Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories Posted: 14 Mar 2009 06:49 PM PDT
Several baseless claims have been put forth as truth in various public forums and media. Over time, these have been accepted as “truth” due to repetition and a general apathy by the Iranian masses towards independent investigation of such claims. Gradually, most of us have simply come to accept a variety of often conflicting claims about the Bahá’ís. For instance, the Bahá’ís were created by the British AND Russians in the 19th-century (while both were actually competing for influence in Persia!). Or that the Baha’is held positions of power in the Pahlavi regime and were also agents of Israel, international Zionism, and American Imperialism. During the Iran-Iraqi war, some Bahá’ís were even labeled as Iraqi agents! Adib Masumian puts forth a challenge to these theories in his new book “Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories on the Genesis and Mission of the Bahá’í Faith.” In 89 pages, this work provides an analysis of the most widespread anti-Bahá’í allegations raised by clerics and Iranian polemicists over the past century or so. These include such myths as Prince Dolgorukov of Russia acting as the prime motivator of the Báb, the British General, Arthur Conolly, as the one who persuaded Mulla Husayn to push the Báb into starting his religion, or considering `Abdu’l-Bahá’s knighthood in 1920 as irrefutable evidence of Bahá’í ties to British imperialism. The book also discusses whether any of the influential members of the Sháh’s regime were Baha’is from Amir Abbas Hoveida to General Nassiri or Parviz Sabeti of SAVAK to Farrokhroo Pársá and others. And unlike anti-Baha’i polemicists who hardly ever provide credible sources for their claims, this book offers about 140 citations with a bibliography of over 50 different books and credible websites (both Baha’i and non-Baha’i) to substantiate its assertions. Iran Press Watch highly recommends this book to their readers. It is available for purchase in two versions:
“I hope those who have always wondered about the credibility of claims against the Baha’is take a look at this book and decide for themselves where the truth is. Just as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion has been proven a farce, so must the Dolgorukov Memoirs and other fabrications be exposed, once and for all, for what they are - insults to scholarship. I have attempted to do that, too, in this work.” Related posts
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| An Account of an Expelled Baha’i Student Posted: 14 Mar 2009 05:57 PM PDT Editor’s Note: Iran Press Watch is grateful to have received the following account from a Baha’i young adult in Iran, whom we will only identify by his first name, Ali-Reza. This account is offered below in translation by Iran Press Watch. In the Name of God, the Creator! Respectfully, I declare that I, Ali-Reza … am a Baha’i and the son of a Baha’i. In 1996, I participated in the university entrance exam. At that time because of special circumstances (my mother being a staunch Muslim, had forbidden my father from having contacts with Baha’is), I, the only child of the family, was not even aware of my father’s religion as I was growing up. While filling out the application form, I marked Muslim in the religion column. Before the names of successful candidates were announced in the national newspapers, I was summoned by authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Organization for Evaluation and Assessment. After I was asked many irrelevant questions, I was notified that even though I had passed the entrance exam with flying colors and was eligible to enter medical school, I was not allowed to continue my education due to my father’s religion. I explained that there are no verses in the Qu’ran or the Constitution allowing discrimination against religious minorities; moreover, I insisted that I was a Muslim and was only born to a Baha’i father. I was told that the Baha’i Faith is not among official religions of the country, and its followers are spies of Israel, are anti-Islam and anti-Iran. After ceaselessly pursuing my dream of becoming a doctor, missing one school term, receiving threats and insults, accepting the condition set for me, I was permitted to enroll. The condition was that at no time and under no circumstances should I engage in any teaching of the Baha’i Faith - about which I did not know anything anyway, though I was raised in a home with a Baha’i father. However, a few years later when I started investigating and finally accepted the Baha’i Faith, I realized that I had been raised under the principles of the Baha’i Faith. Unfortunately, the harassment did not stop when I entered university. With every change in the staff, I was interrogated by the Security Committee again and again. All along, the only accusation that I was charged with was that my father was a Baha’i. I was often summoned for investigation and pressured to follow Islam. Each time, I was asked irrelevant questions which I found very hard to deal with. I was becoming emotionally drained, especially when they were associating Baha’is with espionage. In 2002, I was a resident physician, finishing the last term of my medical school, serving in hospitals. Prompted by a spiritual dream that I had, and the curiosity aroused in me by the authorities’ questions, I began to investigate the Baha’i Faith by searching the internet. I wanted to find out about this Faith that I was strongly forbidden to mention to anyone, that I was harassed about so many times throughout so many years. Finally, I accepted the Baha’i Faith. I was so touched by the Most Holy Book and the Book of Certitude that I could not contain myself and conceal my faith. My close friends, my classmates and then the Basij [Islamic militia that interferes in all aspects of people's lives] became aware of it and notified the Security Committee of the university. I also mentioned my belief to the Khademin, who guided me and asked me to be wise [meaning not to proclaim his Faith too openly and thereby jeopardize his life]. After accepting the Baha’i Faith, not only did I lose my friends (though not all of them), but I was subject to the anger and hatred of all my relatives and some of my wife’s relatives. They even tried to force my wife to separate from me. However, she was investigating the Faith as well, and had a favorable view of it. She stood strong and did not bend under their pressure. Since that time, I have been in touch with the Baha’i community, have taught my faith and have increased my knowledge of the faith. I have also trained and educated my children by following the teachings of the faith. After becoming aware of my acceptance of the Baha’i Faith, the Security Committee of the university summoned me and started interrogating me. They told me that based on information received from their sources, they knew that I had been in contact with “elements of the misguided sect” and that I had caused “disturbance in public minds”. I responded and rejected their accusations. I said I had just accepted the Baha’i Faith and had done nothing to cause any disturbance to public minds. They were dismayed by my responses and were angered by my steadfastness in my belief. I was finally charged with being a cause of “disorder at the university” and “disturbance of the minds of students”. I was expelled from the university dormitory, banned from university for two years, forced out of medical school and compelled to major in physiotherapy. I strongly objected, complained to the Ministry of Health and also to the judiciary and even wrote to Mr. Khatami, President of Iran at that time. All my efforts were in vain. I was warned repeatedly that I should not discuss any of what was happening with anyone. In the two years that I was banned from university, I purchased a small car, financed by selling my wife’s jewelry and obtaining a car loan. I started a taxi service between cities to provide for my family. Being away from medical school and serving patients at hospitals that I cherished so much caused a lot of stress. Repeatedly I sought counseling. Even the counselor, after finding out the reason for my depression, wrote to the university officials in the hope that I would be permitted to go back to university, not knowing my depression and dismay were exactly what the authorities wanted to achieve. Since that time I have always felt irritated, impatient and depressed. Eventually, after my two-year dismissal from university ended, despite my desire to finish medical school, I had no choice but to change my field to physiotherapy. However, I was still not left alone. The Ministry of Health continued to write confidential letters to the university officials and vice versa discussing my dismissal - I have related documents in my procession which I am forwarding. Finally, after receiving notice from the Ministry of Health, I was prohibited from registering. I was called to the security office and was questioned by the authorities. Being angered by my responses; I was physically assaulted by the Basij and by security personnel. Due to the efforts of my uncle, I was not arrested or charged. In 2004, after Baha’i students were allowed to enter universities (almost all of them have been expelled by now), I too enrolled. I successfully finished my studies and received a perfect mark on my final report. Even though I had paid all my tuition and I owed nothing to the university, I was sent back again and again between offices and at the end I was told that due to problems in my file and based on a directive from the Ministry of Health, a certificate for the completion of my education could not be issued. I tried many times, contacted many officials, but I could not even get a temporary certificate of completion for my studies. The final verdict was that as long as I insisted on my religious beliefs, it would be impossible to get my certificate. I was not given any written document of what I was told. I personally contacted the Ministry of Health many times asking for the written ruling. Finally, one employee who was very helpful gave me a copy of the communication. Needless to say, after accepting the Baha’i Faith we were not spared from harassment by our neighbors and some of our former friends. Even our car was not left alone. Sometimes, we would see scratches, a broken mirror, or four flat tires. Our son has been under duress in school and finally we were forced to change his school. All the pressures and agitation inflicted upon our lives has affected our younger son as well, the effects of which are noticeable in his behavior and have caused stuttering in his speech. Signed, Ali-Reza Related posts
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| Posted: 14 Mar 2009 05:54 AM PDT
[Source: http://www.rasanews.com/
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| ‘Because of Their Worldliness, Baha’is Resist the Qur’an’ Posted: 14 Mar 2009 05:51 AM PDT
[Source: http://www.rasanews.com/
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| Growth of the Faith and its Relation to Persecutions Posted: 13 Mar 2009 10:03 PM PDT This is a brief talk by the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. R. Muhajir. As it is appropriate to the theme of this site, Iran Press Watch is pleased to share this remarkable talk with its esteemed readers — and listeners. Download the Talk (MP3, approx 6.2MB)
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| United Religions Initiative in Brazil Posted: 13 Mar 2009 10:01 PM PDT By Sam H. Cyrous The United Religions Initiative (URI) based in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, has sent two open letters asking for the immediate release of the Baha’is in Iran, one to the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the other to the Iranian Ambassador to Brazil. They request the Minister they to “issue a public statement on these arrests, and to urge the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to promptly see the equivocal and illegality of these acts that must be repaired, first of all with the release of the prisoners.” They summon the Ambassador to apply the Quranic principles: “In the Holy Quran, Justice and Mercy are values which are always reminded to all the believers. Thus even if we are to consider the total independence of the Iranian State, we cannot understand such attitudes, and even less accept them, as we hereby respectfully express. (…) We also feel impelled to request from those responsible for these human rights violations, and particularly the Iranian Government, good sense and real practice of justice, through the release of these prisoners and the full reestablishment of their rights, since the Christians and Jews among Iranian citizens do not suffer – or they should not – any such violations – facts that yet again cannot justify the mentioned acts.” Cautioning that by acting otherwise, they are the ones endangering Islam: “Dearest Mr. Ambassador, to conclude I would like to express that I understand that, at the eventuality of the continuity of this situation, we shall see it as a setback on the world’s view on human rights in Iran, as well as on the very image of the country, which certainly will give room to those heralds of untruthfulness against Islam and their specific arguments to work solidly in their propaganda.” Moreover, there is no doubt that if this situation that we now repudiate comes to occur, all of us, who work for the social and organizational awareness on the theological and cultural, legal and scientific richness that Islam brought to all humankind through the centuries, will be in a difficult position to argument in defense. Download: Letter to the Iranian Ambassador | Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Related posts |
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Vladimir Lenin once said that a lie told often enough becomes truth. If one takes a look at the way Bahá’ís have been viewed and treated by their adversaries, particularly Muslim clerics from Shaykh Fazlollah Nuri to Falsafi to Dorri-Najafabadi and other leaders of the current Iranian regime, they will see an unfortunate truth to Lenin’s assertion.
Editor’s Note: Rasa News Agency continues to share the sentiments of the Iranian clerical establishment towards the Baha’is. In this case, a thoroughly discredited conspiracy theory that the Baha’i Faith was a creation of British intelligence (Baha’u'llah never actually met any Britons until nearly at the end of His life) is the basis of this clergyman’s criticism. The latest in this series is a report published on February 25, 2009.
Editor’s Note: Rasa News is a mouthpiece of fanaticism and deception against the Baha’is of Iran, and it would be a source of much entertainment if it weren’t so tragic. This latest news is true, though it sounds absurd. It reports on last Friday’s sermon (March 6, 2009) by the Imam Jum’ih of Zanjan. What the good Imam said though is a different matter. Judge for yourself.
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