Resurfaced Video Shows Houston-Based Muslim Children Pledging to Be Islamic Soldiers, Martyrs
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After a New Orleans terrorist attack by an ISIS supporter from Houston, Texas, and amid intensifying warnings of Islamic terrorist threats within the U.S., a resurfaced clip showing hundreds of American children in Houston wearing traditional Islamic dress, chanting references to Iran’s supreme leader, pledging allegiance to him, and praising martyrdom has reignited concerns over growing homegrown Islamic extremism.
The chilling video, aired by Iranian state media in 2022, raises concerns about the spread of various forms of Islamic extremism within the U.S., highlighting ideological influences that extend beyond specific groups like ISIS or Iran’s regime.
In the two-minute clip that was first posted on the Islamic Education Center of Houston’s Facebook page but subsequently removed from YouTube, the Houston-area children — donning headbands and waving flags — are seen singing a trending Iranian religious song, some parts in English, as they swear allegiance to the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the center’s flier promoting the event for “boys and girls ages 4-14,” the song is described as “an expression of one’s love for the Imam of our age.”
Lyrics of the chant, titled “Salam Farmandeh” or “Salutations, commander,” include expressions of desires to become child soldiers for Khamenei as well as the taking of an oath to become a martyr.
Houston Imam Faheem Kazimi, chairman of the Islamic Education Center’s board of directors, compared the song to a “catchy” Beatles track.
“A lot of people translated it in their language and adapted it,” he said. “And when you have religious activity, that people are asking that if they can (perform it), we do have that religious freedom and expression of speech so we said, ‘Sure, why not?’”
According to the Tehran Times, the song which expresses support for the Islamic Revolution “has revealed the vivid hopes Iranian families and their children pin on the Islamic Republic in their quest for achieving the goals of the Revolution.”
Al Arabiya reported the video showed the Texas children singing “an Iranian-sponsored religious anthem that includes references to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and slain military commander Qassem Soleimani,” and was shared by Iranian state media.
The Houston Chronicle featured a frontpage piece expressing concerns over the matter, claiming that Houston-area school children had become “the face of Iranian propaganda.”
image.png
After a New Orleans terrorist attack by an ISIS supporter from Houston, Texas, and amid intensifying warnings of Islamic terrorist threats within the U.S., a resurfaced clip showing hundreds of American children in Houston wearing traditional Islamic dress, chanting references to Iran’s supreme leader, pledging allegiance to him, and praising martyrdom has reignited concerns over growing homegrown Islamic extremism.
The chilling video, aired by Iranian state media in 2022, raises concerns about the spread of various forms of Islamic extremism within the U.S., highlighting ideological influences that extend beyond specific groups like ISIS or Iran’s regime.
In the two-minute clip that was first posted on the Islamic Education Center of Houston’s Facebook page but subsequently removed from YouTube, the Houston-area children — donning headbands and waving flags — are seen singing a trending Iranian religious song, some parts in English, as they swear allegiance to the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the center’s flier promoting the event for “boys and girls ages 4-14,” the song is described as “an expression of one’s love for the Imam of our age.”
Lyrics of the chant, titled “Salam Farmandeh” or “Salutations, commander,” include expressions of desires to become child soldiers for Khamenei as well as the taking of an oath to become a martyr.
Houston Imam Faheem Kazimi, chairman of the Islamic Education Center’s board of directors, compared the song to a “catchy” Beatles track.
“A lot of people translated it in their language and adapted it,” he said. “And when you have religious activity, that people are asking that if they can (perform it), we do have that religious freedom and expression of speech so we said, ‘Sure, why not?’”
According to the Tehran Times, the song which expresses support for the Islamic Revolution “has revealed the vivid hopes Iranian families and their children pin on the Islamic Republic in their quest for achieving the goals of the Revolution.”
Al Arabiya reported the video showed the Texas children singing “an Iranian-sponsored religious anthem that includes references to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and slain military commander Qassem Soleimani,” and was shared by Iranian state media.
The Houston Chronicle featured a frontpage piece expressing concerns over the matter, claiming that Houston-area school children had become “the face of Iranian propaganda.”
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