Iran's Passengers of Light: All Government Bodies at the Service of a “Grassroot and Spontaneous” Movement
The Islamic Republic has long sent thousands of people to visit the battlefields of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) in southwestern Iran. These pilgrims, more commonly known as Rahian-e Noor in Persian (the passengers of light), were at the outset part of an ostensibly “grassroot and spontaneous" movement. The project, however, became an official activity of the Student Basij Organization in 1977, according to the Rahian-e Noor Central Headquarters.
The program received a major boost after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visited the Shalamcheh battlefield in the southern prince of Khuzestan. A few months later, the Joint Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, issued a directive that established the Coordination Office of Rahian-e Noor, which later changed its name to Rahian-e Noor Central Headquarters.
Hence, state-sponsored trips to the Iran-Iraq battlefields officially became a highly organized propaganda activity, which now brings even foreign students to Iran.
These field trips, however, have been particularly controversial in Iran because of numerous road accidents that have left scores of students dead or injured.
But how much does the project cost the public?
It is nearly impossible to make a definitive estimate of Rahian-e Noor's budget. The organization not only has ties to powerful military-financial institutions overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader but also benefits from public government funds. For instance, in 2010 Rahian-e Noor's share of the national budget was 7 billion toman ($1.6 million).
Rahian-e Noor's structure was upgraded in March 2017 when the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, issued a memo titled the Rahian-e Noor National Directive to all government agencies.
This document outlined the responsibilities of all ministries, executive agencies, and offices under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). According to this document, Rahian-e Noor's Central Headquarters will have 11 branches in the country. It also has a central policy-making council consisting of representatives of the president, ministers, heads of relevant national organizations, the armed forces, and commanders of the 11 branches.
In the founding directives of this headquarters, 21 sites had been designated for “pilgrimage.” The document also describes the duties of the Ministry of Defense, the Army, the IRGC, the Basij, and the police force in relation to this organization.
Other government and executive agencies also have responsibilities, for example, the Ministry of Interior, Agricultural Jihad, and Roads and Urban Development are responsible for the required infrastructure, such as providing water, electricity, and gas, and constructing roads to the monuments.
In this directive, in addition to explaining the required supporting infrastructure, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance is also responsible for creating and announcing a system of free insurance for pilgrims and visitors.
The Oil Ministry is responsible for providing free natural gas to the organization’s headquarters and the monuments. The safety and maintenance of the shared roads are also the responsibility of this ministry.
The Ministry of Energy, upon request from Rahian-e Noor, is obligated to provide free water and electricity to the branches and monuments of this organization.
Similarly, according to this National Directive, all government ministries and agencies have duties and responsibilities towards this organization.
Although the full presence of government ministries and agencies in this directive, the Pilgrims of Light is described as a “spontaneous, popular, and intergenerational movement aimed at promoting a culture of honoring jihad and sacred defense values, self-sacrifice, resistance, and martyrdom by visiting battlefields and war monuments.”
Despite the directive ordering governmental agencies to extensively cooperate and provide for this program, Rahian-e Noor Headquarters also has its own budget line.
Rahian-e Noor's Budget
Rahian-e Noor Central Headquarters budget, between 2016 and 2021, had a 44% growth.
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The annual performance budget of Rahian-e Noor is usually less than its approved budget. For example, in 2017, its performance budget was a little more than 65% of its approved budget.
In 2019, the Headquarters’ performance budget was 9.3 billion toman.($2.2 million). Based on its allocated budget of 25 billion toman ($6 million). That year, its performance budget was around 37% of the total budget.
The Headquarters’ 2014 and 2018 budgets were 11.7 and 9.3 billion toman ($2.2 million). respectively. This shows a 20.5% decrease in 4 years. Also, its performance budget in 2016 was about 3.10 billion toman ($730,000).
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Apart from the centralized budget, this organization, in some years, had two other budget lines. The first was titled Planning of Rahian-e Noor Caravans, in 2017, with a performance budget of 3.6 billion toman ($850,000). This budget was increased to 10.2 billion toman ($2.4 million). a year later but in the 2019 appropriations bill, this number was reduced to 5.2 billion toman ($1.2 million).
The other budget line, that appeared in appropriations bills between 2018 to 2020, was titled Providing Cultural Services to Rahian-e Noor Caravans. In 2018, this program had 2.5 billion toman ($600,000). performance budget. In 2019, this amount was increased to 4 billion toman,($1 million) and by 2020, it was reduced to 3.4 billion toman.($800,000).
This article was originally published in Persian (available here).