War, mobilization and development in the Islamic republic of Iran: From the construction Jihad to the trench builders association, 1979-2013
Book Chapter
Lob, E. (2018). War, mobilization and development in the Islamic republic of Iran: From the construction Jihad to the trench builders association, 1979-2013
. 150-166. 10.4324/9781351119986
Lob, E. (2018). War, mobilization and development in the Islamic republic of Iran: From the construction Jihad to the trench builders association, 1979-2013
. 150-166. 10.4324/9781351119986
In 2004, the Iranian Association of Trench Builders Without Trenches (Kānūn-i Sangarsāzān-i bī Sangar) – hereafter the Trench Builders Association (TBA) – was established in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). Tba members are veterans of the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). Alongside the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Shiʿi Islam, the war is a legitimizing pillar of the state that produces propaganda that seeks to justify and glorify the conflict through various institutions, including the Centre for the Documentation and Research of the Holy or Sacred Defense (Markaz-i Asnād-i va Taḥqīqāt-i Difā’-i Muqaddas), which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) (Sipāh-i Pāsdārān-i Inqilāb-i Islāmī). The TBA resembles other war veterans’ associations in the United States and beyond. The TBA is a non-profit organization that facilitates communication between veterans and their families, organizes meetings for them and offers them financial assistance. The TBA also runs a nationwide civic education program and lobbies the state for improved compensation and disability benefits for veterans and their families.
