Niece of arrested Iranian Baha’i writes in The Guardian

Suppose your father had been executed many years ago merely because he belonged to a particular religion. And suppose that your uncle is now in prison for being a member of the faith community - and you don’t know where he is. How would you feel?

That’s the case for Bahar Tahzib, an Iranian Bahá’í who has lived in the UK for many years. Bahar’s father, Yusuf Subhani, was executed in Iran in June 1980 for being a Bahá’í. And now her uncle, Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the six Iranian Bahá’í leaders arrested on 14 May, is in jail somewhere in Iran and is being held without contact with the outside world.

Bahar has written an excellent piece in The Guardian’s Comment Is Free blog.

“What have my uncle and his colleagues done to provoke such treatment?” Bahar asks. She explains that they have been accused of threatening the national security of Iran, and yet repeated experience shows that Bahá’ís detained in Iran are offered the opportunity to recant their faith in exchange for their freedom. The overwhelming majority of Iranian Bahá’ís have declined that particular devil’s bargain.

Without any rancour, Bahar Tahzib points out the sad irony of the situation:

The tragedy of Iran’s obsessive witch-hunt against its largest non-Muslim religious minority is that the Baha’is cherish an abiding love for their country and have remained there – despite intense persecution – because they wish to contribute to its progress and prosperity. Iran is their homeland, and as the cradle of their faith and others, they extol it as a sacred land. Their steadfastness in the face of oppression, and the evidence of their goodwill towards their countrymen is gaining increasing recognition amongst ever greater numbers of Iranians at home and abroad. Muslim campaigners are openly calling for the Iranian government to respect the human rights of its Baha’i population.

I know I would find it challenging if members of my family had been put to death by a regime intent on snuffing out the religion to which we all belong. I’m always amazed by the beautiful way the Iranian Bahá’ís I know handle what must be very painful memories.

But the grace of the Iranian Bahá’ís does not excuse the actions of the Iranian state. We will continue to work to secure the release of the seven Bahá’í leaders and of three Bahá’ís currently in prison in Shiraz for running service projects for the benefit of deprived children.

Iran Baha’i arrests - previous posts

Read some of my previous posts on the arrests of Bahá’í leaders in Iran:

Baha’is arrested in Iran - grave news
Baha’i leaders arrested in Iran - Baha’i World News Service story
Bahá’í arrests in Iran - Wendi’s excellent article
Baha’i arrests in Iran - more coverage
EU condemns arrests of Baha’is in Iran
Iran - whereabouts of arrested Baha’is unknown
More danger signs for Baha’is in Iran
Bishop condemns arrest of Iranian Baha’i leadership
Shirin Ebadi speaks up for Baha’is

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, persecution, human rights, religious freedom, Bahar Tahzib, Comment is Free, Guardian

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