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Baha'i educators sentenced
http://news.bahai.org/story/860


NEW YORK, 18 October 2011, BWNS – Seven Baha'i educators in Iran have each received four or five-year prison sentences, according to reports received by the Baha'i International Community.

Verdicts against the seven were reportedly handed down by a judge at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

The educators have been detained for almost five months in connection with their involvement in an informal community initiative – known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – in which Baha'i professors, debarred by the Iranian government from practicing their professions, offer their services to teach young community members who are banned from university.

Two of the individuals, Vahid Mahmoudi and Kamran Mortezaie, were each sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Four year jail terms were given to BIHE lecturers Ramin Zibaie, Mahmoud Badavam and Farhad Sedghi, consultant Riaz Sobhani, and helper Nooshin Khadem.

"It is not even clear at this stage what the exact charges were against these innocent souls, whose only desire was to serve young people who have been unjustly barred from higher education on purely religious grounds," said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"What kind of society makes educating the young a punishable crime?" she said.

Two other Baha'is associated with BIHE – husband and wife Kamran Rahimian and Faran Hesami, both psychology instructors – are also still being held without charge.


Global protest

The most recent attacks carried out against BIHE continue to provoke condemnation from governments, organizations, academics and young people throughout the world.

More than 70 academics in Australia, including University of Ballarat vice-chancellor, David Battersby, have signed an open letter protesting Iran's educational discrimination against Baha'is and calling for the immediate release of the imprisoned educators.

On 10 October, 43 prominent philosophers and theologians in 16 countries signed another letter of protest. "To acquire knowledge and learning is the sacred and legal right of all; indeed, the state is obliged to provide it. In Iran, the government has done the opposite..." wrote the academics.

Two Nobel Peace Prize laureates – Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, and Jose Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor – in another open letter, sharply criticized the Iranian government, comparing its actions to "the Dark Ages of Europe" or the "Spanish Inquisition."

On 5 October, resuming a Canadian Senate debate about the Baha'is in Iran, Senator Hugh Segal described the suffering heaped on Baha'is as "systematic and brutal, especially when the Baha'i are known as a peaceful faith that embraces the sanctity of all religions."

"The official Iranian oppression of Baha'i ... is a clarion call to humanity and to free peoples and democracies everywhere to look directly at the harsh colors of the Iranian reality and not look away until the challenge is faced head on," said Senator Segal.

Around 112 Baha'is are currently behind bars in Iran because of their religion. This includes the seven Baha'i leaders, serving 20-year jail terms on trumped-up charges. The cases of some 300 other Baha'is are still active with the Iranian authorities.






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Baha'i World News Service
http://news.bahai.org/story/858


UN Secretary General "deeply troubled" by developments in Iran
UNITED NATIONS, 13 October 2011, BWNS – For the fourth consecutive year, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly criticized Iran's record on human rights, saying violations have "continued and intensified" over the last 12 months.

Iran has stepped up its crackdown on human rights defenders, women's rights activists and journalists, Mr. Ban said in a report released yesterday.

Read the report here: http://news.bahai.org/sites/news.bahai.org/files/documentlibrary/858_Secretary_General_Report.pdf

The Secretary General said he was "deeply troubled" by recent developments, which included a "notable increase" in the country's use of the death penalty, along with a rise in unfair trials, amputations, and the use of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention.

Mr. Ban called on the Iranian government to respect the rights of all its citizens – but noted especially the "important and constructive role the human rights lawyers and activists play in protecting human rights," encouraging  Iran to "fully guarantee freedom of expression and assembly and to open up greater space for their independent work."

Restrictions on "unrecognized religious minorities," were also highlighted in the report with "serious concern" being expressed, particularly at the ongoing persecution of Iran's Baha'i community.

Iranian Baha'is face limits on access to higher education, Mr. Ban said, noting that this form of discrimination culminated this year in a government effort to shut down the informal initiative to educate young members of the Baha'i community barred from university.

"According to numerous reports, on 21 May 2011, security forces conducted raids on the homes of individuals involved in the activities of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education and arrested 15 of its members in various cities, including Gohardasht, Isfahan, Karaj, Sari, Shiraz, Tehran and Zahedan..." he said.

Mr. Ban also discussed the fate of seven national Baha'i leaders, arrested in 2008 and sentenced to some 20 years imprisonment in 2010 – noting that their excessive sentence was upheld earlier this year.

"The High Commissioner for Human Rights has raised this case several times in letters to and meetings with the Iranian authorities, expressing deep concern that these trials did not meet the requirements of due process and fair trial," he said.

Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, welcomed the report and its conclusions.

"Taken as a whole, Mr. Ban's report has once again indicted the current Iranian regime, documenting the government's wide-ranging effort to silence the growing demands of its citizenry for justice, democracy, and transparency.

"Baha'is have long suffered from the Islamic Republic's ongoing and ever-increasing inability to tolerate any viewpoint or opinion that falls outside the official script. Mr. Ban's report clearly documents the degree to which so many others – from women to journalists to lawyers – are also bearing the brunt of this oppression.

"The report also outlines Iran's refusal to cooperate with UN special rapporteurs, who have since 2005 been denied permission to visit Iran so that they can investigate the situation there.

"We hope the international community will duly take note and continue its effort to see that Iran ends the unjust persecution of its own citizens," said Ms. Dugal.









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Philosophers and theologians worldwide condemn Iran's attack on Baha'i educators


NEW YORK, 10 October 2011, (BWNS) – More than 40 distinguished philosophers and theologians from 16 countries have joined the condemnation of Iran's policy to bar young Baha'is and others from higher education.

In an unprecedented global initiative, the 43 prominent academics – of Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim backgrounds – have signed an open letter, published in The Daily Telegraph (UK), and reported in the Folha de São Paulo (Brazil),

Read the open letter here: http://news.bahai.org/sites/news.bahai.org/files/documentlibrary/857_philosophers_letter_en.pdf

Read the Daily Telegraph article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8816662/Religious-academics-denounce-persecution-against-Irans-Bahai-minority.html

The letter condemns in particular recent attacks by the Iranian authorities on an informal educational initiative of the Baha'i community – known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – in which Baha'i professors, debarred by the Iranian government from practicing their professions, voluntarily offer their services to teach young community members who are banned from higher education.

Seven Baha'is associated with BIHE recently made their first court appearances after being imprisoned for four months. They were detained after a series of raids on 22 May, in which 39 homes associated with BIHE were targeted. The Institute's activities have since been declared "illegal."

"As philosophers, theologians, and scholars of religion, living throughout the world, we are raising our voices in protest against the recent attack by Iranian authorities on the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education," the open letter states.

"To acquire knowledge and learning is the sacred and legal right of all; indeed, the state is obliged to provide it. In Iran, the government has done the opposite..."

"Attacks such as these, against the rights of citizens to organize and be educated in freedom, can no longer be tolerated. We call upon the Iranian government not only to cease its persecution of Baha'is, but to provide, and promote, education for all."

Among the most celebrated academics backing the call is Dr. Charles Taylor, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at McGill University, Canada. He signed the letter, he said, out of his deep sense of "conviction that there ought to be 'no compulsion' in religion."

It is also "connected to my disquiet about the Iranian revolution," said Professor Taylor, "and the way its finer ideals have been hijacked by people who are abusing their faith in order to make it serve as a tool of mobilization against the 'enemy.'"

Another prominent figure to add his name to the list is Hilary Putnam, Cogan University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Harvard, U.S.A.

"Ever since the American and French revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century, the aspiration of peoples of different ethnicities, nationalities, and creeds for their fundamental human rights, including the right to worship as one's conscience dictates and the right to education, have gained momentum," said Professor Putnam.

"The persecution of the Baha'i university students in Iran is a shameful attempt to turn the clock back to the dark ages. Their cause deserves the support of enlightened and moral people everywhere."





OPEN LETTER
As philosophers, theologians, and scholars of religion, living throughout the world,
we are raising our voices in protest against the recent attack by Iranian authorities on the
Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE).
As people of faith, we affirm that human beings are fundamentally spiritual in
nature, created with the innate capacity to know God and investigate truth for
themselves. To acquire knowledge and learning is the sacred and legal right of all; indeed,
the state is obliged to provide it.  In Iran, the government has done the opposite. Among the
numerous violations of the human rights of Bahá’ís, their access to higher education is
systematically blocked for no other reason than their beliefs.  In order to cater to the needs
of their youth, Iranian Bahá’ís developed the BIHE – their own, informal, community
education initiative. On 22 May, 39 homes associated with the BIHE were raided. The
Institute’s activities have since been declared “illegal.” Nine educators remain incarcerated.
Attacks such as these, against the rights of citizens to organize and be educated in
freedom, can no longer be tolerated. We call upon the Iranian government not only to cease
its persecution of Bahá’ís, but to provide, and promote, education for all.
Signed by:
Charles Taylor               Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, McGill University, Canada
Hilary Putnam         Cogan University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Harvard University, U.S.A.
Cornel West   Class of 1943 University Professor of African American Studies, Princeton
University, U.S.A.
Leonardo Boff Professor Emeritus of Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and Ecology, Rio de
Janeiro State University, Brazil
Stanley Hauerwas    Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke University, U.S.A.
Ebrahim Moosa    Professor of Religion & Islamic Studies, Duke University, U.S.A.
Graham Ward    Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford University, U.K.
John Milbank    Professor in Religion, Politics and Ethics, University of Nottingham, U.K.
Rabbi David Novak J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies, Professor of Philosophy,
University of Toronto, Canada
Tahir Mahmood Chairman, Amity University Institute of Advanced Legal Studies; former
member, National Minorities Commission and former member, Law Commission
of India.
Moshe Idel Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Abdulkader Tayob Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa
William Desmond   Full Professor of Philosophy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; Adjunct
Honorary Professor of Philosophy, National University of Ireland Maynooth,
Ireland
Xinjian Shang Professor of Philosophy, Peking University, China
Kevin Hart   Edwin B Kyle, Prof of Christian Studies and Chair of Religious Studies,
University of Virginia, U.S.A.; Professor Of Philosophy, Australia Catholic
University, Australia
Murray Rae Professor of Theology and Head of the Department of Theology and Religion,
University of Otago, New Zealand
Asghar Ali Engineer Founding Chairman of Asian Muslim Action Network; Head of Center for Study
of  Society and Secularism, Mumbai, India
Remi Brague   Chair of the Study of Religion, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,
Germany
A. Rashied Omar   Research Scholar of Islamic Studies and Peacebuilding, University of Notre
Dame, U.S.A.; Imam at Claremont Main Road Mosque, Cape Town, South AfricaJoshua Cho President and Professor of Christian Thought, Hong Kong Baptist Theological
Seminary, Hong Kong.
Douglas Pratt   Professor of Religious Studies, Waikato University, New Zealand
Ashok Vohra Professor of Philosophy, Delhi University, India; Indian Council of Philosophical
Research.
Carver Yu President and Professor of Christian Thought, China Graduate School of
Theology, Hong Kong
Laurie Zoloth   Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, Professor of Religious Studies,
Northwestern University, U.S.A.
Pilgrim W.K. LO Professor of Systematic Theology, Chairman of Institute for Luther Studies in the
Asian Context, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Hong Kong
Philip Goodchild   Professor of Religion and Philosophy, University of Nottingham, U.K.
Paul Morris Professor of Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
James E. Faulconer   Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, Brigham Young University,
U.S.A.
Rod Benson   Ethicist and Public Theologian, Tinsley Institute, Morling College, Australia
Hassan Mwakimako Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Pwani University College, Kenya
Yunus Dumbe Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Islamic University College, Ghana
Joseph Cohen    University Lecturer in Philosophy, University College Dublin, Ireland
Adam Miller    Professor of Philosophy, Collin College, Texas, U.S.A.
Elaine Wainwright Professor of Theology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Raphael Zagury-Orly  Head of the MFA Program, Bezalel School of Design and Fine Arts, Israel
Felix Ó Murchadha Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, National University of Ireland Galway, Ir eland
Na’eem Jeenah Associate Lecturer of Political Studies, University of the Witwatersrand;
Coordinator of Masjidul Islam in Johannesburg, South Africa
Kathleen Flake   Associate Professor of American Religious History, Vanderbilt Divinity School,
U.S.A.
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen   Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature, American Jewish University, U.S.A.
Jeffrey Bloechel    Associate Professor of Philosophy, Boston College, U.S.A.
William Hackett           Research Fellow and Lecturer in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University,
Australia
Rabbi Akiba Lerner   Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, Santa Clara University, U.S.A.
Nathan Oman    Assistant Professor of Law, William and Mary School of Law, U.S.A