At a time when city streets had become scenes of unrest and insecurity, another story quietly took shape in neighbourhoods across Iran: a story not broadcast on news channels, but passed from person to person. Ordinary people — alarmed by the smell of smoke and reports of fires — left their homes and gathered at local mosques. Without any official call to action, they stood together through the night to defend the house of God in their own communities.
Mosques Became More Than Places of Worship
In those tense nights, mosques did not serve only as places of prayer. They became the focal point of a spontaneous and determined civilian mobilisation — a grassroots effort to prevent the chaos spreading in the streets from burning their neighbourhoods’ identity and sense of security.
“Ashura Was Only One Day”
One resident recounted:
“Our base was at the Imamzadeh. On the second day of the unrest, when they attacked our city’s prayer hall, we were certain that rioters would attack the Imamzadeh the next night. So every night from around 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., we stayed there. One night, as I was about to leave, my younger brother said, “You go every night. Can you skip just tonight? They’ve called people out again and we don’t know what will happen.” I said: ‘Ashura, too, was only one day…’”
Rotating Civil Night Watches Around the Mosque
Another resident from Isfahan described how, upon hearing that rioters were burning mosques, community elders and young people immediately held an urgent meeting at the home of an active mosque member.
They decided to take turns guarding the mosque. About twenty-two people gathered in five vehicles: three cars parked around the mosque while two others patrolled nearby alleys and the main road.
By organising this way, the neighbourhood quickly formed a civilian defence that thwarted attacks on the mosque.
Phone Lists, Patrols, and Community Coordination
A different participant said:
“In our community mosque, they collected phone numbers from worshippers and told everyone to be ready. The men were divided into groups to patrol the neighbourhood. Those with radios helped coordinate between groups. Our mosque was active and on guard.”
Protecting the Mosque With Shovels and Picks
One reader shared that rioters had cut power in his mother’s area and burned a bank. In that neighbourhood were historic buildings and several old mosques.
From that night on, people of all ages came with shovels and pickaxes to guard the mosques. They kept watch day and night from houses nearby. Because of this presence, the rioters never dared approach the mosques or damage them.
In another part of Isfahan, locals defended their mosque with wood and shovels when rioters were just fifty metres away. When volunteers began clearing the area, the community cheered them with cries of “Allāhu Akbar.”
When Worshippers Silenced Those Calling for Chaos
A participant known as “Rahro” said:
“Our mosque, too, stood firmly in defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For three nights in a row, we gathered with the mosque’s imam in the neighbourhood square and chanted for about two hours. The loud voice of worshippers near the mosque eventually drowned out and silenced the chants of anti-government elements.”
She also noted that women joined men in patrolling the streets to keep families safe — in a neighbourhood where the mosque stayed open late into the night.
Community Security Patrols Beyond the Mosque
A contributor from southern Iran wrote:
“Although our town is small, it lies on a transit route, so we are often more affected during unrest. We formed a group of young people to help security forces keep order. By patrol at night — even into nearby villages — we not only prevented unrest in our town, we also discouraged unrelated criminal activity.”
“My Life for the Leader”: Answering Anti-Regime Shouts
A resident from Mashhad going by “Afchanghi” remembered:
“Two mosques are near our home. On the second night of unrest, a few strangers came into the street shouting ‘Death to dictator’ and ‘Long live the Shah.’ They tried to incite people to leave their homes and burn the mosque. Less than two minutes passed before neighbours — women, men, children and the elderly — opened their windows and shouted ‘Allāhu Akbar’ and ‘My life for the Leader.’ Then they ran into the street with sticks. Those people fled so fast no trace of them was left. For a week, the youths in the neighbourhood, alongside volunteer defenders, guarded around the mosques from night to morning.”
Mosque Alive and Awake Until Morning
Another participant explained that in their neighbourhood, from the very first night of unrest, the mosque opened before sunset and welcomed worshippers. Every night until midnight there were prayers, Quran recitations, and gatherings. People did not leave until it was confirmed the city was calm. Afterward, volunteers continued to patrol the area.
He said:
“The presence of people at the mosque helped save it. Rioters burned many other mosques in the city — the ones people did not go to.” Reporting from Iran indicates mosques across the country were among sites damaged during unrest.
Women’s Kitchen Serving Mosque Protectors
“Fatemeh,” a young woman, spoke of her active parish mosque. After two days of unrest and eight local deaths, volunteer defenders decided to stay in the mosque at night. After maghrib and isha prayers, the mosque remained lively and did not empty out.
Fatemeh and others cooked meals, prepared breakfast, and made herbal tea for the defenders. Through the joint efforts of women and men in the community, despite all the gatherings and chaos, no incident occurred at Mosque Mohammad Rasool Allah.
She said:
“I may be too young to remember the Iran-Iraq war, but I feel we are in a kind of imposed war now. We must all work together as before to protect our Iran. This two-day conflict was like all the devil’s parties against the house of the Shia Imam.”
A Living Record of the Rioters’ Actions
One reader suggested:
“When repairing mosques, leave part of the fire-damaged area unrestored and frame it so future generations know how this revolution was preserved — like at the shrine of Imam Hussein, where bullet marks from the Saddam era were left as a documented reminder.”
From: Fars