More on the arrests of leading Iranian Bahá’ís
There’s been a lot of activity overnight. Here are some links you might like to follow to stories, comments and statement on the arrest of the 6 members of the “Friends in Iran”, the informal Bahá’í coordinating group.
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
Statement by the US State Department
Amnesyt International Statement in Payvand’s News
No doubt there are others I have missed, but this should give you a flavour of how the story is making its way into the public domain.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, arrests, persecution, human rights
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10 comments
Years ago, we used to send letters to the Iranian authorities asking them to release the imprisioned friends.
Wouldn’t be better if a group of us, representing different countries of the world went there?
What more than ’strongly condem’ could other goverments do?
Many UN resolutions have been made, public pressure from media…but they just don’t care.
Is there any ‘earthly’ way to finish this things?
I fear that things may get worse before they get better - for the Bahá’ís and for the people of Iran generally. However, God has a plan, I’ve no doubt. Things will happen (no idea what) which will make sense only when we see them in hindsight - and those events will utterly change the picture in Iran. In the meantime, however, we just carry on doing what we can through our governments, through the EU, through the UN, through the media, etc., to defend the lives and the safety of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
[...] lot of the coverage in Bahá’í and other sources of the arrests of 6 prominent Bahá’ís in Iran has [...]
If I were an imprisoned Bahá’í in Iran I would like my suffering to be useful particularly for proclaiming the Faith.
As we all know, the Iranian government says that we are a political movement no a religious one. In the Revelation of Bahá’u'lláh by Taherzadeh, he mentions three different ways of teaching that Abu’l-Fadl used. (volume 4, pag 262) The third method could be used in this case. One of the proofs of the verity of the Faith and that we have God’s assistance is the fact that in spite of all the persecutions in the Iran since the very beginning, the Faith expanded to all countries of the world and its members everywhere are willing to sacrifice and give their lives for it. Since they are surprised by its development and growth their only recourse is invoke human political assistance, while the only valid reason is God’s assistance.
Instead of going there (this was -and still is- my wish when I became a Bahá’i in my youth ) which is not practical, we could get a group of friends say 50, to travel to every possible country except Iran, and in their native dresses, visit the Iranian embassies or some other key places and denounce the imprisonment and the persecutions of the friends in Iran. That will be and excellent way to show we are not political and the foolishness to try to eliminate the Faith.
What do you think? Would it be a worthy suggestion to some National Assemblies or the Universal House of Justice?
When the House of Justice wrote to the Bahá’í youth in Iran, a while ago, they reminded them of their spiritual heritage of great teachers and martyrs, called on them to be steadfast and not to react against those who are their persecutors, but to continue to find ways of being of service to their country.
Actually, the Iranian believers themselves are teaching and their patience in the face of suffering is now attracting the interest of many of their compatriots both in Iran and elsewhere.
And we have boundless opportunities to teach, for which their sacrifices are a spiritual foundation.
The idea of the group in national costume visiting Iranian embassies all around the world is an interesting one, Cesar, but I feel sure the Counsellors would advise us that a better use of our resources would be to focus on the growth process in the clusters.
There is, of course, a lot of quiet diplomatic activity being undertaken by the Bahá’í International Community’s UN Offices and national Offices of External Affairs around the world.
Doesn’t the Baha’i religion advise its believers to be obedient to the government where they live and to abide by its laws? If so, then could:
“We protest in the strongest terms the arrests of our fellow Bahá’ís in Iran,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations.”
be considered a circumvention of this counsel since it originates from outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran?
@ If I were an imprisoned Bahá’í in Iran I would like my suffering to be useful particularly for proclaiming the Faith…
that is a praiseworthy thought but hopefully none of us will ever have to go through this
For me it is unimaginable what the Iranian Baha’is are going through…
To be firm and steadfast in your Faith regardless of the consequences you face… My God!
I think there is not a Baha’i in the world who would not go to that prison, rip those doors off and free them.
However the key for their freedom and emancipation is also in our hands. Focus on teaching the Faith should be
in front of our eyes even more now. It is through their sufferings that we’ve been enabled to become the Baha’is.
We have had traveling choruses going to many different countries. We have the experience for mounting such a campaign. This time it would be to help the friends in Iran and also to proclaim the Faith using the media. A traveling group of well chosen friends, representing very different cultures, like Eskimos from the north and Mapuches from Chile in the South, etc. in their native customs with some artistic presentations would be a good support to the teaching work anywhere. They certainly would make an impact at least at some places like universities. (The Iranian embassies would be a side visit if possible, not necessarily important. The important statement is to show the expansion of the Faith and to declare it is a religion persecuted in the land of its birth)
Yes, probably we have to concentrate in direct teaching.
Well, OK, I am just dreaming.
Peter, I think you misunderstand the nature of the call to be obedient to our governments. We will certainly obey the law of the land wherever we live unless that law demands that we do not identify ourselves as Bahá’ís and that we refrain from talking about our faith to anyone. International human rights covenants, to which Iran has signed up, give everyone the right to choose their own religion or belief and to practise it in private and in public. From the Bahá’í perspective, talking with others about our faith is a fundamental right (and duty). There is nothing in the Bahá’í teaching on obedience to preclude Bahá’ís inside or outside Iran from protesting the human rights abuses the Iranian Bahá’ís are suffering to the UN or from making their complaint known publicly. Bahá’u'lláh did this, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did this, Shoghi Effendi did this and the Universal House of Justice have been working through the Bahá’í International Community offices for years to try and bring a halt to the gross injustices carried out by the Iranian government against Bahá’ís.
Tomaz, I think you are quite right. We would, every one of us, go to Iran and tear down those prison doors if we could. But we cannot. So we must do what will protect those blessed souls who are currently languishing in Iranian jails. The work that’s being done by Bahá’í external affairs offices around the world in drawing attention to the plight of the Bahá’ís through our governments and through the media is very important. But that’s only for a relatively few to do.
What we can all do is to teach the Faith and to invite people to join us on the path that will lead ultimately the growth of a new global civilization based on justice and unity. I’m sure the Bahá’ís in Iran long for this more than anythig.
Cesar, I think your idea about a multi-national travelling group makes more sense when applied to teaching the Faith and supporting the growth at cluster level. To be most effective, it really would have to fit with the needs of the Plan. It would certainly take a deal of planning and organization!
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