The Bahai Cause

A Lesson in Trust

2012-01-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

One day a woman came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with her sorrows. As she told her story,‘Abdu’l-Bahá tried to calm her and said, “Don’t be sad now, don’t be sad.”

The Woman said, “My brother has been in prison for three years. He should not have been imprisoned because it was not his fault. He was weak and followed others. He will be in prison for four more years. My mother and father are full of sorrow all the time. My brother in law used to take care of us, but he has just died.”

The Master could see the whole human story. Here was a family which was experiencing every form of misery-they were poor, they were weak, they were sad, disgraced, and without any hope whatsoever.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “You must trust in God.”

“But,” the woman cried, “the more I trust, the worse things become!”

“You have never trusted,” said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

“But my mother is reading the Bible all of the time,” she said. “She does not deserve that God should leave her so helpless! I read the Bible myself; I say the 91^st Psalm and the 23^rd Psalm every night before I go to bed. I pray too.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá looked at her lovingly and said, “To pray is not to read the Bible. To pray is to trust in God and accept His Will. You must be patient and accept the Will of God, then things will change for you. Put your family in God’s hands. Trust in God and love His Will. Strong ships are not conquered by the sea; they ride the waves! Now be a strong ship, not a battered one.”

Why Iran Wants the Bomb

2012-01-26T04:24:00.000-08:00

RUDAW

In a few of my previous columns I discussed ways to stop Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons capability. In doing so, I implicitly accepted the position of Western and Arab states on the issue: we should try hard to prevent the emergence of a nuclear armed Iran. A discussion of why Iranians want nuclear weapons capability, on the other hand, is probably long overdo.

The Iranians’ incentives aren’t so strange or difficult to explain. If I were leading Iran, I would want the ability to produce such weapons as well. Most of all, I would want the security that nuclear weapons offer. Iran has faced direct interventions in its affairs many times over the last hundred years, including Russian, British and American occupation during and after World War Two. In 1980, they woke up to an Iraqi invasion, followed by eight long years of bloody war. Some ten years ago, the United States described Iran as part of an “Axis of Evil,” and openly talked about pursuing “regime change” in the country while it invaded Afghanistan to the East and Iraq to the West. Although American troops have now withdrawn from Iraq, they remain in Afghanistan and their forces patrol the seas and skies all around Iran. The Middle East also remains a dangerous neighborhood in general.

Nuclear weapons offer security like nothing else can in such a context. Even though Iranian armed forces can never hope to offer much of a challenge to the United States’ massive military apparatus, nuclear weapons serve as a superb deterrent and level the playing field in many ways. Just the presence of such weapons also makes others fear instability or regime change in countries that have them, as we see with Pakistan. The Iranians might not even decide to build nuclear weapons immediately, but developing the program to the point that they are “one screwdriver turn from the bomb” would achieve much the same results. For this reason alone, Western states need to work harder to add security assurances to their sanctions and threats when dealing with Iran, along the lines of “Drop the nuclear program and not only will you be welcomed back into our community of states, we will also guarantee your sovereignty and security.”

After security, prestige both at home and abroad serves as a tantalizing secondary incentive for the Iranians. Joining the club of nuclear states would bring Iran into the major leagues. They might even hold an annual “birthday for the bomb” parade as Pakistan does. Neighboring Sunni states will be forced to take Iran more seriously, especially regarding border disputes and other serious disagreements. Regular threats from a nuclear armed Teheran will also help keep Israelis’ blood pressure very high. Most of all, Iran could pursue its ambitions more freely, without having to worry so much about attacks from outside powers.

No matter how understandable their goal, the United States and others remain quite right to oppose Iranian ambitions, of course. The regional repercussions would be serious – from a new nuclear arms race in the Middle East as countries like Saudi Arabia launch their own nuclear programs to the likely effects of a more assertive, less prudent Iran. I can’t think of any other nuclear aspirant that regularly threatens “to wipe another state off the map,” and denies that the Holocaust ever happened in the same breath.

The Iranian regime’s record also does little to inspire confidence. This is a government that routinely executes political dissidents, including children, after holding secret kangaroo trials. The Basij Militia and Revolutionary Guards shoot down peaceful protesters in the streets. Iranian leaders spout 9/11 conspiracy theories and claim that the United States is responsible for everything from bombing Christian churches in Iraq to famines in Africa. Flouting the most basic of international norms and conventions, officials in Teheran gave angry mobs the green light to overrun other countries’ embassies not once, but twice. They send messages to political dissidents abroad offering talks and conciliation, only to shoot them dead when they show up for meetings in places like Berlin and Vienna. The Bahai of Iran, among other minorities, face merciless persecution – so much so that all a Bahai from Iran has to do to get refugee status from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is to get out of Iran and prove they are Bahai.

I could go on for a long time about what makes a nuclear armed Iran a most frightening prospect, but the point probably already comes across clearly enough. There remains one final, crucial element that makes the rest of the world particularly uncomfortable with Iran’s nuclear weapons program, however. Iran is a theocracy, whose top leaders claim some kind of special expertise regarding God’s will on earth. Although they probably just use religion as a cloak to legitimize their political power, sometimes the rest of the world wonders if they really believe their own rhetoric. If they do, then they must also believe that God finds it acceptable for them to execute children, peaceful protesters and the like, or dissimulate about all manner of things, or make life for minorities like the Bahai a living hell. If that fits their world view, what else might God’s will sanction?

* David Romano has been a Rudaw columnist since August 2010. He is the Thomas G. Strong Professor of Middle East Politics at Missouri State University and author of The Kurdish Nationalist Movement (2006, Cambridge University Press).

Arise With Great Power!

2012-01-26T04:10:00.000-08:00

"Arise with every power to assist the Covenant of God and serve in His vineyard. Be confident that a confirmation will be granted unto you and a success on His part is given unto you. Verily, He shall support you by the angels of His holiness and reinforce you with the breaths of the Spirit that ye may mount the Ark of Safety, set forth the evident signs, impart the spirit of life, declare the essence of His commands and precepts, guide the sheep who are straying from the fold in all directions, and give the blessings. Ye have to use every effort in your power and strive earnestly and wisely in this new century. By God, verily the Lord of Hosts is your support, the angels of heaven your assistance, the Holy Spirit your companion and the Center of the Covenant your helper. Be not idle, but active and fear not. Look unto those who have been in the former ages—how they have resisted all nations and suffered all persecutions and afflictions, and how their stars shone, their attacks proved successful, their teachings established, their regions expanded, their hearts gladdened, their ideas cleared and their motives effective. Ye are now in a great station and noble rank and ye shall find yourselves in evident success and prosperity, the like of which the eye of existence never saw in former ages."

'Abdu'l-Bahá

An open letter to the people of Egypt

2012-01-26T03:40:00.000-08:00

[English version of a statement issued in Arabic by the Bahá’ís of Egypt dated April 2011]

April 2011

An open letter to the people of Egypt

Our fellow citizens:

The events of recent months have provided us, the Bahá’ís of Egypt, with an opportunity we have never experienced before: to communicate directly with you, our brothers and sisters. Though small in number, we are privileged to belong to this land wherein, for more than a hundred years, we have endeavoured to live by the principles enshrined in our Faith and striven to serve our country as upright citizens. This chance is one for which we have longed—especially because we have wished to express our thanks to those countless fair-minded, compassionate souls who supported our efforts in the last few years to obtain a measure of equality before the law. But we rejoice primarily in the fact that, at such a critical juncture in our nation’s history, we are able to make a humble contribution to the conversation which has now begun about its future and to share some perspectives, drawn from our own experience and that of Bahá’ís throughout the world, as to the prerequisites for walking the path towards lasting material and spiritual prosperity.

Whatever directly motivated the rapid change that has occurred, the outcome demonstrates the collective desire of us all, the people of Egypt, to exercise greater control over our destiny. The freedom to do so is unfamiliar to us, having not previously enjoyed this degree of liberty. And our collective history, as Egyptians, Arabs, and Africans, has taught us that there is no shortage of self-interested forces in the world that would prevent us from determining our own future or, alternatively, would invite us to voluntarily abdicate this responsibility. Colonialism, religious orthodoxy, authoritarian rule, and outright tyranny have all played their part in the past. Today, the “gentler” force of consumerism and the erosion of morality which it fosters are equally capable of holding us back, under the pretence of making us more free.

The fact that, as a people, we have chosen to become actively involved in determining the direction of our nation is a public sign that our society has reached a new stage in its development. A planted seed grows gradually and organically, and evolves through stages of increasing strength until it attains to a state that is recognizably “mature”; human societies share this trait too. At a certain time, dissatisfaction grows within a population at being held back from full participation in the processes that steer the course of a country, and the desire for more responsibility to be ceded to the citizens becomes overwhelming. Set in this context, the events that have taken place in Egypt can be seen as a response to forces that are, in fact, drawing the entire human race towards greater maturity and interdependence. One indication that humanity is advancing in this direction is that aspects of conduct which did not seem out of place in an earlier age—behaviours that resulted in conflict, corruption, and inequality—are increasingly seen as incompatible with the values that underpin a just society. Over time, people everywhere are becoming bolder in rejecting the attitudes and systems that prevented their progress towards maturity.

The movement towards greater maturity is thus a global phenomenon. Still, it does not follow that all nations and peoples advance along the path at a uniform speed. At certain points, circumstances may converge upon a historically significant moment wherein a particular society can fundamentally re-direct its course. At such times, an expression of collective will can have a decisive and abiding effect on the future of the country. Egypt has arrived at precisely such a moment. It will not last forever.

At this juncture, then, we face the weighty question of what we seek to achieve with the opportunity we have acquired. What are the choices before us? Many models of collective living are on offer and being championed by various interested parties. Are we to move towards an individualistic, fragmented society, wherein all feel liberated to pursue their own interests, even at the expense of the common good? Will we be tempted by the lures of materialism and its beholden agent, consumerism? Will we opt for a system that feeds on religious fanaticism? Are we prepared to allow an elite to emerge that will be oblivious to our collective aspirations, and may even seek to manipulate our desire for change? Or, will the process of change be allowed to lose momentum, dissolve into factional squabbling, and crumble under the weight of institutional inertia? It might justly be argued that, looking across the Arab region—and, indeed, beyond—the world wants for an unquestionably successful model of society worthy of emulation. Thus, if no existing model proves to be satisfactory, we might well consider charting a different course, and perhaps demonstrate to the community of nations that a new, truly progressive approach to the organization of society is possible. Egypt’s stature in the international order—its intellectual tradition, its history, its location—means that an enlightened choice on its part could influence the course of human development in the entire region, and impact even the world.

Too often, change brought about by popular protest eventually results in disappointment. This is not because the movement that provided the catalyst for change lacks unity—indeed, its ability to foster unity among disparate peoples and interests is the essential feature that ensured its success—but rather because the realization quickly dawns that it is far easier to find common cause against the status quo than it is to agree upon what should replace it. That is why it is vital that we endeavour to achieve broad consensus on the operating principles that are to shape a new model for our society. Once agreement is reached, the policies that follow are far more likely to attract the support of the populations whom they affect.

A natural temptation, when considering how our nation should progress, is to immediately seek to devise practical solutions to recognized grievances and acknowledged societal problems. But even if worthy ideas were to emerge, they would not constitute in themselves a compelling vision of how we wish our country to develop. The essential merit of principle is that, if it wins support, it induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery and implementation of practical measures. Yet a discussion of principles must be prepared to move beyond the level of abstraction. At the conceptual level, it may prove relatively easy to bring about agreement on a set of guiding principles, but without an examination of their ramifications they may amount to little more than empty slogans. An attempt to reach consensus should allow for the most searching exploration of the specific, and profound, implications that the adoption of a particular principle would carry for our nation. It is in that spirit, then, that the following principles are set out.

A mature society demonstrates one feature above all others: a recognition of the oneness of humanity. How fortunate, then, that the most abiding memory of recent months is not of religious divisions or ethnic conflict, but of differences being put aside in favour of a common cause. Our instinctive ability, as a people, to recognize the truth that we all belong to one human family served us well. Nevertheless, to develop institutions, agencies, and social structures that promote the oneness of humanity is an altogether greater challenge. Far from being an expression of vague and pious hope, this principle informs the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. Its genesis lies in the recognition that we were all created out of the same substance by the one Creator, and therefore, it is indefensible for one person, tribe, or nation to claim superiority over another. Its acceptance would require an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change with far-reaching consequences for every aspect of our collective life. And beyond its societal implications, it calls for a profound re-examination of each of our own attitudes, values, and relationships with others—ultimately, for a transformation in the human heart. None of us are exempt from its exacting demands.

The ramifications of this fundamental truth—the oneness of humanity—are so profound that many other vital principles, essential for the future development of Egypt, can be derived from it. A prime example is the equality of men and women. Does anything retard progress in our country more efficiently than the persistent exclusion of women from full participation in the affairs of the nation? Redressing this balance will by itself bring about improvement in every aspect of Egyptian life: religious, cultural, social, economic, and political. Like the bird that cannot fly if one wing is weaker than the other, so humanity’s ability to scale the heights of real attainment are severely impeded so long as women are denied the opportunities afforded to men. Once the same prerogatives are accorded both sexes, they will both flourish, to the benefit of all. But beyond the matter of civil rights, the principle of gender equality brings with it an attitude that must be extended to the home, to the workplace, to every social space, to the political sphere—ultimately, even to international relations.

Nowhere could the equality of the sexes more helpfully be established than in education, which exists to enable men and women of every background to fulfil their innate potential to contribute to the progress of society. If it is to succeed, it must offer adequate preparation for participation in the economic life of the nation, but so, too, it must possess a robust moral dimension. Schools must impress upon their students the responsibilities inherent in being a citizen of Egypt and inculcate those values that tend toward the betterment of society and care for one’s fellow human beings. Education cannot be allowed to be the means whereby disunity and hatred of others are instilled into innocent minds. With the right approach, it can also become an effective instrument for protecting future generations from the insidious blight of corruption that so conspicuously afflicts present-day Egypt. Furthermore, access to basic education must be universal, regardless of any distinctions based on gender, ethnicity, or means. Strategies for harnessing the resources of our nation—our heritage, our agriculture, our industry—will prove fruitless if we neglect the most important resource of all: our own God-given spiritual and intellectual capacities. To prioritize improving the means by which we educate ourselves will yield an abundant harvest in the years to come.

Related to the topic of education is the interaction between science and religion, twin sources of insight that humanity can draw upon as it seeks to achieve progress. It is a blessing that Egyptian society, as a whole, does not assume that the two must be in conflict, a perception sadly commonplace elsewhere. Indeed, we possess a proud history of fostering a spirit of rational and scientific enquiry—with admirable results in the areas of farming and medicine, to name but two—while retaining a strong religious tradition and respect for the values promulgated by the world’s great faiths. There is nothing in such values that should incline us toward irrational thinking or fanaticism. All of us, especially our younger generation, can be conscious that it is possible for individuals to be imbued with sincere spirituality while actively labouring for the material progress of their nation.

Our nation is blessed by an abundance of youth. Some amongst us are in education; some are beginning careers or starting families; some, though older, remember what it was like to pass through those stages of life. Reform of the education system will go a long way towards ensuring that the potential of the younger generation to contribute to the life of society is realized; however, by itself, that is not sufficient. Conditions must be nurtured so that opportunities for meaningful employment multiply, talent is harnessed, and possibilities to progress are accessed on the basis of merit, not privilege. Disenchantment will grow if, because of persistent corruption, inequality, and neglect, the efforts youth make to improve the conditions of families, communities, and neighbourhoods are thwarted at every turn. The high aspirations of the young represent a trust that society as a whole—indeed, the state itself—cannot afford, either economically or morally, to ignore.

This is not to say that youth are in need of special privileges. Much of the dissatisfaction that younger adults have expressed in recent months comes from an acute awareness that they lack equality of opportunity, not preferential treatment. From the conditions faced by the youth and by so many others in our society it is clear that pre-eminent among the principles that should propel the renewal we seek is justice. Its far-reaching implications are at the core of most of the issues on which we must, as a people, agree. And it is from the interplay of the two vital principles of justice and the oneness of humanity that an important truth emerges: each individual comes into the world as a trust of the whole, and the collective resources of the human race should therefore be expended for the benefit of all, not just a fraction. Neglect of this ideal has a particularly destabilizing influence on society, as extremes of wealth and poverty exacerbate existing social tensions and provoke unrest. Measures to alleviate poverty cannot ignore the existence of extreme wealth, for where there are inordinate riches accumulated by the few, the many will not escape impoverishment.

Considered only in the abstract, perhaps few will dispute the essential merit of the principles discussed here. Yet, their implementation would have profound political, economic, social, and personal implications, which render them more challenging than they may appear at first. But regardless of the principles to be adopted, their capacity to imprint themselves on our emerging society will depend in large measure on the degree to which Egyptians have embraced them. For to the extent that all can be enabled to participate in the consultative processes that affect us—so that we tread the path towards becoming protagonists of our own material and spiritual development—will we avoid the risk of our society falling into the pattern of any of the existing models that see no advantage in empowering the people.

The challenge before us, then, is to initiate a process of consultation about the principles that are to inform the reshaping of our society. This is a painstaking task. To fashion from divergent conceptions a coherent set of principles with the creative power to unify our population will be no small accomplishment. However, we can be confident that every sincere effort invested for this purpose will be richly rewarded by the release, from our own selves, of a fresh measure of those constructive energies on which our future depends. In such a broadly based national conversation—engaging people at all levels, in villages and in cities, in neighbourhoods and in the home, extending to the grassroots of society and drawing in every concerned citizen—it will be vital that the process not move too quickly to the pragmatic and the expedient, and not be reduced to the deals and decisions involved in the distribution of power among a new elite who would presume to become the arbiters of our future.

The ongoing and wide-scale involvement of the population in such a consultative process will go a long way towards persuading the citizenry that policy-makers have the creation of a just society at heart. Given the opportunity to participate in such a process, we will be confirmed in our newly awakened consciousness that we have ownership of our own future and come to realize the collective power we already possess to transform ourselves.

The Bahá’ís of Egypt

Story in BWNS
Download entire letter (English) in PDF here....
Download entire letter (Arabic) in PDF here....

New crackdown highlights campaign to block progress of Iranian Bahá'ís

2012-01-26T03:27:00.000-08:00

BWNS

NEW YORK — The Iranian government's systematic strategy to drive Baha'is to economic ruin shows no sign of abating.

According to reports received by the Baha'i International Community, a renewed campaign is under way in Kerman, the major city in south central Iran.

"We have learned that the Public Places Supervision Office is denying the renewal of licenses – and revoking some existing ones – for Baha'i-owned businesses in the city," said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"A wide range of professions are being targeted – from computer sales and repair shops to real estate brokers. Baha'is involved in the sale of iron alloys, steel, or gold are losing their licenses, as are Baha'i-owned businesses relating to food products, and health and cosmetic services, such as opticians," she said.

Baha'is in Kerman have also been told that they are not allowed to own a large number of shops on the same street.

"The authorities have even gone so far as to revoke the licenses of business partners of Baha'is, who are not themselves members of the Baha'i Faith," said Ms. Dugal.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many thousands of Baha'is have lost their jobs or sources of livelihood. In 1993, the UN disclosed an Iranian government memorandum – endorsed by the country's Supreme Leader – that explicitly outlines a plan to "block" the "development of the Iranian Baha'i community."

In addition to the barring of young Baha'is from higher education, said Ms. Dugal, it is clear that the authorities are continuing with a range of other actions to carry out this policy.

"We have received accounts of at least 60 incidents in the past five years, designed to curb the economic prospects of Baha'is," she reported.

Some recent examples include:

– From 2 to 12 January 2012, more than 70 percent of Baha'i-owned businesses in Sari and Ghaemshahr (Mazandaran province), and a number in Gorgan and Gonbad (Golestan province), were searched in order to find some excuse on which to threaten or arrest Baha'is. Authorities even searched the houses of Baha'is that are working from home, in some cases more than two years since they closed up their stores;

– In July 2011, the Baha'i owner of a shop in Abadan received a notice from the Union for Retailers and Manufacturers of Jewelry, Watches and Glasses asking him to return his work license and liquidate his assets within 24 hours;

– In June 2011, an optical shop was sealed on the pretext of transferring the license to a new location. The head of the Public Places Supervision Office indicated that the order to seal the shop was issued by the higher authorities. The shop had been previously closed by the authorities in December 2008, along with four other Baha'i shops in Nazarabad. But after a legal battle, the owner managed to reopen in a new location, only to have it sealed again.

– After a wave of arson attacks on a dozen Baha'i-owned businesses in Rafsanjan, Iran, in late 2010, some 20 homes and businesses were sent a warning letter demanding that Baha'is sign an undertaking to "refrain from forming contacts or friendships with Muslims" and from "using or hiring Muslim trainees."

– In early 2009, in the city of Semnan, the association of Trade Unions passed a by-law stating that no Baha'i should receive a business license. Soon after, a number of Baha'i-owned businesses and shops throughout the city were subsequently sealed or shut down.

– In an example of another kind of economic pressure, a Baha'i in Isfahan – shortly before being fired from his work – requested from the social security agency that he be allocated the amount that had been deducted from his wages for his pension. He received notice that his request was not being pursued as it was a "non-issue," given the fact that the reason for his losing his job was his membership in "the deviant Bahaist sect." The notice specified that he and another 14 individuals were fired based on the legal prohibition on their being hired in the first place, and thus their claims were of no account.

"International law firmly spells out the right of individuals to be free to work and earn a livelihood, without discrimination," said Ms. Dugal.

"Last month, the international community voted overwhelmingly at the UN to condemn Iran for its ongoing and recurring human rights violations. Surely it's time that Iran realizes that it can no longer get away with oppressing its citizens and thinking that no one will notice."

Joining together in goodwill

2012-01-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

SUN SENTINEL

The Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association gathered for its monthly meeting on Jan. 18 at Temple Emeth in Delray Beach.

Members attending the luncheon meeting represented many faiths and cultures including, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Baha'i and Buddhist, among others.

Michelle Konigsburg, director of education at Temple Torah inBoynton Beach was guest speaker. Konigsburg spoke on "Women in Judaism."

Konigsburg, wife of Rabbi Randy Konigsburg of Temple Emeth, a group member, noted the importance of women throughout the history of Judaism.

"Without the unnamed women in the story of Exodus, there would not be this great story," she said. "I think women have been very significant."

Konigsburg noted how women's role in Judaism has changed for the better in recent history but, referring to a incident in Israel where a young girl was spat upon, still has a way to go.

"As a Jew, it's hard to look at women's role in our religion, she said. "There seems to be some discrimination that makes me uncomfortable. Some of it is coming from a fear of change.

Israel is "not yet constitutionally strong enough to combat these people" who are discriminating against women, Konigsburg noted.

Also attending the meeting was Joy Levy of Boca Raton. Levy, 62, was born a secular Jew, but was ordained a Buddhist priest three years ago.

"I'm an accidental Buddhist," she said. "I was visiting the Morikami Museum in Japan 15 years ago and a Buddhist group was meeting. It was an immediate level of comfort and since then I've been a Buddhist.

Levy said she finds "common ground more than differences" among the various religions. "We all understand that we are all our brother's keeper, and should help the less fortunate people in our community."

The Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association is an interfaith association of clergy, ministry professionals and faith representatives, open to all churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other faith communities in theDelray Beach area.

Reverend Paula Hayward, organization secretary, said interfaith work is about compassionate listening and compassionate responding.

"It's hard work but Good work," she said. "It becomes a mutual blessing when we deliberately choose to celebrate our similarities and honor our differences. God is already in the outcome."

Bassem Alhalabi, Ph.D., first vice president of the organization, concurred.

"[The Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association] does great service to the community by bringing people of all faiths and colors together as one faith," said Alhalabi, founding member of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.

"I believe the world has suffered from too much hatred in the past," he said.

Romanian personalities demand human rights for Iran's Baha'is

2012-01-25T06:41:00.000-08:00

BWNS

Romanian personalities demand human rights for Iran's Baha'is

Three prominent Romanian personalities add their signatures to a petition calling upon the government of Iran to grant Baha'is their fundamental human rights. They are, from left to right, TV news presenter Andreea Berecleanu; musician Ovidiu Lipan Tandarica; and actress, Maia Morgenstern.

BUCHAREST, Romania —Almost 70 prominent Romanians are calling upon the government of Iran to grant Baha'is their fundamental human rights.

Sixty-eight celebrated figures – from the worlds of academia, arts, banking, business, media and medicine – have signed a petition, appealing to the Iranian authorities to cease its systematic campaign of persecution of the Baha'is, "who seek only their rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to life, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to education and work, and the right to practice their religion..."

The letter was instigated by Radu Gabrea, a renowned film director, along with Istvan Haller of Romania's National Council for Combating Discrimination.

Among the signatories are internationally-acclaimed actress Maia Morgenstern, best-known for her portrayal of Mary in The Passion of the Christ; television news presenter Andreea Berecleanu; well-known drummer Ovidiu Lipan Tândărică; and a former government minister, Ilie Serbănescu.

The petition highlights the case of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, as well as Iran's "repeated attempts to hinder the progress of the Baha'i community's efforts to educate its young people," and a "litany of other abuses and violations of their fundamental rights."

"We do not understand...why the Iranian state sanctions the incitement of hatred against the Baha'is in Iran, why it allows fire bombings and torchings of their places of business, and other forms of terrorization, that seek to drive them out of their towns and cities..." the petition states.

"We do not understand why they are harassed when burying their dead, why Baha'i cemeteries are desecrated, why they are denied business licenses, why their businesses and properties are confiscated, and why the Baha'is are denied work and pensions."

Della Marcus of the Romanian Baha'i community said it is unprecedented for such a large number of prominent people to speak up for the cause of the Baha'is in Iran.

"We pray that this petition will contribute to making it clear to the Iranian government that there are many around the world that do not accept their state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'is," said Ms. Marcus.

Canadian university presidents speak out for Bahá'í educators

2012-01-25T06:06:00.000-08:00

BWNS

The two Canadian university presidents who are calling for an end to Iran's persecution of Baha'i educators and students. Allan Rock, left, is president of the University of Ottawa; Lloyd Axworthy, right, is president of the University of Winnipeg. UN photos by Mark Garten and Evan Schneider.

TORONTO — Two pre-eminent university presidents are urging all of their fellow Canadians to join them in calling for an end to Iran's persecution of Baha'i educators and students.

The appeal comes from Canada's former minister of foreign affairs and president of the University of Winnipeg, Lloyd Axworthy, and Allan Rock – who is president of the University of Ottawa and former Canadian ambassador to the UN.

In an article in the Canadian edition of The Huffington Post, they speak of how "deeply troubled" they are that Baha'is are denied access to higher education in Iran, and express concern that "the brutal regime in Tehran has turned a deaf ear" to calls to end the systematic persecution.

Read the article here.

"As Presidents of Canadian universities," they write, "we attach enormous value to access by young people to the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in tomorrow's world. We regard education as the key to a better future for all peoples, and believe passionately that each person has the right to an education."

Their article particularly draws attention to the attack launched by Iranian authorities on an informal community initiative – known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – which was set up to provide education for young Baha'is barred from university.

Among those arrested in May last year for their association with BIHE was Nooshin Khadem – an MBA graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa. She is now serving a four-year jail term. A married couple currently awaiting trial, Kamran Rahimian and Faran Hessami, completed their graduate studies in psychology counseling at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education.

"They were charged with teaching without valid accreditation," the article states. "The Iranian authorities confiscated their U of O degrees and then alleged that they had never earned them."

Presidents Axworthy and Rock are encouraging "all Canadians to add their voice in calling on the Iranian government unconditionally to drop all charges against educators, to halt all further aggression towards the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education and to allow the Baha'i access to education. The Baha'i of Iran must know that in resisting the cruel oppression of those who persecute them, they do not stand alone."

Where Does a Canadian Degree Get You in Iran? In Prison

2012-01-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

HUFFINGTON POST

In the latest of a long list of crimes perpetrated against the Iranian Baha'i community by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, several graduates of Canadian universities have been detained and imprisoned for their involvement with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education.

Nooshim Khadem -- who holds a Masters in Business from Carleton University -- was sentenced to four years in prison, while Kamran Rahimian and Faran Hesami -- who carry Masters in Educational Counseling from the University of Ottawa -- have been detained without charge since September 13.

Indeed, the arrest of these educators underscores the arbitrary persecution and prejudicial treatment inflicted upon the Baha'i in Iran.

Just this summer, several Iranian Baha'i leaders re-sentenced on charges of "insulting religious sanctities," "propaganda against the system" and "espionage for Israel" -- charges without foundation, reminiscent of the soviet tactic "Give us the people and we will find the crime." Their reinstated 20-year sentences now constitute a death sentence given their advanced age. Despite repeated requests from both the defendants and their attorneys, neither official copies of the original verdict nor the ruling on appeal have been disclosed.

Indeed, the plight of the Baha'i in Iran offers a looking-glass into the plight of human rights in Iran in general, and the criminalization of innocence -- the targeting of Iran's largest religious minority -- in particular. While the world is focused on Iran's nuclear pursuits, the massive domestic repression in Iran -- as exemplified in the oppression of the Baha'i -- should be a no less compelling concern and call to action.

Simply put, the persecution and prosecution of these Baha'i is a case-study of the systematic if not systemic character of Iranian injustice, including: arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention; false and trumped-up charges such as "spreading corruption on Earth" and "espionage for foreign elements;" coerced confessions; denial of the right to effective counsel; and show trials devoid of any due process before a politicized judiciary.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Baha'is -- seen as heretical apostates who have betrayed Islam -- have faced a state-orchestrated campaign of religious persecution and prosecution in their Iranian homeland. Indeed, more than 200 Baha'is have been executed since the early 1980s.

In the early 1990s, the Iranian government intensified the systematic deprivation of the Baha'is' social, economic, and cultural rights, depriving the Baha'i of their livelihood while destroying their religious and cultural heritage. Simply put, the Iranian leadership sought to disenfranchise the Baha'i from participation in all aspects of Iranian life. Since the fraudulent Iranian elections of 2009, these assaults have only escalated.

The most recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran highlights the increasingly prejudicial treatment facing Baha'is under the current regime, citing the denial of jobs, pensions, and educational opportunities -- as well as the arbitrary confiscation and destruction of property.

President Ahmadinejad's campaign of hatred and incitement has also included: the singling out of the Baha'i for special opprobrium and repression; the use of state media to dehumanize and demonize the Baha'i in the eyes of their fellow Iranians; the harassment of Baha'i children; the proliferation of assaults on members of the community; as well as the orchestration of militia and hate groups to intimidate and silence them.

This upsurge has alarmed human rights scholars and monitors who fear not only for the Baha'i community so targeted, but also that such attacks portend something worse. Senator Romeo Dallaire -- a member of the United Nation's Secretary General's Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention and former Force Commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) -- observed in the Canadian Parliament that "there is no clearer example of a nation leading its way into a potential genocide scenario."

The question remains: What can be done about the plight of the Baha'i and its leadership, which is but a case study of the massive domestic repression in Iran?

The recent round of sanctions from the United States, England, and Canada are welcome; but the primary focus of these sanctions on the nuclear threat overlooks and marginalizes the human rights situation while running the risk of undercutting the case for the sanctions themselves.

While the international community has condemned the assaults perpetrated against the Baha'i leadership -- and Canada has co-sponsored the annual UN General Assembly Resolution condemning the regime's ongoing abuses -- it must also hold the human rights violators to account.

This requires sanctioning of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps -- the organization at the epicentre of Iranian repression and murder -- lest the culture of impunity continue. Further, we must name and sanction the human rights violators especially responsible for the repression of the Baha'i minority through travel bans, asset seizures, and prohibitions on any dealings with them. Indeed, we must raise the plight of the Baha'i in any and all bilateral and international fora as a demonstrable case for Iranian accountability -- and call for the release of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders and their community educators -- together with the cessation of the escalating assaults upon the Baha'i population.

Simply put, the international community must hold Iran accountable for its ongoing criminalization of innocence and its state-sanctioned incitement to hate.

Irwin Cotler is a Member of Parliament and the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a Professor of Law (Emeritus) at McGill University and chairs the Responsibility to Prevent Coalition, an international legal consortium seeking to hold Ahmadinejad's Iran to account.

People shouldn’t turn a blind eye to religious persecution in Iran

2012-01-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

SPARTAN DAILY

by Francisco James RendonJan 24, 2012 8:46 pmTags: Bha'is, education, Iran, Islam,peace, Persecution, Religion

Francisco Rendon is a staff writer.

“Sorry, you can’t go to college, you are a Baha‘i”

This is basically what the Iranian government and institutions for higher education in that country say whenever someone of the the most prominent religious minority, the Baha’i faith, applies for admission.

Despite there being 300,000 Baha’is in the country of Iran, since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Baha’is, along with other religious and political minorities, have been thrown into prison, had their property confiscated and been demonized throughout the media as spies for Israel.

Recently, according to educationunderfire.com, Iranian citizens who started the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, an alternate institution for people who were denied admission to colleges, were sentenced to multiple-year prison terms — for starting a school.

Under the post-revolutionary government, every time Baha’is in the country have tried to elect a National Assembly to represent their community, its members have been executed.

I myself, who share these individuals’ religious beliefs, have known of their sufferings for some time, but have been guilty of shrugging my shoulders and accepting that we live in a time where there is much injustice.

But, upon reflection, what does this say about human society, that we can rest while some of us across the globe are subjected to grievous injustice while others live complacent while it continues?

How can humans ever move past these problems if this dynamic persists?

In a world where our interconnectedness and dependence on one another is the edifying principle of any level of economic, political or social prosperity, be it at the local, national or global level, how can we turn a blind eye to the systematic oppression of a people?

Even though I have signed petitions to my representatives in the government and have attended the functions to raise awareness about these people’s plight, I still wonder if most people know or care that this is going on.

One thing related to Iran that people do seem to know and care more about recently is its political and military tension with the U.S., with rumors of invasion and declarations of war circulating with increasing frequency.

Notwithstanding the incredible woes which the Iranian government continues to pile upon the Baha’i community , and other religious and political minorities of that country, war between the countries of Iran and the United States would be an atrocity that no person of justice could advocate.

Even as a member of the community of friends that are being wronged in that land, I know war is never justified and my firmest conviction in this comes directly from my faith.

One of the fundamental teachings of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, is that humans all make up small pieces of a larger whole, just like cells in one body and were created to show love, one to another.

If the cells in a body were created to work together, yet began combating and killing each other, any competent physician would rightly observe that such a body had fallen ill.

No matter how appealing the reasoning, how sweet the scent of revenge or bloodshed, those with eyes to see and ears to hear know such killing would fail to resolve the disease with which we are afflicted.

The illnesses that plague the body of humanity today are of prejudice and hatred, the very sentiments that take us to war, along with ignorance and apathy — those social ills that allow it to happen.

Only when we move past such infirmities will we be able to reach our full potential as a human race.

So despite the increasingly severe trials being thrust upon the Baha’is, and religious and political minorities of Iran, as well as the innumerable other accumulating injustices accruing across the continent of Africa, the regions of Central America and East Asia, and even down to the United States’ neighbor Mexico, we all, as humans, should not respond with hate, but rather with compassion and justice.

If we can learn to do this, as people, in unity and accord, this planet will know a peace and prosperity that our forefathers would never dare to dream of.

Foad Khanjani: Bahá'í sentenced to four years in prison

2012-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

chrr

Foad Khanjani, now 21, a follower of the Bahai faith, was first arrested on 1 March 2010. He was kept in a solitary cell for 25 days, where he was put under pressure for a televised interview, and was released on bail on 8 May 2010.

On 2 January 2011, Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court under Judge Moghisseh sentenced Khanjani on charges of "assembly and collusion with the intent to commit crimes against national security," and "participating in disruption of public order." Branch 54 of Tehran Appeals Court subsequently upheld Khanjani's sentence. Foad Khanjani turned himself in at Evin Prison on 17 January to commence serving his four year prison term.

Khanjani had been dismissed from the Isfahan Industrial Management Organization, where he was studying, because of his Bahai faith.

His father, Alaeddin Khanjani, was also arrested on 10 February 2010 and released on bail on 16 March 2010. His sister, Leva Khanjani Mobasher's two-year prison sentence was upheld by an appeals court in 2011. His grandfather, Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the seven imprisoned Bahai leaders, is currently serving a 20-year prison term.

Bahá'í student Dorsa Allahverdi expelled from Gorgan University

2012-01-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Association Against Educational Discrimination Web site reports that on 21 November 2011, Dorsa Allahverdi finds out over the phone that due to an “incomplete file”, she has to go to the Education Evaluation Organization. On 23 November, she is told at the Education Evaluation Organization that she has been expelled from the university because of her belief in the “Baha’i Faith”.

The report further added that in 2011 alone, over 20 Baha’i students were expelled from different universities such as the Isfahan University of Technology, Shiraz University and Sharif University. Among those expelled are Ruhollah Tashakor, Bashir Tashakkor, Alborz Nourani, Ava Tavakoli, Mona Momeni, Orkideh Aghai, Hannaneh Kanani, Hooman Rahmanian, Malika Vazirzadeh, Noura Sahrangi, Farnood Jahangiri, Pouya Mohammadi, Shideh Abadi, Delara Darabi, Sahba Mottahedin, Samira Gholami, Shima Ranjbar, Shadi Moeddi and Negar Salehi.

It is worth noting that dozens of other Baha’i students were also barred from entering university this year due to the same “incomplete file” reason.

Regarding this issue, Dorsa Allahverdi has written the following text:

On September 10, 1390, I woke up at 6 AM with anxiety. I had not seen the names of those admitted to universities on the web site of the Education Evaluation Organization. I was wondering whether or not I had been admitted. Perhaps I am among those with an “incomplete file”! Or else… It was a strange feeling…. Soon after that … God, what am I looking at?

Dorsa Allahverdi – Agricultural Machinery Engineering – Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources – Daytime

I have been admitted! A cry of joy … A moment that is familiar to many. I went over the future in my mind, and planned a beautiful future for myself because I thought I have now fulfilled my lifelong desire to get into college. I immediately checked the sites to find out about the registration process and the required documents.

September 14

Finally, registration day. I am so excited. Now is the time to start building a new future for myself and to give a vivid color to my life’s desire. But I also was worried that history would repeat itself. I remembered that day years ago. The day they announced the list of those admitted to the magnet high school and when, unbelievably, I didn’t see my name among those admitted! Since I was certain I had answered correctly to all the questions on the test. After much legwork, I found out about the existence of my report card. When I went to school and received the official report, the school official explained: “It is really unfortunate. Your ranking even without the quota system is way higher than the next highest ranking student admitted with the advantage of the quota system and I truly regret to lose a student such as yourself.”

I too regretted that I lived in a country that, despite its’ motto “Seek out knowledge from cradle to grave” and its tradition of “Seek knowledge even if it is in China”, I was being so unfairly deprived from studying at a school that I had every right to. But I was not very surprised. I was just one of hundreds of Baha’is who had been deprived of their inalienable rights. Anyway, I had now found my way into the university. I went through the registration process with some confusion, because in the registration form there were no “Baha’I” or “other religions” options in the box for religion. And since I didn’t want to lie about my religion, I was forced to check “other denominations” and specify the Baha’I Faith (which is not a sect but a religion) in the description field.

Finally came the first day of my first semester and I continued my education with enthusiasm. Higher education … higher education … the common wish of all young people and their families. The first two months passed in the blink of an eye and I went through each day thinking that after four years I would graduate as an engineer to serve society. Sometimes I would think back to the advice my high school principal (I was one of the few Baha’is who ,for middle school, went to a magnet public school) gave me: “you have taken a spot away from other kids who would be studying here instead of you! Because you are not going to get into any university anyway. This school is for those students who have a future in higher education, not you…. “And now, I wished he was here to see where I am.

But, on the other hand, I was worried. Is this going to be my last day in college? And finally, on November 21, in a telephone conversation, I was told that in order to fix my “incomplete file” problem, I would have to go to the Education Evaluation Organization in Tehran. It was interesting that, in order to make sure there is no “incomplete file” in my situation, I had asked the Education Evaluation Organization several times about it and every time I had been assured that there is nothing missing in my case. And now, after the telephone call, I found out that the only problem with my file was that I am a Baha’i.

Two days later, November 23, we went to the Education Evaluation Organization. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they frankly told us that I had been expelled from the university for being a Baha’i and that I don’t have the right to a higher education. I wrote a letter asking for my right to a college education and I requested that they look into my case. Although I knew that it would be no use. But, in my heart, I prayed: “Oh God … adorn the rulers with justice and the religious leaders with fairness …”.

Bahá'í home raided in Sari

2012-01-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

RAHANA, January 22

On January 21, six agents of the Ministry of Intelligence broke down the door of the home of Enayatullah Sana’i (عنایت الله سنایی), a Bahai author and poet living in Sari, and seized a number of religious books, CDs and tapes. Since Mr. Sana’i was not at home, they could not arrest him. His home had also been raided in August 2011: on that occasion with such brutality that his eardrum was rupture.

Source (in Persian)

Sentences of BIHE teachers confirmed

2012-01-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

CHRR, January 19

The prison sentences previously given to six of the staff of the Bahai Open University (BIHE) have been confirmed by the review court in Tehran. Kamran Morteza’i (کامران مرتضایی) was sentenced to five years in prison, while Mr. Riaz Sobhani, Ramin Ziba’i, Farhad Sadeqi, Mahmud Badevam, and Mrs. Nushin Khadem (ریاض سبحانی، رامین زیبائی، فرهاد صدقی، محمود بادوام و نوشین خادم) were sentenced to four years in prison. A seventh member of staff who was arrested at the same time, Vahid Mahmudi (وحید محمودی), was also sentenced to five years in prison: this sentence was reduced and suspended by the review court, and he was released on January 8.

Source (in Persian)

Sanandaj Bahá'ís pressured to abandon cemetery

2012-01-23T12:35:00.001-08:00

Zandehbad Kurdistan Blog, January 17

This blog reports that in recent days the authorities have pressured Bahai families in Sanandaj and other towns in the region. Twelve Bahai families in Sanandaj have been summoned and questioned, and pressured to abandon the cemetery known as “Golestan Javid” in the village of Hassan Abad, which is held in the name of one of these families. Their homes have also been searched, and computers, photographs and books have been seized.

Source (in Persian)

Shahrukh Ta’ef begins his 4-year sentence

2012-01-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

RAHANA, January 17

Mr. Shahrukh Ta’ef ( شاهرخ طائف ), a Bahai of Tehran, has been summoned to Evin Prison to begin serving a four-year sentence. He has been found guilty of “membership of the Bahai community.” He was arrested on January 14, 2009, following a search of his home, and was held in solitary confinement until March 18, 2009, when he was released on bail.

Source (in Persian)

Ian Semple obituary

2012-01-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

THE GUARDIAN

Ian Semple became a Bahá’í in 1950 – a defining moment in his life.

My father, Ian Semple, who has died aged 82, was an outstanding member of the Bahá'í faith – a world religion that promotes the unity of humankind – and served for 42 years on its international governing council, the Universal House of Justice.

Ian had a serene, wise and balanced personality, and adhered scrupulously to moral principles regardless of what it might cost him personally. He possessed an inquiring mind and took great delight in conversing on almost any subject. His children, family, friends and co-workers invariably felt they could approach him with any problem and knew that he was always ready to listen, no matter how busy he might be. Ian's many achievements never affected his sense of humility.

Born in Barnet, north London, Ian served in the army from 1947 until 1949 and earned a commission in the Royal Corps of Signals. He then studied German and French at Pembroke College, Oxford, before going on to train as an accountant.

Ian became a Bahá'í in 1950 – a defining moment in his life. Thereafter, he dedicated himself to promoting its teachings, including the oneness of religion, the equality of men and women, and the need to abolish all forms of prejudice. Abandoning accountancy, Ian served on various national and international Bahá'í administrative bodies, culminating in his election to the first Universal House of Justice in 1963. Ian was successively re-elected every five years, until his retirement in 2005. He had been one of only 500 Bahá'ís in the UK in 1950; by 2005 the British community had become more than 6,000 strong.

After retirement, Ian moved to Switzerland, where many members of his family live. He is survived by his wife Louise, whom he married in 1963, two sons, me and Nick, and a daughter, Jenny.

Fu’ad Khanjani’s 4-year sentence begins

2012-01-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

PCED

Fu’ad Khanjani ( فؤاد خانجانی ), a Bahai student excluded from tertiary education, has begun serving his 4-year prison sentence, in Evin Prison in Tehran. He had been studying Industrial Management in Isfahan, but was expelled because of his Bahai beliefs. He was arrested on April 27, 2010, and released on bail a few days later. He had previously been arrested on March 2, 2010. His father, `Ala-aldin Khanjani (علاءالدین خانجانی) and other members of the extended family have also been arrested. His sister, Leva Khanjani Mobasher’s two-year prison sentence was upheld by an appeals court in 2011. His grandfather, Jamal-aldin Khanjani (جمال‌الدین خانجانی) is presently serving a 20-year sentence in Rajai Shahr prison, near Tehran. All have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs.

Source (in Persian)

Slovakian politicians call Iran's persecution of Baha'is "chilling" and "abhorrent"

2012-01-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

BWNS

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia —Treatment of the Baha'is in Iran has "escalated to an institutionalised and blatant policy of persecution," according to a proclamation issued by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovakian parliament.

The proclamation describes the Iranian government's incitement to hatred based on religion and belief as "abhorrent." It also states that the "regime's endeavors to persecute Baha'is is chilling indeed," and demands an end to Iran's "spiralling efforts to destroy the Iranian Baha'i community."

Baha'is "must be guaranteed their full and equal human rights" and "be allowed to contribute to the public life and development of Iran along with their fellow citizens," wrote the Foreign Affairs Committee.

"The fact that this Committee has taken on the situation of Baha'is in Iran is important for two reasons," said its chairman, Frantisek Sebej.

"One, because the democratic parliaments of the world must care about and deal with the denial of human rights of suppressed minorities in other parts of the world, at least for the reason that we are the luckier ones who live in a free world and have the obligation to care for others."

Members of the Slovak Republic's Foreign Affairs Committee studied the situation of the Baha'is of Iran at a hearing on 7 December 2011. Addressing the Committee,… »

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"The second reason is that with such a resolution we can help the Baha'i community."

Noting "a sharp increase in the systematic, government-supported program to destroy the Baha'i community in Iran," the statement also describes the destruction of Baha'i holy sites and cemeteries as an "atrocious blow to religious cultural heritage of significant value for humankind." It calls for the immediate release of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders and the Baha'i educators jailed for their association with the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education.

"At issue are denial of the right to life, liberty and security of person; violent attacks; arbitrary arrests and imprisonments; denial of access to education; confiscation and destruction of personal community property; and the denial of employment, pensions and other benefits," the proclamation says.

The Committee – which approved the proclamation at a meeting held yesterday in the building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic – also resolved to send the statement to senior figures in Iran, including President Ahmadinejad.

"Though I do not expect that the Iranian Government will stop the persecution of Baha'is," said Dr. Sebej, "at least it will not dare to do more horrific things while thinking that no one is watching and nobody cares."

Even in death, Iran’s Bahá'ís face persecution

2012-01-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

BWNS

GENEVA — Eighteen years ago, Baha'is in the Iranian city of Sanandaj were allocated a one-hectare parcel of barren land at the side of a road for use as a cemetery.

This rocky mountainside, devoid of vegetation, was hardly prime real estate but – after the first burial there in the autumn of 1993 – local Baha'is got together to landscape the site, dig out the rocks and replace the soil. They planted and watered by hand 250 cypress and fir saplings, contributed by the Office of Agriculture. They installed electricity and built a small room where bodies could be prepared for burial.

At every step of the way, proper permits were obtained. When the Baha'is wanted to dig a well, permission was sought and granted from the regional water board. At every expiry date, the permit was correctly renewed.

Impressed by the transformation of the site, the Office of Natural Resources suggested that the Baha'is consider planting trees on public land adjacent to the cemetery, thereby expanding the green zone. As a result, the largely Sunni Muslim residents of Sanandaj came to respect the place as a symbol of the Baha'i community's peaceful presence in their city.

But now, the area's beauty and greenery appears to have instigated a change in official attitudes. Authorities want to repossess the cemetery, reasserting the state's claim on the land – even though Baha'is were once granted the deeds. An order for it to be confiscated, and the buildings and graves to be destroyed, will be heard in court at the end of this month.

In another example of vandalism of Baha'i-owned cemeteries in Iran, gravestones near Najafabad were left in a heap by a bulldozer that destroyed the Baha'i burial… »

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Recent harassment of Baha'is in Sanandaj does not bode well for the verdict. On 19 December, Ministry of Intelligence agents carried out early morning raids on 12 Baha'i homes in the city. Baha'i books, pamphlets and photographs were confiscated, along with compact discs, audio cassettes, computers, mobile telephones, computer drives, and various personal documents.

"In the light of this upsurge of persecution of the Sanandaj Baha'i community, it looks like the fate of the cemetery has already been decided at the order of the Ministry of Intelligence," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

In an announcement on 17 January, the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan called upon the authorities to practice “tolerance and acceptance of other beliefs.” It described the “new wave of pressure and restraints against the Baha’i community” as “inhumane and illegal actions…in violation of civil and political rights treaties and conventions.”

Disturbing the departed

Under Iran's present regime, the case of Sanandaj is not unique. Since 2007, there have been more than 30 incidents of vandalism, arson, or other problems related to Baha'i-owned cemeteries or efforts by Baha'is to properly bury their dead.

"Not content with only persecuting the living, the Iranian authorities seek to disturb the peace of even those who have passed on," said Ms. Ala'i. "This is the latest in a long string of attacks on Baha'i cemeteries and burial rites. All are in complete violation of international standards of human rights and any decent person's understanding of respect for the dead."

Among recent examples:

– A newly established cemetery in Sangsar, Semnan Province, given to local Baha'is by the municipality, was vandalized by unknown intruders in March 2011. The graves were piled high with dirt, the trees were uprooted, and the two small rooms were destroyed.

– In July 2010, graves in the Baha'i cemetery of Jiroft, Kerman Province, were destroyed by unknown intruders using bulldozers.

– In late May 2010, the Baha'i cemetery in Mashhad was vandalized at night using a front-end loader and other heavy machinery. The cemetery's walls, the mortuary, and the place where prayers were recited were severely damaged.

Other incidents have involved efforts by authorities to interfere with Baha'i burial rites.

In Tabriz, for example, Baha'is had been allowed access to the city's public cemetery for years. In August last year, the family of a recently deceased Baha'i woman was told that she would have to be interred with Muslim rites. The woman's remains had to be buried in a Baha'i cemetery in another town. A similar incident occurred last October when the body of a Baha'i man was taken from Tabriz to another Baha'i cemetery some 100 kilometers away and buried without his family being informed.

"Iranian officials in international fora consistently claim that Baha'is are not treated differently from others and are only 'punished' when they do something illegal," said Diane Ala'i. "What precisely have these dead people done to deserve such treatment?"

"The beautification of the cemetery in Sanandaj and its surroundings is evidence of the sincere and positive contribution Iranian Baha'is wish to make to their country. What is equally evident is that the authorities find such a thing impossible to accept."

Dr. King's Dream and a Prisoner in Baghdad 150 Years Ago

2012-01-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

HUFFINGTON POST

In anticipation of the Martin Luther King holiday, I wanted to show my daughters the St. Francis College Bulletin of 1976 that featured a photo of my mother studying with her friend, Joetta. The picture of her youthful, attentive face brought back my childhood emotions of love, pride, and some stress in having my mother start college after my little sister and I were well into elementary school. She managed to make us a hot dinner every night and was lucky if she got four hours of sleep, since her studying got serious after we went to bed.

When I found the photo I phoned my mom. "Was Joetta your best friend in college?" I asked. "She was my only friend," she responded in a matter-of-fact way. "No one would be my friend and no one would be hers -- we were both too dark and too different; so we had each other."

This wasn't the recollection I had at all. I couldn't imagine my almost-regal mother shunned by classmates. In our home growing up, we always seemed to have people over, and particularly people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. My parents were active in the local Baha'icommunity, which was composed of a range of professors, businesspeople, tradesmen, artists, students, and flower children of the 70's. It was distinguished for representing more ethnic backgrounds than folks thought existed in Fort Wayne, Indiana, those days, and particularly for the friendships that existed between races.

Almost as natural as learning to say 'please' and 'thank you,' as children we were instilled with such ideas from Baha'i Scripture as: "Love ye all religions and all races with a love that is true and sincere and show that love through deeds." And "The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch."

I grew up eavesdropping on adult conversations around the assertion that "racism is the most challenging issue confronting America;" we wore buttons on our coats with sayings like "One Planet, One People... Please" and "No Room in My Heart for Prejudice;" and up there among our all-time favorite heroes was, and is, Dr. Martin Luther King.

When the Iranian Revolution took place in 1979, followed quickly by the hostage-taking of Americans for 444 interminable days, I was an 8th-grade cheerleader in Fort Wayne, and stunned when people started calling me a terrorist and a "Sand N-word." They didn't know about the danger my family in Iran faced for being members of the Baha'i Faith, where my cousin in his 20's was executed for possessing Baha'i books.

They also didn't know that the principles our relatives, and many more individuals, to this day, clung to, embodied the words Dr. King lived and died by. Writing shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War , while exiled to Baghdad the mid-1800s, Baha'u'llah warned: "Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other..."

Though little known, the parallels between the message of that 19th Century Prophet who died as a prisoner in Palestine (today's Israel), and the 20th Century's Dr. King in America are striking. It's the reason Baha'is in the U.S. mark "Race Unity Day" on the second Sunday in June, why they served on the Commission that established the first federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, and why so many of us would grow up with the blessing of having friends and family from every race.

Last year I returned to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to speak at the city's International Women's Day celebration, and the first person in the audience to raise her hand introduced herself as a friend from junior high: "I'm LaTonia. Remember how we called ourselves the 'Mixed Veggies,' because we united black and white kids after busing began? "

I was so touched that LaTonia shared our hopeful efforts, which reminded me that Dr. King's dream can be embodied in our small steps: Invite people from diverse backgrounds to share a meal for 'Sunday Supper,' reach out to an old friend you used to study with, and pause to be of service, near or far. Together, with some courage, our positive actions can begin a healing process our world so urgently needs.

Bahá'í student expelled from Bojnourd University

2012-01-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

CHRR, January 12

Shervin Fallah ( شروین فلاح), a first-year Bahai student of building technologies at the Technical Institute of Bojnourd, was informed orally on January 10 that he had been expelled because of his Bahai beliefs. In the previous two years, he had been excluded from the School of Architecture, but in October 2011 he was accepted in the course for building technologies. So far this academic year, more than 20 Bahai students have been expelled in Iran, while dozens more have been refused admission on the grounds that their applications are “incomplete.”

Source (in Persian)

Unsuitable conditions for Hoshang Fana’ayan in Sari prison

2012-01-14T23:48:00.000-08:00

Hoshang Fana’ayan ( هوشنگ فنائیان ), a 48-year old Bahai from Amol who is serving a sentence in the city prison of Sari, suffers from kidney stones but was initially not hospitalised, despite his serious physical condition. He was only hospitalised briefly after he had expelled the stone, and his family were not informed. Despite his physical condition he has been denied prison leave, under various pretexts. He is being held in substandard conditions, in terms of hygiene, temperature and food, but prison authorities have thus far not taken any steps to improve them. He is also said to be under pressure from prison authorities with respect to his contacts with other prisoners. This presumably means his contacts have been restricted. He is serving a four year sentence for propaganda against the regime, membership of the Bahai community and participating in religious activities, and insulting Iran’s Supreme Leader.

Source (in Persian)

Vahid Mahmoudi free

2012-01-14T23:45:00.000-08:00

Khabar Navard

Vahid Mahmoudi (وحید محمودی), one of the staff at the Bahai Open University (BIHE), was released from Raja’i Shahr prison, near Tehran, on January 8, after 235 days in prison. As previously reported, he has been given a suspended sentence of four and a half years in prison, plus six months in prison, which he has already served since his arrest.

Source (in Persian)

Another Bahá'í refused burial in Tabriz

2012-01-14T23:42:00.000-08:00

RAHANA, January 12

The management of the Wadi Rahmat cemetery in Tabriz — which is ironically named after the quality of mercy — have refused to allow the burial of a Bahai there, instead requesting that the body be taken to another city. Bahai religious practices require a body to be buried within one hour’s travel of the place of death. Muhammad Husayn Barqi (محمد حسین برقی), a Bahai resident of Tabriz, had a stroke and died in his home on January 6. The family washed the body and wrapped it in a shroud, according to Bahai rites, and reported the death to the local authorities. The authorities order that the body should be taken to the Wadi Rahmat cemetery. One day later, the cemetery authorities told the family that the body should be taken to the city of Miandoab, about 160 km south of Tabriz. His children responded that his Will stipulated that he should be buried in the place where he died, and they were not willing to take him to another town. The body is now in cold storage in the morgue.

The management of this cemetery previously denied permission for Khalil Nourmuhammadi Shisheban (خلیل نورمحمدی شیشوان), who died in Tabriz on October 25, 2011, to be buried there according to Bahai rites. Bahais have been buried in the Wadi Rahmat cemetery, according to Bahai rites, since 1969, and the Bahais of Tabriz share in the cost of construction and maintenance of the cemetery.

Source (in Persian)

Navid Khanjani’s translated note: “From being ‘impure’ as a child to becoming a prisoner of the IRGC as a youth"

2012-01-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

Persian2English

Below is an English translation of a written note by Navid Khanjani, a member of two Iranian human rights organizations. He was arrested at his home in Isfahan on March 2, 2010 and transferred to Evin prison. Navid was imprisoned until May 3, 2010 and was issued a 12-year prison sentence on January 31, 2011. According to Amnesty International, Navid has appealed the ruling, “but an appeal hearing date has not yet been set. If imprisoned, he would be a prisoner of conscience, held solely in connection with his peaceful human rights activities.”

Translated by Siavosh Jalili

I remember my childhood, when my family was constantly in fear of our Muslim neighbours. I remember the adults would say that, in the peak of the [1979] Revolution, the extremist Muslim neighbours would go on their rooftops, stick their mouth to the ventilator canal and scream: “God is Great “ (Allah-o-Akbar).

As a child, whenever I went into the streets, I was fearful of people and the Islamic city. [I was filled] with insecurity and felt like a stranger. When I was merely seven years old and had begun school, I [was forced to hide] the fact that my family was not Muslim. No one was supposed to know that my family was Baha’i.

I remember that my mom used to come to my school and talk to the principal, the vice-principal, and the teachers. My mom always clashed with the school officials when it was time for the (mass) prayer. The fact that they forced me, a seven-year-old child, to take part in the prayer was problematic for my family. I was unable to understand these issues during that time. I only realized the smell of sweaty feet which filled the air and the group of people who lined up in a single file, bowed, and returned to a straight position. I imitated them so I would not be noticed and punished.

At that time, in my young mind, and in order to quell the hatred and negative perspective of the principal, vice-principal, and the teachers, I made efforts to memorize verses of the Qur’an and recite them in a more beautiful voice than the person standing in the front of the line. Today, when I reflect on my actions back then, I smile bitterly.

When that period passed, it was time to sign up for middle school. I quickly became aware that the issue I was experiencing to register was not my grades but rather the question of religion and the fact that I was not Muslim. The schools either refused to register me or they would set many conditions so it would seem like they were doing me a large favour by registering me.

I was 13 when I began to explore the world around me. During that period I got to know the Qur’an and “Islamic Nurture and Education” studies teacher. During the Qur’an and Islamic studies courses, the teacher would sometimes ask me to leave the classroom and stand behind the door. I remember that the teacher would gather the students and talk to them. I was not supposed to be present for the talk. When [the teacher's] talk ended, my classmates would look at me differently.

I remember when [our class went on] field trips. [The mode of travel] was a few cars [instead of a bus], because there weren’t many students. I would always be [instructed to] sit in the car with the “Islamic training and nurturing” teacher. But, when I tried to enter the car, he would say to me: “You don’t have the right to sit in my car! You are impure, and will imbue and stain the car. You are dirty!” He would close the car door on me, and I [was forced to] spend the day in the school yard waiting for my classmates to return.

It is interesting that, during those days, I was too embarrassed to even talk to my family about the harassment that [I endured]. Perhaps, an instinct drove me to not share those events. In any case, since the day the teacher called me dirty and impure in front of other students, I began to secretly wash my face 30 times with soap. After a while, my skin became dry and scaled. At that time, I thought to myself that [my teacher] could not have been making a mistake [because] he certainly must have known something. I thought that I had to rid myself of the dirt.

During middle school, in the midst of the disrespect and mistreatment I [endured] from my teachers, I also witnessed the tremendous respect of other teachers toward me and my family. For example, the history teacher whose face was deformed knew my uncle (I later learned that the deformity was caused by tortures he had endured as a political prisoner during the 1980′s). He would indirectly pay homage to [my uncle]. Yet, I [was still too young] to understand these acts of respect or mistreatment.

When I reached high school, everything changed. The sense of patriotism and love for the people and revolutionary personalities was replaced by humiliation. I used every opportunity to study history and politics. There was a library where I used to frequent and indulge myself in books. During that period, I heard about the July 1999 student uprising and witnessed teachers go on strike for more benefits and rights. I gradually began to feel that I was not alone. It became apparent then that there are other people who get discriminated against and who fight against inequalities.

[Even though] I began to realize what the clashes were all about, these struggles did not preoccupy me. All I wanted to do was study and attend university. However, they kept telling me that I was unable to attend university, even if I was accepted. For 25 years, none of us (from the Baha’i community) had attended university [in Iran]. After the 1979 Revolution and the Cultural Revolution, Baha’is were banned from attending university. If a Baha’i wanted to study, they had to study in a Baha’i underground university.

I will cut my writing short. I took part in the university *entrance exam for mathematics, but was not allowed to choose a field of study based on my results. Later on, they stripped me of the right to select a degree and attend university. As a result, I went to a Baha’i underground university, a university that was right across Sharif University. We had to commute to and from the university very discretely. And, of course, we used to watch the Sharif University students. For them, everything was different…

Anyways, one day out of nowhere, after two semesters, and while I was in the middle of a term, I packed my stuff from the student dormitory and told my roommates that I did not belong there: “I am going.” I left to once again sit in on the University *Entrance exam. This time around, I was determined to pursue my rights as an Iranian citizen.

I sat in on the exam four times, but they refused to give me my exam results each time. Instead of the results, I received letters claiming my application was incomplete. I followed up my case with [everyone], from the MP’s to the city’s Friday Prayer Imam. [I also followed my case with] the Ministry of Advanced Education, the Evaluation’s Organization (responsible for holding and running the University *Entrance exam), the Cultural Revolution Council, and the Supreme Leader’s office…I was unable to restore the rights I sought through these follow-ups, but I obtained information that I would have never received through a university education. My eyes were opened to facts that no university [was able to] open my eyes to.

This photo of Navid Khanjani was taken in Isfahan as regime agents arrested him.

These issues continued from the 2009 Presidential election until March 2010, when my follow-ups with the Ministry of Advanced Education, the Evaluation’s Organization, the Cultural Revolution Council, and my meetings with the MP’s resulted in my detention [and interrogation] in ward 2-A of Evin prison, which is a section under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

As I write these passages, I currently face a 12-year prison sentence. I am sure this is not the end of [my] story. It is noteworthy that I am not alone on this road. I have many friends and companions who have suffered. The story I have told is their pain as well- it is our common pain.

I would like to mention the name of my imprisoned friends: Sama Nourani, Zia Nabavi, Majid Dorri, Mahdieh Golroo…

Once again, I have to tell those who have inflicted discrimination and oppression that this is not the end of the story. I leave the end of this story for our country’s bright future, a future where I will have faith.

*In Persian the University Entrance exam is called Concours (pronounced Konkoor), taken from the French word “concours”, which means “contest”.

Navid Khanjani: “I do not feel safe because there are plainclothes agents stationed outside my home.” (from July 2011)

از نجس بودن در دوران کودکی تا زندان های سپاه پاسداران در جوانی/ نوید خانجانی
سال های کودکی را به یاد دارم که همواره خانواده ام در هراس از همسایگان مسلمان بودند، به یاد دارم بزرگترها می گفتند در بحبوحه انقلاب همسایگان انقلابی و تندرو مسلمان، به پشت بام خانه می آمدند و دهانشان را به کانال های کولر ساختمان می چسباندند و فریاد الله اکبر و… سر می دادند.
از کودکی هرگاه به خیابان قدم می گذاشتم در هراس از مردم و شهرمسلمان نشینش بودم، حس موجود بد و غریبه در من القاء شده بود و زمانی که هفت سالی بیش نداشتم و پای به مدرسه گذاشتم همیشه چیزی را باید پنهان نگاه می داشتم؛ بله همواره باید مسلمان نبودن خانواده را پنهان نگاه می داشتم نبایستی کسی می فهمید خانواده ام بهایی هستند.
به یاد دارم مادرم به مدرسه می آمد و با مدیر، ناظم و معلمین مدرسه بحث می کرد.مادرم همیشه در زمان برگزاری نماز جماعت با مسئولین مدرسه در کلنجار بود؛ اینکه به اجبار من 7 ساله را برای شرکت در نماز جماعت می بردند مسئله ای ناخوشایند برای خانواده و اطرافیانم بود که البته من آن زمان این مسائل را نمی فهمیدم؛ فقط می دیدم عده ای در پشت سر هم می ایستادند و در حالی که بوی تعفن عرق پا همه جا را پر کرده بود خم و راست می شدند و من هم ادای آنها را در می آوردم تا کم نیاورم و مبادا تنبیه نشوم.
در آن زمان به خیال خود برای جبران اینکه نفرت و دیدگاه منفی مدیر، ناظم و معلم را رفع کنم اقدام به حفظ کردن آیه های قرآن کردم و سعی می کردم از کسی که سرصف قرآن با صوت می خواند زیباتر بخوانم. امروز وقتی به آن حرکتم نگاه می کنم خنده ای تلخ به تمام آن دوران می کنم.
آن دوران هر چه بود گذشت و نوبت به مقطع راهنمایی رسید. برای ثبت نام در مدارس راهنمایی می دیدم، مسئله برای ثبت نامم معدل نیست و مسئله اصلی در فرم ثبت نام نهفته است؛ یعنی گزینه مذهب، یعنی مسلمان نبودنم. مدارس به این دلیل یا قبولم نمی کردند و یا به سختی و با هزار شرط و شروط و منت من را می پذیرفتند.
حدود 13 ساله بودم که در مقطع راهنمایی آرام آرام می رفتم دنیای اطرافم را بشناسم، در آن مقطع با معلم پرورشی و قرآن بیشتر آشنا شدم. در زمان برگزاری کلاس های قرآن و دینی معلم گاهی به من دستور می داد تا از کلاس بیرون بروم و پشت در بیاستم؛ معلم پرورشی را به یاد می آورم که بچه ها را جمع می کرد و با آنان صحبت می کرد که من نبایستی در آن صحبت ها باشم و وقتی صحبتش با بچه ها تمام می شد، هم کلاسی هایم جور دیگر به من نگاه می کردند.
به یاد می آورم که زمانی کلاسمان قرار بود به سفری علمی در شهر برود و به علت تعداد کم کلاسمان تمامی شاگردها با چند ماشین شخصی می رفتند و در تقسیم بندی من بایستی با ماشین معلم پرورشی می رفتم، همه سوار ماشین شدند و من هم می خواستم سوار ماشین شوم که معلم پرورشی رو به من کرد و گفت تو حق نداری سوار شوی! تو نجس هستی و ماشین را آلوده می کنی؛ تو کثیف هستی! درب ماشین را بست و من آن روز را در حیاط مدرسه گذراندم تا هم کلاسی ها برگردند.
جالب است در آن دوران حتی خجالت می کشیدم این مسائل را در خانه با خانواده در میان بگذارم، شاید هم یک حسی غریزی به من می گفت نبایستی این اتفاقات را بگویم. در هر صورت از روزی که معلم پرورشی در مقابل دیگر دانش آموزان من را نجس خطاب کرد دیگر هر روز بیش از 30 مرتبه مخفیانه صورتم را با صابون می شستم به نحوی که بعد از مدتی صورتم از خشکی، پوست پوست شده بود. آن زمان با خودم فکر می کردم معلم که اشتباه نمی گوید و حتما او چیزی می داند و من کثیف هستم و باید این کثافت را رفع کنم و…
و البته در دوران راهنمایی در بین بی احترامی عده ای از معلمان می دیدم عده ای از معلمان به طرز عجیبی به من و خانواده ام احترام می گذاشتند به نحوی که می دیدم دبیر تاریخ که صورتش فرم بهم ریخته ای داشت (بعد ها فهمیدم این بهم ریختگی به واسطه شکنجه های دهه شصت می باشد) دایی ام را می شناسد و غیرمستقیم از او به نیکی یاد می کند و به او احترام می گذارد؛ اما من همچنان چیزی از این بدرفتاری ها و خوش رفتاری ها نمی فهمیدم.
در هر صورت آن دوران هم گذشت و من به دبیرستان رسیدم، همه چیز تغییر کرده بود. دیگر حس میهن پرستانه و عشق به مردم و شخصیت های انقلابی جای خودش را به حس حقارت داده بود، از کوچکترین فرصتی برای خواندن تاریخ و سیاست استفاده می کردم. یک کتابخانه بود که گاهی به آنجا می رفتم و در کتاب های آنجا غلت می زدم. در آن دوران از 18 تیر و از اعتراضات دانشجویی می شنیدم، اعتصاب معلمان مدرسه به پایین بودن حقوق شان را می دیدم و کم کم حس می کردم که تنها نیستم و ظاهرا کسان دیگری هم هستند که مورد تبعیض واقع می شوند و در حال مبارزه با این نابرابری و تبعیض ها هستند.
تازه می فهمیدم علت این کش مکش ها چیست، اما خب باز هم دغدغه ام این درگیری ها نبود و می خواستم درسم را بخوانم، دانشگاه بروم. اما مرتب به من می گفتند ما به دانشگاه نمی توانیم برویم و بیش از 25 سال است که نرفته ایم. می گفتند بعد از پیروزی انقلاب اسلامی و انقلاب فرهنگی دیگر بهائیان حق ورود به دانشگاه ندارند و اگر بخواهی درس بخوانی می توانی در دانشگاه زیرزمینی بهائیان درس بخوانی.
خیلی صحبت هایم را طولانی نکنم، جریان به کنکور رسید و در کنکور سراسری ریاضی شرکت کردم و مجاز به انتخاب رشته شدم ولی از انتخاب رشته به علت بهائی بودن باز ماندم و حق انتخاب رشته را از من گرفتند؛ پس از آن به دانشگاه زیرزمینی بهائیان رفتم. دانشگاهی که دقیقا روبروی دانشگاه شریف بود، ما باید بی سرو صدا می آمدیم و می رفتیم و البته دانشجویان دانشگاه شریف را می دیدم که همه چیز ظاهرا برایشان فرق داشت…
بگذریم؛ بعد از 2 ترم، یک روز بی مقدمه و در میانه ترم در خانه دانشجویی وسایلم را جمع کردم و به دانشجوهایی که هم خونه با من بودند گفتم که اینجا جای من نیست و من می روم؛ من رفتم تا بار دیگر کنکور بدهم و به دانشگاه وارد شوم و مصمم بودم اینبار هرطور شده پیگیری کنم و حق خودم را به عنوان یک شهروند ایرانی بگیرم.
چهار دوره کنکور دادم و نتایجم اعلام نمی شد و به جای کارنامه برایم نقص پرونده درج می کردند. پیگیری هایم شروع شد، از نماینده مجلس تا امام جمعه، از وزارت علوم تا سازمان سنجش، از شورای انقلاب فرهنگی تا نهاد رهبری و…
در این پیگیری ها به حقوقی که می خواستم نرسیدم ولی اطلاعاتی به دست آوردم که شاید هیچگاه از تحصیل در دانشگاه بدست نمی آوردم؛ چشمانم به حقایقی باز شد که شاید در دانشگاه هیچ گاه چشمانم به این حقایق باز نمی شد. این جریانات ادامه داشت تا اعتراضات انتخابات ریاست جمهوری در سال 88، و اسفند سال 88 که دیگر پیگیری هایم از وزارت علوم، سازمان سنجش، شورای انقلاب فرهنگی و دیدار با نمایندگان مجلس به بند 2 الف سپاه، در زندان اوین و دیدار با بازجوهای سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی رسید.
اکنون که این مطلب را می نویسم با 12 سال حبس تعزیری دست به گریبان هستم و مطمئنم این پایان داستان نیست؛ البته این نکته قابل ذکر است که دیگر در این مسیر تنها نیستم، دوستان و همراهان زیادی دارم؛ کسانی که این دردها را دیده اند و کشیده اند و این داستانی که گفتم درد مشترکمان شده است.
دوست دارم در اینجا یادی کنم از یاران دربند؛ سماء نورانی، ضیاء نبوی، مجید دری، مهدیه گلرو و …
اما باید به کسانی که این تبعیض و ستم ها را روا داشته اند بار دیگر بگویم که این پایان داستان نیست؛ پایان این داستان را باز می گذارم و به روشنی فردای میهن ایمان دارم

Egypt’s forgotten Bahá’í community fearful and hopeful of future

2012-01-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

A Baha'i gathering in Egypt.

CAIRO: The identification papers are still blank. Hossam, a 31-year-old father of a five-year-old hopes his son can go to school next fall, but he is uncertain over his family’s future.

“I still don’t have a religion listed and the two schools I spoke with are not really hopeful, so we wait,” he told Bikyamasr.com at his flat in the Cairo suburb of Maadi. “The revolution has done a lot of good things, but we still live under a government that works like it did under [former President Hosni] Mubarak.

The problem for Hossam is that he is Baha’i, the world’s newest monotheistic faith, and one that has been oppressed vehemently in Islamic countries, including Egypt, where in the early years of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Baha’i temples and places of worship were closed, and the Baha’i cemetery in the country largely destroyed.

“It is an uphill battle that we thought we won a few years ago to not have religion on IDs, but now people who see we don’t have religion there know who we are and this is the same problem,” Hossam said, adding that the Baha’i community was part of the uprising that ousted Mubarak last year.

“We were there because it was the right thing to do and to make Egypt a better place,” he continued. But now, the rise of the conservative Islamic groups have the small – some 3-4,000 Baha’is live in Egypt – worried that they will again face persecution.

“If we speak out and attempt to be part of society, we know they will attack us and force us back into silence,” he said.

In 2009, the Egyptian Baha’i community hoped they had ushered in a new era for identification cards in the country after the first batch of the religious minority was granted new ID’s without a religion written on them. The move came after years of struggling against the state in order not to choose one of the “big three” religions Judaism, Christianity or Islam.

The new ID’s came months after an Egyptian court granted the Baha’i community the right not to list a false religion on the paperwork, something the small minority community had been pushing for in recent years after discrimination has been reported.

The lawsuit against the government was filed by a married couple, Hussam Izzat Musa and Ranya Enayat Rushdy, who wanted to add their daughters to their passports, which had listed the Baha’i Faith as their religion.

The couple won the initial case against the government, which granted them the ability to register their children in schools, receive marriage licenses, birth certificates and proclaim their faith on state identification cards.

“We were ecstatic about the case that allowed our community to be fully accepted Egyptians,” one married Baha’i man, after the initial court victory, told Bikyamasr.com.

His optimism was short-lived, however, as the government appealed and won, leaving the community struggling to find a place in Egyptian society.

Egyptians are forced to have religion noted on their identity cards. Previously, Baha’is were forced to choose between Islam, Christianity or Judaism in order to receive official documents, including birth certificates and passports. Many of them took their cases to court, claiming that they’d rather leave the religion slot blank than choose a religion other than their own. The court, initially, agreed, and said they could leave the category blank in a move widely praised by religious advocacy groups in the country.

The Baha’i Faith is the most recent, established in 1863, monotheistic religion. It originates from Iran and believes in the progressive revelations of God. Baha’is believe that all religions are true and from God, but that at different times throughout human history, a new manifestation (prophet) is needed in order to adapt to the changing times and cultural traditions.

The main conflict between Muslims and Baha’is is in the idea that Mohamed is not the final prophet of God, which has led to Muslims distrusting Baha’is.

In December 2003, Al Azhar Research Academy, the most authoritative Sunni institution in the world, issued a fatwa against the Baha’i Faith. It stated that Islam does not recognize any religion other than those that the Holy Qur’an has asked to be respected. The fatwa specified the Baha’i Faith, stating that the “Baha’i creed and its likes are intellectual epidemics that should be fought and eliminated by the state.”

Now, one year on from an uprising that left the country optimistic and hopeful, there still remains some of that hope in the small community of the religious minority.

“We do feel that things will get better in the coming months and years despite the rise of the Salafists,” said teacher Kamal, also Baha’i. He told Bikyamasr.com between drags on his shisha, or water-pipe, that “we are all Egyptians, whether we are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or other, and when the military leaves power and we have a government, it should be better because we can have honest and open dialogue.”

His belief in the power of the Egyptian population tends to be the majority among the Baha’i community, who has long struggled against persecution and a lack of media awareness. They argue that the revolution is continuing and if needed, Hossam said he would join tomorrow any demonstration.

“But we need to have a movement that is for all Egypt, not just one side. This is important. The military must go, but we must all have our rights and the media needs to start talking about all people in this country, including us Baha’is,” he argued.

"I will make you the friends of My Soul"

2012-01-13T03:47:00.000-08:00

"If ye obey Me you will see that which We have promised you, and I will make you the friends of My Soul in the realm of My Greatness and the Companions of My Beauty in the heaven of My Might forever."

BAHÁ'U'LLÁH

Bahá'í student expelled from Gorgan University

2012-01-13T03:05:00.000-08:00

PCED

Dorsa Allahvardi (درسا اله‌وردی), a first-year student of Mechanical Engineering for Agricultural Machinery, has been expelled from Gorgan University. On November 21 she was informed by telephone that her file would be reviewed because it was “incomplete.” On November 23, she was informed that she had been expelled from the University because of her Bahai beliefs. So far this academic year, more than 20 Bahai students have been expelled from universities in Iran because of their religious beliefs.

Source (in Persian)

Debate highlights dangerous escalation of religious persecution in Iran

2012-01-13T03:01:00.000-08:00

BWNS

LONDON — Members of Parliament here have sharply criticized Iran for its human rights violations, focusing especially on the "steep rise" in the persecution of religious minorities.

In a debate held at Westminster Hall on Wednesday 11 January, MPs highlighted the fact that virtually every religious minority in Iran is now facing oppression.

Some 19 MPs, representing the UK's three major parties, participated in the debate.

Watch video coverage of the debate, here.

Read a transcript of the debate, here.

In the opening speech, Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside, described the persecution of Baha'is as "pervasive and escalating dangerously."

"The repression takes a number of forms in an ongoing and systematic persecution," said Mrs. Ellman. "It means arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and the denial of access to higher education and areas of employment. The homes and businesses of Baha'is have been subject to arson attacks, cemeteries have been destroyed, and children have been harassed."

She also expressed concern over the 20-year prison sentences being served by seven Baha'i leaders and Iran's continuing effort to bar young Baha'is from higher education.

Noting remarks made recently by Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, Mrs. Ellman said that it "is extremely important that the world does not wait until there is a genocide. It should heed warning and take further action to put pressure on the Government of Iran to stop what they are doing."

Participants also raised the issue of the increasing persecution of Christians in Iran. Andrew Selous, MP for South West Bedfordshire, reported that at least eight Christian leaders have been murdered since 1979, and expressed particular concern over the case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was sentenced to death for apostasy in 2010 and has since been the focus of an international outcry.

Stewart Jackson, MP for Peterborough, spoke of "regular raids on gatherings" of Christians, "harsh interrogations and torture...including demands for the recantation of faith and for information on the identities of fellow Christians; detention for long periods without charge and other violations of due process; convictions for ill-defined crimes or on falsified political charges; the economic targeting of the Christian community through the demand of exorbitant bail payments; and the threat of imminent execution of a house-church pastor."

Regarding Iran's Jewish community, Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham, reported "increasing evidence that anti-Semitism is growing there, and that the small Jewish community there is being blamed for the actions of the Israeli Government."

At the end of the debate, Alistair Burt, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said that while 2011 showed that demands for human dignity are irrepressible, Iran is moving in the opposite direction.

"Human rights are universal," said Mr. Burt, "and Iran's failure to meet its obligations is punishing and stifling the fulfilment of the wishes and aspirations of millions of people."

Mr. Burt assured those present that the UK will continue to press other countries to support resolutions expressing concern over Iran's human rights record in the United Nations and at the Human Rights Council.

Dr. Kishan Manocha, Director of the Office of Public Affairs of the Baha'i Community of the United Kingdom, has welcomed the wide ranging discussion.

"The fact that such a good number of MPs, representing all parties, participated really reflects a high level of concern about Iran's human rights record, and especially its rising religious intolerance," said Dr. Manocha.

"We are, of course, pleased that Baha'is were prominently mentioned," Dr. Manocha added. "But we are also happy that UK Parliamentarians are focusing on the problems faced by other religious minorities. We need to speak as one on the situation of religious intolerance in Iran."

Iran continues it persecution of Bahá'í Faith

2012-01-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

PEOPLE OF SHAMBHALA

The execution of Bahá’í, from the Persian magazine, Ima’mat, circa 1911.

It was Iranian Baha'i Youth Day (January 6) when security forces raided the home of Bakhtiar Rasekhi in Kerman Province.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran (HRHoI), in "an illegal and offensive encounter" the security forces "film[ed] and photograph[ed] the young people gathered in the house," before conducting a search of the property.

Mr. Rasekhi, his wife Farahnaz Naimi and their daughter Farin Rasekhi were then arrested. That was January 6. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, "there is still no news of the whereabout of the three detainees."

Being under the world's spotlight hasn't prevented the Islamic Republic of Iran from continuing its persecution of the Baha'i, it appears.

Also since the beginning of January, the Iranian authorities closed the business of Arman Safai, a Baha’i living in Sari.According to HRHoI, the officials confiscated Mr. Safai's laptop, which financial information, on the pretext of "its containing music material." The officers also reportedly "objected to his sister’s dress, despite her having on a scarf and a headband."

I Iran's continuing campaign to deny education to the Baha'i, Shokoufeh Moeddi, a first semester student of information technology at Payam Nur University in Zahedan, was expelled from the university because of her Baha’i Faith. The universityreportedly informed Moeddi that "the reason for her expulsion is her belief in the Baha’I Faith and that the order [to expel her] came from Tehran."

UN investigator who revealed Iran's "Bahá'í Question" memorandum dies aged 93

2012-01-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

BWNS

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador —Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, a noted legal scholar who uncovered significant evidence of human rights violations in Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s, passed away here last Thursday.

A prominent diplomat and professor of law, Prof. Galindo Pohl was well known internationally even before his 1987 appointment as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights' Special Representative on Iran. He had served as El Salvador's UN ambassador and was also – among other posts – the director of legal affairs for the Organization of American States.

But in the field of human rights, his eight years as Special Representative were particularly significant, principally for a series of reports that authoritatively documented the intense, often brutal, violations committed by Iran against its own citizens.

In 1990, for example, Prof. Galindo Pohl cited numerous interviews and documents to expose the Iranian government's extensive use of execution and torture, and lack of judicial safeguards.

"The Baha'i International Community wishes to express its deep condolences over the passing of Professor Galindo Pohl, whose impact and influence in the field of human rights will long be remembered," said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

"His tireless efforts to interview victims, their families, and others with direct or inside knowledge of the kinds of violations that the government hoped to keep secret became an essential feature of his reports to the UN Commission on Human Rights. These were critical in calling the world's attention to the brutality of the regime at the time," said Ms. Ala'i.

Prof. Galindo Pohl's 1993 report to the Commission was notable for its disclosure of the so-called"Baha'i Question" memorandum, a previously secret 1991 letter – issued by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council – that established a national policy for dealing with Iran's Baha'is, setting limits on their educational, economic and cultural activities.

"The public release of this memorandum was extremely important," said Ms. Ala'i. "It documented how the highest levels of the Iranian government had devised a plan to completely block the development of the Baha'i community in ways that would draw less attention than the executions and imprisonments carried out in the 1980s – but which would still eventually result in the end of the Baha'i community as a viable entity."

Prof. Galindo Pohl visited Iran three times during the course of his mandate and, on those visits, often boldly challenged Iranian authorities by conducting interviews in prison or with individuals that the government otherwise sought to prevent from meeting with him. He was also known to be scrupulously fair, reporting the extensive inquiries he made of Iranian officials – and also their responses.

Born 18 October 1918 in Sonsonate, El Salvador, Prof. Galindo Pohl was a graduate of the University of El Salvador, where he obtained a doctorate in law and social sciences. In 1950, he was elected President of the National Constitutional Assembly. He also served as Minister of Education from 1950 to 1956. From 1960 to 1964, he was a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Bahai student expelled from Gorgan University

2012-01-12T03:54:00.001-08:00

PCED, January 2

Source (in Persian)

Canadians Can Help Stop the Persecution of Iran's Bahá'í

2012-01-12T03:53:00.000-08:00

HUFFINGTON POST

With the eyes of the world on the Arab Spring, the populist struggles in Iran have faded from view. Yet some in Iran continue to face appalling levels of abuse, oppression, and injustice. The hopes for reform in Iran that were raised in June 2009 have proven empty, while the prisons remain full. Political prisoners are routinely tortured and some executed. Prominent among Iranian victims of hidden but unrelenting persecution are members of the Baha'i faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority.

Canada has an important and enduring connection to this vulnerable group. Some 30 years ago, several thousand Baha'i refugees fled Iran to make Canada their home, settling in every province and territory and becoming proud and contributing Canadians.

There are now more than 30,000 Canadians of the Baha'i faith from many different backgrounds who have enriched our country by their citizenship. Following the Iranian Revolution, the Canadian government took steps at the United Nations and elsewhere to defend the rights of the Baha'i in Iran. Successive Canadian Governments have continued that leadership by sponsoring annual resolutions at the United Nations condemning Iran for its oppressive and inhumane policies.

The brutal regime in Tehran has turned a deaf ear. The Baha'i of Iran continue to be systematically persecuted. Over the past few years, many of their leaders have been detained and then sentenced to imprisonment following fraudulent trials. Hundreds more have been thrown into prison solely because of their beliefs. Baha'i businesses have been routinely shut down. Their cemeteries have been desecrated.

Among the many human rights violations that the Baha'i of Iran must endure is the systematic denial of access to higher education.

As Presidents of Canadian universities, we attach enormous value to access by young people to the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in tomorrow's world. We regard education as the key to a better future for all peoples, and believe passionately that each person has the right to an education.

We are therefore deeply troubled that Iran's Baha'i, among the most educated members of Iranian society before the revolution in 1979, are denied entry to universities and colleges in their own land. Admirably, rather than responding with violence, the Baha'i of Iran have decided to create their own informal education program in an act of cultural self-preservation.

Baha'i professors and professionals, sacked from their university and government positions, have teamed up to form the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) to give their young people good quality and advanced, if informal, education.

One of the ways the Iran regime has targeted the Baha'i is by the arrest last May of 19 of those associated with the BIHE. Many of them remain in prison today, not knowing their fate. Their sole offence was to try to educate their young. Two of those arrested are graduates of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Education. They were charged with teaching without valid accreditation. The Iranian authorities confiscated their U of O degrees and then alleged that they had never earned them.

The regime's offensive conduct, in direct contravention of international treaties signed by the government of Iran, undermines the basic rights of the Baha'i along with the future of their youth.

Happily, the plight of the Baha'i is not being entirely ignored. Those who support human rights, who believe in access to education and who deplore repressive governments are increasingly speaking out on their behalf. A growing group of academics, university administrators and notable advocates for peace including Desmond Tutu, Romeo Dallaire and José Ramos-Horta are condemning the Iranian regime's denial of the right to education.

We are proud to join them, and we encourage all Canadians to add their voice in calling on the Iranian government unconditionally to drop all charges against educators, to halt all further aggression towards the BIHE and to allow the Baha'i access to education. The Baha'i of Iran must know that in resisting the cruel oppression of those who persecute them, they do not stand alone.

Bahá'í business closed down in Sari

2012-01-11T02:43:00.001-08:00

RAHANA

On January 5, after a visit by the security forces to the trading premises of Arman Safa’i (آرمان صفایی), a Bahai resident of Sari, a laptop on which financial information was stored was seized, on the pretext that there was music on it. Although the security forces could not find any irregularities, they ordered the business to close down, although the legal dues had been paid and the business was functioning in accordance with its licence.

Source (in Persian)

Three arrests in Kerman

2012-01-11T02:42:00.000-08:00

RAHANA

On the evening of January 6, when the Bahais of Iran mark the day of Iranian Youth, agents from the security forces raided a home in Kerman belonging to Bakhtiyar Rasekhi (بختیار راسخی) in an illegal and offensive way, taking videos and photographs of the Bahai youth, and dispersed the meeting. They then spent several hours searching the home, before arresting Mr. Rasekhi and his wife and daughter. Three days later, there is still no news of where they are being held.

Source (in Persian)

Bahá'í student expelled from Zahedan University

2012-01-11T02:39:00.000-08:00

RAHANA, January 9

Shekofeh Mavdi (شکوفه مودی), a Bahai student in the first term of a degree in information engineering at the Payam-e Nur University in Zahedan, has been expelled because of her Bahai beliefs. She received a letter on December 31, saying that she had been expelled. Enquiries revealed that the decision had been made in Tehran, and was because of her Bahai beliefs.

Source (in Persian)

Bahá'ís seek state recognition in Hungary

2012-01-11T02:36:00.000-08:00

MSNBC

BUDAPEST, Hungary — In accordance with a new church law approved at the end of last year, 82 churches, congregations and other religious groups have so far asked to be officially recognized by Parliament, Hungary's Justice Ministry said Friday.

The published list includes representatives from a wide range of religions and churches, including Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Baha'i Community, Buddhists, Mormons, Muslims, Reform Jews, Hindus, the Salvation Army and Hare Krishnas.

The churches — some active and recognized in Hungary for decades — will need to gain approval from a two-thirds majority of lawmakers to retain special tax, labor and other privileges.

The new church law was initially passed in mid-2011, but the Constitutional Court abolished it in December on procedural grounds because the law has been practically rewritten shortly before lawmakers' voted on it.

Fourteen leading Christian and Jewish congregations were the only ones granted official status in the law, which was passed again by the two-thirds majority of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party last week.

The government said the new law did not limit freedom of religion and was needed to filter out businesses masquerading as churches, but experts said that could have been achieved relying on already existing legislation.

"Neither communities nor individuals are under any constraints in the practice of their religion in Hungary," Bence Retvari, state secretary at the Justice Ministry told the AP last month. "The real objective of this law is to regularize the system of state subsidies and tax benefits, which was being abused."

Hungary has had a new constitution since Jan. 1 — passed last April only by government party legislators — and critics say that the church law is one of several which erodes democratic checks and balances and increases political influence over many aspects of public life.

Previously, churches needed only to register with a court to be recognized as such.

Three Bahá'ís arrested in Semnan

2012-01-11T02:29:00.000-08:00

At 9 a.m. this morning, security forces raided the home of `Adalat and Faramraz Firuzzayan(عدالت و فرامرز فیرروزیان). They searched the house, seized personal effects, a computer and some religious books before arresting them and taking them away. Their present location is unknown. The two had previously suffered from economic pressure, when the well on their agricultural land was closed, leading to the loss of their crop. At present at least 10 Bahais of Semnan are under arrest or imprisoned, while the business belonging to five Bahais have been closed.

Source (in Persian)

Dear President Obama

2012-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

A letter from some Bahá'í children to President Obama, about the Bahá'ís in Iran.

Two Bahais arrested in Semnan

2012-01-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

HRANA, January 5

Source (in Persian)

Increasing pressure on the Bahá'ís in the north of Iran

2012-01-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

CHRR, January 2

In recent weeks, more than 30 Bahais in the regions of Sari and Rasht have been summoned and interrogated in order to pressure them to leave the country. Officials in Sari have been visiting the businesses operated by Bahá'ís and searching them, and summoning some of the Bahais. In addition, in the past few days, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence went to the businesses of Aresto Nobakht, Ali Baba Nobakht and Aref Goli (ارسطو نوبخت، علی بابا نوبخت و عارف گلی), asking about the capital of their businesses and why they did not leave Iran. Last Friday, December 30, Bahá'ís who had gathered for the Feast of Masa’il in a neighbourhood of Sari were observed and filmed as they arrived and departed.

At the same time, reports from Rasht suggest that in recent weeks the Ministry of Intelligence has summoned numerous members of Bahá'í families and questioned them about their homes and places of business, income, religious ceremonies (“feasts”), the names of other Bahais living in Rasht, and other religious questions.

Source (in Persian)

Wilmette's Bahá'í Temple Hosts Seminar on Iran

2012-01-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

WILMETTE PATCH

Human-rights violations and persecution against members of the Baha’i faith in Iran would likely be curbed only through ending the country's Shi’ite Muslim theocracy, but that change is possible, according to a Tehran native who spoke at theBaha'i Temple in Wilmette Saturday.

“The (1978-79) revolution has three pillars, and if one of them falls, there’s nothing left of it,” said Nazila Fathi.

Fathi covered the regime in Tehran for the New York Times and is now a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, specializing in how technology and the Internet shape human and civil rights. She was one of the speakers addressing an audience of 150 people at Saturday's seminar on Iranian human rights problems sponsored by Amnesty International and Chicagoland Baha'i assemblies.

Fathi said the trio of pillars is animosity toward the United States, animosity toward Israel and the regime’s repression of women’s rights. But memories of the nationwide chaos following the overthrow of the Shah in 1978 is restraining the same kind of freedom-seeking movement that has swept repressive regimes out in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia while causing unrest in Syria.

“I think people do not want to overthrow the regime now; at this stage because there’s no alternative,” Fathi said. “People have seen an institutional breakdown three decades ago and went through a horrifying war (with Iraq) for 10 years. Those memories are still alive. But people want grassroots change, they want reform. This regime is so rotten from the inside. The internal rifts are very, very serious. A lot of people are waiting for it to crash like the Soviet Union. It might not be tomorrow, but it will happen.”

Moderates thwarted by Ayatollah

Fathi said the forces of moderation and rapprochement with the United States are held at bay by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“If this principle of animosity toward the United States is gone, there’s not much left of the ideology of the revolution," she said. "There’s only one person who wants to safeguard that ideology. ... As a supreme leader, (Khamenei) sees himself in a position to protect the revolution. He used to be a moderate. He sees himself as an inspiration to all the freedom-seeking movements of the world, including Egypt, Tunisia — and Occupy Wall Street.”

How could an American economic protest movement be seen as inspired by Khamenei?

“He has this illusion that Iran is a source of this inspiration,” Fathi said. “I don’t know how he figures it out. Animosity toward the United States is part of that.”

In reality, Fathi said, Khamenei’s lieutenants are likely in fear of the Arab Spring’s consequences. She said arrests of opposition leaders intensified after Egyptians overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.

The repression of dissent took place on top of systematic discrimination against the 300,000 Baha’i that live there; the Baha’i faith began in Iran in the mid-19th century. The Saturday event included a screening of Jeff Kaufman’s documentary Education Under Fire, which examines Iran's arrests of Baha'i educators.

The government regards those arrested as “guilty of membership in the deviant Baha’i sect,” said Anthony Vance, director of external affairs for the Baha’is of the United States in Washington, D.C.

‘Prerequisites’ to genocide

Vance said the human rights violations against Baha’is are eerily reminiscent of how Nazi Germany treated Jews in that regime’s early years in power in the 1930s.

“I’m reluctant to use the word genocide, but I decided to discuss it,” he said. “The Iran government accomplished all the major prerequisites to genocide.”

Among those steps were a legal definition of a religious or ethnic group, the group’s legal exclusion from society, convincing the majority of the citizens such treatment is justified and developing a system of identifying and targeting the group.

International pressure can possibly change such discrimination, but the theocracy appears to be immune. Fathi can never forget the fear her family experienced in the aftermath of the hostage crisis in 1979, when Iranian militants seized the American embassy.

“I was nine years old when it happened,” she said. “It was a very chaotic time ... I don’t think the Iranians even wanted something like that to happen. The secular (officials) all resigned from their posts after the hostage-taking. They were not very happy. (Ayatollah) Khomeini came out and supported it."

Fathi said nothing could have been worse for the regime diplomatically.

“Soon there was the Iran-Iraq war and not many supported Iran mainly because of the hostage crisis," she said. "Even the Russians supported Saddam. That shows how irresponsible actions like that have consequences.”

Should the United States find ways to support regime change in Iran? Tell us in the comments.

Rapper leads youth camp to inspire faith

2012-01-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

Dapper Rappers Sahba Shahmohammadloo,
Shayan Majidy, Blair Cameron and Nadim Merrikh.

GUELPH MERCURY

Rapping about faith took a Guelph musical group recently to England to meet former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Now, Sahba Shahmohamadloo, a member of the Dapper Rappers, is organizing a junior youth empowerment camp on Wednesday to inspire faith in other young people.

Shahmohamadloo, along with Nadim Merrikh, Shayan Majidy and Blair Cameron, who are part of the local Baha’i community, won the international Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Faith Shorts awards earlier this month for their three-minute music video Be the Change You Want to See.

Shahmohamadloo is opening the junior youth camp to those of any or no faith, who are between 11 and 14. They will meet at the West End Community Centre from 6 to 7:30 p.m. So far, 22 young people have confirmed to attend the winter camp, which hopes to instil the message of the music video. The camp will be made up of several youth groups from the Baha’i community in the city.

“It’s (an age) when youths ask, ‘How can I contribute to the world?’ and it is our time to nurture a youth to ensure they don’t feel like a child,” said Shahmohamadloo.

The group’s successful music video, shot in recognizable spots in Guelph, speaks about turning one’s words into deeds and Shahmohamadloo hopes it is a message the youths in the camp will learn.

He expects the camp will teach them to coexist peacefully together, understand the moral implications of their thoughts and actions and learn how to serve their community. These young people are just beginning to understand global afflictions, he said, and trying to figure out how to make their mark.

Merrikh said he hopes to start his own youth group soon.

“We were looking at a way on how to better our community and this was the perfect way,” he said.

Vahid Mahmoudi’s prison sentence suspended

2012-01-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

PCED, December 28

Vahid Mahmoudi (وحید محمودی), one of the staff at the Bahai Open University (BIHE), has been given a suspended sentence of four and a half years in prison by a review court in Tehran. He was also sentenced to six months in prison, which is less than the time he has already served since his arrest. He had previously been sentenced to five years in prison. The review court’s ruling means that he should be released.

Source (in Persian)

The Case of the Misplaced Oscar

2012-01-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

JAZZWAX

After interviewing legendary composer and arranger Russ

Garcia by phone last week, I happened upon the photo you see on the right. It was taken in 1952. The more I looked at the image, the more the older gentleman to Russ' right looked familiar. I thought to myself, "It couldn't be, could it?" So I typed "Russell Garcia + Charlie Chaplin" into Google. Up came an interview from 1985, in which Russ was quoted as saying that he was the one who had written the arrangement for Chaplin's Limelight (1952).

Stunned that this topic never came up in my series of conversations with Russ, I clicked over to the Internet Movie Database, the granddaddy of film websites, and called up Limelight. There I found Russ' name along with someone named Larry Russell listed as "uncredited" music arrangers. I also noticed that Limelightwon an Oscar in 1972 for best original dramatic score.

So I went over to the site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. There, Idiscovered that three Oscar statues forLimelight's score were awarded to Chaplin, Raymond Rasch (the credited arranger) and Larry Russell. Russ Garcia was not among the recipients.

How odd, I thought. Could the Academy have goofed? Why wasn't Russ included? What could have happened? Was there some confusion, given that Russ' first name (Russell) and Larry's last name were identical? So I called Bruce Davis [pictured], executive director of the Academy. When I relayed what I learned to a member of his staff, I was told to call the next day for a comment. But on Wednesday, when I phoned back, I was told that Mr. Davis "would not have a comment but looked forward to reading my post."

So I called Russ [pictured] for his side of the story. Russ was resistant at first, preferring to let sleeping Oscars lie. It's not in his gentle nature to rehash the past. But with a little coaxing, he told meabout his work on Limelight,collaborating with Chaplin, his orchestration for the 65-piece studio symphony, how the Academy might have understandably erred when the 1972 Oscars were handed out, and why Russ has resisted talking about it until now:

JazzWax: Did you arrangeLimelight?
Russ Garcia: Yes. I worked with Charlie Chaplin on it. He played the movie's theme when I was over his house with one finger on the piano. Then I scored the theme and composed and arranged the film's incidental music. I also was in the engineer’s booth when it was recorded. [Photo above by Sonja van Kerkhoff]
JW: Why weren’t you credited originally as the score’s sole arranger?
RG: That credit went to Charlie. It was his film. I worked anonymously on hundreds of movies that I never gotcredit for. You have to understand, that's how it worked. And probably still does. In the case ofLimelight, Charlie was the creative force on all aspects of this film, from directing, writing and acting to the music. While he composed the film's theme, he obviously didn't know how to arrange for a symphony-sized orchestra. Neither did Ray Rasch, Charlie’s piano player, an arranger and a friend of mine.
JW: Who was Larry Russell?
RG: He was a composer and movie arranger, and a good one. He also was a nice guy.
JW: What role did he play on Limelight?
RG: None, I’m afraid. He had nothing to do with the picture.
JW: Who recommended you for the job?
RG: I was working in the Hollywood studios at the time and knew Ray [Rasch]. So Ray must have told Charlieabout me. At the time, I was already known for being able to write for large-size orchestras and do so fairly quickly. Chaplin had already worked through the theme with Ray when I was first called over to his house.
JW: What was Charlie like?
RG: He was wonderful, a real talent. At one point, Raytold me Charlie had said to him, "Ray, why don't you score this film? I've written all the melodies, why don't you score it?" Ray agreed but he didn’t know how to do it for such a symphony. So he called me in to work on it. I orchestrated the score, which is what you hear when you watch the movie.
JW: You also mentioned composing the incidental or background music.
RG: I had to do a lot of composing based on Chaplin'ssingle theme. When I first went over to his house [pictured], Chaplin played the theme on the piano and I had to write it down. There was no written music.
JW: Was it improvised on the spot?
RG: Oh, no. Charlie clearly had thought it out in advance. From there I had to build music for an entire movie, and time the music so it was in sync with what was up on the screen.
JW: Was Chaplin funny?
RG: Funny? He wasn’t dressed like a tramp or clowning when we were working together. [laughs] But he was a gentleman. He had the music he wanted planned in his head. The guy was a genius. He could do it all—the ballet steps, the choreography, every camera angle, the script, and the musical theme. Charlie was a perfectionist. He knew what he wanted, and he’d get it, too.
JW: Did you conduct the orchestra?
RG: No. Charlie had a conductor named Keith Williams.
JW: Did you score the film while it was in production or upon completion?
RG: I believe I had to wait until it was done. Remember, they used to shoot every scene in those days with a long shot, medium shot and close up. The film's editor then would edit the film from these shots. So from the scoring perspective, you don’t know how long scenes are going to be until they're pieced together.
JW: Who has the score now?
RG: I don't know. I suspect the studio archive or Chaplin’s estate.
JW: Is your name on the score?
RG: It might have been. I had score pads with my name embossed on them. Or I could have been using score pads that Chaplin’s studio gave me. Given that the Academy didn't know who wrote the score when they researched it, probably not.
JW: How do you think this mix-up occurred?
RG: From what I understand, the Academy wanted to give Chaplin an Oscar to recognize his work on the film while he was still alive.
[Editor's note: Limelight's score was nominated for an Oscar 20 years after it was completed because the film wasn't released in the U.S. until 1972. In 1953, after the movie's London premier, the Justice Department began investigating Chaplin's "subversive tendencies," and pressure was placed on U.S. theaters not to show it. The investigation caused Chaplin to relocate to Switzerland. He died in 1977.]

JW: How do you think they went about doing that?
RG: From what I understand, when the Academy asked Chaplin, "Who arranged the music?," he told them Ray Rasch. When they went to Ray’s widow and asked who else arranged the score, she said, "Someone named Russell.” The only person who came to their minds was Larry Russell, who also was a film arranger. But Larry, too, had passed away, and when they asked his widow if he had scored it, she said yes, he must have. So Oscars were given to Larry and Ray posthumously along with Charlie. Actually, I'm not that comfortable talking about this because I don't want to make trouble for anyone or spoil anyone’s fond thoughts or memories.
JW: Understood, but setting the record straight is important. What happened after the Oscar was awarded?
RG: The next day my phone in New Zealand rang off the hook. Keith Williams, the conductor of the Limelightscore, called to apologize. So did Larry Russell’s son. I'm not sure why everyone was sorry after the award was given. Maybe they didn't realize my role until those who were actually there started talking. I don't know. I'm sure it didn't help that I lived so far away.
JW: Did you ever call the Academy to make a fuss?
RG: Goodness, no. I’m a Baha'i. It’s part of my faith never to be the source of grief to anyone. I didn't want Larry's widow or family or anyone to feel bad. I still don't. I've won plenty of awards. I just forgot about it.
JW: Are you upset by what happened?
RG: Me? [laughs] Of course not. I know that I arranged the score for the film. And so do those who were there and those who have spoken to those who know. At my age, 92, I'm more focused on moving forward.

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