Symbolic Ritual in Iran Sees Women Hold Infants Aloft as Sacrifice

Hundreds of Iranian mothers lifted their babies above their heads in a symbolic act of sacrifice during the annual Hosseini Infants Ceremony in Tehran on Friday.  

The ceremony, with similar celebrations held across Iran on June 27, takes place on the first Friday of the Islamic month of Muharram and commemorates the death of Shia Islam leader Husayn ibn Ali’s 6-month-old son in 680 A.D.  

The large crowd of women holding their babies chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel” during the event, according to CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen, who reported from the gathering in Tehran.  

Israel and America “need to know that Imam Hussain is our everything, and we should sacrifice our lives for Imam Hussain,” a mother holding her baby told CNN.  

Husayn ibn Ali, often referred to as Imam Hussain, was the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. During the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D., it is said Husayn ibn Ali and his fellow fighters were cut off from the Euphrates River—their only water source. Husayn ibn Ali held up his infant son to the enemy in a plea for water for his child, but the enemy is said to have killed the child instead.  

The act of the mothers holding their babies up in the air during the Hosseini Infants Ceremony is said to be a symbolic act that they are willing to offer the lives of their children for the sake of God and Imam Hussain.

The ceremony took place nearly a week after the U.S. dropped numerous bombs on Iran’s key nuclear sites. The U.S. attack is said to have destroyed key Iranian nuclear assets, setting Iran’s nuclear program back years.  

Victoria Coates, deputy national security adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term, says that despite one early report that the strikes caused only limited damage, subsequent information “suggests that the strike was a huge success and may have set them back as much as 10 or 15 years.” 

Trump gave Iran 60 days to reach a diplomatic solution with the U.S. over its nuclear program, but when no deal was reached, Israel launched a targeted campaign on Iran, striking its nuclear facilities, military assets, and top military personnel and nuclear scientists. Less than two weeks into Israel’s campaign against Iran, the U.S. launched its attack, and two days later, Trump declared an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran.  

For now, the ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding.