Increased persecution of Baha’is in Iran
Ruth Gledhill’s blog has an excellent article about a deeply worrying development in the long-standing persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. It is well worth reading - and following her links - if you want to find out about this serious, persistent, but not so well known, oppression of a community purely on the grounds of its faith.
Ruth is the religious affairs correspondent of The Times.
The latest development in Iran has been noted on a number of Baha’i blogs including Baha’i Blog, doberman pizza, and Baha’i Views.
Technorati Tags: Ruth Gledhill, Baha’is, Iran
13 comments
Thank you, Barney, for bringing Ruth Gendell’s article to my attention. I have commented on her blog. Your vigilance and great effort is most appreciated.
I am a Baha’i from New Zealand, I have noted Ruth Gendell’s intelligent and balanced coverage on religious issues before. I deeply appreciate her recent article on the supression of the Baha’i Faith in Iran.
She speaks not just for those living under this injustice, not just for us as their anxious brothers and sisters around the world but for all people who watch vigilantly and pray for a better world for all humanity.
Thanks, both, for your comments.
By the way, her name is Ruth Gledhill (rather than Gendell)
This is just a note to express my personal appreciation to Ruth Gledhill for her well researched and written article which brings with it a greater awareness of the past and current religious persecutions occurring in Iran.
As a Baha’i of 45 years and an educator attempting to teach student to value and embrace diversity, I have been greatly distressed over the treatment of Baha’is in Iran. I truly appreciate Ruth Gledhill’s article in bringing to light the persecutions against the Baha’i in Iran which they have endured since the middle of the 19th century.
As a Bahai in Japan, I too, am concerned. Just another reason to concentrate our resources within the realms we can influence for the better. Their suffering is buying our spiritual bread for the journey every one faces in this world. It is only the case that, in my opinion, the Bahais are more aware of the fellowship of all the travelers than any other religious group I have run across.
there are other Baha’is living in Muslim ruled countries who are now feeling rather cautious.
one wonders whether media coverage of this situation would work for or against the Faith.
I am a Bah? ? in the United States. I am extremly concerned about the plight of the Bah? ? ’s in Iran. It is very difficult for me to understand in this day and age any direction in “ethnic cleansing.” It is so important to have respect for every soul on this earth. Distroying one segment of the population will ultimately harm the aggressors soul. There is no need for hate at this time in history. Our ultimate goal should be for Peace and Understanding. This is what I believe is what God wants for us.
Just to provide some backdrop for readers that are arriving in this Blog; members of the Baha’i Faith have been persecuted in Iran for the last 160 years. In fact, the Baha’i calendar begins in 1844 when The Bab (forerunner to Baha’u'llah) announced His mission; over 20,000 followers of the Bab (Babis, who were in fact the early Baha’is) were brutally massacred in one of the worst waves of persecution and genocide of the 1800’s. While this was during the Qajar Dynasty, persecution of Baha’is has continued throughout the time of the Shah Reza Pahlavi and his father (Shah before him). After the revolution, over 200 Baha’is were killed, hundreds imprisoned, thousands lost jobs and many fled out of the country. So the main concern is that it is getting worse, with several Holy Places being descecrated, graves destroyed, Baha’is dieing in prison. Over 500 Baha’i homes raided and new people imprisoned. There is even a document put together by the Government calling for extermination of Baha’is. We must stop this!
Proclaiming one?s religious beliefs to others is an individual right upheld by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the UN High Commission for Human Rights (HCHR). The purpose of this letter is to raise awareness of my concern for the plight of members of the Bah??? Faith in Iran.
Perhaps you have not learned of these facts until now, but actually, the Baha?is have been suffering in Iran ever since the inception of our Faith, more than a century and a half ago. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 caused a new wave of oppression. In 2004, the Baha?is of Iran sent a letter to the former president of Iran, seeking relief from the deprivation forced upon them. In reply, the Iranian government authorities have released waves of arbitrary arrests, detentions, and executions. Recent political changes in the country have caused the situation to worsen. For example:
Ten days ago (20March06) the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir, documented that Ayatollah Khamenei (the Supreme Leader of Iran) directed the Chairman of Command Headquarters of the Armed Services in Iran to write a highly confidential letter (dated 29 October 2005) concerning the status of the Bah??? community, to the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard, the Police Force, and the Association of Chambers of Commerce (Ettehadiyeye Asnaf). In his letter these organizations were instructed to ?compile a list of Baha?is in every type of trade and employment, to identify persons who adhere to the Bah??? Faith and monitor their activities … which will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of … members of the Bah??? Faith.?
These actions against the Baha?is are in violation of UN Human Rights treaties which the government of Iran has agreed to follow in the past. According to the United Nations report, ?STATUS OF RATIFICATIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES? (as of 09 June 2004), Iran has agreed to adhere (but they have not yet signed) to the treaties listed below. However, according to UN Human Rights inspection reports, they have violated all of them.
(1) The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); which is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (date of agreement was 3Jan76).
(2) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); which is monitored by the Human Rights Committee (date of agreement was 23Mar76).
(3) The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD); which is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (date of agreement was 4Jan69).
(4) The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); which is monitored by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (date of agreement was 12Aug94).
One of the guiding precepts of the teachings of the Bah??? Faith is that we are not allowed to become involved in civil disobedience against the governments of the world. Although more than 300,000 members of the Bah??? Faith face arrest, torture, and /or death in Iran, they are neither rioting nor encouraging public disobedience. We are obedient to the laws and government of the land in which we reside. We are not allowed to take to the streets to oppose action against our Faith. When injustice is done, we are required to follow the procedures of the Law of the Land to seek justice. This respect is shown to all governments, American as well as Iranian.
In particular, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) upholds the right of all individuals to have “freedom of thought, conscience, and religion?, including the right to “manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching?. However, it allows governments to curb the open expression of religious belief if “necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others?.
According to reports made by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Iranian government has unjustifiably taken this clause as a license to suppress minority religions. The result of this policy has been that there has been a rise in fundamentalism and accompanying clashes between governmental law and religious law.
There have been economic repercussions as well. The UN Rapporteur, Ms. Jahangir, has observed that there is a relationship between religious freedom and development. ?Where there is religious oppression…it makes poverty worse.?
The remedy to these problems lies not in the suppression of religious expression, but in the teaching of tolerance. Experience has shown that Governments at the local national and international level can reduce religious intolerance by promoting dialogue both within and between religious groups, as well as political leaders. It is especially important that women be involved in the consultations.
As mentioned before, in 2004, the Baha?is of Iran tried to seek justice through the Iranian judicial system. Their pleas for justice were ignored. The Khamenei letter (dated 29Oct05) has increased not only the persecution of minority religions, but it specifically targets members of the Bah??? Faith. Their only recourse is to turn to the international community for assistance with persuading the Iranian government to be tolerant.
It is my hope that by informing more and more people in the United States about religious intolerance in Iran, the more they will influence their leaders to apply pressure on the Iranian authorities to allow religious freedom in Iran. Universal freedom from religious suppression can only be attained by international consultation and compassion.
Nick and Gary, thank you both for your helpful and informative comments. Very much appreciated, and they will help readers understand the context of the persecution of the Bah?’?s in Iran.
What Gary says about informing more and more people in the United States about religious intolerance in Iran and thus encouraging them to influence their leaders to press Iran on religious freedom applies equally to other countries, such as the UK, where I live.
One point that needs emphasizing is that any diplomat or government representative talking to the Iranian government about religious freedom must mention the Bah?’?s specifically, since the Iranian authorities try to exclude the Bah?’?s from considerations of religious freedom by claiming the Bah?’?s to be a political group - which is wholly untrue, as even a quite superficial examination of the Faith will show.
One of the guiding precepts of the teachings of the Bah??? Faith is that we are not allowed to become involved in civil disobedience against the governments of the world. Although more than 300,000 members of the Bah??? Faith face arrest, torture, and /or death in Iran, they are neither rioting nor encouraging public disobedience. We are obedient to the laws and government of the land in which we reside. We are not allowed to take to the streets to oppose action against our Faith. When injustice is done, we are required to follow the procedures of the Law of the Land to seek justice. This respect is shown to all governments, American as well as Iranian. I copied & printed hoping to show & will to other Baha’is
We all bow our heads and our hearts as we try to catch a glimpse of the sufferings of our beloved brethren in Iran. Many times I have read about the senseless killings of the Baha,is of Iran, and many times I have told myself, “If only the government of Iran knew how well meaning to the society Baha,is are, if only……….”. I am a Tanzanian -resident Baha,i who , like others in all parts of the world , today stand firm with our brothers and sisters of Iran opposed to those injustices , but, continueing to be well wishers of the Iranian government as we advance along a divinely - guided path of eventual unification of the human race and the establishment of peace on earth.Noble goals indeed they are!
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