MEMRI December 1, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6697
Iran's Mashhad Municipality Opens Military-Religious Amusement Park – To
Reinforce Revolutionary Values For Children
http://www.memri.org/reports/irans-mashhad-municipality-opens-military-religious-amusement-park-%E2%80%93-reinforce-revolutionary

On September 24, 2016, the Iranian news agency Raja News, which is close to
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published an interview with
Child and the Future Cultural Center director Hamid Sadeghi about an event
held during the second half of September that is a military-religious
amusement park, called The City of Games for Revolutionary Children.
Sadeghi, who operates under the aegis of the Mashhad municipality and also
runs the Sharbehesht.ir website, said that his center had set up and
inaugurated the City of Games park, and that it is open free of charge to
children aged eight through 13. It should be noted that this is the second
City of Games event held by the Mashhad municipality; the first was last
summer (see MEMRI Special Dispatches - No. 6098, Revolutionary, Anti-West
Indoctrination Of Children By Municipality Of Mashhad, Iran, July 08, 2015).

According to Sadeghi, the City of Games park has 12 stations with activity
aimed at inculcating the messages of Iran's Islamic Revolution and of the
revolutionary Shi'a. He stated that in the park, the children wear military
uniforms and are accompanied through the stations by a guide in the role of
a military commander whose orders they must obey. The children follow paths
with activities including simulating fighting the enemies of the Revolution,
ranging from the Iraqi enemy in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War to the current
battle against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and against the Saudi royal
family. At the various stations, the children can launch plastic missiles
and fire plastic bullets at targets such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, U.S. and Israeli flags, effigies of ISIS fighters, and members of
the Saudi royal family. At the final station, the children, who are
blindfolded, are asked to throw a ball at a puzzle of an Israeli flag and
knock it down, and then put together a puzzle of the Iranian flag.

Below are the main points of Sadeghi's interview with Raja News, along with
photos that accompanied the interview:[1]

"Cultural Center director Hamid Sadeghi: "The City of Games for
Revolutionary Children [park was opened] at Mashhad's Kooh Sangi Park by the
Child and the Future Cultural Center organization. It will be open September
18 to September 28, and children aged eight to 13 will be admitted free. At
the City of Games, we are trying tried to convey to the children messages
about fighting, the Holy Defense [i.e. Iran-Iraq War] and current global
issues, through games, amusements, and group activities.

"After registering, the children enter the City of Games compound and split
up into groups of eight to 10. They don uniforms and go through 12
[activity] stations.

"One of [our] cultural experts guides the children at the City of Games.
First they are brought into the stations of the Ghadir [Shi'ite holiday
honoring Imam 'Ali's succession to the Prophet Muhammad] and of the Lovers
of Ahl Al-Bayt [the family of the Prophet Muhammad descended from 'Ali], and
[the guide] explains to them about the Mahdi [the Shi'ite messiah]. Then
they reach the station of the Rule of the Jurisprudent [Velayat-e Faqih],
and then the station of the Revolution, where the guide explains about the
Islamic Revolution and how the Iranian nation vanquished the [Shah's]
dictatorship. An explanation is also provided about the directives of the
Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini and [Supreme] Leader Khamenei. Each group
of children is assigned a commander who must be obeyed.

"Next, the children enter the first station of the Holy Defense, which
houses the dome of the Tomb of Imam Reza [the eighth imam]. Like the
fighters during the eight years of the Holy Defense, the children take leave
of the Imam Reza and set out for the [battle]fronts.

"The children follow various paths simulating fighting the enemy, and at
some places, the children learn about simple [combat] methods such as firing
plastic artillery shells at a simulated enemy as well as aiming and firing a
rifle with plastic bullets at [an effigy] of Netanyahu and at U.S. and
Israeli flags. Here the guide tells the children a story about some of the
operations that were carried out during the eight years of the Holy Defense.

"[After] the children are victorious in the war, they enter the station of
the defense of the Shrine of Zaynab [the granddaughter of Muhammad and the
daughter of 'Ali, who according to Shi'ite tradition is buried in Damascus]
and learn about defending the holy places, about the fighting in Syria
against ISIS, and about anti-ISIS thought. At this stage, the children are
tasked with finding bullets, each of which have a single letter written on
it, and then play a game to complete sentences according to the guide's
instructions. That is, the guide asks a question and the children have to
find letters and make words and sentences out of them to answer his
question.

"After that, the children have a contest throwing balls at effigies of ISIS
and the Saudi royal family, and finish the station [activity] in triumph.
Next they enter an area simulating the Shrine of Zaynab, and watch a video
on the defense of the shrine. Finally, they receive a cultural souvenir
gift, and then they enter the final stage.

"At the final station, the children learn that the most important element[s]
for attaining victory are wisdom and intelligence for fighting the enemy.

"At this station, the children are blindfolded and asked to throw a ball at
an Israeli flag in the form of a puzzle and knock it down, and then to
assemble a puzzle of an Iranian flag.

"For each group, this [entire activity] path should take 30-45 minutes, and
then the children are handed back to their families.

"So far, this City of Games has been in great demand... if the demand
continues, we will extend it to October 1, if the Mashhad municipality's
Culture and Leisure Department supports it... The exhibit hours are 4-11 pm.
"