Tehran – On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we reached out to women whose lives are intertwined with the pain and anguish of terrorism.
Cobra Mahluj, the unshakable and resilient wife of respected martian Abbas Godalji, lost her husband in a cruel terrorist attack that changed the trajectory of her existence forever.
In a heartfelt interview, she shared the story of her martyr husband’s life, his martyrical circumstances, and the profound impact this tragedy had on her.
Below is the full interview:
Tell us about the circumstances surrounding your late husband and his martial arts.
I am Cobra Mahruji, wife of the respected martian Abbas Godalji and sister of the respected martian Mohammad Hossain Mahruji.
Martyr Abbas Goudarzi was a documentary director and director who captured the essence of sacred defense (Iran’s battle against the invasion of Saddam Hussein in the 1980s). He was born on April 29, 1962 in Shar-e-Ray, Tehran, and on October 18, 2009 he was martialed in Sistan and Balchestan by the John Dala Terrorist Group.
Abbas spent his childhood, middle school and high school at Charles Le Ray. Before the Islamic Revolution, he began his cultural activities at the Imam Hassan Askari Mosque, where he met Hojatres Gayouri. It was there that his struggle against the Pallavi regime took root. A keen and resourceful individual, Abbas worked as an apprentice to truck drivers, avoiding the careful eyes of Savak agents and secretly distributed Imam Khomeini (RA) declarations along various routes.
With the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, Abbas played an important role in the struggles of the Shah regime. After the victory of the revolution in 1979, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and devoted himself to defending Islamic ideals. When the enemy stoked Kurdistan’s unrest, he was deployed there alongside the IRGC forces. In those clashes, Abbas was injured in the foot and his comrade, Azizollah Askari, Martyr of Shahr-e Rey Irgc, reached the martyr.
We were married on August 28, 1980, and in 29 he congratulated two daughters, Zeinab and Mohaddeseh and two sons, Hossein and Abolfazl. Just 24 days after our wedding, the Iran-Iraq war broke out and Abbas set off for the battlefield. Throughout eight years of sacred defense, he worked as a war photographer and documentary filmmaker on the South and Western Fronts, and his works were broadcast on the Iranian Broadcasting (IRIB) Islamic Republic.
However, on October 18, 2009, in Sistan and Balchestan, Abbas Godalji martialed in a co-ill suicide attack organized by members of the Jandarater terrorist group.
How has your life changed after your husband’s martial teaching? What was the biggest challenge you faced?
The martialism of Abbas changed the course of our lives, but it did not stop us from the path we chose. Instead, we strengthened our resolve to remain immobilized on a revolutionary journey. As I stood by him in front of his martians and worked to convey the message and mission of the martians, I continued this path with our children after his loss with even greater determination. This fierce tragedy deepens our insights to recognize and resist the enemy of Islam and Iran, and the spiritual presence of martists has since remained the light of guidance in our family.
Abbas Goudarzi dedicated eight years of sacred defense to document, record and broadcast the courage of Islamic warriors from various IRIB networks and IRGC TV archives. While the people and officials were obsessed with the advocacy of the state, MEK (Mojahedin-e-Khalq) terrorists exploited the confusion and secretly recruited high school students. His media expertise made Abbas aware of the plot. Every time he returned to Tehran on vacation, he and I voluntarily organized awareness sessions in high school and elementary schools. Through storytelling and screening of films and photographs in which he filmed the fighters, he steered the young man on the right path and tried to protect his prey from Mech’s propaganda prey.
Because of these efforts, Abbas was repeatedly threatened with assassinations by MEK and forced to move multiple times. These threats never came to fruition, but their hostility towards him never waned. During the Iran-Iraq War, Abbas was injured several times and hospitalized in Tehran, but upon recovery he returned to the front line without hesitation.
After his martial teaching, my biggest challenges were two. The first was to preserve archives of films and documentaries that he had worked so hard to create, and the second was supporting children who were deeply shocked by this martian. Losing my father was like the collapse of the pillars of our house. In addition to the weight of this sadness, I felt a deep responsibility to convey his message to a rapidly changing society. Abbas was a media jihadist and a recorder of sacred defense. After him it became my duty to keep the Islamic flag high, light the path of the martial artist, and pass his vision and that of all martial artists to future generations.
Thanks to God, with God’s assistance and the support of my children, we are now more determined than ever on this mission and put a battle against Muslim and Muslim enemies at the forefront of our lives.
What is the role of women in countering terrorism and extremism? How can martial wives and families contribute to this effort?
Women’s role in fighting terrorism and protecting Islamic values begins within the family by raising children. As Martian Abbas Godalzi always said, children are a reflection of their parents. They succeeded in this effort if parents raised their children with Islamic teaching, love for Aal al-Bait (they have peace), and a spirit of resistance to the Islamic enemies. But if the children are lost, it is a sign that their upbringing is shaking, and they are not being raised under the Islamic flag.
The wife of a martyr must advance in the sacred mission of a loved one: the battle against the criminal enemy. This path calls for patience, education, morality, worship, prayer and trust in God. As the wife of martian Abbas Godalji and sister of martian Mohamad Hossain Mahruji, I feel an obligation to continue this journey in the spirit of Hazrat Zainab (he has peace). We all have to endure the onslaught of enemy media. Their manipulative game must dismantle the knowledge, awareness and dependence of martial artists on prayer.
In today’s world, one of the most important battlefields against the enemy is the realm of media and cyberspace. The enemy of Islam uses media campaigns and cognitive wars to distort public opinion and reverse the truth. We women must engage in this jihad by increasing knowledge, awareness and media literacy. By operating on social platforms and fighting in the media field, we will build resilience and strength to maintain this path until the government of Imam Mahdi appears (his return may be rushed).