Updates of the persecution of Baha'is in Iran

[arthra]

In the long run...we think it ill turn out alright and are optimistic and positive about the future...but before that time (the birth of the new world) there will be travails and tests and yes tribulations and so on...

- Art

[ayani]

Originally Posted by arthra

In the long run...we think it ill turn out alright and are optimistic and positive about the future...but before that time (the birth of the new world) there will be travails and tests and yes tribulations and so on...

- Art

prayers for those Baha'is suffering persecution. may God light the way for them through their trials, and reveal to us ways to give them help and support.

Art... may i ask, do Baha'is generally believe that the rising levels of religious persecution are leading up to something better? i've heard of the idea of the "most great peace", but i've never been clear on what that means, exactly.

[Popeyesays]

The Mo0st Great Peace is a thng of the future. Right now what Abdu'l Baha calls "The Lesser Peace" is being forged. It will be built by the governments and peoples of the world coming to the point where war is a four letter word.

"In this period of its evolution the world of humanity is in danger. Every war is against the good pleasure of the Lord of mankind, for man is the edifice of God and war destroys the divine edifice. If an active, actual peace is brought about, the human world will attain to the utmost serenity and composure; wolves will be transformed into lambs, devils into angels, and terrors into divine splendors in less than the twinkling of an eye."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 85)

"O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the sighs and tears of this wronged One, and lay not excessive burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves. Thus We unfold to your eyes 254 that which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber. By them ye rule, by their means ye subsist, by their aid ye conquer. Yet, how disdainfully ye look upon them! How strange, how very strange!
Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents.
O rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.
Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 253)

Regards,
Scott

[ayani]

thank you, Scott. here's hoping for the advent of the Lesser Peace... in Baha'i thought, will the Most Great Peace also coincide with the appearence of another manifestation, or with a kind of Baha'i golden age, or...something else?

[arthra]

The Most Great Peace was an era which could have occured sooner or later... It could have occurred sooner had the rulers of the world responded to the plan proposed by Baha'u'llah to reduce armaments, establish a world parliament and an international court of arbitration... but it is only relatively recently that we have an international court of arbitration which functions through the UN... The UN is functioning as something like a world parliament but needs to be strengthened ...so today we have a Lesser Peace or more or less a political peace rather than a Most Great Peace:

No machinery falling short of the standard inculcated by the Bahá'í Revelation, and at variance with the sublime pattern ordained in His teachings, which the collective efforts of mankind may yet devise can ever hope to achieve anything above or beyond that "Lesser Peace" to which the Author of our Faith has Himself alluded in His writings. "Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace," He, admonishing the kings and rulers of the earth, has written, "hold ye fast unto this the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents." Expatiating on this Lesser Peace, He thus addresses in that same Tablet the rulers of the earth: "Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions... Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice."

- Shoghi Effendi

Eventually we look forward to a Baha'i World Commonwealth which we believe will be more like a world civilization when wars will be a thing of the past and humanity will begin harnessing it's true potential.

So we Baha'is are very optimist when it comes to a long range view of things ... You could say we are more "far sighted" looking more to that light at the end of the tunnel while some of our friends are think Armageddon and the "end" of the world... Hopefully it be only the end of the world as we know it or rather knew it...

- Art

[ayani]

Originally Posted by arthra

So we Baha'is are very optimist when it comes to a long range view of things ... You could say we are more "far sighted" looking more to that light at the end of the tunnel while some of our friends are think Armageddon and the "end" of the world... Hopefully it be only the end of the world as we know it or rather knew it...

very, very true, Art. and i find this a much more spiritually hopeful and beautiful prospect than "end times" theology.

[arthra]

IRANIAN GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST BAHA'IS SHOWS NEW FACETS

NEW YORK, 21 September 2007 (BWNS) -- The bulldozing of a Baha'i
cemetery in Iran last week is the latest in a series of incidents in a
government-led campaign of hatred against Baha'is.

The destruction of the cemetery by individuals using heavy equipment
occurred between 9 September and 10 September near Najafabad, on the
outskirts of Isfahan. What happened there is nearly identical to what
happened in July in Yazd, where another Baha'i cemetery was extensively
damaged by earth-moving equipment.

The list of anti-Baha'i incidents is growing, as are human rights
violations against other groups in Iran.

In Najafabad, a few days before the destruction of more than 100 Baha'i
graves, threatening letters were delivered to some 30 Baha'i families.
In May, in Mazandaran province, the unoccupied homes of six Iranian
Baha'is were set on fire. In June, in Abadeh, vandals wrote hateful
graffiti on Baha'i houses and shops.

Since May, Baha'is in at least 17 towns have been detained for
interrogation. Six new arrests have been reported. In Kermanshah, a 70-year-old
man was sentenced to 70 lashes and a year in prison for "propagating
and spreading Bahaism and the defamation of the pure Imams." In
Mazandaran, a court has once again ruled against three women and a man who are
charged with "propagation on behalf of an organization which is
anti-Islamic."

All these events are results of the Iranian government's long campaign
to incite hatred against Baha'is, a spokeswoman for the Baha'i
International Community said today.

"This should be a cause for concern among human rights activists
everywhere," said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International
Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

She appealed to the world to hold the Iranian government accountable
for its actions and to help prevent the situation from deteriorating into
further violence. Baha'is in Iran number about 300,000 and represent
the largest religious minority in the country.

"Put in a historical context, these kinds of attacks too often have
been a prelude to campaigns of oppression and violence that are far worse.

"While some of these incidents may seem to be minor, the fact that such
events are increasingly commonplace and reported as occurring in
virtually every region of Iran shows that the persecution of Baha'is remains
official government policy, and therefore is something for which Iran
must be held accountable," she said.

"The graffiti in Abadeh included slogans such as 'Death to Baha'is, the
mercenaries of America and England,' 'Hezbollah despises the Baha'is,'
'Baha'is - mercenaries of Israel' and 'Baha'is are unclean' - phrases
that relate directly to government propaganda that has been
disseminated in Iranian news media in recent years," Ms. Ala'i said.

She noted that other groups in Iran are also suffering human-rights
violations.

"In recent months, the Iranian authorities have been carrying out a
widespread crackdown on civil society, targeting academics, women's rights
activists, students, and journalists," said Ms. Ala'i.

[For more details go to http://www.news.bahai.org]


To view the photos and additional features click here:
http://news.bahai.org

--
8-sw-070921-1-IRANATTACKS-578-S

[arthra]

iran's crackdowN victimizes baha'is
RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION | Rest of the world needs to speak out on minority's behalf

September 30, 2007
BY MARK KIRK
As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage this week to address students at Columbia University, his government was working at his direction to find and expel students from Iranian universities -- solely based on the religion they practice.
There is a little-told story from Iran -- a story we thought would forever stay buried in the darkness of 1930s Europe. This story is about a religion founded in Iran in the mid-1800s that has become Iran's largest religious minority with over 250,000 members.

As the representative in Congress for the Baha'i Temple of North America, I know the Baha'i faith well -- a faith of tolerance and diversity of thought. These are values we embrace on the North Shore. But in an oppressive Islamic dictatorship like Iran, Baha'is pose a clear and present danger to the regime.

In March 2006, just a few months into Ahmadinejad's presidency, the Command Headquarters of Iran's Armed Forces ordered the police, Revolutionary Guard and Ministry of Information to identify all Baha'is and collect information on their activities.

Two months later, the Iranian Association of Chambers of Commerce began compiling a list of Baha'is serving in every business sector.

In May of last year, 54 Baha'is were arrested in Shiraz and held for several days without trial -- the largest roundup of Baha'is since the 1980s. Then in August, Iran's feared Ministry of the Interior ordered provincial officials to "cautiously and carefully monitor and manage" all Baha'i social activities. The Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology ordered 81 Iranian universities to expel any student discovered to be a Baha'i. A letter issued in November from one university stated that it is Iranian policy to prevent Baha'is from enrolling in universities and to expel Baha'is upon discovery.

This year, the safety of Iranian Baha'is continued to deteriorate, as 104 Baha'is were expelled from Iranian universities. In February, police in Tehran and surrounding towns entered Baha'i homes and businesses to collect details on family members. The First Branch of the Falard Public Court refused to hear a lawsuit "due to the plaintiffs' belonging to the Bahaist sect."

In April, the Iranian Public Intelligence and Security Force ordered 25 industries to deny business licenses to Baha'is. The Ministry of Information threatened to shut down one company unless it fired all Baha'i employees. Banks are closing Baha'i accounts and refusing loans to Baha'i applicants. Just last week, the Iranian government bulldozed a Baha'i cemetery, erasing the memory of thousands of Iranian citizens.

The U.S. State Department's 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom paints an even darker picture.

"Broad restrictions on Baha'is severely undermined their ability to function as a community. The Government repeatedly offers Baha'is relief from mistreatment in exchange for recanting their faith. . . .

"Baha'is may not teach or practice their faith or maintain links with co-religionists abroad. Baha'is are often officially charged with "espionage on behalf of Zionism. . . . "

"Since late 2005 Baha'is have faced an increasing number of public attacks. . . . Radio and television broadcasts have also increasingly condemned the Baha'is and their religion. . . .

"Public and private universities continued either to deny admittance to or expel Baha'i students."

We have seen this movie before -- the opening scenes of one of the most horrific episodes in human history. What happened to our solemn promise of "never again" made in 1945?

Never again would the international community stay silent about laws banning one group from attending school. Never again would we ignore orders to register with the government and report on your family's whereabouts. Never again would we welcome a leader who has ordered a religious minority to be subject to secret police monitors and nightly roundups.

On Tuesday, the Iranian president addressed the United Nations General Assembly. That will be a defining moment for our new century. The lessons of the 20th century gave us all the warning signs of what will come if we do not speak out.


U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk represents the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. He is co-chairman of the House Iran Working Group and a member of the Human Rights Caucus.

Source:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/othervi...-REF30.article

[UnityNow101]

May God protect the Bahais of Iran. It is really disturbing because Ahmadinejad talked extensively about how they want to live in peace with everyone and that everyone is created with the same rights, yet he allows the Bahais of Iran to be persecuted on a daily basis. Do you think that it is Ahmadinejad that condones the treatment of the Bahais or could it be a practice that is upheld by the Ayatollahs of that country...Either Ahmadinejad is a sly and cunning politician, or his hands are shackled by the Ayatollahs and religious leaders of his country. Which do you believe it to be?

[arthra]

Unity wrote:

Do you think that it is Ahmadinejad that condones the treatment of the Bahais or could it be a practice that is upheld by the Ayatollahs of that country...Either Ahmadinejad is a sly and cunning politician, or his hands are shackled by the Ayatollahs and religious leaders of his country. Which do you believe it to be?
__________________

Thanks for your post Unity!

Without singling out any leader politically it is very clear to most observers that since the Islamic revolution on the late seventies the Baha'is have been singled out and scape goated...also, the UN has sent observers to report back aboutthe persecution of religious minorities in Iran. Here is a good summary for your review:

The Bahá’Ã* Question - Appendix I - Bahá’Ã*s killed since 1978

Since the inception of the Faith in Iran and Iraq over a hundred years ago... Baha'i Holy Places have been seized and plundered.. Baha'i cemetaries have been vandalized and destroyed and there have been many Baha'is martyred for not recanting their Faith. A close parallel to me is the early centuries of Christianity when it was persecuted by the Roman state.

The conditions for the Baha'is in Egypt for Baha'is are also problematic as only three religions are recognized there...

- Art