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Shi’ite Muslim children in Houston pledge to be soldiers of Iranian ayatollah

IRGC Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2020, is praised as a role model in the song’s original Farsi lyrics.

A video of children in Houston singing a song titled “Salute, Commander,” which pledges allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was posted to the “Islamic TV” YouTube channel on July 27, 2022. Credit: MEMRI.
A video of children in Houston singing a song titled “Salute, Commander,” which pledges allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was posted to the “Islamic TV” YouTube channel on July 27, 2022. Credit: MEMRI.

Iranian children in Texas singing a song titled “Salute, Commander,” which pledges allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was posted to the IslamicTV YouTube channel on July 27.

The Islamic Education Center of Houston initially uploaded the video to its Facebook and YouTube accounts, though these postings were later taken down, reported MEMRI. The song was sung by the kids in both English and Farsi.

The song’s lyrics say: “[Khamenei] is calling on his children, his soldiers. ... In spite of my age, I will be your army’s commander. ... May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, I will sacrifice everything for you. ... I make an oath to be your martyr, Ali.”

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in January 2020, is praised as a role model in the song’s original Farsi lyrics.

In addition, the Islamic Education Center of Houston held a ceremony to commemorate the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran on its 40th anniversary in February 2019.

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