The members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the UK near the Shrine of the Báb

The results of the election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the UK have just been announced by the Chief Teller at our National Convention in North Wales. In alphabetical order:

• Mrs Rita Bartlett
• Mr Peter Hulme
• Mr Barney Leith
• Dr Kishan Manocha
• Ms Fidelma Meehan
• Mr Patrick O’Mara
• Dr Vafa Ram
• Dr Shirin Tahzib
• Mr Robert Weinberg

The announcement was preceded by slides, prayers and readings devoted to the remembrance of the Bahá’ís in Iran.

And then each of the members of the National Assembly shared with the delegates and observers at our National Convention a few experiences and impressions from the Tenth International Bahá’í Convention that took place in Haifa at the end of April.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, National Spiritual Assembly, National Convention, Iran

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Globe and Mail Update has published a strongly worded commentary by Payam Akhavan, professor of international law at McGill University in Montreal, co-founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre and a former UN war-crimes prosecutor at The Hague, on the recent arrests of the Bahá’í leadership and the appalling state of human rights in Iran:

The recent arrests raise the spectre of the systematic execution of Baha’i leaders on charges of heresy during the early years of the Islamic Republic in the 1980s. A 1985 UN report characterized this religious inquisition as genocidal. The victims included Muna Mahmudnizhad, a teenager whose “crime” was teaching Baha’i children who had been expelled from school for their religion.

Unprotected infidels

Professor Akhavan points out that the Bahá’ís are not recognized by the Iranian constitution as a religious minority. This lack of recognition means that Bahá’ís are regarded as “unprotected infidels” and are not protected by the law. This is contrary to Iran’s obligations under the international human rights obligations to which Iran is party:

It is also contrary to the view of respected Islamic scholars that freedom of worship is a fundamental Koranic principle. Iran’s policy of intolerance betrays a regime that has cynically manipulated Islam as an instrument of power and used hate-mongering to legitimize its authoritarian rule.

Baha’is should have the rights of citizens

However, eminent human rights advocates, such as Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, are calling for a change in the Iranian constitution. All citizens should have the same rights, regardless of their religious beliefs and identity.

Even a senior religious leader in Iran, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, has issued a fatwa decreeing that Bahá’ís should have the rights of citizens of Iran, as bilo has reported here:

The congregation of Baha’ism not having the heavenly book like those of Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians in the constitution [of Islamic republic of Iran], are not considered one of the religious minorities. However, since they are the citizens of this country, they have the rights of a citizen and to live in this country. Furthermore, they must benefit from the Islamic compassion which is stressed in Quran and by the religious authorities.

The litmus test

The Iranian regime is faced with a stark choice, as Payam Akhavan points out:

Either it can release the arrested Baha’is and respect their fundamental human rights, or it can persist in cynically peddling an impotent medieval theology that will confirm its irrelevance and hasten its own demise.

The treatment of the Bahá’ís is the litmus test of any claims the Iranian authorities may make to be a civilized
government that promotes the good of humankind.

Media coverage

Media coverage continues apace, including this post in Ruth Gledhill’s blog. (Ruth is religious correspondent of The Times).

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, human rights, religious freedom, Shirin Ebadi, Ayatollah Montazeri, Ruth Gledhill

So, National Convention started in Llandudno yesterday afternoon. Consultation is currently focusing on the teaching plans of the Bahá’í community.

I drove the 20 miles to Bangor after breakfast for an interview with BBC Radio Wales about the recent arrests of the Bahá’í leadership in Iran. It was a “friendly” interview. The interviewer was not trying to challenge or stir up controversy, but wanted to know why the Bahá’ís in Iran suffer so much persecution.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, National Convention, Iran, human rights, BBC

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