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the Anti-Bahá'í Society, Hojjatieh, an organization committed to the destruction of the Bahá’í Faith, “Kayhan,” the official Tehran daily newspaper has carried more than 30 articles about the Bahá'ís and their religion in recent weeks, all defamatory in ways that are meant to create provocation. Radio and television programs have joined in as well condemning the Bahá'ís and their beliefs.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
FIFTY-FOUR BAHÁ'ÍS ARRESTED IN IRAN
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NEW YORK (24 May 06) –Iranian officials have arrested 54 Bahá'ís in the city of Shiraz, the Bahá'í International Community has learned. They are mostly youth and were all engaged in humanitarian service when they were arrested. It is one of the largest number of Bahá'ís taken at once since the 1980s. The specific charges are not clear, though in the past, Bahá'ís have been arrested summarily on false charges.
The arrests occurred on Friday, 19 May, while the Bahá’ís, along with several other volunteers who were not Bahá’ís, were teaching classes to underprivileged children in a school as part of a community service activity conducted by a local non-governmental organization. At the time of the arrests, they had in their possession a letter of permission from the Islamic Council of Shíráz. They also carried the letter of permission in each of their classes.
The nature of the charges against the Bahá’ís is unknown at this time. The day following the arrests, a judge told family members that the detainees would be freed soon. As of today, it appears that all of the non-Bahá’ís and one Bahá’í junior youth have been released without having to post bail.
The arrests coincided with raids on six Bahá'í homes during which notebooks, computers, books, and other documents were confiscated. In the last 14 months, 72 Bahá'ís across Iran have been arrested and held for up to several weeks.
“These new arrests in Shiraz, coming after more than a year of ‘revolving door’ detentions, bring to a total of more than 125 Bahá'ís who have been arrested without cause since the beginning of 2005,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations.
“Taken all together, this pattern of arbitrary arrests and detentions amount to the purest form of religious persecution and reflect nothing less than a calculated effort by the Iranian government to keep the Bahá'í community utterly off balance and in a state of terror,” Ms. Dugal said.
The arrests come against a backdrop of increasing concern by international human rights monitors that the Iranian Government is escalating its 25-year-long campaign of persecution against the 300,000-member Bahá'í community of Iran, the largest religious minority in that country.
In March, the UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief released news of a secret 29 October 2005 letter from the Iranian military high command ordering police and Revolutionary Guard units to “identify” and “monitor” members of the Baha'i community of Iran, saying the existence of such a letter made her “highly concerned.”
As well, since late 2005, more than 30 mostly negative and often defamatory articles about the Bahá'ís and their religion have appeared in “Kayhan,” the official Tehran daily newspaper. Radio and television broadcasts have likewise increasingly condemned the Bahá'ís and their beliefs.
Since January, in addition to the 54 arrested in Shiraz last Friday, seven Bahá'ís have been arrested and held for periods of up to one month in Kermanshah, Isfahan, and Tehran.
Among those arrested in January was Mrs. Roya Habibi of Kermanshah, who has reported that she was interrogated for eight hours, with questions focused on her role as coordinator of a program to provide religious instruction in the Bahá'í Faith.
In the court document that sets out the charges against her, Mrs. Habibi, who is currently out on bail, “is charged with teaching the Bahaism sect and acting in an insulting manner towards all that is holy in Islam.”
“While it is often difficult to get details on the charges against Bahá'ís, there is no doubt that most of them – like the case against Mrs. Habibi -- are motivated purely by religious intolerance and prejudice,” said Ms. Dugal.
Last year, some 65 Bahá'ís were arrested and held for periods of time ranging from a few days to more than a month.
While most were held less than a week, others were jailed for up to three months. Some of the prisoners last year were held incommunicado, in unknown locations, while their families desperately searched for them. Last year also, government agents conducted prolonged searches of many of their homes, confiscating documents, books, computers, copiers and other belongings.
In the 1980s, some 200 Bahá'ís were killed or executed. Thousands were arrested and hundreds were imprisoned, many for long periods. In recent years, in the face of international monitoring, the executions and long-term imprisonments have stopped.
Correction: In this 24 May 2006 story on the arrests of Baha'is in Shiraz, we reported that they were teaching classes to underprivileged children in a school as part of a UNICEF community service activity conducted by a local non-governmental organization when they were arrested. We have learned since that the project was one of local initiative, in which participants modeled their efforts after a UNICEF project. It was not, however, directly associated with UNICEF. We apologize if this caused any misunderstanding.
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Wednesday, April 26, 2006
THE STORY OF MONA
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MONA MAHMUDNIZHAD – 1965 – 1983
Mona Mahmudnizhad, a young high school girl, was one of several score Baha'is, including women and teenage girls who were imprisoned in the fall of 1982 because of their Faith by the Islamic Revolutionary authorities in the Iranian city of Shiraz.
The prisoners, including Mona, endured months of abuse, interrogation and torture as the Islamic judges and their revolutionary guards attempted to force them to deny their religion. All refused, and ten of the women, including Mona, were secretly sentenced to death by hanging on June 18, 1983. In a final effort to break their wills, the authorities hanged the women one by one as the others were forced to watch.
Mona asked to be the final victim executed so that she could pray for the strength of each one who was hanged before her. When her turn came, she kissed the rope and put the noose around her own neck.
She was arrested with her father, Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad, who was hanged on March 12, 1983, several months before her. 
Following is a brief outline of Mona Mahmudnizhad's life, imprisonment and execution, based on accounts of relatives, friends and fellow prisoners.
MONA'S CHILDHOOD
Mona's life began on September 10, 1965, in difficult circumstances. Her father, Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad, was a dedicated Baha'i who left his comfortable home in Iran to serve as a Baha'i pioneer in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in the southwestern tip of the Arabian peninsula.
When Mona was born, Yemen was under military alert, with the roads controlled by armed guards. Since the Mahmudnizhad's lived in the countryside where there was no hospital, they had to travel to Aden, Yemen's capital, to assure that Mona was safely delivered. Although the trip itself was long and arduous because their automobile was stopped and meticulously searched at numerous roadblocks, they reached the hospital in time.
Mona was the second child born to Yad'u'llah and Farkhundeh Mahmudnizhad and brought the family great joy. Their first daughter, Taraneh, was already seven years old and her parents had often prayed for another child. Mona spent her first four years in Yemen, most of it uneventful and showered with great love by her family.
On one occasion, however, while crawling around as a baby, she nearly died from accidental poisoning. When she was out of danger and released from the hospital, she began shaking her hands and dancing to music her father was playing, much to everyone's immense relief. At age two, she was hit by a car and thrown to the sidewalk. She got up and uttered the only harsh words she knew, "You are bad," and then passed out before being taken to the hospital. Luckily, she sustained no serious injuries and she soon recovered.
Mona would probably have grown up in Yemen had the government not expelled all foreigners in 1969. While Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad desired to remain as a pioneer, he was forced to return to Iran, spending two years in Isfahan, six months in Kirmanshah and three years in Tabriz before finally settling, in 1974, in Shiraz, a city precious to Baha'is because it is the birthplace of the Faith and home of one of its two Prophet-Founders, The Bab. During this time, her father repaired small appliances for his work and served the Baha'i community as both an elected and appointed member of various administrative bodies. 1
SENSITIVITY AS A CHILD
Mona's family was very humble and sensitive, passing these traits to Mona. While she was only a young child, she was already displaying these qualities which later led to her becoming known, even as a youth, as the" Angel of Shiraz". When she attended school in Tabriz, for example, she became so close to her teachers that she would cry when they left the school for some other position.
When she entered the third grade in Shiraz, she was quickly recognized as an excellent student and was considered one of the most outstanding in the school. She also had a beautiful singing voice and a genuine love for those around her, especially younger children who would often surround her when she arrived at school just to be with her.
Mona's special qualities were greatly appreciated by her Baha'i community. She would always complete her assignments for Baha'i school classes and was often asked to recite poems, sing songs or chant prayers at the Baha'i 19-day Feasts.2 When she met people that she loved, her eyes would fill with tears and she would run forward to spontaneously embrace them. She would then exclaim in a loud voice, "O my God! I want to hug you and squeeze you in my arms."
One young woman had this recollection of Mona at age 11:
The first time I met Mona, it was in their apartment on the fifth floor of a building in downtown Shiraz. The family was living in a two bedroom apartment. I do not know why and how I was attracted to that simple room, Mona's room. The decoration of the room was as simple as possible, and the only thing that caught one's eye, was a large wall decoration made by Mona from the Baha'i writings. It clearly showed, even at that early age in life, how devoted she was to the Baha'i Faith.
Mona
By the time Mona became a teenager, she was well-known in Shiraz by both young people and adults, both inside and outside the Baha'i community. She was growing into a lovely young woman, with long brown hair and beautiful green eyes. She also continued her excellent scholarship, entering advanced Baha'i classes with students who were often much older. She did well, however, and was one of the best at memorizing many prayers and passages from the Baha'i writings. Mona's love for the Faith ran so deep that she would often awake in the middle of the night to pray and meditate.
MONA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER FATHER
While Mona's father deeply loved his whole family, he had a special love for Mona and would say, "Mona is the very child I have asked the Blessed Beauty3 to give me." The two developed a deep bond and grew together as Baha'is. In 1981, Mr. Mahmudnizhad was appointed as an Auxiliary Board Member4 for the Province of Pars, and was also elected Secretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Shiraz. He was one of the most popular teachers in the Baha'i school. Those who knew them closely said that Mona would often look deeply into her father's eyes in an almost meditative state and communicate with him silently. He was known as a man who was always smiling.
Mr. Mahmudnizhad's humility and dedication to service can be seen from the following story. When the family first moved to Shiraz, they considered it a dream come true. In Tabriz, they had prayed fervently that they would be able to visit the House of The Bab, the most holy place for Baha'is in Iran, and were thrilled that they would be living in the same city. But even when they were finally living in Shiraz, however, Mr. Mahnudnizhad still did not feel that he had earned the right to visit the House of The Bab on his own and told his family, "I shall not visit the Blessed House of The Bab unless he calls me himself."
One day Mr. Mahmudnizhad received a phone call and was asked to go to a certain address to repair a television set. The television, as it turned out, belonged to the mother of the caretaker of The Bab's House. After doing the work, Mr. Mahmuznizhad was ready to leave when the woman said, "Don't you want to visit the Blessed House? There is nobody there and I will let you in."
Thus, in this unexpected way, Mr. Mahmudnizhad had his prayer answered. He had been summoned to the House of The Bab to provide a service for the caretaker's family. Later he told his family that it was the happiest day of his life. He walked around the yard several times and then up and down the stairs, kissing the edge of each step; finally, he entered the room where The Bab had first declared his mission, bowed his forehead to the ground, and immersed in spiritual ecstasy. Every time he talked about this visit with family or friends, his eyes would fill with tears.
THE CRISIS IN IRAN
Because of the rise to power of the Islamic clergy, the Islamic Revolution inaugurated a new period of severe repression of the Baha'i Faith. The "mullahs", as the clergy are called, had branded the Baha'is as "unclean infidels" at the earliest beginnings of the religion in 1844 and had continued to incite popular prejudice against them under all regimes. Over twenty thousand Baha'is had been put to death, often after barbaric and public torture, throughout the 19th century and in sporadic pogroms as recently as 1955 and 1963, when Baha'is were murdered and Baha'i centres destroyed by the combined forces of the clergy and the late Shah's army.
From the moment of the Bab's claim to have brought a new religion which fulfilled Islam, they denied even the possibility of another message from God after Muhammad, whom they regard as the "final prophet". In addition, the fanatical Muslim clergy deeply resent and fear the modern, scientifically-minded social teachings of the new faith, such as the equality of men and women, its emphasis on education, its world-minded attitudes, and especially the fact that it stresses the capacity of each individual man or woman to study and recognize spiritual truths for themselves, without the intervention of a clergy.
In Shiraz, the persecutions were particularly severe. In 1978, mobs vandalized the House of The Bab and also set fire to the homes of several hundred Baha'is. The events had a profound effect on both Mona and her father. On November 19, 1981, Mona and her father visited the House of the Bab, now almost completely destroyed, for the last time. Her mother relates that when she returned from the visit, she asked for her permission to walk into the house, "just this once", with her shoes on, since they were covered with the dust of the Bab's House. She told her, crying, that she wanted to write something about her experience. She went into her room and wrote a long, poetic essay.
As the crisis for the Baha'is worsened, Mona had many disturbing thoughts of the destiny that God might have in store for her father and for herself. She had a dream in which both she and her father were killed for their faith. After the dream, Mona added another virtue to those she already possessed -- fearlessness. As the persecutions worsened, she talked and wrote to her friends about the need for courage in the face of their fundamentalist persecutors, showing no fear of death. Her father reacted in the same way. When the Islamic authorities banned public Baha'i meetings, he, his wife and Mona would continue to visit their Baha'i friend in their homes, although they were constantly watched and harrassed.
REACHING MATURITY
Mona's life changed on September 10, 1980, when she turned 15, the age of spiritual maturity in the Baha'i teachings.5 Mona had already begun following in her father's footsteps as a Baha'i teacher and wanted to teach young children, for whom she had a special love. A year earlier, she had applied to the Baha'i Education Committee to be named to one of their sub-committees, but was refused because she was not yet 15 and not considered old enough for this service. When she received the news, she burst into tears.
When she turned 15, she considered it her true first birthday and immediately registered as a Baha'i youth and reapplied to the Education Committee. This time she was assigned to the Children's Education Committee and began teaching Baha'i children's classes, which included the study of the great religions, developing spiritual qualities, encouraging the children to put their talents and education to the service of their fellow man and especially learning to appreciate the oneness and diversity of the human family.
Her service to the Faith accelerated greatly and actually began causing her problems. She spent so much time on Baha'i activities that she was having difficulties completing her school assignments. At one point, the pressure was so great that she considered resigning from her Baha'i activities, but could not do it. One day, when she was particulary tired, she asked her father to help her. He read her a passage from the Holy Writings that said, "The prophets of old wish they were alive in this day so that they may accomplish a service." Mona immediately stopped talking about her problems and decided that she would carry out her duties to the best of her ability. She even began walking to school instead of riding a bus and saved enough pocket money to buy coloured crayons, booklets and pencils, which she would give out as prizes to the students during Baha'i children's class. She also wrote prayers in the booklets and would give them to the children to memorize.
PERSECUTIONS AT SCHOOL
The persecution of the Baha'is extended to every level of society. While the Islamic authorities tended at first to single out only the more prominent members of the Faith for arrest and execution, cancellation of pensions, freezing of bank accounts and dismissal from employment, they extended their repressions even to the school level by expelling numerous Baha'i children, especially those attending high school and university. They were only to be allowed to continue their studies if they denied being Baha'is. Baha'i children, even when they were still allowed to stay in school, were forced to sit apart at the back of their classrooms, as "unclean infidels" and were not allowed to touch the other children. In one instance a Baha'i child was forced to wash the brick floor of his classroom and sent home with bleeding hands, because he had refused to recant his Faith.
In Shiraz, a number of Baha'i children had been expelled and Mona expected that her expulsion would come soon as well. But rather than fear it, she looked forward to it, since she would then be able to spend all her efforts for the Faith. When one of her friends was expelled, she said, "Good for you. Now you can study the Baha'i books one year longer. Pray that I will also be expelled."
In the fall of 1981 (her second year of High School), she enrolled in a course on religious literature. Up to that point, like most Baha'is in Iran, her freedom to mention her Faith had always been strictly curtailed and was limited to brief and private responses to the questions of fellow students about the symbol on the stone in the ring she wore. However, when the literature teacher assigned the students a paper on the topic: "the fruit of Islam is freedom of conscience and liberty, whoever has a taste for it is benefitted," Mona poured out her frustrations at being silenced in the poignant essay which follows.
While the paper Mona wrote is still in the hands of school authorities, the notes that she used to write the paper have been recovered:
'Freedom' is the most brilliant word among the radiant words existing in the world. Man has always been and will ever be asking for liberty. Why, then, has he been deprived of liberty? Why from the beginning of man's life has there been no freedom? Always, there have been powerful and unjust individuals who for the sake of their own interests have resorted to all kinds of oppression and tyranny...
Why don't you let me be free to express our goals in this community; to say who I am and what I want, and to reveal my religion to others? Why don't you give me freedom of speech so that I may write for publication or talk on radio and television about my ideas? Yes, liberty is a Divine gift, and this gift is for us also, but you don't let us have it. Why don't you let me speak freely as a Baha'i individual? Why don't you want to know that a new religion has been revealed; that anew radiant star has risen? Why don't you push aside that thick veil from your eyes?
Perhaps you don't really think that I should have freedom. God has granted this freedom to man. You, his servant, cannot take it from me. God has given me freedom of speech. Therefore, I cry out and say, "His Holiness Baha'u'llah is the Truth!" God has given me freedom of speech. Therefore, in clear words, I write, "Baha'u'llah is the One whom God has made manifest! He is the founder of the Baha'i religion and His Book is the Mother of Books..."
The frank openness of her paper caused a furor at the school. The principal, who was considered a fanatical Muslim, called Mona to his office and warned her that she no longer had the right to mention the Baha'i religion while on school grounds, a prohibition which Mona obeyed.
THE DREAM ABOUT BAHA'U'LLAH
Ten months before she was killed, Mona had another extraordinary dream which was later related by family and friends. Following is the version transcribed from her diary.
She had been saying prayers with a small group of friends for several hours. After they left her home, she was so moved by the prayers that she went into the living room and sat down in front of a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Baha6, meditated quietly and then fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw Abdu'l-Baha's chair and desk, with a vase on it, as in the picture before her. She was very happy and said: "How happy I am to see your desk and chair." At the same moment she saw Baha'u'llah entering the room. The Blessed Beauty went out into an adjoining chamber and brought out a box containing a beautiful red cape. He unwrapped it in front of her, saying, "This is the cape of martyrdom in my path. Do you accept it?"
Mona was speechless with happiness. Finally, she said, "Whatever pleases you..."
Baha'u'llah put the cape back in the box and returned to the adjoining room bringing back with him a second box, containing a black cape which he unwrapped and said:
"This black cape symbolizes sorrow in my path. Do you accept it?" Mona replied, "How beautiful are the tears shed in thy path."
He put the cape back in the box and again returned to the other room, emerging with yet a third box containing an elaborately beaded blue cape of the same design as the others.
Without a word of hesitation, he placed the cape around her shoulders, and said: "This is the cape of service." Then he seated himself in the chair and said to Mona: "Come and take a picture with me!"
Mona was breathless with astonishment at the bounties being showered on her and could hardly walk. She looked up and saw a man sitting behind an old-fashioned camera covered by a cloth. Baha'u'llah repeated his instruction but Mona could not move. .
Then Baha'u'llah took her arm, saying, "Mehdi, take our picture." And he took a picture of them together. The flash of the camera wakened her abruptly and she pleaded tearfully to be able to finish her dream and then fell asleep again. Baha'u'llah had left the room. Only the photographer remained, carrying the tripod and camera on his shoulder as if to leave. He turned around and asked Mona to convey his love to his children. But Mona could not tell which "Mehdi" he was since there were many people by that name in the long history of the Faith and in her own community. But still he looked familiar to her. "Mehdi" was busily tying his shoes and noticed that Mona did not recognize him. As he was leaving the room he turned and said, "I am Medhi Anvari." Mona instantly recognized him as one of the Baha'is of Shiraz who had previously been killed7.
Beginning at the age of 13, Mona had begun to dream and write about her father's death in a startling way. Some of these writings are now preserved among her papers.
THE ARREST OF MONA AND HER FATHER
The months following Mona's dream of the capes were tense for the Baha'i community. Arrests and executions of Baha'is were taking place all over the country. In Shiraz, the Public Prosecutor had initiated mass arrests in late October 1982. While it was almost a foregone conclusion that Mona's father would be arrested because of his service on the Local Spiritual Assembly and the Auxiliary Board, few suspected that Mona would also be singled out.
The arrest occurred at 7:30 pm on October 23, 1982. Mona was at home with her parents. Her sister, Taraneh, was now married and no longer living with her.. " family. When the door bell rang, Mona was studying for a test she had in ~ English, her father was writing some letters in a notebook and her mother was doing housework. Her father opened the door and four armed revolutionary guards demanded entry. The Guards said that they were appointed by the Public Prosecutor of Shiraz to inspect the Mahmudnizhad household.
Before the search began, Mona asked to put on her chador (Islamic head covering) and was escorted to her room so that she could retrieve it. Her father asked if her mother could put on a jacket. Then the three members of the family were ordered to sit in their living room, with Mona and her mother flanking their father. One Guard held a gun on the Mahmudnizhads, while the others meticulously searched and ransacked their rooms.
At one point, Mona's mother whispered to her father, "What shall I do. They are going to arrest you." Her father replied, "Say the prayer "Remover of Difficulties" to yourself and turn to Abdu'l-Baha." He then fixed his eyes on the picture of Abdu'l-Baha in front of them. Mona was the picture of calm and continued to study her English lesson. At one point, she even asked her father a question, but the Guard ordered her to be quiet.
When the search ended, Mona's mother became terribly upset when the Guards ordered both Mona and her father to come with them. She said, "I can understand that you would want to take my husband with you, but why do you want to take Mona. She is only a child." According to one account, one of the Guards replied, "Do not call her a child. You should call her a little Baha'i teacher. Look at this poem. It is not the work of a child. It could set the world on fire. Someday she will be a great Baha'i teacher."
The guards continued to heap abuse on both Mona and her father, causing her mother great anguish. At one point her father told her not to be worried, that he considered the guards to be his children and Mona their sister, that the guards had been assigned by God to come to their house and take them away together. Mona reassured her mother, saying, "Why do you beg these people? What offense have I committed. Have I been a bad girl? Do we have smuggled goods in the house? They arrest me just because I believe in Baha'u'llah. Mother, this is not going to prison, it is going to Heaven. This is not falling into a pit, it is rising to the moon."
When the Guards took Mona and her father, they also confiscated all of their papers and some cassette tapes of Mona's chanting.
IMPRISONMENT
While they did not know it at the time, Mona and her father were among the first of 40 Baha'is in Shiraz, including six women, who were arrested that night or during the next few days. After the arrest, both were blindfolded, taken to Seppah prison and then led to separate quarters. Mona was given a piece of paper to hold8 and led down a long corridor and then into a large room where the blindfold was removed. Since it was around midnight, the room was dark.
More than 40 women were in the room at the same time, Mona later recounted. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see windows in the room covered with metal bars. The room was also dank and had poor ventilation. Since Mona was the first Baha'i woman to reach the prison, she was all alone and knew no one in the room. She was met by the woman-in-charge, who asked her crime. Mona replied that her crime was being a Baha'i. The woman then issued her two blankets and showed her to a space where she could sleep. The room was so crowded, however, that everyone had to sleep on their sides.
Here is Mona's account, as told to a fellow Baha'i prisoner, of what happened next:
I didn't know anybody and had no news about my father. I was saying prayers in my heart and I was praising God because I had entered his Court. My mother's worried face was in my mind and I was praying for her steadfastness and for that of my father as well. I decided to go to sleep like the others and wait to see what the Blessed Beauty had in store for me.
I lay down and was deep in thought when suddenly the door opened and a lady was brought in. They guided her in just as they had done with me and because they found out she was a Baha'i, they brought her near me. A few minutes later, they brought another lady into Our cell. She suffered from severe headaches, and requested her medicine, but no one paid any attention to her. She was Mrs. Tuba Za'irpour9. I didn't recognize her in the dark, but her voice was very familiar to me. Suddenly Mrs. Za'irpour said, "Mona, is that you? What are you doing here? They have arrested you as well? O My God!"
Mona later recounted that she was greatly comforted when she recognized Mrs. Za'irpour .
Even though Mona was separated from her family and home, she soon found a new family in jail. All the older ladies, she said, were her mothers and aunts and the younger ones her sisters and cousins. Despite the fact that she was the youngest in prison, it was Mona who most frequently reassured the other women and helped them to be steadfast during their periods of imprisonment and interrogation.
The jail itself was terribly overcrowded, with not enough facilities to meet basic needs. There were only two showers for the 80 or 90 women in the prison. On the first day, a fellow Baha'i prisoner described how they were given one plate of soup to be shared by three women, and eaten with their hands. Worse than any physical restriction or deprivation, however, was the fact that the guards would not allow the Baha'is to pray.
THE FIRST FEW DAYS IN PRISON
The first few days in prison were worse for the families outside than for the prisoners themselves, who were photographed on their second day of arrest, but otherwise left alone. The families, however, were given no word about the fate of any of the prisoners and were refused permission to visit them. Every day Mona's mother and sister went to the prison to request permission to see Mona and her father for just a few minutes. They were insulted and taunted by the prison authorities, but they did not give up and encouraged other Baha'is with family members who had been arrested to do the same. Taraneh said, "We should be prepared for everything and should not give up. We should be so strong that even if at the very moment they deliver us the bodies of our loved ones, we should keep smiling and with this attitude make them feel how weak they are."
After an entire week of being refused permission, Mona's mother finally lost control. She recounts, "I was sitting by my window. I had no news about my heavenly daughter, Mona. Many times I had gone to Seppah, but they never gave me permission to visit. When I saw people walking in the streets so freely ... tears started running down my face and with a loud voice, I prayed, 'O Blessed Beauty, I want my child. I want Mona back from you. I have no news of her. O Blessed Beauty, I want my child.' I looked up in the sky and said, ' All birds are free. My little bird is in prison.' I spent the day in tears and grieving."
On the next day, October 31, Mona's mother was granted permission to visit Mona, although not her father, who was believed to have undergone such severe torture that the authorities were afraid to let anyone see him. Mona's mother and sister were taken to the visiting room at Seppah about one o'clock in the afternoon and made to wait for six hours before they brought Mona and the other Baha'i women prisoners to an adjacent room separated by a thick glass wall, through which they could only motion to each other .
"We were standing on the other side of the glass," Mona's mother said. "I was looking at them and crying. Mona indicated in motions that I shouldn't cry. Quickly, I wiped my tears away. I couldn't tell her, my beautiful bird, that my tears were from the joy of seeing her."
THE INTERROGATIONS AT SEPPAH PRISON
Each Baha'i arrested is subjected to a four-stage interrogation process that leads either to release or execution. The first stage consists of a series of formal interrogations by an Islamic judge appointed by the Public Prosecutor. These take place inside the prison. The interrogations, which last for many hours, are usually held with a number of the prisoners present, although some are also held with each prisoner alone. The revolutionary guards are usually masked and the prisoners blind-folded, and made to sit facing a wall. At each stage the victim is verbally abused, asked the same questions over and over again, and often asked to write down the answers since the majority of the revolutionary guards and many of the interrogating judges are illiterate, while their Baha'i victims are often well-educated. the interrogators demand to know the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all the Baha'is in a given city, then in all of Iran, then around the world.10 At each stage the prisoner is asked to deny their Baha'i beliefs and become a Muslim.
At one tense moment, the Mulla told Mona, "If you only say you are not a Baha'i, you and your father will be freed in no time. But if you continue being so obstinate, I will see to your being executed myself." Mona replied, "I am a Baha'i and I will never deny this fact."
The next stage is an interrogation at the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which is carried out by the Assistant to the Public Prosecutor. This interrogation may also take many hours, but is normally completed in one day. The final interrogation takes place in front of an Islamic Revolutionary Judge, and usually lasts only a short time, sometimes less than an hour .
After the three interrogation stages, there is no set time before a "sentence" is handed down. It can take weeks, months or longer. In all interrogations and before any Baha'i is executed, however, he or she is given numerous opportunities, usually under great physical and mental anguish, to recant.
The Baha'is arrested in Shiraz were first taken to Seppah prison where they underwent the first stage of the interrogation process, which began late in the first week of their arrest. When Mona was taken for what she thought was her first interrogation session, she was led instead to the basement to see her father briefly while he was being tortured. He told her to answer all of their questions honestly and to explain clearly what the Baha'i religion teaches. She was then taken back to her cell.
The next morning, her sixth in prison, Mona's interrogations began in earnest. Mona did not like to talk much about the time she spent in Seppah prison, nor about her interrogations. She felt this would bring her "down to the world of accusations, ugly words and improper questions." When Mona saw her mother and sister for the first time after being imprisoned, she had been interrogated from one o'clock in the afternoon until three o'clock in the morning, with only a break to see her family at 7 in the evening. This is her own account of her first session, as told to a fellow prisoner:
The next day my interrogation sessions started. Questions were as follows: What is your religion? What do you believe in? Were you born in a Baha'i family? Date and place of birth. Name of the school you are studying at. Which grade? Have you ever taught in a Baha'i class? When did you declare and who was present at that session? Names of the members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shiraz and the members of the Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly. What activities do you do as a Baha'i? Names of the members of the Baha'i committees in Shiraz. Write about the Baha'i administration. How many members of the Universal House of Justice11 are Persian and how many are not? What nationalities are they? Names of all the prominent international Baha'i administrators in the world. Have you ever been on pilgrimage? How much have you donated to the Fund? Who was the chairperson of the feast and where was it held? Who did you vote for this year? Have your parents been members of the Local Spiritual Assembly? The name of the Baha'is you know. Are you willing to recant?
I answered all the questions very frankly and my answer to the last question was, "I am a Baha'i and I will never recant." The interrogator said, "If you refuse to recant your Faith, we will execute you." And I told him that I would rather be killed than recant the Faith I believe in.
Mona did say that her sessions would normally begin around 10 am and last till 4 am the next morning. She added that by refusing to let her sleep, the authorities believed that she would weaken and recant. "During all the endless hours," she said, "I was praying and begging Baha'u'llah to give me the strength to remain steadfast all during this nightmare. This interrogation went on for several days. One day, the Mulla told me to write all the details of my life, where I was born and raised and the names of the schools I have studied in, as well as my activities as a Baha'i, all of which I again described very frankly."
At various times, prisoners were interrogated verbally and required to stand blindfolded for hours on end while they answered. At others, the prisoners were seated facing a wall and handed a set of written questions. The sessions lasted
for roughly a week, with the prisoners kept under a constant barrage
of questioning.
While the main interrogator was usually the Islamic judge or "mulla", he was at
times accompanied by others. Often, because they were blindfolded, the prisoners would not know how many people were in the room.
All of the Baha'i women were thus interrogated, and several were severely beaten as well. These beatings took place separately from the interrogations, usually in the basement of the prison. The victim is tied to a specially designed table and then beaten on the soles of the bare feet with a rod or a piece of wire cable, the traditional Islamic punishment called the "bastinado". The prisoner is given a few lashes, allowed to regain sensitivity, and whipped again and again until the punishment is finished or the prisoner passes out. When they regain consciousness, the beating resumes.
The victims are then made to walk on their bleeding feet and often additionally tortured by being taunted with a glass of water kept just out of reach.
On another occasion, one of her early dreams about martyrdom came true. In the dream, she had to face several spiteful men who asked her about The Seven Valleys12. At one of her interrogation sessions, the Mulla asked her about Baha'u'llah's writings on The Seven Valleys, to which she gave a detailed reply, but was ignored. The Mulla then asked her to say a prayer. She asked him if he really wanted her to do so and he replied sarcastically, "Yes." Mona then folded her arms, closed her eyes and started the prayer, but was cut off by snide laughter from the Mulla.
TRANSFER TO ADELABAD PRISON
Mona was in Seppah prison for a total of 38 days, and was intensively interrogated for roughly one week during that time. On November 29, 1982, she and five other Baha'i women were transferred to Adelabad prison, also in Shiraz. At the time, the Islamic authorities arrested another 50 Baha'is, including II women, who were subjected to the same interrogation, but quickly transferred to Adelabad to join the growing number of Baha'is there.
Adelabad prison was considerably different from Seppah and much dirtier . There were three tiers of prison cells, with each broken down into small units. The Baha'is were sent to the third floor, with three assigned to one cell. There was often only one bed per cell, which forced two of the women to sleep on the floor. While the Baha'i women were kept in cells together, they were allowed to congregate with the other female prisoners on the same floor, including a mix of political prisoners and those arrested for various identifiable crimes. A number of these women were addicts and prostitutes.
Characteristically, the authorities did not tell any of the families of the transfer. Mona's family found out when they came for a visit at Seppah prison about a week later and quickly rushed over to Adelabad. Mona's mother was greatly disturbed to see that Mona had become quite sick with a cold. Mona had tears in her eyes, but did not cry. She reassured her, saying, "It's very comfortable here. In comparison with Seppah, this prison is a palace. They serve us breakfast, lunch and dinner." She added that she had written them a letter, which they received a few days later .
"In the name of God, my dear ones and my mother who is dearer to me than my life and my kind sister. What can I say and write about God's bounty, which is so great and encompasses all created things, even this poor handmaiden who is not worthy of serving at his threshold. Dearly beloved of my heart and soul, pray for us so in all conditions we will be content. Then we ask you not to be overtaken with sorrow and to pray for us because we are in need of your prayers ...
Mona was also thinking of her father. She asked her mother, during one of her visits with her sister, to bring him some extra blankets to protect him from catching cold. Mona's thoughts were usually about God or her fellow prisoners, but rarely about herself.
THE SECOND STAGE OF INTERROGATION
During the second stage of Mona's interrogation she was awakened at four o'clock in the morning and transferred an hour later by automobile to the place of interrogation. The session lasted most of the day. She was asked the same questions that she had been asked over and over again at Seppah about her beliefs.
"I told them that I believed in God and all his messengers who had revealed a Holy Book and that we consider them all to be Messengers of God. The Assistant to the Public Prosecutor said, 'You are accused of being a member of the Zionist movement, who are spies.' In reply, I told him that Baha'is have nothing to do with politics. On the other hand, the state of Israel was founded only 32 years ago, while the Baha'i Faith was founded 139 years ago. We only have spiritual organizations which have nothing to do with politics. He said, 'There remains only one way for you, you should either recant the Faith or you will be executed.' I said I would rather be executed."
THE THIRD STAGE OF INTERROGATION
The final formal interrogation took place a few days later. Again, Mona was taken away at 5 am. This time she met with the Islamic Revolutionary Judge, who handled all of the Baha'i cases in Shiraz. While the interrogation was the shortest that she underwent, in many ways it was the most dramatic.
The Judge, after insulting her a long time, told her that her parents had deceived and misled her and accused her of following them without being aware of what she was doing. She replied,
"Although I was born in a Baha'i family, according to Baha'i principles, we have to search for the truth ourselves rather than imitate our family's ideas and that is exactly what I have done. You have many of our Baha'i books here and you could read them and find this out for yourself. They never insisted on my becoming a Baha'i or accepting their ideas. If Your Honour insists that I recant my Faith, I should assure you that I will never do that and that I am ready to be executed."
The Judge was shocked at that point and looked at her angrily, saying, "You are just a child. How could you possibly know the real meaning of the word Faith? " Mona replied,
"What more proof do you need than that I was dragged out of school and put in jail and now, for many months, have endured all these interrogations for the sake of my religion. What else but my Faith could give me the strength and power to stand here in front of you and answer your Questions."
Then the Judge asked her to pray and she replied, "I cannot do that."
The judge asked her, "What do you mean?" and Mona pointed out,
"You would have to sit respectfully, with your hands folded on
your chest before I would recite a prayer ." At first, the Judge refused,
but after awhile, as though spellbound by her spiritual character, he complied with her wish and she recited the prayer:
"O God, refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Though art My Guide and My Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved. I will be a happy and joyful being. O God, I will
no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will
not dwell on
the unpleasant things of life.
"O God, Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee,
O Lord."
When Mona had finished reciting the prayer the puzzled Judge asked her ,
"Why did you not chant it?" To which Mona replied, "I only chant from my heart and when I am alone, not in front of you." The Judge was deeply moved and said,
"In the night when you and your father were arrested, the revolutionary guards brought back lots of tapes of your chanting. You are accused of misleading
youth with your beautiful voice and chanting. Now I am sure about the charges
against you." Mona replied, "Your Honour, is chanting, praying and repeating the verses of God a crime?"
He said, "Child, what is wrong with Islam that you have became a Baha'i?" She explained, "The foundation of all religions are one, but according to the circumstances, after some period of time anew prophet is assigned by God to
guide mankind. But if you are trying to force me to become a Muslim,
I should say that nothing is wrong with Islam. But its followers do not know anything but
killing
and terrorism, examples of which can be observed every day in this very prison. This is the reason why I have decided to become a Baha'i."
The Judge said, "We are acting according to our Holy Book the Quran."
Her fellow prisoners were all astonished and kept asking how she dared to answer the Judge like that. "How dare you tell them all that so openly?" someone asked.
Mona's open, forthright answers were a topic of conversation among the prisoners for a long time.
"THE ARREST OF MONAS MOTHER"
In mid-January, shortly after Mona's third interrogation, Mona's mother was
contacted and told that Mona was considered not guilty and would be released on bail, provided that the Mahmudnizhad's could raise bail money.
Mona's bail was set initially at about $35,000. Mrs. Mahmudnizhad tried to get the Court to accept a mortgage on the small apartment that the family owned in Shiraz, but that was not accepted because the family did not have a clear title. Mona was
not released. The presiding judge then raised Mona's bail to about $88,000. But after Mrs. Mahmudnizhad had turned the title over to the authorities, Mona was still not released. The authorities took the property anyway and then arrested Mrs. Mahmudnizhad when she came to the prison with the documents for Mona's presumed release.
While the Islamic authorities did release six Baha'i prisoners, Mona and 14 others remained in jail. Her mother remained in jail with them until a week before Mona was executed.
Mona's mother was arrested on a Saturday, the same day that visitors were allowed at Adelabad. Mona's sister was very upset at the arrest of her mother and went to the prison alone. Mona immediately asked where her mother was, not believing that she would miss a visit. When told that her mother had been arrested, Mona did not say a word.
When Mrs. Mahmudnizhad arrived, Mona insisted that all the other prisoners be allowed to greet her first. Mona then took her in her arms and said, "Mother, welcome, welcome to your new home. Come, come! I'll show you your new home."
Mona and her mother were assigned to the same cell for that night. Mrs. Mahmudnizhad slept on the bed, while Mona and her cellmate, Tahirih Siyavushi, one of the nine women later hanged with Mona, slept on the floor .
Before Mona's mother could fall asleep, Mona took her hand and whispered,
"You have to adjust to the situation here and the monotonous atmosphere. Say prayers often. Cry only when you are alone, and only out of love for the Blessed Beauty. Do not ever cry out of grief because Baha'u'llah doesn't like that. Always laugh and be happy so you will give support to the other prisoners."
"There is something else I want to ask of you and that is not to kiss me or show more love to me than you do to the other prisoners. I don't want them to think that Mona's mother is by her side and that they are alone here. You should be more mother to them than you are to me. It is not important if you don't have much time for me or don't walk with me. Try to take care of the other prisoners first."
Mona's mother obeyed the request. Until the day of her release, she never again kissed her daughter and spent less time with her than she did with the other prisoners.
LAST VISIT WITH MONA'S FATHER
About 10 days after Mona's mother was imprisoned, the Baha'i prisoners were startled to hear an announcement calling all "Baha'i sisters" to an area on the roof of the prison. It was the first time that the word "Baha'i" had ever spoken over the intercom. When the women reached the area, all the Baha'i men who were being held in the prison were there too. The Mahmudnizhad family, father, mother and daughter, were together in prison for the first and last time.
It was a precious, if brief, moment for the Baha'i prisoners. Those who had other family members in the prison sat hand in hand, while others sat in small groups and whispered together, sharing stories and gaining strength from one another. The Mahmudnizhads sat together and had their last family conference.
Mona's mother was very frank and said to Mona, "They'll execute your father." Mona replied, "I know, but I can take it." Her father then said, "Yes, these days of separation will be over soon. Do you remember earlier, every time we moved, I would always go first and prepare a home and then bring you to the house like a lady. Now it is the same way, I'll go ahead and prepare a home for you in the spiritual kingdom and prepare to welcome you there."
After that Mona and her father spoke little, although they continued communicating with their eyes, as they had done almost all of their lives. Mona's mother later recounted the moment in this way:
"I noticed that Mona got up and kissed her father's eyes several times. She seemed to read heavenly secrets from his eyes. They didn't need to communicate verbally because they could communicate perfectly with their eyes. Then he asked about how our friends and relatives were. Finally, our time was over. I never saw Mona's father again until exactly one month later, on March 12, 1983, after they executed him along with two other Baha'is, Mr. Rahmat'u'llah Vafa'i and Mrs. Tuba Za'irpour.
TARANEH'S LAST VISIT WITH HER FATHER
Mona's sister Taraneh was the only member of the family who was not imprisoned. On Wednesdays she would visit her father and on Saturdays her mother and sister. This was a terrible period for her --the first time in her life that she was separated from everyone in her family. She cried bitterly that first night from the pain of separation from her entire family. She later recounted:
"The night they imprisoned my mother was a bitter night for me. I could not believe that my life could suddenly become so empty. I kept telling myself that this was nothing compared to what Baha'u'llah had to endure --all the imprisonments, the chains in the Siyyah Chal, being away from his family, exile, the martyrdom of his son, the onslaught of his enemies. Meanwhile, he comforted all of the devoted and bereaved friends and gave us all those tablets and writings, all those life-giving words.
"O my, how ignorant I was and now I have discovered his limitless favour. "O Blessed Beauty," I prayed, "just give me the steadfastness to endure this separation from my loved ones."
On the first Wednesday in March, after her mother had been in prison for about a month, Mona's father said to her sister, during one of their visits, "Tell your mother that in life we have always shared our misery and happiness. Now that we have to burn in separation, it will be a test of our love for God and for one another ."
She then asked him, "Father, why is it that out of the four people in our family, three are so beloved by God and I am outcast from the sight of God. What sin have I done that I am not worthy enough to go to prison?" He replied, "Do you think that you are free? All of you who are out of prison are still prisoners in a larger prison. With all the restrictions on your life, you too are in prison. Besides, a lover is never free, but is a prisoner of love."
"Father," she asked, "are you saying that I should be happy and sure?" With great conviction, he replied, "Be confident and happy."
Four days later, Yad'u'llah Mahmuznihad was hanged. Mona's sister heard the news at 10 am that morning from her husband, who was crying. She later recalled:
"After hearing of this tragedy my whole body started trembling and I began shouting, 'O Blessed Beauty! Father, where are you now?' My one-year-old daughter woke up from the noises we were making and started to cry as well. All of a sudden, I calmed down and said, 'Father, you used to say that the spirit of the martyrs always makes the tolerance of calamity easier for those who are left behind. They give assistance and intercede on our behalf. Where is that assistance?' I swear that at that moment such tranquility overwhelmed me as I have never experienced. I decided to go and, if possible, visit the bodies of the three beloved martyrs and, with great difficulty, succeeded in doing so. Of course, they were no longer in their bodies. I wanted to kiss the mark on my father's neck that had been left by the rope, but I had neither the ability nor the permission to get closer to his body.
One day, while she was in prison, Mona awoke and refused food and drink for 30 hours, despite the entreaties of her mother and fellow prisoners. Later it was learned that it was on that day that her father had been executed. When Mona did hear the news formally, all she said was, "I know, I know. What a great bounty for him."
ANECDOTES FROM ADELABAD PRISON
Mona and the other prisoners remained in jail for three more months. One fellow prisoner wrote about Mona as follows:
"Mona was a perfect human being. She was fully practising the Baha'i principles. She was a living example of encouragement and steadfastness. She was what a Baha'i youth is supposed to be. During the days we spent in jail together, all day long, she would pray. Her behaviour was like a grown up, a noble person, although she was just an innocent child. I remember the days when she used to come to my cell, hold her chin in her hands and stare at the walls, deep in thought. That was when I would ask her to chant."
One day, according to another prisoner, one of other women in the prison returned from her interrogation session at Seppah prison, bringing back with her some very small green plums. She gave one of them to Mrs. Nusrat Yalda'i13, one of the Baha'i prisoners and said, "I know you like these, but I don't have any more to give everybody. Eat this without telling anyone else." Mrs. Yalda'i didn't have the heart to eat it herself and gave it to another prisoner who, in turn, gave it to Mrs. Mahmudnizhad, sitting next to her .
Moments later Mona passed by their cell and Mona's mother gave her the tiny plum. She took it and in a few minutes returned with a small tray. She had cut out the seeds from the plum and cut the fruit into seventeen tiny pieces -- one for each of her friends in the cell block. She had also decorated the corner of the tray with knives and forks. She called all the prisoners and they sat around and each had a piece. Everyone was delighted and laughed for much of the day.
Mona also became friendly with many of the prisoners who were not Baha'is. At their request, she would speak with them and quietly sing them songs about the Faith, especially in moments of distress. However, she had to be very careful because she didn't want to get them into trouble by talking about the Faith. After awhile, a number of them would seek Mona out to ask her questions or to teach them songs. Mona also continued writing poetry, another of her loves, and had developed a sizeable collection. All of the Baha'i women prisoners were mentioned. One day, however, the prison authorities came to inspect the cells and Mona, fearing that they would cause problems for everyone, tore them up before she or anyone else could memorize them.
SACRIFICING 100,000 LIVES
After she had been in prison for a time, Mona's mother shared a confidence with her:
"Gradually, I had reached a strange state in which I could feel that true submission is possible, while at the same time I was very depressed. I started talking to Mona about my state of being. Suddenly, I told her fearfully, '1 don't think they will release you and with all the things that are happening if they don't execute you, they'll keep you in prison for at least 15 to 20 years, and when they release you, you'll be 35 or 40 years old. How will I stand it?'
"Mona replied, 'Mother, If I knew that during each year I spend in prison only a few people become Baha'is, I would wish that I could spend a hundred thousand years in prison.'
"And if I knew that because of my execution, all the youth of the world would arise, join hands in service to humanity, become selfless, teach the world about Baha'i ideals and try to move the world, I would beg Baha'u'llah to give me 100,000 lives to sacrifice in his path.'
Her mother wrote: "I felt so small before the greatness of her soul, as if she were the mother and I the child. And now she has accomplished what she wanted with her one life."
MONA'S VISION OF MARTYRDOM
One day, which coincided with a Baha'i holy day, Mona wanted to say prayers alone instead of joining a small prayer session organized by the Baha'i prisoners.
Mona, in fact, had been spending increasing amounts of time alone. Often, ii when the other prisoners would congregate together, Mona would find an empty cell to pray and meditate by herself. On this occasion, however, her mother insisted that Mona join them, so she acquiesced.
Later in the day, she took her mother aside and said, "Mother, I would have wanted very much to spend this last holy day alone, to pray and meditate on my own." Mona's mother didn't understand what she meant and said, "If you had told me, I wouldn't have minded. Why did you agree so quickly?" Mona said, "Because you have the right to ask me to be with you."
Mona then took her aside and said, "Mother, I want to tell you something, please come with me." She led her mother down a corridor that was so narrow that they had to walk in single file. Suddenly Mona stopped, turned around, and said, "Mother, do you know that they are going to execute me?" Her mother became very upset and refused to listen. She was completely unaware of the spiritual state that Mona had reached and said, "No, dear, you'll be free, " released from the prison. You will have a family and children. I want to see , your children. Please don't think this way."
Mona became upset and said, "I swear to God that I do not wish this for myself and you shouldn't wish it for me. I know that they are going to kill me and I want to tell you what I am going to do when that happens. If you don't let me tell you now, you will regret it in the future. Now, do you want to let me tell you or not?"
Mona's mother was stunned and said, "Yes, tell me." Then Mona faced her and said, "You know mother, at the place where they're going to take us for our execution, we will have to go up and stand on something high where they will put a rope around our necks... Then I'm going to kiss noose and say a prayer ."
Mona then folded her arms across her chest, closed her eyes and with a blissful look on her face said a short prayer. Then she opened her eyes and said, ''I'II say that prayer for the happiness and prosperity of all mankind and bid farewell to this mortal world and go to God." Then she looked at her mother, who was staring at her in a state of confusion and bewilderment. All she could say was, "That was a nice story, Mona."
Mona eyes filled with tears. Quietly, she said, "Mother, was is not a story. Why won't you believe me?"
A DREAM FOR STEADFASTNESS
Two days later, Mona and the other nine women were told that they would be given one more chance to recant their Faith or be sentenced to die. It was their last chance to remain alive. That night, Mona had another dream in which she was in prison saying the long obligatory prayer. Abdu'l-Baha came through the cell door and sat on the bed on which Mona's mother was sleeping. Tahirih Siyavushi was sleeping on the floor. He patted her mother's head and raised His other hand towards Mona, who thought to herself that He might leave if she continued saying her prayer. So she sat on her knees in front of Abdu'l-Baha and held her hands in His.
'Abdu'l-Baha asked Mona, "What do you want?" Mona replied, "Steadfastness." 'Abdu'l-Baha asked again, "What do you want from us?" Mona replied, "Steadfastness for all the friends." Abdu'l-Baha asked for a third time, "What do you want?" Mona again replied, "Steadfastness." Then Abdu'l-Baha said twice, "It is granted. It is granted."
THE LAST INTERROGATION
The next morning, June 12, she told all of the Baha'i prisoners about her dream. Later that morning, two other Baha'i women were called to their last session of interrogation and pressured to recant. Neither of them did so and were returned to their cells. The Baha'i women expected that they would be taken out and executed that evening, although no verdict of death had been handed down.
During the day, everyone chanted the short prayer called the "Remover of Difficulties", which is said in times of great crisis. During the prayer session, Zarrin Muquimi, one of the two who had undergone the last interrogation, spontaneously hugged Mona and said, "O Mona, what a good wish you asked of Abdu'l-Baha. This would have been a tragedy if they had taken us for execution, but now I'm sure that we will be steadfast. You might have wished for your own and your mother's freedom. You could even have asked for freedom for all of us. But instead you made the most beautiful request of all and Abdu'l-Baha has granted it."
MONA 'S MOTHER'S RELEASE
On June 13th, Mona's mother was suddenly released. Before she left the prison, all of the women hugged her. Mrs. 'Izzat Ishraqi, whose daughter, Rosita, was soon to be married, asked Mrs. Mahmudnizhad to attend the wedding on her behalf, and asked her to take a red carnation for each of the women prisoners. Then Mona took her in her arms and they kissed for the last time.
"Mother," said Mona, "Just as you were encouraging and assuring to everyone while you were here from now on you should be the same and encourage the friends (outside) to be patient and tolerant." They kissed again and her mother left the prison and went to stay with Taraneh. While there, she told Taraneh about each of the women and visited the mothers who had daughters in prison.
On Thursday, June 16, six Baha'i men were executed --Abdu'l Hossein Azadi, Bahram Afnan, Jamshid Siyavushi, Koorosh Haghbin, Bahram Yalda'i and Enayat'u'llah Ishraqi. Three of the men were related to the women prisoners. Jamshid Siyavushi was the husband of Tahirih Siyavushi. Enayat'u'llah Ishraqi was the husband of 'Izzat Ishraqi and father of Roya Ishraqi. Bahram Yalda'i was the son of Nusrat Yalda'i.
The next day, the Baha'i community was filled with activity, with Baha'is from all over the city visiting the families of the martyrs. They brought flowers and, while their eyes were filled with tears, they were smiling and wearing colourful clothing, rather than the traditional mourning garb.
LAST VISIT WITH MONA
On Saturday, Mona's mother and sister visited the prison, along with the families of the othr women prisoners, who did not yet know about the killings of the 6 men. Only four Baha'is at a time were allowed in to visit the prisoners, who were kept behind a glass partition and had to talk through telephone handsets. Mona's family brought her some watermelon, along with a scarf and a new towel.
Taraneh was chosen to tell Mona about the martyrdoms. When she greeted her, she told her that six Baha'i men had been executed14. Mona's eyes filled with tears. She put her hand over her heart and asked who they were. As Taraneh named each one, tears welled up in Mona's eyes and she pressed her hand closer to her heart. In a whispered tone, she said, "Good for him! Good for him!" after each name.
When Taraneh finally spoke the name of Mr. Ishraqi, Mona began to weep openly, saying, "Good for them all!" Then she said in a loud voice, "Taraneh, I swear to the Blessed Beauty and to God that these tears are not tears of sorrow. These are tears of happiness. Don't you ever think that I'm crying out of sorrow. It is only out of happiness."
Mona
THE HANGINGS OF THE 10 WOMEN
The hangings of the 10 women took place on the eve of June 18, 1983, under cover of darkness, in a nearby polo field. The driver of the bus, who later met the grandmother of one of the young women, told her, "They were all in the most excellent spirits and were singing many songs on the way. I could not believe that they knew they were going to be executed. I have never seen people in such high spirits."
The names and ages of the other women who were hanged with Mona are:
Mrs. Nusrat Yalda'i, 54 years old,
Mrs. 'Izzat Janami Ishraqi, 50 years old,
Miss Roya Ishraqi, 23 and daughter of 'Izzat,
Mrs. Tahirih Siyavushi, 32 years old,
Miss Zarrin Muqimi, 28 years old,
Miss Shirin Dalvand, 25 years old,
Miss Akhtar Sabit, 19 or early 20's, 
Miss Simin Sabiri, early 20's,
Miss Mahshid Nirumand, 28 years old,
Mrs Nusrat Yalda'i, 54, was a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shiraz and was known for her kindness and hospitality. Her home was considered one of the centers of Baha'i community life in Shiraz. She was one of the women who were tortured and was twice given severe beatings of as many as 200 lashes. Her wounds, it was said, were visible when she was hanged. She was arrested with her husband and son, Bahram, who was hanged two days before her.
Mrs. 'Izzat Ishraqi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Each was a heroine. The Ishraqi's, for example, were arrested earlier and released, but they refused to leave Shiraz. They remained to help the Baha'i community. During one of Mrs. Ishraqi's interrogations, during which she was blindfolded and having a difficult time walking, the interrogator taunted her, saying, “Are you so blind that you cannot walk." She replied, "I am outwardly blind, but you are inwardly blind."
Miss Ruya lshraqi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Her daughter, Roya, who had been studying veterinary medicine, was one of the most radiant Baha'i youth in Shiraz. At 23, she was one of the most beloved of the prisoners and was the center of attention and activity. Roya was very active in her life and loved sports such as mountain climbing. Her sister, Rosita, became engaged the same day that her father was killed. When Rosita told her mother and sister about her father's death two days later, her sister said "Thank God!" and her mother calmly said, "I knew, I knew, I knew ."
Miss Zarrin Muqimi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Zarrin Muqimi, 28 years old, had a ringing, melodious voice. One of her interrogators said that rather than having a degree in language she should have had one in public speaking. Like Simin Sabiri, she defended the Faith vigorously during her interrogations because of her deep knowledge of the writings. At one point, after her interrogators could not convince her with arguments, they began abusing the Faith with foul language. She started to cry and told them, "Whether you accept it or not, I am a Baha'i. You cannot take it away from me. I am a Baha'i with my whole being and my whole heart." Apparently, her knowledge of the Faith was deeply resented by the authorities and she was often interrogated alone.
Mrs. Tahirih Siyavushi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Tahirih Siyavushi, 32, also served on the Local Spiritual Assembly in Shiraz. She was a nurse and had memorized Baha'u'llah's Most Holy book, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, which is the book of laws of the Baha'i Faith. Both she and her husband, Jamshid, were arrested and subsequently martyred. Tahirih was a nurse and was used by prison authorities to care for other prisoners.
When the prison authorities brought the Baha'i prisoners together in February, Tahirih saw her husband for the first time since their arrest. He had , been so badly beaten that she could barely recognize him. She could not sleep that night. The prison authorities did not believe he would last the night and the guards felt so sorry for him that they asked Tahirih to take him some fruit. But he was unable to eat it. He recovered, somewhat, only to be hanged two days before her. When Tahirih knew that she would also be executed, she told her family that she was relieved and happy. When she saw her father for the last time, she said, "Look at how beautiful I am. Look at me well." She was laughing.
Miss Shirin Dalvand
Hanged June 18, 1983
Shirin Dalvand was 25 years old, with a graduate degree in sociology from the University of Shiraz. She was such an exceptional student in school that some of the professors would quote from her thesis even though they knew she was a Baha'i. Shirin loved flowers and would always keep a single flower or a green leaf in her room. She also loved the ocean and would visit the beach as often as possible.
Shirin had insisted on remaining in Shiraz even though her family lived in England and she could easily have left the country. She chose to remain and live with her grandparents in order to continue serving the community. Although Shirin was basically shy and sensitive, her whole character changed when she was under interrogation. When she was once asked how long she would resist recanting the Faith, she said, "Even to death! I hope that God's mercy will enable me to remain steadfast up to the last breath of my life."
Miss Akhtar Sabit
Hanged June 18, 1983
Akhtar Sabit was a graduate nurse with a very kindly disposition. In her early 20's, she was the second youngest of the group. She also taught Baha'i classes. When she was asked about her sentence, she said, "Never mind, I am not worried. Whatever happens, I am content with the Will of God."
Miss Mahshid Nirumand
Hanged June 18, 1983
Mahshid Nirumand, 28 years old, was a graduate in physics from the University of Shiraz. She was ridiculed by her interrogator for her degree. He said, "What an education! A graduate in physics! And here am I, questioning you, and I don't even have a high school diploma." Mahshid was very strong throughout her stay in prison and would often share her food with the other prisoners and encourage them to be steadfast. Before being imprisoned, she had been a youth advisor and had been a member of a number of Baha'i service committees.
Miss Simin Sabiri
Hanged June 18, 1983
Simin Sabiri was one of the most fearless of the group, who had been a member of the Baha'i Study Committee in Shiraz, responsible for the continuing education of Baha'is about the Faith and its writings. During her interrogations, she would constantly try to refute the accusations and misinformation of her interrogators. During her stay in jail, she was known to be strong and resilient and never to have expressed sadness.
There is one more woman who should be mentioned for her heroism --Mrs. Tuba Za'irpour, who was martyred with Mona's father on March 12, 1983. Mrs. Za'irpour was 56 years old and was highly educated with a degree in Persian literature. She had been in charge of the Baha'i classes in Shiraz in which the students studied the Baha'i writings, comparative religion and Arabic. She was also one of the teachers.
While in prison, Mrs. Za'irpour shared her knowledge of the Faith with others. She had a strong influence on one Muslim woman, who later told the Baha'is how much she had respected Mrs. Za'irpour. During her imprisonment, Mrs. Za'irpour was tortured very badly by the prison authorities and was bastinadoed on three successive days. Her feet were so damaged that she could not walk and asked the guards to allow her to crawl, but they refused her request, causing her to walk in great pain. One of the Muslim women who was a cell mate told the Baha'is that even though Mrs. Za'irpour was so weak that her hands shook and she could barely comb her hair, she never once complained.
ONE LAST KISS
The families of the women learned of the hangings of their loved ones the next morning, June 19. Mona's mother and Taraneh finally succeeded, after great difficulty, in getting permission to see the bodies. Mrs. Mahmudnizhad, who had been their companion until the last few days, kissed each woman on the cheek and then said, "I wish the whole world could see through my eyes how these dead bodies testify to the love of the Blessed Beauty."
Taraneh later recounted:
"It was a bitter day and for the last time, without having a thick glass in between, I kissed the beautiful and tranquil face of my dear sister and said goodbye to her. With all my heart, I was hoping that once more she would open her eyes and smile. But I know that now, forever, she is observing us with an everlasting smile and, if I shed any tears it would only upset her. So, my dear Mona, because of you and the love that you have for Baha'u'llah and for humanity, I laugh to let the people know why you sacrificed your life and why all those dear ones gave their sweet lives in His path."
A young man, who was able to see the 10 bodies after their hanging wrote:
"When I found myself in the morgue, I felt as if I would explode. I could not stop crying all during the time I was there... when I entered, the first sight was of Mona's innocent face, lying with her head resting on Mahshid's shoulder. Mahshid looked as if she were in a deep, peaceful sleep.
"To Mona's right was Shirin, so beautiful, a witness to injustice, her eyes covered by a blindfold --why, we never knew.
"Roya, her eyes wide open, seemed to be gazing at the crippled human beings wandering about her. With a face full of faithfulness, she tried to make me understand and let the world know that they killed them in order to destroy their love. But what they could not understand was that love never dies and that a person who loves is always alive.
"Then there was Mrs. Yalda'i, with her familiar, loving smile. In spite of the black marks on her face, she was still easily recognizable. Her white hair spread about her face. I held her head in my hands and kissed her forehead. It seemed to me that she was still alive, full of life and love.
"And Simin, who was always full of life and ringing laughter, lay there silently. Next to her was Mrs. Ishraqi, the model of sincerity, love and friendship.
"And, finally, in a little room set apart from the others, was Zarrin, the example of strength and faithfulness.
"I could not believe that I would never see them again. I paused for a moment on the threshold and promised them all that I would continue their work by serving humanity."
The hangings of the women shocked the entire city. One person wrote that, "Shiraz smelled of blood, of love and devotion... The families were all in astonishment and awe. They were all expectantly waiting to hear of more executions every day. A memorial service was held for the women who were martyred two or three days later. People would come in groups with bouquets of flowers. They had no thought of any personal danger to themselves. You cannot imagine the commotion in Shiraz. We could not find flowers anywhere in the whole city. Wherever we went to buy them, people would ask if we wanted them for the "Brides of the City"! Their families were strong and told us stories of the devotion of those who had died. Their high spirits truly bewildered those who came in contact with them."
EPILOGUE
During their last visit together, Taraneh realized that Mona would soon be executed and that she was fully prepared. She said, "You're going to be executed too!" And Mona replied calmly, "I know. I know," and added, "Taraneh, I have of request for you. I want you to pray for us that we will go to the field of our execution dancing."
Taraneh agreed and Mona said, "I have one more request of you and that is to pray for me that the Blessed Beauty will forgive all the sins I have committed before my execution. Then they can take me!" By that point, Mona was crying and laughing at the same time, talking about her execution as a foregone conclusion even though she had not yet even been sentenced.
Taraneh then gave the phone to her mother and went to talk with Tahirih Siyavushi, who assured her that Mona was fine. Mona's mother took the phone and after some small talk, Mona told her, "Mother, tomorrow we will be the guests of the Blessed Beauty." Mona's mother had an astonished look on her face. When Taraneh saw this, she grabbed the phone from her mother, saying, "You have been with her for five months, now it is my turn to talk with her a little longer."
Then she said the same thing to Mona, who said with a loud voice, "Do you know what it is that makes me so happy?" Taraneh replied, "No, tell me." Mona said, "What makes me happy is that I see that we have been chosen by God to be strong." She paused and continued, "Dear Taraneh, give my regards to all the family and friends. Kiss all of them for me. I have everyone's face in my mind, but I am not allowed to name them." Then she pointed to Taraneh's daughter, Noora 15, who was with her mother, and said, "Raise Noora to be like our father." Taraneh looked at her silently and said to herself: "No, Mona, I will raise her to be just like you."
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THE STORY OF MONA
MONA MAHMUDNIZHAD – 1965 – 1983
Mona Mahmudnizhad, a young high school girl, was one of several score Baha'is, including women and teenage girls who were imprisoned in the fall of 1982 because of their Faith by the Islamic Revolutionary authorities in the Iranian city of Shiraz.
The prisoners, including Mona, endured months of abuse, interrogation and torture as the Islamic judges and their revolutionary guards attempted to force them to deny their religion. All refused, and ten of the women, including Mona, were secretly sentenced to death by hanging on June 18, 1983. In a final effort to break their wills, the authorities hanged the women one by one as the others were forced to watch.
Mona asked to be the final victim executed so that she could pray for the strength of each one who was hanged before her. When her turn came, she kissed the rope and put the noose around her own neck.
She was arrested with her father, Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad, who was hanged on March 12, 1983, several months before her.
Following is a brief outline of Mona Mahmudnizhad's life, imprisonment and execution, based on accounts of relatives, friends and fellow prisoners.
MONA'S CHILDHOOD
Mona's life began on September 10, 1965, in difficult circumstances. Her father, Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad, was a dedicated Baha'i who left his comfortable home in Iran to serve as a Baha'i pioneer in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in the southwestern tip of the Arabian peninsula.
When Mona was born, Yemen was under military alert, with the roads controlled by armed guards. Since the Mahmudnizhad's lived in the countryside where there was no hospital, they had to travel to Aden, Yemen's capital, to assure that Mona was safely delivered. Although the trip itself was long and arduous because their automobile was stopped and meticulously searched at numerous roadblocks, they reached the hospital in time.
Mona was the second child born to Yad'u'llah and Farkhundeh Mahmudnizhad and brought the family great joy. Their first daughter, Taraneh, was already seven years old and her parents had often prayed for another child. Mona spent her first four years in Yemen, most of it uneventful and showered with great love by her family.
On one occasion, however, while crawling around as a baby, she nearly died from accidental poisoning. When she was out of danger and released from the hospital, she began shaking her hands and dancing to music her father was playing, much to everyone's immense relief. At age two, she was hit by a car and thrown to the sidewalk. She got up and uttered the only harsh words she knew, "You are bad," and then passed out before being taken to the hospital. Luckily, she sustained no serious injuries and she soon recovered.
Mona would probably have grown up in Yemen had the government not expelled all foreigners in 1969. While Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad desired to remain as a pioneer, he was forced to return to Iran, spending two years in Isfahan, six months in Kirmanshah and three years in Tabriz before finally settling, in 1974, in Shiraz, a city precious to Baha'is because it is the birthplace of the Faith and home of one of its two Prophet-Founders, The Bab. During this time, her father repaired small appliances for his work and served the Baha'i community as both an elected and appointed member of various administrative bodies. 1
SENSITIVITY AS A CHILD
Mona's family was very humble and sensitive, passing these traits to Mona. While she was only a young child, she was already displaying these qualities which later led to her becoming known, even as a youth, as the" Angel of Shiraz". When she attended school in Tabriz, for example, she became so close to her teachers that she would cry when they left the school for some other position.
When she entered the third grade in Shiraz, she was quickly recognized as an excellent student and was considered one of the most outstanding in the school. She also had a beautiful singing voice and a genuine love for those around her, especially younger children who would often surround her when she arrived at school just to be with her.
Mona's special qualities were greatly appreciated by her Baha'i community. She would always complete her assignments for Baha'i school classes and was often asked to recite poems, sing songs or chant prayers at the Baha'i 19-day Feasts.2 When she met people that she loved, her eyes would fill with tears and she would run forward to spontaneously embrace them. She would then exclaim in a loud voice, "O my God! I want to hug you and squeeze you in my arms."
One young woman had this recollection of Mona at age 11:
The first time I met Mona, it was in their apartment on the fifth floor of a building in downtown Shiraz. The family was living in a two bedroom apartment. I do not know why and how I was attracted to that simple room, Mona's room. The decoration of the room was as simple as possible, and the only thing that caught one's eye, was a large wall decoration made by Mona from the Baha'i writings. It clearly showed, even at that early age in life, how devoted she was to the Baha'i Faith.
Mona
By the time Mona became a teenager, she was well-known in Shiraz by both young people and adults, both inside and outside the Baha'i community. She was growing into a lovely young woman, with long brown hair and beautiful green eyes. She also continued her excellent scholarship, entering advanced Baha'i classes with students who were often much older. She did well, however, and was one of the best at memorizing many prayers and passages from the Baha'i writings. Mona's love for the Faith ran so deep that she would often awake in the middle of the night to pray and meditate.
MONA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER FATHER
While Mona's father deeply loved his whole family, he had a special love for Mona and would say, "Mona is the very child I have asked the Blessed Beauty3 to give me." The two developed a deep bond and grew together as Baha'is. In 1981, Mr. Mahmudnizhad was appointed as an Auxiliary Board Member4 for the Province of Pars, and was also elected Secretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Shiraz. He was one of the most popular teachers in the Baha'i school. Those who knew them closely said that Mona would often look deeply into her father's eyes in an almost meditative state and communicate with him silently. He was known as a man who was always smiling.
Mr. Mahmudnizhad's humility and dedication to service can be seen from the following story. When the family first moved to Shiraz, they considered it a dream come true. In Tabriz, they had prayed fervently that they would be able to visit the House of The Bab, the most holy place for Baha'is in Iran, and were thrilled that they would be living in the same city. But even when they were finally living in Shiraz, however, Mr. Mahnudnizhad still did not feel that he had earned the right to visit the House of The Bab on his own and told his family, "I shall not visit the Blessed House of The Bab unless he calls me himself."
One day Mr. Mahmudnizhad received a phone call and was asked to go to a certain address to repair a television set. The television, as it turned out, belonged to the mother of the caretaker of The Bab's House. After doing the work, Mr. Mahmuznizhad was ready to leave when the woman said, "Don't you want to visit the Blessed House? There is nobody there and I will let you in."
Thus, in this unexpected way, Mr. Mahmudnizhad had his prayer answered. He had been summoned to the House of The Bab to provide a service for the caretaker's family. Later he told his family that it was the happiest day of his life. He walked around the yard several times and then up and down the stairs, kissing the edge of each step; finally, he entered the room where The Bab had first declared his mission, bowed his forehead to the ground, and immersed in spiritual ecstasy. Every time he talked about this visit with family or friends, his eyes would fill with tears.
THE CRISIS IN IRAN
Because of the rise to power of the Islamic clergy, the Islamic Revolution inaugurated a new period of severe repression of the Baha'i Faith. The "mullahs", as the clergy are called, had branded the Baha'is as "unclean infidels" at the earliest beginnings of the religion in 1844 and had continued to incite popular prejudice against them under all regimes. Over twenty thousand Baha'is had been put to death, often after barbaric and public torture, throughout the 19th century and in sporadic pogroms as recently as 1955 and 1963, when Baha'is were murdered and Baha'i centres destroyed by the combined forces of the clergy and the late Shah's army.
From the moment of the Bab's claim to have brought a new religion which fulfilled Islam, they denied even the possibility of another message from God after Muhammad, whom they regard as the "final prophet". In addition, the fanatical Muslim clergy deeply resent and fear the modern, scientifically-minded social teachings of the new faith, such as the equality of men and women, its emphasis on education, its world-minded attitudes, and especially the fact that it stresses the capacity of each individual man or woman to study and recognize spiritual truths for themselves, without the intervention of a clergy.
In Shiraz, the persecutions were particularly severe. In 1978, mobs vandalized the House of The Bab and also set fire to the homes of several hundred Baha'is. The events had a profound effect on both Mona and her father. On November 19, 1981, Mona and her father visited the House of the Bab, now almost completely destroyed, for the last time. Her mother relates that when she returned from the visit, she asked for her permission to walk into the house, "just this once", with her shoes on, since they were covered with the dust of the Bab's House. She told her, crying, that she wanted to write something about her experience. She went into her room and wrote a long, poetic essay.
As the crisis for the Baha'is worsened, Mona had many disturbing thoughts of the destiny that God might have in store for her father and for herself. She had a dream in which both she and her father were killed for their faith. After the dream, Mona added another virtue to those she already possessed -- fearlessness. As the persecutions worsened, she talked and wrote to her friends about the need for courage in the face of their fundamentalist persecutors, showing no fear of death. Her father reacted in the same way. When the Islamic authorities banned public Baha'i meetings, he, his wife and Mona would continue to visit their Baha'i friend in their homes, although they were constantly watched and harrassed.
REACHING MATURITY
Mona's life changed on September 10, 1980, when she turned 15, the age of spiritual maturity in the Baha'i teachings.5 Mona had already begun following in her father's footsteps as a Baha'i teacher and wanted to teach young children, for whom she had a special love. A year earlier, she had applied to the Baha'i Education Committee to be named to one of their sub-committees, but was refused because she was not yet 15 and not considered old enough for this service. When she received the news, she burst into tears.
When she turned 15, she considered it her true first birthday and immediately registered as a Baha'i youth and reapplied to the Education Committee. This time she was assigned to the Children's Education Committee and began teaching Baha'i children's classes, which included the study of the great religions, developing spiritual qualities, encouraging the children to put their talents and education to the service of their fellow man and especially learning to appreciate the oneness and diversity of the human family.
Her service to the Faith accelerated greatly and actually began causing her problems. She spent so much time on Baha'i activities that she was having difficulties completing her school assignments. At one point, the pressure was so great that she considered resigning from her Baha'i activities, but could not do it. One day, when she was particulary tired, she asked her father to help her. He read her a passage from the Holy Writings that said, "The prophets of old wish they were alive in this day so that they may accomplish a service." Mona immediately stopped talking about her problems and decided that she would carry out her duties to the best of her ability. She even began walking to school instead of riding a bus and saved enough pocket money to buy coloured crayons, booklets and pencils, which she would give out as prizes to the students during Baha'i children's class. She also wrote prayers in the booklets and would give them to the children to memorize.
PERSECUTIONS AT SCHOOL
The persecution of the Baha'is extended to every level of society. While the Islamic authorities tended at first to single out only the more prominent members of the Faith for arrest and execution, cancellation of pensions, freezing of bank accounts and dismissal from employment, they extended their repressions even to the school level by expelling numerous Baha'i children, especially those attending high school and university. They were only to be allowed to continue their studies if they denied being Baha'is. Baha'i children, even when they were still allowed to stay in school, were forced to sit apart at the back of their classrooms, as "unclean infidels" and were not allowed to touch the other children. In one instance a Baha'i child was forced to wash the brick floor of his classroom and sent home with bleeding hands, because he had refused to recant his Faith.
In Shiraz, a number of Baha'i children had been expelled and Mona expected that her expulsion would come soon as well. But rather than fear it, she looked forward to it, since she would then be able to spend all her efforts for the Faith. When one of her friends was expelled, she said, "Good for you. Now you can study the Baha'i books one year longer. Pray that I will also be expelled."
In the fall of 1981 (her second year of High School), she enrolled in a course on religious literature. Up to that point, like most Baha'is in Iran, her freedom to mention her Faith had always been strictly curtailed and was limited to brief and private responses to the questions of fellow students about the symbol on the stone in the ring she wore. However, when the literature teacher assigned the students a paper on the topic: "the fruit of Islam is freedom of conscience and liberty, whoever has a taste for it is benefitted," Mona poured out her frustrations at being silenced in the poignant essay which follows.
While the paper Mona wrote is still in the hands of school authorities, the notes that she used to write the paper have been recovered:
'Freedom' is the most brilliant word among the radiant words existing in the world. Man has always been and will ever be asking for liberty. Why, then, has he been deprived of liberty? Why from the beginning of man's life has there been no freedom? Always, there have been powerful and unjust individuals who for the sake of their own interests have resorted to all kinds of oppression and tyranny...
Why don't you let me be free to express our goals in this community; to say who I am and what I want, and to reveal my religion to others? Why don't you give me freedom of speech so that I may write for publication or talk on radio and television about my ideas? Yes, liberty is a Divine gift, and this gift is for us also, but you don't let us have it. Why don't you let me speak freely as a Baha'i individual? Why don't you want to know that a new religion has been revealed; that anew radiant star has risen? Why don't you push aside that thick veil from your eyes?
Perhaps you don't really think that I should have freedom. God has granted this freedom to man. You, his servant, cannot take it from me. God has given me freedom of speech. Therefore, I cry out and say, "His Holiness Baha'u'llah is the Truth!" God has given me freedom of speech. Therefore, in clear words, I write, "Baha'u'llah is the One whom God has made manifest! He is the founder of the Baha'i religion and His Book is the Mother of Books..."
The frank openness of her paper caused a furor at the school. The principal, who was considered a fanatical Muslim, called Mona to his office and warned her that she no longer had the right to mention the Baha'i religion while on school grounds, a prohibition which Mona obeyed.
THE DREAM ABOUT BAHA'U'LLAH
Ten months before she was killed, Mona had another extraordinary dream which was later related by family and friends. Following is the version transcribed from her diary.
She had been saying prayers with a small group of friends for several hours. After they left her home, she was so moved by the prayers that she went into the living room and sat down in front of a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Baha6, meditated quietly and then fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw Abdu'l-Baha's chair and desk, with a vase on it, as in the picture before her. She was very happy and said: "How happy I am to see your desk and chair." At the same moment she saw Baha'u'llah entering the room. The Blessed Beauty went out into an adjoining chamber and brought out a box containing a beautiful red cape. He unwrapped it in front of her, saying, "This is the cape of martyrdom in my path. Do you accept it?"
Mona was speechless with happiness. Finally, she said, "Whatever pleases you..."
Baha'u'llah put the cape back in the box and returned to the adjoining room bringing back with him a second box, containing a black cape which he unwrapped and said:
"This black cape symbolizes sorrow in my path. Do you accept it?" Mona replied, "How beautiful are the tears shed in thy path."
He put the cape back in the box and again returned to the other room, emerging with yet a third box containing an elaborately beaded blue cape of the same design as the others.
Without a word of hesitation, he placed the cape around her shoulders, and said: "This is the cape of service." Then he seated himself in the chair and said to Mona: "Come and take a picture with me!"
Mona was breathless with astonishment at the bounties being showered on her and could hardly walk. She looked up and saw a man sitting behind an old-fashioned camera covered by a cloth. Baha'u'llah repeated his instruction but Mona could not move. .
Then Baha'u'llah took her arm, saying, "Mehdi, take our picture." And he took a picture of them together. The flash of the camera wakened her abruptly and she pleaded tearfully to be able to finish her dream and then fell asleep again. Baha'u'llah had left the room. Only the photographer remained, carrying the tripod and camera on his shoulder as if to leave. He turned around and asked Mona to convey his love to his children. But Mona could not tell which "Mehdi" he was since there were many people by that name in the long history of the Faith and in her own community. But still he looked familiar to her. "Mehdi" was busily tying his shoes and noticed that Mona did not recognize him. As he was leaving the room he turned and said, "I am Medhi Anvari." Mona instantly recognized him as one of the Baha'is of Shiraz who had previously been killed7.
Beginning at the age of 13, Mona had begun to dream and write about her father's death in a startling way. Some of these writings are now preserved among her papers.
THE ARREST OF MONA AND HER FATHER
The months following Mona's dream of the capes were tense for the Baha'i community. Arrests and executions of Baha'is were taking place all over the country. In Shiraz, the Public Prosecutor had initiated mass arrests in late October 1982. While it was almost a foregone conclusion that Mona's father would be arrested because of his service on the Local Spiritual Assembly and the Auxiliary Board, few suspected that Mona would also be singled out.
The arrest occurred at 7:30 pm on October 23, 1982. Mona was at home with her parents. Her sister, Taraneh, was now married and no longer living with her.. " family. When the door bell rang, Mona was studying for a test she had in ~ English, her father was writing some letters in a notebook and her mother was doing housework. Her father opened the door and four armed revolutionary guards demanded entry. The Guards said that they were appointed by the Public Prosecutor of Shiraz to inspect the Mahmudnizhad household.
Before the search began, Mona asked to put on her chador (Islamic head covering) and was escorted to her room so that she could retrieve it. Her father asked if her mother could put on a jacket. Then the three members of the family were ordered to sit in their living room, with Mona and her mother flanking their father. One Guard held a gun on the Mahmudnizhads, while the others meticulously searched and ransacked their rooms.
At one point, Mona's mother whispered to her father, "What shall I do. They are going to arrest you." Her father replied, "Say the prayer "Remover of Difficulties" to yourself and turn to Abdu'l-Baha." He then fixed his eyes on the picture of Abdu'l-Baha in front of them. Mona was the picture of calm and continued to study her English lesson. At one point, she even asked her father a question, but the Guard ordered her to be quiet.
When the search ended, Mona's mother became terribly upset when the Guards ordered both Mona and her father to come with them. She said, "I can understand that you would want to take my husband with you, but why do you want to take Mona. She is only a child." According to one account, one of the Guards replied, "Do not call her a child. You should call her a little Baha'i teacher. Look at this poem. It is not the work of a child. It could set the world on fire. Someday she will be a great Baha'i teacher."
The guards continued to heap abuse on both Mona and her father, causing her mother great anguish. At one point her father told her not to be worried, that he considered the guards to be his children and Mona their sister, that the guards had been assigned by God to come to their house and take them away together. Mona reassured her mother, saying, "Why do you beg these people? What offense have I committed. Have I been a bad girl? Do we have smuggled goods in the house? They arrest me just because I believe in Baha'u'llah. Mother, this is not going to prison, it is going to Heaven. This is not falling into a pit, it is rising to the moon."
When the Guards took Mona and her father, they also confiscated all of their papers and some cassette tapes of Mona's chanting.
IMPRISONMENT
While they did not know it at the time, Mona and her father were among the first of 40 Baha'is in Shiraz, including six women, who were arrested that night or during the next few days. After the arrest, both were blindfolded, taken to Seppah prison and then led to separate quarters. Mona was given a piece of paper to hold8 and led down a long corridor and then into a large room where the blindfold was removed. Since it was around midnight, the room was dark.
More than 40 women were in the room at the same time, Mona later recounted. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see windows in the room covered with metal bars. The room was also dank and had poor ventilation. Since Mona was the first Baha'i woman to reach the prison, she was all alone and knew no one in the room. She was met by the woman-in-charge, who asked her crime. Mona replied that her crime was being a Baha'i. The woman then issued her two blankets and showed her to a space where she could sleep. The room was so crowded, however, that everyone had to sleep on their sides.
Here is Mona's account, as told to a fellow Baha'i prisoner, of what happened next:
I didn't know anybody and had no news about my father. I was saying prayers in my heart and I was praising God because I had entered his Court. My mother's worried face was in my mind and I was praying for her steadfastness and for that of my father as well. I decided to go to sleep like the others and wait to see what the Blessed Beauty had in store for me.
I lay down and was deep in thought when suddenly the door opened and a lady was brought in. They guided her in just as they had done with me and because they found out she was a Baha'i, they brought her near me. A few minutes later, they brought another lady into Our cell. She suffered from severe headaches, and requested her medicine, but no one paid any attention to her. She was Mrs. Tuba Za'irpour9. I didn't recognize her in the dark, but her voice was very familiar to me. Suddenly Mrs. Za'irpour said, "Mona, is that you? What are you doing here? They have arrested you as well? O My God!"
Mona later recounted that she was greatly comforted when she recognized Mrs. Za'irpour .
Even though Mona was separated from her family and home, she soon found a new family in jail. All the older ladies, she said, were her mothers and aunts and the younger ones her sisters and cousins. Despite the fact that she was the youngest in prison, it was Mona who most frequently reassured the other women and helped them to be steadfast during their periods of imprisonment and interrogation.
The jail itself was terribly overcrowded, with not enough facilities to meet basic needs. There were only two showers for the 80 or 90 women in the prison. On the first day, a fellow Baha'i prisoner described how they were given one plate of soup to be shared by three women, and eaten with their hands. Worse than any physical restriction or deprivation, however, was the fact that the guards would not allow the Baha'is to pray.
THE FIRST FEW DAYS IN PRISON
The first few days in prison were worse for the families outside than for the prisoners themselves, who were photographed on their second day of arrest, but otherwise left alone. The families, however, were given no word about the fate of any of the prisoners and were refused permission to visit them. Every day Mona's mother and sister went to the prison to request permission to see Mona and her father for just a few minutes. They were insulted and taunted by the prison authorities, but they did not give up and encouraged other Baha'is with family members who had been arrested to do the same. Taraneh said, "We should be prepared for everything and should not give up. We should be so strong that even if at the very moment they deliver us the bodies of our loved ones, we should keep smiling and with this attitude make them feel how weak they are."
After an entire week of being refused permission, Mona's mother finally lost control. She recounts, "I was sitting by my window. I had no news about my heavenly daughter, Mona. Many times I had gone to Seppah, but they never gave me permission to visit. When I saw people walking in the streets so freely ... tears started running down my face and with a loud voice, I prayed, 'O Blessed Beauty, I want my child. I want Mona back from you. I have no news of her. O Blessed Beauty, I want my child.' I looked up in the sky and said, ' All birds are free. My little bird is in prison.' I spent the day in tears and grieving."
On the next day, October 31, Mona's mother was granted permission to visit Mona, although not her father, who was believed to have undergone such severe torture that the authorities were afraid to let anyone see him. Mona's mother and sister were taken to the visiting room at Seppah about one o'clock in the afternoon and made to wait for six hours before they brought Mona and the other Baha'i women prisoners to an adjacent room separated by a thick glass wall, through which they could only motion to each other .
"We were standing on the other side of the glass," Mona's mother said. "I was looking at them and crying. Mona indicated in motions that I shouldn't cry. Quickly, I wiped my tears away. I couldn't tell her, my beautiful bird, that my tears were from the joy of seeing her."
THE INTERROGATIONS AT SEPPAH PRISON
Each Baha'i arrested is subjected to a four-stage interrogation process that leads either to release or execution. The first stage consists of a series of formal interrogations by an Islamic judge appointed by the Public Prosecutor. These take place inside the prison. The interrogations, which last for many hours, are usually held with a number of the prisoners present, although some are also held with each prisoner alone. The revolutionary guards are usually masked and the prisoners blind-folded, and made to sit facing a wall. At each stage the victim is verbally abused, asked the same questions over and over again, and often asked to write down the answers since the majority of the revolutionary guards and many of the interrogating judges are illiterate, while their Baha'i victims are often well-educated. the interrogators demand to know the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all the Baha'is in a given city, then in all of Iran, then around the world.10 At each stage the prisoner is asked to deny their Baha'i beliefs and become a Muslim.
At one tense moment, the Mulla told Mona, "If you only say you are not a Baha'i, you and your father will be freed in no time. But if you continue being so obstinate, I will see to your being executed myself." Mona replied, "I am a Baha'i and I will never deny this fact."
The next stage is an interrogation at the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which is carried out by the Assistant to the Public Prosecutor. This interrogation may also take many hours, but is normally completed in one day. The final interrogation takes place in front of an Islamic Revolutionary Judge, and usually lasts only a short time, sometimes less than an hour .
After the three interrogation stages, there is no set time before a "sentence" is handed down. It can take weeks, months or longer. In all interrogations and before any Baha'i is executed, however, he or she is given numerous opportunities, usually under great physical and mental anguish, to recant.
The Baha'is arrested in Shiraz were first taken to Seppah prison where they underwent the first stage of the interrogation process, which began late in the first week of their arrest. When Mona was taken for what she thought was her first interrogation session, she was led instead to the basement to see her father briefly while he was being tortured. He told her to answer all of their questions honestly and to explain clearly what the Baha'i religion teaches. She was then taken back to her cell.
The next morning, her sixth in prison, Mona's interrogations began in earnest. Mona did not like to talk much about the time she spent in Seppah prison, nor about her interrogations. She felt this would bring her "down to the world of accusations, ugly words and improper questions." When Mona saw her mother and sister for the first time after being imprisoned, she had been interrogated from one o'clock in the afternoon until three o'clock in the morning, with only a break to see her family at 7 in the evening. This is her own account of her first session, as told to a fellow prisoner:
The next day my interrogation sessions started. Questions were as follows: What is your religion? What do you believe in? Were you born in a Baha'i family? Date and place of birth. Name of the school you are studying at. Which grade? Have you ever taught in a Baha'i class? When did you declare and who was present at that session? Names of the members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shiraz and the members of the Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly. What activities do you do as a Baha'i? Names of the members of the Baha'i committees in Shiraz. Write about the Baha'i administration. How many members of the Universal House of Justice11 are Persian and how many are not? What nationalities are they? Names of all the prominent international Baha'i administrators in the world. Have you ever been on pilgrimage? How much have you donated to the Fund? Who was the chairperson of the feast and where was it held? Who did you vote for this year? Have your parents been members of the Local Spiritual Assembly? The name of the Baha'is you know. Are you willing to recant?
I answered all the questions very frankly and my answer to the last question was, "I am a Baha'i and I will never recant." The interrogator said, "If you refuse to recant your Faith, we will execute you." And I told him that I would rather be killed than recant the Faith I believe in.
Mona did say that her sessions would normally begin around 10 am and last till 4 am the next morning. She added that by refusing to let her sleep, the authorities believed that she would weaken and recant. "During all the endless hours," she said, "I was praying and begging Baha'u'llah to give me the strength to remain steadfast all during this nightmare. This interrogation went on for several days. One day, the Mulla told me to write all the details of my life, where I was born and raised and the names of the schools I have studied in, as well as my activities as a Baha'i, all of which I again described very frankly."
At various times, prisoners were interrogated verbally and required to stand blindfolded for hours on end while they answered. At others, the prisoners were seated facing a wall and handed a set of written questions. The sessions lasted for roughly a week, with the prisoners kept under a constant barrage of questioning. While the main interrogator was usually the Islamic judge or "mulla", he was at times accompanied by others. Often, because they were blindfolded, the prisoners would not know how many people were in the room.
All of the Baha'i women were thus interrogated, and several were severely beaten as well. These beatings took place separately from the interrogations, usually in the basement of the prison. The victim is tied to a specially designed table and then beaten on the soles of the bare feet with a rod or a piece of wire cable, the traditional Islamic punishment called the "bastinado". The prisoner is given a few lashes, allowed to regain sensitivity, and whipped again and again until the punishment is finished or the prisoner passes out. When they regain consciousness, the beating resumes.
The victims are then made to walk on their bleeding feet and often additionally tortured by being taunted with a glass of water kept just out of reach.
On another occasion, one of her early dreams about martyrdom came true. In the dream, she had to face several spiteful men who asked her about The Seven Valleys12. At one of her interrogation sessions, the Mulla asked her about Baha'u'llah's writings on The Seven Valleys, to which she gave a detailed reply, but was ignored. The Mulla then asked her to say a prayer. She asked him if he really wanted her to do so and he replied sarcastically, "Yes." Mona then folded her arms, closed her eyes and started the prayer, but was cut off by snide laughter from the Mulla.
TRANSFER TO ADELABAD PRISON
Mona was in Seppah prison for a total of 38 days, and was intensively interrogated for roughly one week during that time. On November 29, 1982, she and five other Baha'i women were transferred to Adelabad prison, also in Shiraz. At the time, the Islamic authorities arrested another 50 Baha'is, including II women, who were subjected to the same interrogation, but quickly transferred to Adelabad to join the growing number of Baha'is there.
Adelabad prison was considerably different from Seppah and much dirtier . There were three tiers of prison cells, with each broken down into small units. The Baha'is were sent to the third floor, with three assigned to one cell. There was often only one bed per cell, which forced two of the women to sleep on the floor. While the Baha'i women were kept in cells together, they were allowed to congregate with the other female prisoners on the same floor, including a mix of political prisoners and those arrested for various identifiable crimes. A number of these women were addicts and prostitutes.
Characteristically, the authorities did not tell any of the families of the
transfer. Mona's family found out when they came for a visit at Seppah prison
about a week later and quickly rushed over to Adelabad. Mona's mother was greatly disturbed to see that Mona had become quite sick with a cold. Mona had tears in her eyes, but did not cry. She reassured her, saying, "It's very comfortable here. In comparison with Seppah, this prison is a palace. They serve us breakfast, lunch and dinner." She added that she had written them a letter, which they received a few
days later .
"In the name of God, my dear ones and my mother who is dearer to me than my life
and my kind sister. What can I say and write about God's bounty, which is
so great and encompasses all created things, even this poor handmaiden who is not
worthy of serving at his threshold. Dearly beloved of my heart and soul, pray for us so
in all conditions we will be content. Then we ask you not to be overtaken
with sorrow and
to pray for us because we are in need of your prayers ...
Mona was also thinking of her father. She asked her mother, during one of her visits with her sister, to bring him some extra blankets to protect him from catching cold. Mona's thoughts were usually about God or her fellow prisoners, but rarely about herself.
THE SECOND STAGE OF INTERROGATION
During the second stage of Mona's interrogation she was awakened at four o'clock in the morning and transferred an hour later by automobile to the place of interrogation. The session lasted most of the day. She was asked the same questions that she had been asked over and over again at Seppah about her beliefs.
"I told them that I believed in God and all his messengers who had revealed a Holy Book and that we consider them all to be Messengers of God. The Assistant to the Public Prosecutor said, 'You are accused of being a member of the Zionist movement, who are spies.' In reply, I told him that Baha'is have nothing to do with politics. On the other hand, the state of Israel was founded only 32 years ago, while the Baha'i Faith was founded 139 years ago. We only have spiritual organizations which have nothing to do with politics. He said, 'There remains only one way for you, you should either recant the Faith or you will be executed.' I said I would rather be executed."
THE THIRD STAGE OF INTERROGATION
The final formal interrogation took place a few days later. Again, Mona was taken away at 5 am. This time she met with the Islamic Revolutionary Judge, who handled all of the Baha'i cases in Shiraz. While the interrogation was the shortest that she underwent, in many ways it was the most dramatic.
The Judge, after insulting her a long time, told her that her parents had deceived and misled her and accused her of following them without being aware of what she was doing. She replied,
"Although I was born in a Baha'i family, according to Baha'i principles, we have to search for the truth ourselves rather than imitate our family's ideas and that is exactly what I have done. You have many of our Baha'i books here and you could read them and find this out for yourself. They never insisted on my becoming a Baha'i or accepting their ideas. If Your Honour insists that I recant my Faith, I should assure you that I will never do that and that I am ready to be executed."
The Judge was shocked at that point and looked at her angrily, saying, "You are just a child. How could you possibly know the real meaning of the word Faith? " Mona replied,
"What more proof do you need than that I was dragged out of school and put in jail and now, for many months, have endured all these interrogations for the sake of my religion. What else but my Faith could give me the strength and power to stand here in front of you and answer your Questions."
Then the Judge asked her to pray and she replied, "I cannot do that." The judge asked her, "What do you mean?" and Mona pointed out, "You would have to sit respectfully, with your hands folded on your chest before I would recite a prayer ." At first, the Judge refused, but after awhile, as though spellbound by her spiritual character, he complied with her wish and she recited the prayer:
"O God, refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Though art My Guide and My Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved. I will be a happy and joyful being. O God, I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.
"O God, Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord."
When Mona had finished reciting the prayer the puzzled Judge asked her , "Why did you not chant it?" To which Mona replied, "I only chant from my heart and when I am alone, not in front of you." The Judge was deeply moved and said, "In the night when you and your father were arrested, the revolutionary guards brought back lots of tapes of your chanting. You are accused of misleading youth with your beautiful voice and chanting. Now I am sure about the charges against you." Mona replied, "Your Honour, is chanting, praying and repeating the verses of God a crime?"
He said, "Child, what is wrong with Islam that you have became a Baha'i?" She explained, "The foundation of all religions are one, but according to the circumstances, after some period of time anew prophet is assigned by God to guide mankind. But if you are trying to force me to become a Muslim, I should say that nothing is wrong with Islam. But its followers do not know anything but killing and terrorism, examples of which can be observed every day in this very prison. This is the reason why I have decided to become a Baha'i."
The Judge said, "We are acting according to our Holy Book the Quran."
Her fellow prisoners were all astonished and kept asking how she dared to answer the Judge like that. "How dare you tell them all that so openly?" someone asked.
Mona's open, forthright answers were a topic of conversation among the prisoners for a long time.
THE ARREST OF MONA'S MOTHER
In mid-January, shortly after Mona's third interrogation, Mona's mother was contacted and told that Mona was considered not guilty and would be released on bail, provided that the Mahmudnizhad's could raise bail money.
Mona's bail was set initially at about $35,000. Mrs. Mahmudnizhad tried to get the Court to accept a mortgage on the small apartment that the family owned in Shiraz, but that was not accepted because the family did not have a clear title. Mona was not released. The presiding judge then raised Mona's bail to about $88,000. But after Mrs. Mahmudnizhad had turned the title over to the authorities, Mona was still not released. The authorities took the property anyway and then arrested Mrs. Mahmudnizhad when she came to the prison with the documents for Mona's presumed release.
While the Islamic authorities did release six Baha'i prisoners, Mona and 14 others remained in jail. Her mother remained in jail with them until a week before Mona was executed.
Mona's mother was arrested on a Saturday, the same day that visitors were allowed at Adelabad. Mona's sister was very upset at the arrest of her mother and went to the prison alone. Mona immediately asked where her mother was, not believing that she would miss a visit. When told that her mother had been arrested, Mona did not say a word.
When Mrs. Mahmudnizhad arrived, Mona insisted that all the other prisoners be allowed to greet her first. Mona then took her in her arms and said, "Mother, welcome, welcome to your new home. Come, come! I'll show you your new home."
Mona and her mother were assigned to the same cell for that night. Mrs. Mahmudnizhad slept on the bed, while Mona and her cellmate, Tahirih Siyavushi, one of the nine women later hanged with Mona, slept on the floor .
Before Mona's mother could fall asleep, Mona took her hand and whispered,
"You have to adjust to the situation here and the monotonous atmosphere. Say prayers often. Cry only when you are alone, and only out of love for the Blessed Beauty. Do not ever cry out of grief because Baha'u'llah doesn't like that. Always laugh and be happy so you will give support to the other prisoners."
"There is something else I want to ask of you and that is not to kiss me or show more love to me than you do to the other prisoners. I don't want them to think that Mona's mother is by her side and that they are alone here. You should be more mother to them than you are to me. It is not important if you don't have much time for me or don't walk with me. Try to take care of the other prisoners first."
Mona's mother obeyed the request. Until the day of her release, she never again kissed her daughter and spent less time with her than she did with the other prisoners.
LAST VISIT WITH MONA'S FATHER
About 10 days after Mona's mother was imprisoned, the Baha'i prisoners were startled to hear an announcement calling all "Baha'i sisters" to an area on the roof of the prison. It was the first time that the word "Baha'i" had ever spoken over the intercom. When the women reached the area, all the Baha'i men who were being held in the prison were there too. The Mahmudnizhad family, father, mother and daughter, were together in prison for the first and last time.
It was a precious, if brief, moment for the Baha'i prisoners. Those who had other family members in the prison sat hand in hand, while others sat in small groups and whispered together, sharing stories and gaining strength from one another. The Mahmudnizhads sat together and had their last family conference.
Mona's mother was very frank and said to Mona, "They'll execute your father." Mona replied, "I know, but I can take it." Her father then said, "Yes, these days of separation will be over soon. Do you remember earlier, every time we moved, I would always go first and prepare a home and then bring you to the house like a lady. Now it is the same way, I'll go ahead and prepare a home for you in the spiritual kingdom and prepare to welcome you there."
After that Mona and her father spoke little, although they continued communicating with their eyes, as they had done almost all of their lives. Mona's mother later recounted the moment in this way:
"I noticed that Mona got up and kissed her father's eyes several times. She seemed to read heavenly secrets from his eyes. They didn't need to communicate verbally because they could communicate perfectly with their eyes. Then he asked about how our friends and relatives were. Finally, our time was over. I never saw Mona's father again until exactly one month later, on March 12, 1983, after they executed him along with two other Baha'is, Mr. Rahmat'u'llah Vafa'i and Mrs. Tuba Za'irpour.
TARANEH'S LAST VISIT WITH HER FATHER
Mona's sister Taraneh was the only member of the family who was not imprisoned. On Wednesdays she would visit her father and on Saturdays her mother and sister. This was a terrible period for her --the first time in her life that she was separated from everyone in her family. She cried bitterly that first night from the pain of separation from her entire family. She later recounted:
"The night they imprisoned my mother was a bitter night for me. I could not believe that my life could suddenly become so empty. I kept telling myself that this was nothing compared to what Baha'u'llah had to endure --all the imprisonments, the chains in the Siyyah Chal, being away from his family, exile, the martyrdom of his son, the onslaught of his enemies. Meanwhile, he comforted all of the devoted and bereaved friends and gave us all those tablets and writings, all those life-giving words.
"O my, how ignorant I was and now I have discovered his limitless favour. "O Blessed Beauty," I prayed, "just give me the steadfastness to endure this separation from my loved ones."
On the first Wednesday in March, after her mother had been in prison for about a month, Mona's father said to her sister, during one of their visits, "Tell your mother that in life we have always shared our misery and happiness. Now that we have to burn in separation, it will be a test of our love for God and for one another ."
She then asked him, "Father, why is it that out of the four people in our family, three are so beloved by God and I am outcast from the sight of God. What sin have I done that I am not worthy enough to go to prison?" He replied, "Do you think that you are free? All of you who are out of prison are still prisoners in a larger prison. With all the restrictions on your life, you too are in prison. Besides, a lover is never free, but is a prisoner of love."
"Father," she asked, "are you saying that I should be happy and sure?" With great conviction, he replied, "Be confident and happy."
Four days later, Yad'u'llah Mahmuznihad was hanged. Mona's sister heard the news at 10 am that morning from her husband, who was crying. She later recalled:
"After hearing of this tragedy my whole body started trembling and I began shouting, 'O Blessed Beauty! Father, where are you now?' My one-year-old daughter woke up from the noises we were making and started to cry as well. All of a sudden, I calmed down and said, 'Father, you used to say that the spirit of the martyrs always makes the tolerance of calamity easier for those who are left behind. They give assistance and intercede on our behalf. Where is that assistance?' I swear that at that moment such tranquility overwhelmed me as I have never experienced. I decided to go and, if possible, visit the bodies of the three beloved martyrs and, with great difficulty, succeeded in doing so. Of course, they were no longer in their bodies. I wanted to kiss the mark on my father's neck that had been left by the rope, but I had neither the ability nor the permission to get closer to his body.
One day, while she was in prison, Mona awoke and refused food and drink for 30 hours, despite the entreaties of her mother and fellow prisoners. Later it was learned that it was on that day that her father had been executed. When Mona did hear the news formally, all she said was, "I know, I know. What a great bounty for him."
ANECDOTES FROM ADELABAD PRISON
Mona and the other prisoners remained in jail for three more months. One fellow prisoner wrote about Mona as follows:
"Mona was a perfect human being. She was fully practising the Baha'i principles. She was a living example of encouragement and steadfastness. She was what a Baha'i youth is supposed to be. During the days we spent in jail together, all day long, she would pray. Her behaviour was like a grown up, a noble person, although she was just an innocent child. I remember the days when she used to come to my cell, hold her chin in her hands and stare at the walls, deep in thought. That was when I would ask her to chant."
One day, according to another prisoner, one of other women in the prison returned from her interrogation session at Seppah prison, bringing back with her some very small green plums. She gave one of them to Mrs. Nusrat Yalda'i13, one of the Baha'i prisoners and said, "I know you like these, but I don't have any more to give everybody. Eat this without telling anyone else." Mrs. Yalda'i didn't have the heart to eat it herself and gave it to another prisoner who, in turn, gave it to Mrs. Mahmudnizhad, sitting next to her .
Moments later Mona passed by their cell and Mona's mother gave her the tiny plum. She took it and in a few minutes returned with a small tray. She had cut out the seeds from the plum and cut the fruit into seventeen tiny pieces -- one for each of her friends in the cell block. She had also decorated the corner of the tray with knives and forks. She called all the prisoners and they sat around and each had a piece. Everyone was delighted and laughed for much of the day.
Mona also became friendly with many of the prisoners who were not Baha'is. At their request, she would speak with them and quietly sing them songs about the Faith, especially in moments of distress. However, she had to be very careful because she didn't want to get them into trouble by talking about the Faith. After awhile, a number of them would seek Mona out to ask her questions or to teach them songs. Mona also continued writing poetry, another of her loves, and had developed a sizeable collection. All of the Baha'i women prisoners were mentioned. One day, however, the prison authorities came to inspect the cells and Mona, fearing that they would cause problems for everyone, tore them up before she or anyone else could memorize them.
SACRIFICING 100,000 LIVES
After she had been in prison for a time, Mona's mother shared a confidence with her:
"Gradually, I had reached a strange state in which I could feel that true submission is possible, while at the same time I was very depressed. I started talking to Mona about my state of being. Suddenly, I told her fearfully, '1 don't think they will release you and with all the things that are happening if they don't execute you, they'll keep you in prison for at least 15 to 20 years, and when they release you, you'll be 35 or 40 years old. How will I stand it?'
"Mona replied, 'Mother, If I knew that during each year I spend in prison only a few people become Baha'is, I would wish that I could spend a hundred thousand years in prison.'
"And if I knew that because of my execution, all the youth of the world would arise, join hands in service to humanity, become selfless, teach the world about Baha'i ideals and try to move the world, I would beg Baha'u'llah to give me 100,000 lives to sacrifice in his path.'
Her mother wrote: "I felt so small before the greatness of her soul, as if she were the mother and I the child. And now she has accomplished what she wanted with her one life."
MONA'S VISION OF MARTYRDOM
One day, which coincided with a Baha'i holy day, Mona wanted to say prayers alone instead of joining a small prayer session organized by the Baha'i prisoners.
Mona, in fact, had been spending increasing amounts of time alone. Often, ii when the other prisoners would congregate together, Mona would find an empty cell to pray and meditate by herself. On this occasion, however, her mother insisted that Mona join them, so she acquiesced.
Later in the day, she took her mother aside and said, "Mother, I would have wanted very much to spend this last holy day alone, to pray and meditate on my own." Mona's mother didn't understand what she meant and said, "If you had told me, I wouldn't have minded. Why did you agree so quickly?" Mona said, "Because you have the right to ask me to be with you."
Mona then took her aside and said, "Mother, I want to tell you something, please come with me." She led her mother down a corridor that was so narrow that they had to walk in single file. Suddenly Mona stopped, turned around, and said, "Mother, do you know that they are going to execute me?" Her mother became very upset and refused to listen. She was completely unaware of the spiritual state that Mona had reached and said, "No, dear, you'll be free, " released from the prison. You will have a family and children. I want to see , your children. Please don't think this way."
Mona became upset and said, "I swear to God that I do not wish this for myself and you shouldn't wish it for me. I know that they are going to kill me and I want to tell you what I am going to do when that happens. If you don't let me tell you now, you will regret it in the future. Now, do you want to let me tell you or not?"
Mona's mother was stunned and said, "Yes, tell me." Then Mona faced her and said, "You know mother, at the place where they're going to take us for our execution, we will have to go up and stand on something high where they will put a rope around our necks... Then I'm going to kiss noose and say a prayer ."
Mona then folded her arms across her chest, closed her eyes and with a blissful look on her face said a short prayer. Then she opened her eyes and said, ''I'II say that prayer for the happiness and prosperity of all mankind and bid farewell to this mortal world and go to God." Then she looked at her mother, who was staring at her in a state of confusion and bewilderment. All she could say was, "That was a nice story, Mona."
Mona eyes filled with tears. Quietly, she said, "Mother, was is not a story. Why won't you believe me?"
A DREAM FOR STEADFASTNESS
Two days later, Mona and the other nine women were told that they would be given one more chance to recant their Faith or be sentenced to die. It was their last chance to remain alive. That night, Mona had another dream in which she was in prison saying the long obligatory prayer. Abdu'l-Baha came through the cell door and sat on the bed on which Mona's mother was sleeping. Tahirih Siyavushi was sleeping on the floor. He patted her mother's head and raised His other hand towards Mona, who thought to herself that He might leave if she continued saying her prayer. So she sat on her knees in front of Abdu'l-Baha and held her hands in His.
'Abdu'l-Baha asked Mona, "What do you want?" Mona replied, "Steadfastness." 'Abdu'l-Baha asked again, "What do you want from us?" Mona replied, "Steadfastness for all the friends." Abdu'l-Baha asked for a third time, "What do you want?" Mona again replied, "Steadfastness." Then Abdu'l-Baha said twice, "It is granted. It is granted."
THE LAST INTERROGATION
The next morning, June 12, she told all of the Baha'i prisoners about her dream. Later that morning, two other Baha'i women were called to their last session of interrogation and pressured to recant. Neither of them did so and were returned to their cells. The Baha'i women expected that they would be taken out and executed that evening, although no verdict of death had been handed down.
During the day, everyone chanted the short prayer called the "Remover of Difficulties", which is said in times of great crisis. During the prayer session, Zarrin Muquimi, one of the two who had undergone the last interrogation, spontaneously hugged Mona and said, "O Mona, what a good wish you asked of Abdu'l-Baha. This would have been a tragedy if they had taken us for execution, but now I'm sure that we will be steadfast. You might have wished for your own and your mother's freedom. You could even have asked for freedom for all of us. But instead you made the most beautiful request of all and Abdu'l-Baha has granted it."
MONA 'S MOTHER'S RELEASE
On June 13th, Mona's mother was suddenly released. Before she left the prison, all of the women hugged her. Mrs. 'Izzat Ishraqi, whose daughter, Rosita, was soon to be married, asked Mrs. Mahmudnizhad to attend the wedding on her behalf, and asked her to take a red carnation for each of the women prisoners. Then Mona took her in her arms and they kissed for the last time.
"Mother," said Mona, "Just as you were encouraging and assuring to everyone while you were here from now on you should be the same and encourage the friends (outside) to be patient and tolerant." They kissed again and her mother left the prison and went to stay with Taraneh. While there, she told Taraneh about each of the women and visited the mothers who had daughters in prison.
On Thursday, June 16, six Baha'i men were executed --Abdu'l Hossein Azadi, Bahram Afnan, Jamshid Siyavushi, Koorosh Haghbin, Bahram Yalda'i and Enayat'u'llah Ishraqi. Three of the men were related to the women prisoners. Jamshid Siyavushi was the husband of Tahirih Siyavushi. Enayat'u'llah Ishraqi was the husband of 'Izzat Ishraqi and father of Roya Ishraqi. Bahram Yalda'i was the son of Nusrat Yalda'i.
The next day, the Baha'i community was filled with activity, with Baha'is from all over the city visiting the families of the martyrs. They brought flowers and, while their eyes were filled with tears, they were smiling and wearing colourful clothing, rather than the traditional mourning garb.
LAST VISIT WITH MONA
On Saturday, Mona's mother and sister visited the prison, along with the families of the othr women prisoners, who did not yet know about the killings of the 6 men. Only four Baha'is at a time were allowed in to visit the prisoners, who were kept behind a glass partition and had to talk through telephone handsets. Mona's family brought her some watermelon, along with a scarf and a new towel.
Taraneh was chosen to tell Mona about the martyrdoms. When she greeted her, she told her that six Baha'i men had been executed14. Mona's eyes filled with tears. She put her hand over her heart and asked who they were. As Taraneh named each one, tears welled up in Mona's eyes and she pressed her hand closer to her heart. In a whispered tone, she said, "Good for him! Good for him!" after each name.
When Taraneh finally spoke the name of Mr. Ishraqi, Mona began to weep openly, saying, "Good for them all!" Then she said in a loud voice, "Taraneh, I swear to the Blessed Beauty and to God that these tears are not tears of sorrow. These are tears of happiness. Don't you ever think that I'm crying out of sorrow. It is only out of happiness."
Mona
THE HANGINGS OF THE 10 WOMEN
The hangings of the 10 women took place on the eve of June 18, 1983, under cover of darkness, in a nearby polo field. The driver of the bus, who later met the grandmother of one of the young women, told her, "They were all in the most excellent spirits and were singing many songs on the way. I could not believe that they knew they were going to be executed. I have never seen people in such high spirits."
The names and ages of the other women who were hanged with Mona are:
Mrs. Nusrat Yalda'i, 54 years old,
Mrs. 'Izzat Janami Ishraqi, 50 years old,
Miss Roya Ishraqi, 23 and daughter of 'Izzat,
Mrs. Tahirih Siyavushi, 32 years old,
Miss Zarrin Muqimi, 28 years old,
Miss Shirin Dalvand, 25 years old,
Miss Akhtar Sabit, 19 or early 20's,
Miss Simin Sabiri, early 20's,
Miss Mahshid Nirumand, 28 years old,
Mrs Nusrat Yalda'i, 54, was a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shiraz and was known for her kindness and hospitality. Her home was considered one of the centers of Baha'i community life in Shiraz. She was one of the women who were tortured and was twice given severe beatings of as many as 200 lashes. Her wounds, it was said, were visible when she was hanged. She was arrested with her husband and son, Bahram, who was hanged two days before her.
Mrs. 'Izzat Ishraqi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Each was a heroine. The Ishraqi's, for example, were arrested earlier and released, but they refused to leave Shiraz. They remained to help the Baha'i community. During one of Mrs. Ishraqi's interrogations, during which she was blindfolded and having a difficult time walking, the interrogator taunted her, saying, “Are you so blind that you cannot walk." She replied, "I am outwardly blind, but you are inwardly blind."
Miss Ruya lshraqi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Her daughter, Roya, who had been studying veterinary medicine, was one of the most radiant Baha'i youth in Shiraz. At 23, she was one of the most beloved of the prisoners and was the center of attention and activity. Roya was very active in her life and loved sports such as mountain climbing. Her sister, Rosita, became engaged the same day that her father was killed. When Rosita told her mother and sister about her father's death two days later, her sister said "Thank God!" and her mother calmly said, "I knew, I knew, I knew ."
Miss Zarrin Muqimi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Zarrin Muqimi, 28 years old, had a ringing, melodious voice. One of her interrogators said that rather than having a degree in language she should have had one in public speaking. Like Simin Sabiri, she defended the Faith vigorously during her interrogations because of her deep knowledge of the writings. At one point, after her interrogators could not convince her with arguments, they began abusing the Faith with foul language. She started to cry and told them, "Whether you accept it or not, I am a Baha'i. You cannot take it away from me. I am a Baha'i with my whole being and my whole heart." Apparently, her knowledge of the Faith was deeply resented by the authorities and she was often interrogated alone.
Mrs. Tahirih Siyavushi
Hanged June 18, 1983
Tahirih Siyavushi, 32, also served on the Local Spiritual Assembly in Shiraz. She was a nurse and had memorized Baha'u'llah's Most Holy book, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, which is the book of laws of the Baha'i Faith. Both she and her husband, Jamshid, were arrested and subsequently martyred. Tahirih was a nurse and was used by prison authorities to care for other prisoners.
When the prison authorities brought the Baha'i prisoners together in February, Tahirih saw her husband for the first time since their arrest. He had , been so badly beaten that she could barely recognize him. She could not sleep that night. The prison authorities did not believe he would last the night and the guards felt so sorry for him that they asked Tahirih to take him some fruit. But he was unable to eat it. He recovered, somewhat, only to be hanged two days before her. When Tahirih knew that she would also be executed, she told her family that she was relieved and happy. When she saw her father for the last time, she said, "Look at how beautiful I am. Look at me well." She was laughing.
Miss Shirin Dalvand
Hanged June 18, 1983
Shirin Dalvand was 25 years old, with a graduate degree in sociology from the University of Shiraz. She was such an exceptional student in school that some of the professors would quote from her thesis even though they knew she was a Baha'i. Shirin loved flowers and would always keep a single flower or a green leaf in her room. She also loved the ocean and would visit the beach as often as possible.
Shirin had insisted on remaining in Shiraz even though her family lived in England and she could easily have left the country. She chose to remain and live with her grandparents in order to continue serving the community. Although Shirin was basically shy and sensitive, her whole character changed when she was under interrogation. When she was once asked how long she would resist recanting the Faith, she said, "Even to death! I hope that God's mercy will enable me to remain steadfast up to the last breath of my life."
Miss Akhtar Sabit
Hanged June 18, 1983
Akhtar Sabit was a graduate nurse with a very kindly disposition. In her early 20's, she was the second youngest of the group. She also taught Baha'i classes. When she was asked about her sentence, she said, "Never mind, I am not worried. Whatever happens, I am content with the Will of God."
Miss Mahshid Nirumand
Hanged June 18, 1983
Mahshid Nirumand, 28 years old, was a graduate in physics from the University of Shiraz. She was ridiculed by her interrogator for her degree. He said, "What an education! A graduate in physics! And here am I, questioning you, and I don't even have a high school diploma." Mahshid was very strong throughout her stay in prison and would often share her food with the other prisoners and encourage them to be steadfast. Before being imprisoned, she had been a youth advisor and had been a member of a number of Baha'i service committees.
Miss Simin Sabiri
Hanged June 18, 1983
Simin Sabiri was one of the most fearless of the group, who had been a member of the Baha'i Study Committee in Shiraz, responsible for the continuing education of Baha'is about the Faith and its writings. During her interrogations, she would constantly try to refute the accusations and misinformation of her interrogators. During her stay in jail, she was known to be strong and resilient and never to have expressed sadness.
There is one more woman who should be mentioned for her heroism --Mrs. Tuba Za'irpour, who was martyred with Mona's father on March 12, 1983. Mrs. Za'irpour was 56 years old and was highly educated with a degree in Persian literature. She had been in charge of the Baha'i classes in Shiraz in which the students studied the Baha'i writings, comparative religion and Arabic. She was also one of the teachers.
While in prison, Mrs. Za'irpour shared her knowledge of the Faith with others. She had a strong influence on one Muslim woman, who later told the Baha'is how much she had respected Mrs. Za'irpour. During her imprisonment, Mrs. Za'irpour was tortured very badly by the prison authorities and was bastinadoed on three successive days. Her feet were so damaged that she could not walk and asked the guards to allow her to crawl, but they refused her request, causing her to walk in great pain. One of the Muslim women who was a cell mate told the Baha'is that even though Mrs. Za'irpour was so weak that her hands shook and she could barely comb her hair, she never once complained.
ONE LAST KISS
The families of the women learned of the hangings of their loved ones the next morning, June 19. Mona's mother and Taraneh finally succeeded, after great difficulty, in getting permission to see the bodies. Mrs. Mahmudnizhad, who had been their companion until the last few days, kissed each woman on the cheek and then said, "I wish the whole world could see through my eyes how these dead bodies testify to the love of the Blessed Beauty."
Taraneh later recounted:
"It was a bitter day and for the last time, without having a thick glass in between, I kissed the beautiful and tranquil face of my dear sister and said goodbye to her. With all my heart, I was hoping that once more she would open her eyes and smile. But I know that now, forever, she is observing us with an everlasting smile and, if I shed any tears it would only upset her. So, my dear Mona, because of you and the love that you have for Baha'u'llah and for humanity, I laugh to let the people know why you sacrificed your life and why all those dear ones gave their sweet lives in His path."
A young man, who was able to see the 10 bodies after their hanging wrote:
"When I found myself in the morgue, I felt as if I would explode. I could not stop crying all during the time I was there... when I entered, the first sight was of Mona's innocent face, lying with her head resting on Mahshid's shoulder. Mahshid looked as if she were in a deep, peaceful sleep.
"To Mona's right was Shirin, so beautiful, a witness to injustice, her eyes covered by a blindfold --why, we never knew.
"Roya, her eyes wide open, seemed to be gazing at the crippled human beings wandering about her. With a face full of faithfulness, she tried to make me understand and let the world know that they killed them in order to destroy their love. But what they could not understand was that love never dies and that a person who loves is always alive.
"Then there was Mrs. Yalda'i, with her familiar, loving smile. In spite of the black marks on her face, she was still easily recognizable. Her white hair spread about her face. I held her head in my hands and kissed her forehead. It seemed to me that she was still alive, full of life and love.
"And Simin, who was always full of life and ringing laughter, lay there silently. Next to her was Mrs. Ishraqi, the model of sincerity, love and friendship.
"And, finally, in a little room set apart from the others, was Zarrin, the example of strength and faithfulness.
"I could not believe that I would never see them again. I paused for a moment on the threshold and promised them all that I would continue their work by serving humanity."
The hangings of the women shocked the entire city. One person wrote that, "Shiraz smelled of blood, of love and devotion... The families were all in astonishment and awe. They were all expectantly waiting to hear of more executions every day. A memorial service was held for the women who were martyred two or three days later. People would come in groups with bouquets of flowers. They had no thought of any personal danger to themselves. You cannot imagine the commotion in Shiraz. We could not find flowers anywhere in the whole city. Wherever we went to buy them, people would ask if we wanted them for the "Brides of the City"! Their families were strong and told us stories of the devotion of those who had died. Their high spirits truly bewildered those who came in contact with them."
EPILOGUE
During their last visit together, Taraneh realized that Mona would soon be executed and that she was fully prepared. She said, "You're going to be executed too!" And Mona replied calmly, "I know. I know," and added, "Taraneh, I have of request for you. I want you to pray for us that we will go to the field of our execution dancing."
Taraneh agreed and Mona said, "I have one more request of you and that is to pray for me that the Blessed Beauty will forgive all the sins I have committed before my execution. Then they can take me!" By that point, Mona was crying and laughing at the same time, talking about her execution as a foregone conclusion even though she had not yet even been sentenced.
Taraneh then gave the phone to her mother and went to talk with Tahirih Siyavushi, who assured her that Mona was fine. Mona's mother took the phone and after some small talk, Mona told her, "Mother, tomorrow we will be the guests of the Blessed Beauty." Mona's mother had an astonished look on her face. When Taraneh saw this, she grabbed the phone from her mother, saying, "You have been with her for five months, now it is my turn to talk with her a little longer."
Then she said the same thing to Mona, who said with a loud voice, "Do you know what it is that makes me so happy?" Taraneh replied, "No, tell me." Mona said, "What makes me happy is that I see that we have been chosen by God to be strong." She paused and continued, "Dear Taraneh, give my regards to all the family and friends. Kiss all of them for me. I have everyone's face in my mind, but I am not allowed to name them." Then she pointed to Taraneh's daughter, Noora 15, who was with her mother, and said, "Raise Noora to be like our father." Taraneh looked at her silently and said to herself: "No, Mona, I will raise her to be just like you."
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Bahá’í Persecutions
Bahá’í PersecutionsBeyond Education
Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the government of Iran has waged a systematic campaign of persecution and oppression aimed at the Bahá’í community of Iran. Its reaches have extended far beyond exclusion from education.
After the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government sought to destroy the Bahá’í leadership. In August 1980, the entire membership of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran, shown here, “disappeared.” All are presumed to have been killed. High Resolution Image >
This campaign, which has been based solely on religious prejudice and can be seen as nothing less than an attempt to eradicate the Bahá’í community from Iranian life, began with a series of measures that directly threatened the lives, freedom, and economic livelihood of Iran’s Bahá’í community.
Between 1979 and 1998, more than 200 Bahá’ís were killed or executed, hundreds more were wrongfully imprisoned, and thousands were fired from government jobs, had businesses closed, and were denied pensions.
Between 1979 and 1998, more than 200 Bahá’ís were killed or executed, hundreds more were wrongfully imprisoned, and thousands were fired from government jobs, had businesses closed, and were denied pensions. Bahá’í holy places were destroyed, cemeteries were razed, and the freedom of Bahá’ís to assemble, choose their leadership, and worship as they chose was abrogated.
Even before the Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to assume power in February of that year, an increase in attacks on Bahá’ís presaged the wholesale persecution that was to come. In 1978 at least seven Bahá’ís were killed, most as a result of mob violence.
When the Republic’s new constitution was drawn up in April 1979, certain rights of the Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian minorities in Iran were specifically mentioned and protected. However, no mention whatsoever was made of the rights of the Bahá’í community, Iran’s largest religious minority.
Under Iran’s concept of an Islamic government, this exclusion has come to mean that Bahá’ís enjoy no rights of any sort, and that they can be attacked and persecuted with impunity. Courts in the Republic have denied Bahá’ís the right of redress or protection against assault, killings or other forms of persecution — and have ruled that Iranian citizens who kill or injure Bahá’ís are not liable for damages because their victims are “unprotected infidels.”
Without any claim to civil rights, the Bahá’í community saw rapid deterioration of its position within Iranian society. In March 1979, the House of the Báb, the holiest Bahá’í shrine in Iran, was turned over by the government to a Muslim cleric known for his anti-Bahá’í activities. In September, the House was destroyed by a mob led by mullahs and officials of the Department of Religious Affairs.
A November 1979 edict from the Ministry of Education required not only the dismissal of all Bahá’í teachers, but also held them responsible for the repayment of all salaries they had previously received.
At least seven Bahá’ís were killed in 1979. Two were executed by the government and one was hanged in prison. Others were beaten to death or killed in local incidents.
In 1980 at least 24 Bahá’ís were killed in Iran; 20 were executed by the government and the rest were stoned, assassinated or burned to death. In 1981, 48 Bahá’ís were killed or executed.
Significantly, the government targeted the members of elected Bahá’í leadership councils for execution or assassination during this period. Nearly half of the 200 Bahá’ís executed in Iran since 1979 have been members of national and local governing councils of the Bahá’í community, known as Spiritual Assemblies.
Executions continued apace through 1982, 1983 and 1984. At least 32 Bahá’ís were executed or killed in 1982, 29 were executed or killed in 1983, and 30 were executed or killed in 1984. And, again, the targets of these executions were often members of Bahá’í governing councils. Four members of the National Spiritual Assembly, which had once again been courageously re-established through fresh elections, were executed in 1984, although by then the institution had been disbanded in accordance with a government decree and the individuals held no official position in the Bahá’í community.
One of the most dramatic groups of executions came in June 1983, when ten Iranian Bahá’í women, including two teen-age girls, were hanged. The primary charge against them: teaching Bahá’í children’s classes. [See “Hanged for teaching ‘Sunday School’”]
The women were subjected to intense physical and mental abuse in an effort to coerce them to recant their Faith — an option that was almost always pressed upon Bahá’í prisoners. Yet, like nearly all Bahá’ís who have been arrested in Iran, they refused to deny their beliefs. Nevertheless, the fact that so many Bahá’ís were given the option of recanting, with the promise of release if they did so, is among the strongest proofs that the persecutions were based solely on religious beliefs.
Imprisonment and Torture
A woman from Kata, murdered by a mob in 1979, shown with her two younger sisters. High Resolution Image >
Since 1979, nearly 1,000 Bahá’ís have been arrested and imprisoned. At one point in 1986, some 747 Bahá’ís were being held in prisons throughout Iran. In most cases, they had no trials.
The torture of Bahá’ís in Iranian prisons — and particularly of those who had been members of Bahá’í governing councils — was routine and systematic. Again, according to Bahá’ís who survived, the purpose of the torture almost invariably was to make the Bahá’ís recant their Faith or confess to some treasonous activity.
The torture of Bahá’ís in Iranian prisons — and particularly of those who had been members of Bahá’í governing councils — was routine and systematic. Again, according to Bahá’ís who survived, the purpose of the torture almost invariably was to make the Bahá’ís recant their Faith or confess to some treasonous activity.
Torture included sustained beating and flogging, the bastinado (whipping the soles of the feet), the pulling out of fingernails and teeth, and the deprivation of food and water for days at a time.
Bahá’ís were also subjected to psychological torture, including mock executions and being forced to witness the torture of family members and friends.
Thus an elderly Bahá’í woman, who was a member of a local Bahá’í council, was tortured in front of a dozen other Bahá’ís in an effort to persuade her and them to deny their Faith. The woman’s jailer took her by her hair and continually banged her head against the wall. She was beaten about the head for a long time, until her body was covered with blood. After two years of imprisonment, she was summarily released, with no recourse against the abuse she had received.
At least 13 Bahá’ís who died in prison are believed to have been tortured to death. In these cases, the bodies were buried by the authorities before the families could view them.
Social and Economic Intimidation
In addition to killings and imprisonment, the authorities have also conducted a campaign of economic, social and cultural intimidation against the Bahá’í community of Iran. The objective, it is clear, has been to deprive Bahá’ís of their rights to education, to jobs and to homes of their own — with the intention of forcing them to recant.
In 1979 the government started dismissing all Bahá’í civil servants without compensation. By July 1982, all Bahá’í public servants had been dismissed and the pensions of all retired Bahá’í civil servants had been terminated.
In late 1984, the Attorney General started issuing summonses demanding that all those Bahá’í civil servants who had been dismissed repay salaries they had received during their employment. They were threatened with imprisonment if they did not comply. Obviously, repayment of a lifetime’s wages was beyond the means of most victims. Many were imprisoned as a result of failure to meet this absurd demand.
The government has also systematically sought to drive Bahá’ís in the private sector to economic ruin. In the early 1980s, the trading licenses of most Bahá’í businessmen were revoked, the assets of businesses run by Bahá’ís were confiscated, and bank accounts of most Bahá’í businessmen were frozen. In addition, the authorities intimidated private employers into dismissing many Bahá’í employees.
Almost every dismissal notice served on a Bahá’í employee, whether in the public or the private sector, stated that the reason for dismissal was membership in the Bahá’í Faith and that the individual’s job would be restored if he or she would recant his or her faith.
Two recent court cases, for example, demonstrate the efforts of the authorities to impede Bahá’ís from conducting private business activities.
In September 2003, Branch 13 of the Tribunal of Administrative Justice rejected an appeal by a Bahá’í businessman against an injunction that required him to cease his business operations. The court also rejected his petition to obtain a business license. The tribunal held that his appeal was “disqualified as irrelevant, as [it was] outside the scope of the applicable regulations”, citing the information the court had “about the plaintiff’s being associated with the perverse Bahá’í sect.”
In 2003, in a second, similar case, an administrative injunction was issued to impede a Bahá’í-owned company in Isfahan from doing business. The company is owned and directed by a Bahá’í engineer and employs some 120 staff — most of whom are Bahá’ís — manufacturing electrical and communication cables. In the injunction, the Director-General of the Central Office of Protection, which is under the Iranian Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone, informed the company of an official memorandum issued in April 2003. The document concluded that “the link between the… company… and the perverse Bahá’í sect is established to be true; therefore it is advisable to adopt measures to prevent any collaboration with the above-mentioned company”.
In addition to depriving Bahá’ís of a livelihood, the government in the early 1980s sought to deprive arrested Bahá’ís of many of their possessions, including their homes. Over the years hundreds of Bahá’í properties have been confiscated, a practice that continues.
In October 2004, for example, the homes of six Bahá’í families in the village of Kata (in the Buyir-Ahmad region of Iran) were confiscated on the order of the prosecutor of the city of Shiraz, with the assistance of the local police.
In virtually every case, court judgments or documents have emerged that prove the properties were confiscated because the owners were Bahá’ís.
Destruction of Holy Places
In the destruction of Bahá’í holy places, the Iranian government also demonstrates the lengths to which it will go to suffocate the Bahá’í community and to cleanse its culture from modern memory — even though it may mean destroying monuments and buildings of historic importance to the society at large.
In the destruction of Bahá’í holy places, the Iranian government also demonstrates the lengths to which it will go to suffocate the Bahá’í community and to cleanse its culture from modern memory — even though it may mean destroying monuments and buildings of historic importance to the society at large.
In June 2004, authorities demolished an historic house in Tehran that had been designed and owned by Mirza Abbas Nuri, the father of Bahá’u’lláh. The house was not only significant to Bahá’ís but was also considered to be a sterling example of period architecture of historic importance to Iranian culture.
Mirza Abbas Nuri himself was widely regarded as one of Iran’s greatest calligraphers and statesmen. In July 2004, the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri published a lengthy article about his life and the architecture of his house.
“As he had good taste for the arts and for beauty, he designed his own house in such a style that it became known as one of the most beautiful houses of that period,” wrote Iman Mihdizadih in Hamshahri on 13 July 2004. “The plasterwork and the tile-work in the rooms as well as the verdant veranda, the courtyard with its central pool, and the trees planted in the flowerbeds, all created a tranquil atmosphere in this house.”
In June 2004, the house of Bahá’u’lláh’s father, Mirza Abbas Nuri, was likewise destroyed, despite being a treasured example of Islamic-Iranian architecture. High Resolution Image >
The destruction of the house of Mirza Abbas Nuri followed the razing in April 2004 of another historic Bahá’í property, the gravesite of Quddus, an historic figure of the Bahá’í Faith. The action came after demolition work started in February that year and then halted temporarily in the face of protest at the local, national, and international levels.
In April 2004, in Babol, the house-like gravesite of Quddus, an historic figure of the Bahá’í Faith, was destroyed. High Resolution Image >
The house-like structure marked the resting place of Mullah Muhammad-Ali Barfurushi, known as Quddus (The Most Holy). Quddus was the foremost disciple of the Báb, the Prophet-Herald of the Bahá’í Faith.
The destruction of two such important holy sites in 2004 was not without precedent. As noted, the House of the Báb, the holiest Bahá’í shrine in Iran, was also demolished shortly after the Islamic revolution. The House of Bahá’u’lláh in Takur, where the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith spent His childhood, was also demolished shortly after the Islamic revolution and the site was offered for sale to the public.
Over the years, as well, in Tehran and other cities throughout Iran, Bahá’í buildings have been looted and burned, Bahá’í cemeteries have been bulldozed and Bahá’í graves have been broken open. In the Tehran area, the Bahá’ís were forced to bury their dead in a barren stretch of land reserved by the authorities for “infidels.” Having access to their own cemeteries is especially important to Bahá’ís because, as might be expected, they are not allowed to bury their dead in Muslim cemeteries.
Over the years, as well, in Tehran and other cities throughout Iran, Bahá’í buildings have been looted and burned, Bahá’í cemeteries have been bulldozed and Bahá’í graves have been broken open. In the Tehran area, the Bahá’ís were forced to bury their dead in a barren stretch of land reserved by the authorities for “infidels.” Having access to their own cemeteries is especially important to Bahá’ís because, as might be expected, they are not allowed to bury their dead in Muslim cemeteries.
Arbitrary Arrests and Harassment
Beyond such specific efforts at cultural cleansing, the government has in recent years continued its policy of keeping the Bahá’í community off balance through various measures, including arbitrary arrests, short term detention, persistent harassment, and other forms of intimidation and discrimination. Indeed, there has been a recent wave of arbitrary arrests and detentions, raising concerns that the government may be preparing overall for a new round of persecutions.
In March, April and May of 2005, some 35 Bahá’ís in cities and towns across Iran were arrested and held for short periods, ranging from a week to nearly three months. One remains in prison. Those arrested included not only prominent members of the community in Tehran, but also six Bahá’ís in Shiraz, nine in the city of Semnan, and nine Bahá’í farmers whose homes and land had previously been confiscated in the village of Kata.
Beyond such specific efforts at cultural cleansing, the government has in recent years continued its policy of keeping the Bahá’í community off balance through various measures, including arbitrary arrests, short term detention, persistent harassment, and other forms of intimidation and discrimination.
Most were arbitrarily detained without any charge being filed against them. Some of the prisoners were held incommunicado, in unknown locations, while their families desperately searched for them. Most were released only after having posted significant amounts of money, property deeds, or business licenses as bail.
Moreover, government agents conducted prolonged searches of many of the homes of those who were arrested, confiscating documents, books, computers, copiers, and other belongings.
Also recently in the city of Yazd, long a center of anti-Bahá’í activities, it appears that the police chief orchestrated a series of incidents against Bahá’ís. In late 2004 and early 2005, a number of Bahá’ís were arrested, detained, and interrogated; several were beaten in their homes; at least one Bahá’í-owned business was set afire; and the Bahá’í graveyard was desecrated.
Such incidents are hardly isolated. In 2003, for example, 23 Bahá’ís in 18 different localities in Iran were subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention for short periods of time. In all cases, Iranian authorities summoned these people because they were Bahá’ís, questioned them about their beliefs, and then released them.
In 2002, 17 Bahá’í youth who were participating in a camp were arrested and detained for questioning. Reports about this incident in the Iranian press carried a negative slant, referring to the young Bahá’ís in a derogatory and vulgar manner.
The Historical Background
The present day status of human rights and social reform in the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be adequately understood without taking into account the historical background of persecution against the Bahá’í community — a history that does much to explain the cultural crisis gripping Iranian society today as its leadership struggles to face the challenge of modernity.
The idea that there should be Messengers of God after Muhammad is viewed by many Muslims as heresy — and is one of the underlying theological reasons for the persecution of Bahá’ís.
The Bahá’í Faith has been persecuted in Iran since its founding there in the mid-1800s. Early followers faced violent opposition from both the Islamic religious authorities and succeeding dynasties. It has been estimated that some 20,000 persons perished in these pogroms during the nineteenth century.
The persecutions continued intermittently in the twentieth century, coinciding most often with the need of the government to shore up support with certain elements of Iran’s Islamic leadership. And they have come regardless of the leaders’ political orientation. 
A Bahá’í father and son (at left) in chains after being arrested with fellow Bahá’ís, in a photograph taken around 1896. Both were subsequently executed. High Resolution Image >
Some of the outbreaks against Bahá’ís were directed by local or regional authorities. In 1903, for example, 101 Bahá’ís were killed in the city of Yazd after the populace was incited by hostile mullahs. At other times the oppression of Bahá’ís was made a part of official national policy. During the early years of the Pahlavi Regime (1927 to 1979), the government formalized a policy of discrimination against the Bahá’ís as a concession to the clergy. Beginning in 1933, Bahá’í literature was banned, Bahá’í marriages were not recognized, and Bahá’ís in public service were demoted or fired. Eventually, Bahá’í schools were closed.
Another round of persecutions commenced in 1955, when the Pahlavi regime allowed the nationwide broadcast of a series of incendiary sermons against the Bahá’ís by a leading Shia preacher in Tehran — apparently hoping to make the Bahá’ís a scapegoat to deflect attention from unpopular government policies. Both the national and army radio stations were put at the disposal of the responsible cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Falsafi, who joined the Shah’s 
Minister of Defense, General Batmangelich, in demolishing the dome of Bahá’í national headquarters with pickaxes. A wave of anti-Bahá’í violence swept the country. Murders, rapes and robberies were reported in many areas, while the government assured the Majlis that it had ordered the suppression of all activities of “the Bahá’í sect.”
The House of the Báb in Shiraz, one of the most holy sites in the Bahá’í world, was destroyed by Revolutionary Guardsman in 1979 and later razed by the government. High Resolution Image >
Bahá’ís understand that this pattern of persecution is a manifestation of the misunderstanding and fear that often occur when a new religion emerges from the matrix of a well-established orthodoxy. The pattern has been repeated through the ages; virtually all of the world’s great religions have faced intense persecution at their birth.
In the case of the Bahá’í Faith, the teachings of its two Founders, especially when viewed through the lens of traditional Islam, are as challenging to the religious orthodoxy as those of any Prophet in ancient times.
Destruction of the National Bahá’í Center in Tehran, Iran, circa 1955. High Resolution Image >
The initial wave of persecution came in response to the claims of a young Iranian merchant, known to history as the Báb, who announced in Shiraz in May 1844 that He was the bearer of a new revelation from God. His primary mission, the Báb said, was to prepare humanity for the advent of “Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest,” the universal divine Messenger anticipated in the scriptures of all the major religions.
The teachings of the Báb called for the spiritual and moral reformation of Persian society, and for the upliftment of the station of women and the poor. His promotion of education and the useful sciences was also revolutionary. Such progressive and idealistic teachings, which made a clear break with the Islamic frame of reference, were rapidly embraced by thousands of followers and were seen by both secular and religious authorities as a threat to their power. Widespread persecutions followed, and, as noted above, several thousand followers, who were known as Bábís, paid with their lives. The Báb Himself was executed by the government in 1850.
Among the followers of the Báb was an Iranian nobleman named Bahá’u’lláh. In 1863 He announced that He was the Messenger the Báb had heralded, founding the Bahá’í Faith. The central theme of Bahá’u’lláh’s message is that humanity is a single race and that the day has come for unification into one global society. “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’u’lláh taught that there is only one God, and that all of the world’s religions are expressions of a single, unfolding divine plan, “the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.”
Bahá’ís believe that God progressively reveals religious truth to humanity through a series of divine Messengers, each of Whom has founded a great religion. These Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad; the most recent are the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Others will follow in ages to come.
The idea that there should be Messengers of God after Muhammad is viewed by many Muslims as heresy. In the Qur’an, Muhammad referred to Himself as the “Seal of the Prophets,” and most Muslim scholars interpret this to mean that He would be the last Messenger of God.
Bahá’ís, however, believe that the coming of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh poses no contradiction to Islamic teachings or those of any of the other revealed religions. Bahá’ís understand that Muhammad ended or “sealed” the prophetic cycle. Then, with the advent of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, a new era of religious fulfillment began. Bahá’u’lláh referred to this new period in human history as the “stage of maturity.” Bahá’ís believe that this is all in accordance with the prophecies of Islam and the world’s other major religions.
The persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran is not related to any underlying issue of ethnicity or political agenda. Only their religious beliefs distinguish them from their fellow countrymen — beliefs which the Bahá’í teachings forbid them from imposing on others.
Other aspects of the Bahá’í teachings also arouse opposition among some followers of Islam. In outlining His vision for a new world civilization, Bahá’u’lláh advocated a series of highly progressive social principles. These include the elimination of all forms of prejudice; equality between the sexes; recognition of the essential oneness of the world’s great religions; the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth; universal education; the harmony of science and religion; a sustainable balance between human society and the natural world; and the establishment of a world federal system, based on collective security and the oneness of humanity.
Some fundamentalist Muslims view the progressive nature of these teachings, such as the equality of women and the absence of religious clergy, as especially antithetical to the traditions of Islam. To Iran’s Shia establishment, especially — indeed to many among their Sunni Muslim counterparts — the emergence of an independent religion that postdates the Qur’an by almost thirteen centuries is not only theologically abhorrent but threatens the system of patronage, endowments, political influence, and social perquisites to which they lay claim. The effect has been to arouse in the Shia establishment a determination to extinguish the new faith and suppress its followers.
The persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran is not related to any underlying issue of ethnicity or political agenda. The overwhelming majority of Iranian Bahá’ís come from the same diverse ethnic stocks as the rest of the population, and they represent a cross section of Iran’s social classes.
Only their religious beliefs distinguish them from their fellow countrymen — beliefs which the Bahá’í teachings forbid them from imposing on others. Paradoxically, because of the control exercised by the Islamic clergy over the communications media, the nature of Bahá’í beliefs remains virtually unknown to a public that has been systematically taught to fear and hate them.
The Iranian Bahá’í community has itself consistently been denied the use of any means of mass communication, including radio, television, newspapers, films, the distribution of literature and public lectures. The result has been widespread, unreasoning prejudice all too similar to situations in other parts of the world facing the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Monday, April 03, 2006
SOUVENIR OF MY SISTER AND BROTHER OF NUK
SHIKKAR-NISA ' KNEW THEY WERE BEING KILLED BECAUSE THEY WERE BAHAIS
-----------------NUK--------------
Muhammad-Husayn and Shikkar-nisa' had just returned to their house after a long hard day's work in the fields of their farm . Their name is MA'SUMI.
They lived in a tiny little almost forgoten hamlet , a spot on the road called NUK
Remember it It rhymes with wonderful'!
The story begins on November 22, 1980
a full moon was shinning and splashing its friendly light on the few scatterd houses of their small village , Muhammad ad Shikkar-Nisa' washed away the stains of their day work, said their prayers and ate their dinner ......... it was9.00 pm when they take tea it was the most peaceful time relaxing recuperating resting their aching bones
At that happy moment between husband and wife their lives were almost at an end.
Masked and armed men were scaling the garden wall.
They moved silently and stealthily toward the house....
it was 10.00a.m exactly november 22 1980
the moon awas in full splendour when Muhammad HUSAYN SAID 'I must go tothe stable and fill the feeding trough for the sheep,'
Hurry back.' Shikkar-Nisa told him ' or your tea will be cold. It was thelast time she would see her hushand alive, the last words she would ever say to him.
Shikkar-Nisa. swept up the almonds, and started to finish her own tea , when she heard the outside door open . There was a curtain across the innert door , so she called out:
Muhammad?'
No reply.
Suddenly , several masked men swept into the room.
Inthe dim light of the kerosene lamp, Shikkar-Nisa could not tell they were masked . She turned tothem with a smile . She liked people. Even unexpected visitors .
As they moved into the light ,Shikkar-Nisa saw they were masked. She cried out,dropped her glass of tea to the floor, and tried to escape. They seized her roughly by the arms and dragged her across the room. She cried out,
'Muhammad!'
One of the masked men choked her to keep her quiet ,Shikkar-Nisa moaned ,. She begged them not to hurt her husband. Do watever they want to her, she cried , but dont harm Muhammad. Her pleas went unanswered. They choked off further comment.
Still no word had yet been spoken by the atackers. Masks can cover the face ; spoken words can indentify the speakers .
The marauders carried a heavy wooden door from the corner of the house. They tied SHIKKAR-NISA TIGHTLY WITH ROPE, PLACED THE DOOR ON TOP OF HER PLACE DRY WOOD ON TOP OF THE DOOR ,POURED THE CONTENTS OF A KEROSENE LAMP OVER THE WOOD AND SPLASHED HER CLOTHING.
Even when she realized that they intended to burn her alive., her only thought was for the safety of her husband, Muhammad.
The ARSONISTS THREW A LIGHTED MATCH. tHE FUMES FLASHED INTO FIRE.
They watched until they were sure the flames were high enough to burn Shikkar-Nisa' to ashes into a short time. With a grunt of satisfaction, they left . It was only part of their night's work.
Now it was Muhammad's turn
They knew wher exactly where to find him.
Shikka-Nisa'TRIED TO SCREAM AND WARN HIM. it was useless
She later told her neighbours,My whole life , a flood of memories , the children growing up, all passed through my mind, Strangely enough, my fear turned to calm, as I waited for the flames . I could think only of my husband Muhammad .I cried out in anguish and prayer.'
Shikkar-Nisa' knew they were being killedbecause they were BAHAIS`
They had been warned that it was dangerous to be a Bahais these days . What days was it not , in IRAN ?(TO-DAY 4TH APRIL 2006 SITUATION IS WORSE) It would be wiser they were told,to give up their Faith. They always gently but firmly refused. They were now paying for it.
The heat surrounding Shikkar-Nisa ' became intense . The pain almost unendurable. But the flames reached the nylon ropes, melted them , and Shikkar-Nisa' was able to free herself.
Half of her body was burned and charred. Crying and moaning,she seized her husband's overcoat, wrapped herself in it , and ran outside . She couldn't find Muhammad anywhere. She rushed to the nearest house for help.
The neighbours cautiously opened the door . They were not Bahais and it was dangerous to become involved in things happened at night .They were horrified to see her terrible condition, and their children started crying.
Shikkar-Nisa' told them what had happened. She asked them please to help find her husband.
They refused to leave the house. they were afraid. One man however . did agree togo upon the roof to see what he could. He could see nothing , he said even though the moon was full
Shikkar-Nisa' realized they did not intend toi help her . She borrowed a hurricane lamp and carrying it in her burned hands, rushed out to begin her own search . Along the road . she saw a crumpled form fallen in a ditch. It was her dear husband Muhammad.
'I foundto my horror.' Shikkar-Nisa' later wept, ' that I was too late! He was dead, He had burned to death in the path of His Beloved.'
Neighbours said later that many of them had heard Muhammad-Husayn's cries of anguish as the masked murderers had seized him and set him afire. The neighbours had gone to their windows and opened their doors to peep out to see what was happening. They admitted witnessing the death of this brave man, but no one had gone to his rescue. He and his wife were Bahais, after all. and Bahais were in trouble with the authorities....
When Shika-Nisa' saw the charred body of her dear husband , she wept biterly.
This is a heartless ,cruel murder ,' she said to those few who had finally come out of their houses to see what had happened , We have shown you nothing but love and kindness for all these years , and you have done this terribe; things to us.'
She knew it had not been strangers hiding behind those masks,
Silently, everyone returned to his home, Not one neighbour would stay to help poor Shikkar-Nissa'take the body of her murdered husband home. No one even vounteered to inform her son-in-law who lived in Zirk, a neighbourting village half a mile away.
Witnesses reported that the ringleader was startled and alarmed to see Shikkar-Nisa' still alive and standing by the ditch. H e was afraid she might be able to identify him. Seeing her alone , after the neighbours had left , he hurried to her side as though to help. Shikkar-Nisa'was weeping.
They reported later that this criminal tried to finish off the helpless women by striking her violently before rushing off .
After he left , Shikkar-Nisa' could no longer talk. She had lost the power of speech.
In the middle of the night this poor , half-burned woman, broken-hearted, hardly able to walk, was forced to abandon the charred remains of her husband, No one would help. slowly she made her way home, and locked herself alone in the now empty house.
Her son-in-law came the next day.
He found his father-in-law lying in the ditch covered with ashes, his face black with soot.He was told more of the tragic story by eyewitnesses who not afraid to talk in the daylight as they had been in the dark.
The murderers, they said. had soaked Muhammad-Husayn with fuel, and set him ablazed. Then they began shouting at him Run! Run!'
The piteous man , already a human torch, ran as best he could,He fellinto the ditch, crying with the agony of pain. They piled woodon top of him, splashed it with more kerosene, and burned himto death , Delighted with their nights's work, they warmed themselvs by the fire before leaving.
Shikkar-Nisa' still could not speak. Her only response to her son-in-law's first question was the tears which flowed down her cheeks as she kept pointing toward the place where Muhammad had been murdered. Sh was so terribly burned that she had to be carefully wrapped in a blanket and taken in that fashion on the bus to the hospital.
By then she was in a coma , and she died six days later .
Shikkar-Nisa' is buried with her martyred husband Muhammad-Husayn, side by side , united in death as they were in life.
LOOK AT THEM NUK, these two darling souls, They are from your village.
Friday, March 31, 2006
KISS THE HAND OF THE EXECUTIONER......
I believe that if the Great Prophet Mohammed peace be upon Him was alive today and saw what his so-called followers are doing to the bahais He would denounce them before God. They break his covenant of tolerance and justice, of honesty and trustworthiness.
Baha'is are taught to see the world as under one God, however people might pray to Him.
What is it that the Mullahs in Iran and other places fear so much about Baha'is?
Is it that they will turn people away from God?
Impossible, all Baha'is love God and dedicated their lives to service to Him.
Paraphrasing Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Baha'i Faith), this is only one part of the '...greatest drama in the world's spiritual history...' When one is SO convinced and intoxicated with love in one's faith, to the point were they (the persectued Baha'is), kiss the hand of the executioner, pray for his progress, and thank him - is truly a marvel, and in fact miraculous.(response from Ruth article on time 29th march 2006 )
The people who have accepted execution have been people in the highest prominent positions in society, doctors, lawyers, renowned clergymen, etc... They also have been, cleaners, villagers, etc... It is unmistakingly undeniable, that these people, with hearts full of joy; who accept to don the garb of martyrdom, must suscribe to a belief that can transform our current global social state into a better one.
(more than 20 thousands has offer their life in THE PATH OF GOD).
Is it that they will criticise the behaviour of the Mullahs?
No, they are taught to seek knowledge and understanding of the ways of other faiths, not denegrate them. Is it that they will take their power and influence away from them?
Ah, perhaps this is the crux.
This is the human condition not the heavenly one.
Baha'is are taught to seek learning and knowledge, and knowledge is power, especially shared knowledge. So, brighter, more educated people may be less susceptible to messages of hate and loathing, superstition and prejudice heaped on the believers by the so-called leaders to divide and rule in the same way Hitler did or the priests of the Spanish Inquisition.
Yes, that is their fear and that is why at the heart of their policy in Iran is the denial of education
THE BAHAI QUESTION!!
Historical Context of the Bábi and Bahá'í Faiths
To assert that a religion is independent of other faiths is not to argue that it began in a religious vacuum. Buddhism emerged from a traditional Hindu background, and only after it had crossed the Himalayas did it assume its full character as a separate faith destined to become a major cultural force in China, Japan, and the lands of Southeast Asia. Similarly, Jesus Christ and his immediate followers began their mission within the context of Judaism and for some two centuries the movement was regarded by neighboring peoples as a reformed branch of the parent religion. Christianity did not appear as a separate religion with its own scriptures, laws, and institutional and ritual forms until it had begun to attract large numbers of adherents from the many non-Semitic races in the Mediterranean world.
The religious matrix of the Bahá'í Faith was Islam. Much as Christianity was born out of the messianic expectations of Judaism, the religion that was to become the Bahá'í Faith arose from eschatological tensions within Islam. In the same way, however, the Bahá'í Faith is entirely independent of its parent religion.2
The new faith first appeared in Persia, a predominantly Muslim country. It then spread to neighboring Muslim lands in the Ottoman and Russian Empires and to northern India. Though some early followers were of Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian background, the vast majority had been followers of Islam. Their religious ideas were drawn from the Qur'an, and they were primarily interested in those aspects of their new belief system that represented the fulfillment of Islamic prophecies and the interpretation of Muslim teaching. Similarly, the Islamic clergy initially saw those who followed the new faith as Muslim heretics.3
Because of the Bahá'í Faith's Islamic background, it is important to give consideration to the Islamic matrix out of which it arose. Such an examination is important for a second reason as well: Islam fits into a concept of both religious history and the relationship between religions which is central to Bahá'í teaching. The Bahá'í Faith is perhaps unique in that it unreservedly accepts the validity of the other great faiths. Bahá'ís believe that Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, and Muhammad are all equally authentic messengers of one God. The teachings of these divine messengers are seen as paths to salvation which contribute to the "carrying forward of an ever-advancing civilization." But Bahá'ís believe that this series of interventions by God in human history has been progressive, each revelation from God more complete than those which preceded it, and each preparing the way for the next. In this view, Islam, as the most recent of the prior religions, constituted the immediate historical preparation for the Bahá'í Faith. Not surprisingly, therefore, one finds in the Bahá'í writings a great many Quranic terms and concepts.
Some tenets of Islam are especially important to a clear understanding of the Bahá'í Faith. Like Muslims, Bahá'ís believe that God is One and utterly transcendent in His essence. He "manifests" His will to humanity through the series of messengers whom Bahá'ís call "Manifestations of God ." The purpose of the Manifestation is to provide perfect guidance not only for the spiritual progress of the individual believer, but also to mold society as a whole. An important difference between the two faiths in this respect is that while, among the existing religions, the Qur'an designates only Judaism, Christianity, and Islam itself as divinely inspired, Bahá'ís believe that all religions are integral parts of one divine plan:
There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose.4
There is yet another aspect of Islam which influenced the development of the new religion and which dictated Muslim reaction to it. Like Christianity before it, Islam gradually divided into a number of major sects. One of the most significant of these is the Shiah sect, which believes that it was Muhammad's intention that his descendants inherit the spiritual and temporal leadership of the faithful. These chosen ones, called Imams, or "leaders," were believed to be endowed with unqualified infallibility in the discharge of their related responsibilities. However, the great majority of Muslims rejected such claims believing that the sunna--the "way" or mode of conduct attributed by tradition to the Prophet Muhammad--was a sufficient guide. Those who subscribed to this latter belief became known as Sunni. Although Sunni Muslims vastly outnumber the Shiah today, and are usually referred to by Western scholars as "orthodox" as opposed to the "heterodoxy" of the Shiah, Shiah Islam has a long and respected tradition, a tradition that only recently has become the object of serious study among a growing group of non-Muslim scholars.5
By A.D. 661, only 29 years after Muhammad's death, power in the Muslim world fell into the hands of the first of a series of dynastic rulers, theoretically elected by the faithful, but in fact representing the dominance of various powerful families. The first two of these Sunni dynasties, the Umayyads and the Abbasids, saw the Imams as a challenge to their own legitimacy. Consequently, according to Shiah accounts, one Imam after another was put to death, beginning with Hasan and Husayn, grandsons of Muhammad. These Imams, or descendants of the Prophet, came in time to be regarded by Shiah Islam as saints and martyrs.
Although Shiah Islam began among the Arabs, it reached its greatest influence in Persia. From the beginning, the Persian converts to Islam were attracted by the idea of the Imam as a divinely appointed leader. Unlike the Arabs, the Persians possessed a long heritage of government by a divinely appointed monarch, and the devotion that gathered around this figure in time came to focus on the person of the Prophet's descendants and appointed successors. After centuries of oppression by Sunni caliphs, the tradition of the Imamate eventually triumphed in Persia through the rise of a strongly Shiah dynasty, the Safavids, in the sixteenth century.
By this time, however, the line of Imams had ended. One of the features of Iranian Shiah tradition is that, in the year 873, the twelfth and last appointed Imam--only a child at the time--withdrew into "concealment" in order to escape the fate of his predecessors. It is believed that he will emerge "at the time of the end" to usher in a reign of justice throughout the world. This eschatological tradition (doctrine of "last things") has much in common with the Christian expectation of the return of Christ and Mahayana Buddhism's promise of the advent of Maitreya Buddha, "the Buddha of universal righteousness." Among other titles Muslims have assigned to this promised deliverer, the "Hidden Imam," are Mahdi (the Guided One) and Qa'im (He Who Will Arise i.e., from the family of the Prophet).
For a period of 69 years following his disappearance, the twelfth or Hidden Imam was said to have communicated with his followers through a series of deputies. These intermediaries took the title Báb (gate), because they were the only way to the Hidden Imam. There had been four Bábs up to the year 941, when the fourth one died without naming a successor.
The refusal of either the Imam or the final Báb to name a successor implied that the matter was to be left by the faithful entirely in the hands of God. In time, a messenger or messengers of God would appear, one of whom would be the Imam Mahdi, or Qa'im, and who would again provide a direct channel for the Divine Will to human affairs. It was out of this tradition that the Bahá'í religion and its forerunner, the Bábi Faith , appeared in the mid-nineteenth century.
The Báb, Forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh
Adapted from William S. Hatcher and Douglas Martin, The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985), pp. 1-5.
The validity of this view has been upheld even by Islamic authorities. As early as 1925, the religious court of Beba, Egypt, issued the following decision: "The Bahá'í Faith is a new religion, entirely independent, with beliefs, principles and laws of its own, which differ from, and are utterly in conflict with, the beliefs, principles and laws of Islam. No Bahá'í, therefore, can be regarded a Muslim or vice-versa, even as no Buddhist, Brahmin, or Christian can be regarded as Muslim or vice-versa." Cited by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 3rd ed. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1974), p. 365.
Under the Pahlavis (1925-1979), the ancient name Iran replaced the designation Persia. In this discussion "Persia" is used in describing events of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and "Iran" in reference to more recent ones.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh 2d rev. ed. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976), p. 217.
Why this attribution of orthodoxy to the Sunni branch of Islam should have been so fostered by non-Muslim authors is itself a question of some significance. The most frequently cited reason for it stems from the fact that, for a long time, Islam was simply unheard of in the West because of the geographic remoteness of its major centers from Europe and the European colonies established during the Crusades.
Context of the Bábi and Bahá'í Faiths1
RELATED DOCUMENTS
For the Student of Religion
Early Bahá'í Heroines
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VOICE to the VOICELESS----------
BAHAIS HOLY PLACES 
DESTROY
BAHAIS HOUSE OF THE 
BAB PROPHET MARTYR
DESTROY BY A FANATICS MOBS
MEMO 
BAHAIS MARTYRS
A BAHAI BUSINESS DESTROY
THE NATIONAL BAHAI CENTER DESTROYED BY THE ARMY AND CLERGY
<--A BAHAI DEAD BODY EXPOSED
BAHAIS PRISONERS IN THE TIME OF BAHA'U'LLAH
THE BAHAI QUESTION!!
THE IRANIAN ARMY AND MOB DESTROYING THE BAHAI BUILDINGS
A FATHER AND SON PUT TO DEATH IN THE TIME OF
BAHA'U'LLAH Who is Bahá’u’lláh?
http://www.bahai.org/faq/facts/bahaullah
PICS SHOWN HERE HOW WAS THE BAHAIS EXECUTED 
The death of a bahai portrayed in a Persian Magazine 1911
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