In the Rose garden of Martyrs by Christopher de Bellaigue

Published by HarperCollins, pp283, £20

By Kamin Mohammadi

this article appeared in WEXAS Traveller magazine, Winter 2004/2005

Christopher de Bellaigue has lived in Iran since 1999 when, on a brief visit, he fell in love with an Iranian, Bita. He lives in Tehran where he works as a journalist for the Economist and the New Yorker, speaks Farsi and is married with a son. All of which qualifies him for writing this book: he can coolly analyse Iran as an outsider while able to understand the finer points of its culture as an insider would. A genuine love for Iran and the idiosyncrasies of its people further distinguishes his book.

Living in a country with one of the richest histories in the world (Iran is the longest continuously inhabited area of land by a single nation), de Bellaigue sets out to find out why the Islamic Revolution of 1979 has, 25 years later, resulted in such disillusion in its people and skyrocketing social problems.

In his journey for answers he traces the roots of the revolution back to Iran’s adoption of Shi’ism in 17th century. To understand the Iranian soul he goes further back, to the martyrdom of Imam Hossein in 7th century Kerbala, to explain the great mourning rituals of the month of Moharram.

De Bellaigue’s talks to a handful of ex-revolutionaries are the basis for explanations of the revolution and the subsequent ravages of the war with Iraq. The Rose Garden of the Martyrs refers to a cemetery outside Isfahan which contains the graves of 7,000 ‘martyrs’, as those killed in the war are known. He sums up succinctly the seductive power which sent untrained, inadequately-armed men to face an enemy armed by the West: ‘There was a jackpot up for grabs: martyrdom.’

The book weaves its analysis alongside conversations with ordinary Iranians. Even a taxi ride can be used to demonstrate foibles of the Iranian character with humour. It is this underlying structure that gives the book its human interest and makes it an invaluable read for anyone interested in this enigmatic country.

© Kamin Mohammadi