torture 

Among the objects seized from the Jihadist group and displayed on the scene are an ID drone, the aforementioned belt that never detonated and various types of weapons and documents, all original. 

There are also several armoured vehicles, some with bullet impacts, which were redesigned by Daesh for use in suicide bombing operations. "They left only the driver's seat and removed the rest so that more ammunition and explosives could be placed inside," says one of the museum's guides, Hosein Naderí. 

One of the few elements not original is a large representation of an iron cage that describes, along with real images broadcast by the Daesh's propaganda media, its use for atrocious torture. "Daesh tortured captives in these cages, tied their hands and burned them or drowned them in the river or in the sea. Horrible tortures never seen before," Naderí details as he walks among the display cases. 

Other images recovered from the Daesh's videos on the destruction of historical works and monuments and places of worship such as churches, as well as the executions of hostages, are also shown. 

The imaginary map 

Another strong point is "an imaginary map" in black and white that presents the areas that Daesh intended to occupy and have under his control: large parts of Asia, Europe and North Africa. 

Some countries on these continents have a special place in the museum. They are those that have been victims of terrorism and have fought against this scourge and include the Palestinian territories, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Syria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

A series of documents and images refer to the history of the struggle of these countries with the aim of representing the unity of Muslims in resistance, either against terrorism or against their dictators, under the prism of Iranian policy. 

The great exponent of this concept of resistance is Soleimani, who was elevated to "hero and martyr" in Iran following his assassination in a US bombing near Baghdad airport last January.

This general was in charge of the operations of the Guardians of the Revolution outside Iran and was present on the ground in Syria and Iraq, supervising the Teheran-backed militias in both countries and playing a leading role in the conflicts of the whole region. 

Soleimani, a key player 

The statue of the former commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard and dozens of his photographs on the battlefield fill the panorama, a domed building located in the garden of the Museum of the Sacred Defence, which covers an area of some 220,000 square metres. 

Among Soleimani's abundant images are some with a symbolic character. One of them shows Superman next to the Iranian general to convey that America's superheroes are fictional and Iran's are real. 

The museum with the Daesh's spoils was to be inaugurated on 6th January with the presence of Soleimani, but the opening was postponed due to the death of the general three days earlier, which also led to a change of its name. 

The museum was previously dedicated to the resistance and liberation of the Iranian city of Khorramshahr during the Iran-Iraq war, which was for a time conquered by Iraqi troops. 

The idea was to transform it into a permanent exhibition under the motto of the resistance of the Islamic countries and against terrorism but, according to the person in charge, Ebadi, after the assassination of the Iranian commander it became "the panorama of the martyred general Qasem Soleimaní".

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