"Baha'i Question" cited at European Parliament human rights hearing

31 May 2011

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Victims of religious intolerance are not just people deprived of the right to practice their faith – they suffer abuses in every aspect of their daily lives.

This observation was made at a hearing held before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights.

Penelope Faulkner – a member of the European Platform on Religious Discrimination and Intolerance (EPRID) – highlighted the degree to which freedom of religion or belief is threatened around the world.

It is a "massive problem," said Ms. Faulkner. "Especially in countries where the state...incites hatred, religious minorities are defenceless.

"They lose their rights, their livelihood and, in many cases, their lives."

"This is the case of the Baha'i in Iran where the authorities implement a systematic plan to deal with what they call the 'Baha'i Question' – with specific directives to block access to education, confiscate property, deny employment and deny citizenship rights to anyone known to be Baha'i," said Ms. Faulkner.

Her comments came just days after some 16 individuals were arrested in Iran for trying to operate an informal university to provide education to Baha'is who have been barred from higher education by the government. See http://news.bahai.org/story/827.

Ms. Faulkner also noted that recent research has found that 70% of the world's population is living in places where religious freedom is restricted or abused.

"It is in every continent, every community, including Europe. The devastating toll of the human suffering in recent months shows that EU policies in this area are not only needed but much overdue," she said.

"Human beings are responsible"

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, told the hearing that he sees such violations on a daily basis.

"And what shocks me most is the degree of hatred against religious minorities between communities – hatred often nourished by a paradoxical combination of fear sometimes bordering paranoia and contempt," said Professor Bielefeldt.

But such hatreds can be overcome, he said.

"After all, it is human beings who are responsible, human beings who also can change, groups of human beings who can also evolve in their conviction. This is something we must always take into account."

Professor Bielefeldt told the hearing – held on 26 May – that freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, which must be also interpreted to encompass the broadest interpretation of religion.

"You see lots of countries in various regions of the world that promise freedom of religion or belief in their constitution then say, 'O.K. There are three options – you can be Jewish, Christian, Muslim. Period.'

"Sometimes it's five options. Sometimes it's six options. Sometimes it's no religions. But the starting point – if you really stick to the universalistic nature of human rights – must be the dignity of human beings and their self-understanding.

"If you know human beings, their self-understanding is very, very, very diverse," he said.

But, Professor Bielefeldt noted, the United Nations treaties concerning the issue clearly state that freedom of religion or belief "protects theistic, non-theistic, atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief...This is the universalistic spirit, and not only spirit but also letter of human rights and freedom of religion. And this is really under threat."

A broader context

Also on the panel was the Baha'i International Community's representative to the European Union, Sarah Vader. She suggested that freedom of religion or belief should be considered in a "broader context of democracy and human rights protection."

"The EU should pay particular attention to being inclusive and fair, enabling the participation of all – including those more vulnerable groups such as women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities," said Ms. Vader, who was also speaking on behalf of EPRID, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in support of freedom of religion or belief of which the Baha'i International Community is a member.

"In relation to the EU's future policy on freedom of religion or belief, it is necessary for the process to be open, transparent and inclusive, and find a way of involving civil society at different levels, whether it be here in Brussels or at the level of capitals and delegations at the EU," she said.

Ms. Vader offered a series of recommendations by which the EU could improve its overall monitoring and approach to freedom of religion or belief, such as by establishing a special envoy for religious freedom and preparing an annual report on the progress worldwide made towards freedom of religion or belief.

Special Report

The Baha'i World News Service has published a Special Report which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links.

The International Reaction page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran.

The Media Reports page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.

GENEVA, 22 May 2011 (BWNS) – A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha'is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education programme for young members who are barred from university.

Initial reports indicate that raids took place yesterday on houses in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. As many as 30 people may already have been arrested.

"All of the targets were homes of individuals closely involved with the operations of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

The Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was established in 1987 as a community initiative to meet the educational needs of young Baha'is who have been systematically denied access to higher education by the Iranian government. The BIHE has been described by the New York Times as "an elaborate act of communal self-preservation."

"The Institute has been a remarkably creative – and entirely non-violent – response to the Iranian government's ongoing effort to stifle the normal human development of the Baha'i community," said Ms. Ala'i.

"The Iranian authorities – not content with debarring Baha'is from university solely on account of their religious beliefs – are now cruelly seeking to shut down the community's efforts to provide its youth with higher education through alternative means.

"The government's actions are utterly unjustifiable," said Ms. Ala'i.

This is not the first time that the BIHE has come under attack from Iranian authorities. One of the biggest blows was a series of sweeping raids carried out in 1998 during which some 36 members of the BIHE's faculty and staff were arrested, and much of its equipment and records – located in more than 500 homes – was taken. Other actions against the operations of BIHE were carried out in 2001 and 2002.

These attacks – and Iran's general policy prohibiting young Baha'is from entering higher education – have been met with strong condemnation by governments, academics, UN agencies, civil society organizations and others.

Among the numerous actions taken, university professors and chaplains around the world have sent letters of protest to the UN Secretary-General and the leaders of Iran; in 2006, the president of Princeton university in the United States raised the matter with the Iranian representative to the UN; Spain's House of Deputies has passed a strongly-worded resolution on the situation; Wolfson College, Oxford, also voted through a resolution in November 2007, as did the University of Winnipeg in Canada.

"These latest raids appear to be another concerted attempt to attack the BIHE, which the authorities have long sought to do," said Diane Ala'i.

"We are calling upon governments and educational organizations throughout the world to register with the government of Iran their strong disapproval of its systematic, ongoing efforts to deny to young Baha'is their fundamental human right to access higher education."





To read the article online and access links, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/825

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/

Three years on, Iran's imprisoned Baha'i leaders symbolize the oppression of a nation


GENEVA, 16 May 2011 (BWNS) – The injustice being faced by countless citizens of Iran has been highlighted around the world, as supporters marked three years since the arrest of the country's imprisoned Baha'i leaders.

In a message dated 14 May, addressed by the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of Iran, the jailed leaders were referred to as true prisoners of conscience. The letter also spoke of the numerous Iranian men and women who have accepted to face hardship for the sake of defending their freedom and human rights.

Their plight was recalled at special gatherings, which included a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.; a service at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia; and prayer meetings, held in numerous places of worship throughout the Netherlands.


Reception in Washington D.C.

In the United States, some 300 congressional staff, representatives from human rights groups, media personnel and community members, attended a meeting at Washington's Hart Senate Office building on 12 May, while a worldwide audience logged on to a live webcast of the event.

The event was hosted by U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, who spoke about a resolution he recently introduced condemning the persecution of the Baha'is.

"I have been very focused on the condition of Baha'is in Iran," said Senator Kirk. "Especially thinking about the seven Baha'i leaders, I think we need to begin to memorize their names.

"They are serving 20 years in prison on baseless charges and I am here today, as I have been for many months now, showing my support from them, and more importantly introducing their individual names to the American people," said Senator Kirk, who recited aloud the names of the seven prisoners to the audience.

They are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. They were formerly members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of the country's 300,000-strong Baha'i community.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Kathleen Fitzpatrick told the reception that, while democratic evolution, change and reform is under way in the Middle East, "the Iranian authorities continue to use the brutal tactics of repressing their citizens, even as at times they applaud protestors in other areas..."

"Baha'i and other religious minorities...continue to be subject to arbitrary arrest, persecution and unjust sentences," said Ms. Fitzpatrick. "These circumstances typify not only the life of religious minorities in Iran but also of all Iranians and reflect the oppression that has engulfed the nation at the hands of its leaders."

In his remarks, Kenneth E. Bowers – Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States – noted that those "languishing in Iranian prisons" include not only Baha'is but "lawyers who do nothing more than represent their clients, journalists attempting to ensure that the public receives accurate information, and others such as students and bloggers who express views that the regime does not see as supportive of their policies."

In other speeches, U.S. Representative Michael Grimm praised the resilience of the Iranian Baha'i community; actor Eva LaRue shared stories about the two women in the group; and Iraj Kamalabadi, brother of Fariba Kamalabadi, delivered closing remarks.

Grammy-award winning musician KC Porter performed a new song, titled "Yaran", which he composed after learning about the prison conditions and the overwhelming evidence of the Baha'i leaders' innocence.


Events in Australia and the Netherlands

More than 500 people also observed the third anniversary at a special interfaith service on the theme of justice, held yesterday at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia. Among the special guests in attendance was the convener of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations, Professor Abd Malak, an Egyptian Coptic Christian.

The Australian government among many others has been active and vocal in their support of the seven Baha'i leaders – and human rights in Iran more broadly – said Natalie Mobini-Kesheh, Director of the Australian Baha'i community's Office of External Affairs.

"It's important that we, as the public, continue to voice our concern, so that the Iranian government knows that the world is watching," she told a reception held in the House of Worship's information centre.

Also in attendance was Mehrzad Mumtahan, a nephew of Saeid Rezaei, who spoke of the hope the prisoners feel, knowing that total strangers are thinking of them.

In the Netherlands, 24-hour vigils and other prayer gatherings were held throughout the country to mark the anniversary. In Amsterdam, special prayers were said at the Roman Catholic Salvator church. At the city's Russian Orthodox church, the names of the seven prisoners – as well as Christian and Jewish victims of religious persecution in Iran – were read aloud.

A Protestant church in Veldhoven, the Sisters of Charity congregations in Hertme and Eindhoven, and the Hindu Shree Raam mandir in Wychen, also joined the commemoration. In Utrecht and the Hague, prayers were said in Jewish synagogues.

"I stay connected in prayer with those brave ones," said Awraham Soetendorp, Rabbi of the Reform Jewish community of the Hague. "May all the prayers together open the door to freedom."

The human rights group, United4Iran, launched a poster campaign drawing attention to the fact that by 14 May, the seven suffered 7,734 days in prison. The campaign calls upon supporters to make their own posters indicating the number of days of imprisonment, or to take a picture or video holding a pre-prepared poster.

Further events marking the anniversary are being planned around the world, including a "Solidarity Concert" in New Delhi, India, this Thursday.




To read the article online and view photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/823

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/