The Mullahs' Achilles heel: Iran's youth

Payam Akhavan, National Post Published: Saturday, April 19, 2008

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This week, Iranian Nobel peace laureate and renowned human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi announced that death threats against her have intensified. Most recently, a shadowy group calling itself the "Association of anti-Baha'is" warned her to "watch your tongue" and stop "serving the foreigners and the Baha'is" -- a reference to Iran's largest religious minority, whose faith has been described by the government as a "heresy" and vigorously persecuted. Particularly disturbing is the warning that because her daughter is involved in the "un-Islamic and Baha'i based faith… we will kill her."

For me, these shocking statements have immediate relevance, both because Dr. Ebadi's daughter is my law student at McGill University, and because this legacy of hatemongering and violence continues to haunt me as an Iranian Baha'i many years after adopting Canada as my home.

My solace is that the recent intensification of attacks against the exponents of a burgeoning Iranian civil society -- human rights activists, labour union leaders, student movements, intellectuals, journalists, religious minorities, even dissident Islamic clerics -- is a sign of the Islamic hardliners' desperation to cling to power amidst the disillusionment of the vast majority of Iranians with their oppressive rule. It is an admission that the biggest threat to their power is not "the Great American Satan" or a "Zionist conspiracy," but, rather, the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people expressed in the call of those like Dr. Ebadi for free and fair elections.

Notwithstanding the Mullahs' pretensions, the Islamic Republic is built less on the sublime spirituality of religion and more on the profane temptations of power. In placing so much focus on demonizing the peaceful Baha'i minority and threatening human rights champions, such as Dr. Ebadi, the hardliners betray the emptiness of their beliefs and ideals, which must be imposed through violence and intimidation.

Instead of celebrating the transcendent values of compassion and justice, which inspired a glorious and pluralistic Islamic civilization for centuries, Iran's self-appointed clerical rulers promote a hateful and ignorant totalitarian ideology. Some of the most vigorous dissent against clerical rule is by clerics themselves, both orthodox and reformist, calling for separation of religion and state, consistent with 500 years of Shia tradition. Many Islamic clerics are persecuted and there is even a special court for the prosecution of dissident clergy.

A regime that does not enjoy a democratic mandate, and which is unresponsive to popular demands for a prosperous and open society, desperately needs foreign conspiracies, heresies and other enemies within to legitimize its rule. But time is not on the hardliners' side. The reality is that 70% of Iranians are less than 30 years of age, many are Internet-savvy, glued to satellite television and have very little toleration for the Islamic utopia promised by their leaders when the evidence of national decline is apparent everywhere.

As the country's vast oil wealth is squandered by corrupt leaders, leaving little hope of prosperity for Iran's highly talented younger generation, and as demands for an open and democratic society are brutally crushed in torture chambers and public hangings, the nuclear issue and confrontation with the West is an expedient means of exploiting nationalist sentiments and distracting attention from the profound failures of the government. It is in this context that Dr. Ebadi and the Baha'is become the source of all evil; a scapegoat for people's daily woes.

In the Western imagination, Iran is often perceived through the incendiary polemics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and visions of an imminent nuclear apocalypse. George W. Bush speaks of the "axis of evil," and his cowboy diplomacy gives the illusion of acting tough against fanatics. Other alarmist commentators even speak of birth rates among Muslims as the biggest threat to Western survival. But to well-informed observers, Iran powerfully demonstrates that these same Muslim youth are the generation that yearns for freedom and pluralism, and constitute a great source of hope that deserves our support.

The emerging civil society in their midst also demonstrates that giving a privileged platform to Islamic demagogues that satisfy our fantasies of a new crusade against loathsome barbarians does a great disservice to those such as Dr. Ebadi who struggle for universal values and prepare the path for a future with a shared humanity, rather than leading us towards a catastrophic clash of civilizations.

payam.akhavan@mcgill.ca

-Payam Akhavan is professor of International Law at McGill University in Montreal, a former UN war crimes prosecutor at The Hague and co-founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre.

Mideast Youth network has just launched a beta version of Global Village TV.
This is indeed an important and significant initiative intended to promote interfaith understanding and collaboration. Posted below is the formal announcement by Mideast Youth:
MEY launches Global Village TV in beta!Author: Esra'a (Bahrain) - April 19, 2008
After months of hard work, Mideast Youth, with the enormous help of ByteSense, finally launched Global Village TV (GVTV). I would especially like to thank Umar for making this opportunity for us much easier than it would’ve been without his help and guidance.
GVTV is a dynamic, educational platform, co-created by Baha’is and Muslims working hand in hand to cultivate an interfaith community.
For the past few months, we have been working diligently on this initiative, in hopes that it would contribute to improving and advancing serious interfaith.
We realized that in many forums, in the process of interfaith, the Baha’i Faith, Yezidi faith, and many other religions are left out. This community aims to change that.
You can view a brief demonstration of this network here:

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Freedom of Speech Versus Anarchy in Egyptian Society


About two years ago, a group of concerned citizens in Egypt formed an organization called MARED, an acronym for "Masryoun [Egyptians] Against Religious Discrimination." The main goal of this group is to finally bring some sort of sanity to the current state of a deeply divided Egyptian society, a division rooted in religious discrimination and intolerance.

This group (MARED) is made up of highly respected intellectual members of the Egyptian society, such as academicians, journalists, businesspeople, government officials, scientists, human rights activists, artists, philosophers, religious thinkers and many others. Most of them are Muslim, but the organization also includes Christians and representatives of other religious and secular groups in Egypt.

A few months ago, MARED decided to make plans for holding its first congress, aimed at discussing the roots of and solutions for the crisis of religious divide and discrimination in the Egyptian society. The Congress carried the slogan "Could Egypt be for All Egyptians?" Several prominent representatives of society including government officials, journalists, human rights activists and academicians were invited to make presentations at this forum. Among those invited was a representative of the Baha'i community of Egypt who would make a presentation on the current status of that community in its quest to obtain its civil rights.

The congress was scheduled for 11 & 12 April 2008 and a hall at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate in Cairo was reserved and paid for by MARED. The Congress' agenda was prepared, was shared with the syndicate and was publicly announced.

Just a few days before the congress, a member of the journalists syndicate's council, who portrayed himself as a protector of Islam, went on a nationally televised program (View it here) and made direct threats to the congress and to the representative of the Baha'i community, naming her in person and accusing her of apostasy. He called for her punishment according to his own interpretation of Islamic law. He also called for her arrest on the spot if she appears at the congress. He misrepresented the purpose of the congress and went further to promise "a catastrophic event to happen on the day of the congress" if it were to be held as planned.



The night before the congress, this gentleman accompanied by a band of his supporters, later described by the Egyptian media as members of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) movement, occupied the Journalists Syndicate building and barricaded themselves inside. They posted placards on its walls with insults directed at the congress, Israel, the Coptic Christians and the Baha'is.

The following morning, the head of the syndicate arrived to open the building for the congress and had to force himself in, as shown in the above attached video depicting the events of that morning. After being verbally and physically assaulted by this barricaded group of extremists, some of whom still wearing their pajamas and others armed with sticks and bats, he was finally able to enter the building, and through intermediaries attempted to negotiate with those inside the building.

After he had encountered much shouting, he emerged from the building and apologized to the MARED group for his inability to assist them in holding their congress as planned. Consequently, representatives from Tagamoh [Unity] Party invited those planning the event to proceed to move the congress to the Tagamoh Party building. As a result, the congress was held, as scheduled, but in this new location. The Baha'is were also able to make a presentation at the congress.

Al-Hurrah TV reported on the congress in this news clip:



An unprecedented amount of extensive Egyptian media coverage ensued (see a partial list here). Some of the articles printed in English can be seen here and here. Journalists were outraged at the fact that their syndicate was violated in such a way and were infuriated by how the head of their Syndicate was treated, in such disrespectful manner, by that band of disorderly and fanatic individuals. The very freedom and integrity of the press was felt to be under siege and in great danger if such a trend is allowed to emerge and continue.

Consequently, the person--who is also a member of the syndicate--responsible for this illegal action was referred to the investigative committee of the syndicate and a few days later was sentenced, in an unrelated case, to three months imprisonment and monitory fines for insulting another member of the syndicate's council during one of its past meetings. Additionally, the head of the syndicate, as a result of the humiliation he had endured at the hands of this gang of men, has offered to resign his position.

Of great interest, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood who is also a council member of the syndicate, as reported in the attached newspaper article, "denied any relation of Muslim Brotherhood to the crisis" and added that "the Brotherhood is not responsible for Islam in Egypt, but rather all Egyptians are responsible for it," pointing to the fact that "this represents freedom of belief." He also "welcomes the Baha'is to the Journalists Syndicate at any time."

To this date, much more media coverage continues in leading newspapers, magazines, blogs, television and radio. The subject is indeed taking on a life of its own.

When one tries to reflect on these events, it must be said that much learning can be gained from such a crisis, for example:

1) The Egyptian society can and will resist anarchy.
2) Many well-informed Egyptians can see through injustice and will stand up for the rights of the oppressed, even though their stand can place them in harm's way.
3) The wind of change and progress is unstoppable, even by those who continue to aggressively intimidate and terrorize their fellow citizens.
4) Sooner or later, justice tends to always prevail.
5) The resistance and this crisis created by the extremists has, unintentionally, reinforced the legitimacy of MARED and had placed the issue of religious discrimination in the spotlight.

RELATED VIDEO HERE



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Top Iranian dissident threatened

Shirin Ebadi said threats were also made against her daughter
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi has described receiving an increasing number of death threats.

They included notes pinned to the door of her office building in Tehran, warning her to "watch your tongue".

Ms Ebadi, an outspoken critic of Iran's leadership, said she had forwarded the threats to the chief of Iranian police.

She said last month: "When you believe in the correctness of your work, there is no reason to be afraid of anything."

In an interview, she told Reuters news agency that Iran's human rights record had regressed in the past two years, saying more dissidents were being jailed and more people were being executed.

Ms Ebadi, 60, won the Nobel prize in 2003 for her work in defending human rights.

She has received death threats before, but in a statement on Monday, she said: "Threats against my life and security and those of my family, which began some time ago, have intensified."

One of the anonymous, handwritten threats said: "Shirin Ebadi, your death is near."

They warned her against making speeches abroad, and defending Iran's minority Bahai community.

The Bahai faith is an offshoot of Islam, regarded as heretical by Iran's Shia establishment.

source BBC WORLD NEWS

Baha'i Faith in Egypt Egypt's Interior Ministry Decides on "Dashes" for Baha'i IDs

Posted: 03 Apr 2008 08:46 PM CDT

In its 2 April 2008 edition, Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported that the Ministry of Interior has just decided that the only option that will be given to the Baha'is of Egypt is to insert dashes "--" instead of leaving the religion field blank or writing "other" on ID cards.
The Ministry clarified that "leaving the religion field blank might open the door to inappropriate manipulation of official documents."
This decision was expected since the Ministry has been considering its options on what choice it would make following Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice ruling on 29 January 2008 to allow the Baha'is obtain ID cards and birth certificates.
The court permitted three options for registering their religious affiliation. These options were: 1) "other," 2) dashes "--" or 3) to leave the field blank. As to which choice would eventually be used, the court had left the final decision for the Ministry of Interior to make.
This announcement is an indication that progress is being made by the Ministry in its efforts to proceed expeditiously with granting the Baha'is of Egypt their identity documents and birth certificates.
In a related case involving Egyptians who have returned to Christianity after having been declared Muslims at some point in their lives, the Ministry has decided to enter "formerly declared Muslim" on their ID cards that will be issued stating that they are currently "Christian."

Egypt's Ministry of Interior Will Not Appeal Ruling on Baha'is
Posted: 01 Apr 2008 07:46 AM CDT
Egypt's Ministry of Interior has announced, through its sources, that it will not appeal the 29 January 2008 administrative court ruling that allowed the Baha'is of Egypt the issue of ID cards and birth certificates.

Based on its interview with sources in the Ministry of Interior, an article in Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper revealed the news today. It states that the Ministry has approved the ruling and decided not to appeal even though the law permits it to do so.

Its opportunity for appeal had already lapsed since, under Egyptian law, the defendant is entitled a period of two months to file an appeal. The Ministry had elected not to do so based on its assessment of the merits of the case and that the ruling has provided the government with a reasonable option to solve this complex matter.

Baha'i Faith in Egypt
Egypt's NCHR Releases its Annual Report on Human Rights
Posted: 31 Mar 2008 04:38 PM CDT
Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the government-appointed human rights organization, has just released its fourth annual report and recommendations to Egypt's government.

Among the many recommendations, it requested that it is important for the government to allow the entry of "Baha'i" as one of the choices in the religion field on ID cards.

The announcement of the report was published today in Egypt's official national newspaper Al-Akhbar [The News] in its edition, dated 31 March 2008.

Dr. Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, Vice-President of the Council was quoted in this article as he elaborated on several issues related to the status of human rights in Egypt.