Article published Jun 5, 2009
The day will come when Iran's Baha'is are free to worship
By ROBERT H. STOCKMAN
This time Shirin Ebadi has her work cut out for her.
On April 23 the Nobel Prize winning attorney -- the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize -- told a packed audience at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center about her struggle to defend human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to various past cases, she mentioned two pending cases she had agreed to take: the unjust imprisonment of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and the arrest and imprisonment without trial of the seven informal leaders of Iran's 300,000 members of the Baha'i Faith.
Saberi has since been released, but the seven, known as the Yaran (friends) marked their first anniversary in prison. Their families have been told that, in addition to charges of spying for Israel and insulting the sacredness of Islam, they may be charged with spreading corruption on earth, a vague charge that can carry the death penalty.
Why the charges? The claim that Baha'is spy for Israel stems from the fact that the Baha'i world headquarters is in Israel, but that is a historical accident. The Iranian and Turkish leaders sent the founder of the faith, Baha'u'llah, to a prison city there in 1868, 80 years before there was an Israel. As for insulting Islam, Baha'is highly respect Islam and Muhammad, but Baha'u'llah claimed to be a divine messenger after Muhammad. The claim is utterly unacceptable to many Muslims, and Iran's leaders consider any Iranian accepting it worthy of the death penalty.Yet Ebadi's efforts are not completely hopeless. The world's collective reaction to the arrest of the Yaran may be the reason their trial, scheduled for February, was postponed. Thirty years ago the persecution of Iran's Baha'is was met by a deafening silence from the vast majority of Iran's intellectuals, bureaucrats and human rights activists. No more; the conspiracy of silence has been broken, as anyone following Iranpresswatch.org and the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights (bahairights.org) will see. The Iranian government now finds itself in the awkward position of seriously damaging its reputation internationally or backing down on a major but secret priority: the destruction of Iran's Baha'i community.
Recently, Michiana welcomed its fourth Iranian Baha'i refugee family to the area. Local Catholics, Muslims, Baha'is and Protestants contributed furniture, showed them around and made them feel at home. Local residents are writing Congressman Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, and Indiana Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh to urge them to support House Resolution 175 and Senate Resolution 71, two Congressional resolutions condemning the persecution of Iran's Baha'is. If we keep the pressure on Iran, the day will come when Iran's Baha'is are free to worship in their homeland.
Robert H. Stockman, an instructor of religious studies at DePaul University, is a member of the South Bend Baha'i community and Baha'i representative to the United Religious Community.
The day will come when Iran's Baha'is are free to worship
By ROBERT H. STOCKMAN
This time Shirin Ebadi has her work cut out for her.
On April 23 the Nobel Prize winning attorney -- the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize -- told a packed audience at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center about her struggle to defend human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to various past cases, she mentioned two pending cases she had agreed to take: the unjust imprisonment of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and the arrest and imprisonment without trial of the seven informal leaders of Iran's 300,000 members of the Baha'i Faith.
Saberi has since been released, but the seven, known as the Yaran (friends) marked their first anniversary in prison. Their families have been told that, in addition to charges of spying for Israel and insulting the sacredness of Islam, they may be charged with spreading corruption on earth, a vague charge that can carry the death penalty.
Why the charges? The claim that Baha'is spy for Israel stems from the fact that the Baha'i world headquarters is in Israel, but that is a historical accident. The Iranian and Turkish leaders sent the founder of the faith, Baha'u'llah, to a prison city there in 1868, 80 years before there was an Israel. As for insulting Islam, Baha'is highly respect Islam and Muhammad, but Baha'u'llah claimed to be a divine messenger after Muhammad. The claim is utterly unacceptable to many Muslims, and Iran's leaders consider any Iranian accepting it worthy of the death penalty.Yet Ebadi's efforts are not completely hopeless. The world's collective reaction to the arrest of the Yaran may be the reason their trial, scheduled for February, was postponed. Thirty years ago the persecution of Iran's Baha'is was met by a deafening silence from the vast majority of Iran's intellectuals, bureaucrats and human rights activists. No more; the conspiracy of silence has been broken, as anyone following Iranpresswatch.org and the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights (bahairights.org) will see. The Iranian government now finds itself in the awkward position of seriously damaging its reputation internationally or backing down on a major but secret priority: the destruction of Iran's Baha'i community.
Recently, Michiana welcomed its fourth Iranian Baha'i refugee family to the area. Local Catholics, Muslims, Baha'is and Protestants contributed furniture, showed them around and made them feel at home. Local residents are writing Congressman Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, and Indiana Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh to urge them to support House Resolution 175 and Senate Resolution 71, two Congressional resolutions condemning the persecution of Iran's Baha'is. If we keep the pressure on Iran, the day will come when Iran's Baha'is are free to worship in their homeland.
Robert H. Stockman, an instructor of religious studies at DePaul University, is a member of the South Bend Baha'i community and Baha'i representative to the United Religious Community.
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