Slogans are considered to constitute a main source for studying the ideology and values of a revolution. The Islamic Republic of Iran is no exception. It has many slogans in which the ideology and values of the Revolution are embedded. One of the major themes in the slogans of the Islamic Revolution is the values of Jihad and martyrdom. This paper aims to extract and analyze such values in order to determine their significance in the general context of slogans of the Islamic Revolution and its ideology.
This study was carried out using content analysis. The results revealed that among about 4100 slogans of the Islamic Revolution, 390 contained themes related to Jihad and martyrdom. Further analysis of these 390 slogans generated 850 themes relevant to the values of Jihad and martyrdom. Categorization of these themes showed that some 21 percent of them were related to the ultimate values of Jihad and martyrdom, and 23 percent to instrumental values of Jihad and martyrdom. Other themes fell into categories of “readiness for sacrifice for Imam Khomeini”, “the social positions of martyrs”, “readiness and invitation to Jihad and martyrdom, “relevance of the revolution and revolutionaries to the uprising and martyrdom of Imam Hussein (God’s greetings to him)”, and other issues
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