The decision of the Iranian authorities to name a metro station in the capital Tehran after the Virgin Mary is a sign of openness and dialogue.
The “Hazrat Maryam” stop – which in Farsi means “Santa Maria” – is located along line 6 of the city metro, one of the most modern and popular in the city.
The initiative, promoted by the municipal administration of Tehran in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, represents a significant recognition of the Marian figure in Shiite Islam.
As the Ayatollah recalls Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, expert in interreligious dialogue: «Mary is the only woman mentioned by name in the Koran, where an entire sura bears her name. For Muslims, she is the model of the perfect woman, pure and devoted to God”.
The station, through which thousands of commuters pass every day, is located in front of the Armenian Church of Santa Maria and near the Armenian cathedral of Saint Sarkis, in a central neighborhood, where many Armenian Christians live and famous for its pastry shops and craft shops.
The construction of this metro station began around 2015 and encountered numerous challenges also from an engineering point of view linked to the dense urban fabric of the center of the Iranian capital. The station reaches a depth of 34 meters below ground level and covers approximately 11 thousand square meters of built surface. Over 100 thousand cubic meters of soil were excavated during the project.
«It has been built – wrote the mayor of the capital in a message Alireza Zakani on X in recent days – to honor Santa Maria and to demonstrate the coexistence of divine religions in Tehran”.
The figure of the Virgin Mary, in fact, is also venerated in Islam as the mother of the prophet Jesus (Issa in Arabic).
It is mentioned in three Suras of the Koran, out of a total of 114, and, in one of them, Muhammad (Muhammad) recalls the moment of the Annunciation in which the angels said to her: “God has chosen you and made you pure and blessed among the women of creation.”
If this element of religiosity, especially Shiite, certainly contributed to the decision to build a station dedicated to the Madonna, the entire project nevertheless refers to Christian reasons, starting from the architectural choices inspired by the volumes and volutes of the nearby modern Armenian Church.
Rather unusual in Islamic culture, where the faces and bodies of sacred figures are never portrayed, the figures of the Madonna and Jesus are instead carved, in a very classical way and in a delicate white stone, in the walls of the large entrance, where the turnstiles for access to the platforms are located.
Maria’s, he explains father Gian Matteo Roggio, Mariologist and member of the Pontifical Marian Academy, «he is a very important figure in the Koran. She is the only woman to be remembered thirty-four times and to be called by her given name. He is a model of faith in welcoming the mystery of God and is a believer who indicates the way to a peace that is achieved not through the supremacy of force but through the simplicity of non-violence. We hope that this dedication will inspire a similar life.”
«This gesture reminds us that devotion to Mary can unite Christians and Muslims in a fruitful dialogue. In a moment of international tensions, small signs like this sow peace”, was the monsignor’s comment Ignazio Bedini, Apostolic Nuncio to Iran.
The Archbishop of Tehran also spoke on the matter Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieuwho in a reflection sent to AsiaNews writes: «Those who contest the decision will see in this operation an offensive of fascination, while those who support it will see in it an expression of gratitude towards the largest ethnic-religious minority in the country, the Armenians. The latter show their gratitude by offering, thanks to one of their benefactors, a 2.5 meter high stone statue depicting the Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus in her arms.”
For Cardinal Mathieu «metro stations are fluid connection centers, which allow commuters to connect with each other and reach their points of interest. The name of a station becomes a point of reference, arousing curiosity, strengthening bonds and encouraging new meetings. In this regard”, he continues, “one wish we can express is that the commuters themselves, in a spirit of contemplation, can see under the half-closed eyelids of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the bas-reliefs of the station and in the statue that will be unveiled during the inauguration, a gaze full of love, through which God comes to meet his creation: men and women from all over the world, brothers and sisters of a common home, his witnesses by divine will.”
