Ominous warning signs for the Baha'is in Iran
Christine and I are becoming increasingly concerned regarding the dangers facing the Baha'is in Iran. As you may know, in the first few years after the Iranian revolution hundreds of Baha'is were killed and thousands imprisoned because they believe that the founder of their Faith, Baha'u'llah, was a Messenger from God -- a belief that led some fanatical Muslims to claim that Baha'is are "heretics" and worthy of death.
For the past 30 years -- in an effort to destroy the Baha'i community there -- the Iranian authorities have come up with all sorts of falsified charges -- such as being spies for the US and Israel, working against the government, having children out of wedlock(Baha'i marriage ceremonies are not recognized and in order to be official Baha'is are required to recant their faith-- which of course they refuse to do) and more. Using these excuses they have destroyed Baha'i Holy Places, revoked their pensions, had them fired from jobs, refused to allow their children to be educated, and asked the military to monitor their movements.
(To read more about the history of persecution in Iran click here)
Despite all this, Baha'is are commanded by the tenets of their faith to be obedient to their government, to be peaceful (and thus never to engage in acts of violence or terrorism) and to work toward the betterment of their community -- and the Baha'is in Iran have continued to do this despite the hardships they have faced.
In the latest act of persecution the government has arrested 6 of the leaders of the community and to this date their whereabouts are unknown. This is an ominous reminder of the 9 Bahai leaders who were abducted in August 1980 and disappeared without a trace. It is important to note that nearly half the Bahá’ís executed in Iran since 1979 have been the foremost leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran -- no doubt an effort to destroy the Baha'i Faith by executing its leadership.
While the government has only said that those arrested were working against Iranian interests, two recent statements present an ominous warning that the 12 April bombing in Shiraz may be used as an excuse to renew the physical attacks against the Baha'i community.
In the first, Mashhad’s prayer leader, Alam Al-Hoda, said this past Friday "Not only is Bahaism not a religion, but also it is not a belief system! How can we let these Israeli mercenaries [Iranian Bahais], who have had a hand in the murder of millions of innocent people [Palestinians], live freely in our country...this satanic movement must be forcefully destroyed, and its members have to be executed."2
...and Hamid Reza Taraghi, Secretary-General for International Affairs of the Motalefeh Party in Iran recently said "Iranians have always taken a strong position against subversive groups, and they now ask that Iran be cleansed/purged from this terrorist sect."3
Let us hope that international outrage against the recent actions of the Iranian government will prevent the wholesale massacre that we saw in the early 1980's...
For the past 30 years -- in an effort to destroy the Baha'i community there -- the Iranian authorities have come up with all sorts of falsified charges -- such as being spies for the US and Israel, working against the government, having children out of wedlock(Baha'i marriage ceremonies are not recognized and in order to be official Baha'is are required to recant their faith-- which of course they refuse to do) and more. Using these excuses they have destroyed Baha'i Holy Places, revoked their pensions, had them fired from jobs, refused to allow their children to be educated, and asked the military to monitor their movements.
(To read more about the history of persecution in Iran click here)
Despite all this, Baha'is are commanded by the tenets of their faith to be obedient to their government, to be peaceful (and thus never to engage in acts of violence or terrorism) and to work toward the betterment of their community -- and the Baha'is in Iran have continued to do this despite the hardships they have faced.
In the latest act of persecution the government has arrested 6 of the leaders of the community and to this date their whereabouts are unknown. This is an ominous reminder of the 9 Bahai leaders who were abducted in August 1980 and disappeared without a trace. It is important to note that nearly half the Bahá’ís executed in Iran since 1979 have been the foremost leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran -- no doubt an effort to destroy the Baha'i Faith by executing its leadership.
While the government has only said that those arrested were working against Iranian interests, two recent statements present an ominous warning that the 12 April bombing in Shiraz may be used as an excuse to renew the physical attacks against the Baha'i community.
In the first, Mashhad’s prayer leader, Alam Al-Hoda, said this past Friday "Not only is Bahaism not a religion, but also it is not a belief system! How can we let these Israeli mercenaries [Iranian Bahais], who have had a hand in the murder of millions of innocent people [Palestinians], live freely in our country...this satanic movement must be forcefully destroyed, and its members have to be executed."2
...and Hamid Reza Taraghi, Secretary-General for International Affairs of the Motalefeh Party in Iran recently said "Iranians have always taken a strong position against subversive groups, and they now ask that Iran be cleansed/purged from this terrorist sect."3
Let us hope that international outrage against the recent actions of the Iranian government will prevent the wholesale massacre that we saw in the early 1980's...
posted by Brian at 7:31 AM
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