The True face of Iran

Professor Ehsan YARSHATER  [and Roxana SABERI, journalist].

 

 

"The True Face of Iran"

By  Nassrine AZIMI

 

Published: September 27, 2013.

 

HIROSHIMA — Ehsan YARSHATER, for 50 years the face of Iran at Columbia University, was born in the ancient capital of Ekbatan, today’s Hamadan, at the foot of Mount Alvand in western Iran. Orphaned at a young age but brilliant and thirsting for knowledge, Yarshater grew up to become one of the foremost scholars of the Persian language.

 

His contributions to the field of Iranian studies are impressive, but it is to his life’s work — the monumental "Encyclopaedia Iranica" — that Yarshater has dedicated the most of his erudition. As general editor and the heart and soul of a massive project involving over 1,300 international scholars, he has kept the work alive against all odds for more than four decades. In an interview, the 93-year-old scholar was once asked whether he missed his homeland. He responded that his every waking hour was spent studying the real Iran, so how could he ever miss it ?

 

As President Hassan ROUHANI attends the U.N. General Assembly opening in New York — to present, as he has announced, the “true face of Iran” at meetings, events and interviews — one must hope he will aptly convey the diversity of the land and its peoples, including the close to four million worldwide who form the Iranian diaspora.

I am one of those millions. Many of us have not returned to the land of our birth since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

We are Zoroastrian, Jewish and Armenian, Muslim, Bahai and agnostic. We have embraced new citizenships — becoming American (a majority) and Canadian, Swiss and Swede, Italian and Australian, Turk and Malaysian. We form one of the world’s best-educated and better-integrated diaspora. Diversity is part and parcel of our lives — on a global scale. Families like mine, which includes Norwegian public servants, Swedish physicians, British teachers, and American business owners and engineers — are quite the norm.

Most of us have also experienced the bitterness of exile and separation, and anxiety for our loved ones in Iran. We have dealt with foreign ignorance, fear or pity, at times hung our head in despair watching Iran’s rulers trample basic human rights, and cringed throughout the eight years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s miserable presidency.

And it has always been clear to us, too, that the ills afflicting our ancient homeland went beyond it. The region that was once the cradle of civilization has been absent from the great march of humanity in recent decades — absent in scientific innovations, in literary and artistic achievements, in space discovery, in medical breakthroughs, in the realm of competitive sports or industrial patents. It has too few Nobel Prize winners, and too few foreign students competing for its universities.

From Iraq to Libya, from Syria to Afghanistan, from Egypt to Pakistan — too many nations in our region have paid dearly for their rejection of diversity and of intellectual discord, of the equating of identity with mere religion. Too many of our leaders have been self-anointed or incompetent tyrants who mismanaged our economies. Even when and where oil has brought great wealth, it has been for just a few, and has come with conflict and corruption.

When I travel around Japan I frequently hear the question, “Where are you from?” When I say I was born in Iran, people look vague. Few have ever been there. Yet the moment I mention my Swiss background, studies or citizenship, people are suddenly talkative: “Ah, Switzerland — so peaceful — my daughter just visited ... ”.

 

Why is it so hard to imagine hearing someone someday exclaiming: “Ah, Baghdad! Ah, Tehran! Aleppo! Kabul! Lahore! Damascus! Such ancient gems, so beautiful, so peaceful ... ”

Iraq, where in 2003 all of the American-led delusion and Middle Eastern collusion came to a head, is in its broken, violent state today a reminder of where so much small-mindedness can lead to: Shiite fighting Sunni; neighborhood fighting neighborhood. And what to do, but helplessly watch the suffering and the disintegration of Syria?

In 2005, Ghanim al-Jumaily, the Iraqi ambassador to Japan and now its envoy to Saudi Arabia, attended a conference on governance and reconstruction that my office had organized in Hiroshima. An elegant man and accomplished scientist, with patents in the field of optical communications, he said that Iraq’s salvation could come from seeking commonalities, embracing its vast, long civilization in its fullness, instead of focusing on the smaller print — its religious differences. The ambassador’s insights ring ever more true today.

Walking the corridors of the United Nations in New York, Rouhani may pause in front of the glass container where a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder is being shown. A small clay tablet engraved in the 6th century B.C., it talks of tolerance, respect and diversity. The original is now touring the United States, on loan from the British Museum. The Persian Empire’s great King Cyrus already knew that inclusiveness, compromise and pragmatism bond nations and assure loyalties far better than brute force and ideology.

Rouhani’s statements suggest that he understands the stakes. Iran’s destiny is tied to whole Middle East: Either there will be shared prosperity, or no prosperity. He represents the majority view — in Iran and elsewhere. We can but hope that he will be able to convince the zealots in Tehran and Jerusalem, Riyadh and Washington, of the justness and the urgency of his cause.

 

Nassrine AZIMI is a senior adviser at the "United Nations Institute for Training and Research" ("Unitar") in Hiroshima.

 

 

 

BAHA’IS AND THE EIGHT-YEAR WAR: Sharing the suffering, denied the celebration Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:40 PM PDT [Persian BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/persian, 25 Sep 2013] Sepehr Atefi Journalist 3 Mehr 1392 (25 September 2013)  31 Shahrivar 1359 (22 September 1980) was the beginning of a bitter chapter in Iran’s history; a chapter that lasted eight years. The suffering and loss caused by the eight-year Iran-Iraq war continues to be felt, 20 years after the end of the war, and for some, may continue for years to come. In all these years, there have been wide-ranging accounts of the victims, the martyrs, and the leaders and commanders. But amid the clamor of the Islamic Republic’s official media, always sanctifying the war and its martyrs, we notice the inexplicable absence of any mention of the members of religious minorities ̶ who also fought and were killed or taken prisoner ̶ in any documentary, TV series, movie or book. As one example, since the Revolution Baha’is in Iran have been constantly subjected to discrimination and persecution on a daily basis. Observing the events of the last 34 years, it is clear that whenever the regime found itself facing internal or external crises the pressure on Baha’is increased considerably. Status of Baha’is during the war During the initial years of the revolution, before conflicts among the various revolutionary factions emerged, Baha’is were persecuted under various pretexts. For instance, on 30 Mordad 1359 (21 August 1980), one month before the outbreak of war, members of the administrative body of the Baha’i community were kidnapped, and then disappeared without a trace. According to Fereydoun Vahman, author of “160 Years of Persecution of the Baha’is of Iran”*, “The eight-year war was a golden opportunity for opponents of the Baha’i Faith to continue the persecution and execution of Baha’is which had started at the beginning of the revolution. During this period, any criminal activity – let alone persecuting Baha’is – could be justified as fighting Saddam. During the war years no authority was held accountable for the suffering and injustices perpetrated on Baha’i citizens.” Regarding the number of Baha’is killed during the eight years of the war, and the lack of accurate statistics on the number of Baha’i casualties and prisoners of war, he adds: “During the presidency of Abolhassan Banisadr, 56 Baha’is were jailed; during the one-month presidency of Mohammad Ali Rejai and prime minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar, 12; during the one month that Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani served as prime minister, 5; and during the presidency of Ayatollah Khamenei and prime minister Mir Hossein Moussavi, 119 were jailed, subjected to the most heinous torture and executed. Yet, so far, no government authority has been answerable for this injustice and tyranny.” In addition to being persecuted and executed, during this period Baha’is were also expelled from government and academic jobs; Baha’i weddings were decreed illegal and Baha’i children were considered illegitimate by the legal system. Baha’is and War “Taking up arms is against our faith.” By voicing their beliefs Baha’i soldiers hoped to serve in administrative or non-military capacities. That is what Gholamreza Alai, a Baha’i citizen, requested of his commanding officer. His brother, Zeinalabedin Alai, recalls what he told his family: “It is true that we’re against war, but maybe if they learn that I am a Baha’i they will not send me to the front line.” Mr. Alai adds: “But the opposite happened. When they found out that he was a Baha’i, they told him he had to go to the front.” Four months after being sent to the front lines and shortly after he turned 20, he was hit and killed by a grenade. The reaction was not always negative. Bahman, who enlisted in the army in Tir 1365 (June 1986) and spent 25 of his 28-month stint in the war zone says: “Generally speaking, I must say I was treated well. They agreed to let me serve where I requested to go. But reactions were not the same everywhere.” Baha’i POWs, anxiety and lack of communication Jamshid decided to enlist when he was 19. Six months later, on 17 Shahrivar 1359 (8 September 1980), having been recently assigned to the Khan Leili station on the Iran-Iraq border, and a few days before the actual beginning of the war, he was taken prisoner during an incursion by Iraqi forces. He was released 10 years later, at the end of the war. Jamshid says: “On my enlistment form I had indicated that I was a Baha’i. But after being captured no one – including the Iraqi army – was interested in my religion.” He continues, “For 10 years I had no information on the situation in Iran. Our letters to our families would take a year to reach them and were censored by both the Iranians and Iraqis.” He points out that after the arrival of the new prisoners the atmosphere in the dormitory became pro Hezbollah and pro-clergy. “Each dormitory held 70-100 prisoners and each of us had approximately a 40-cm-square area to ourselves. Two prisoners who were encouraged by the Hezbollah group to escape were caught under the barbed wire fence. After that the conditions became much harder for the rest of the prisoners. Two sets of large windows on either side were closed up so that we could not tell day from night. They reopened one of them after a year or two. These were hardships caused by some of the Iranians. No one dared confront them; if someone had done so, no one in the prison would ever have spoken with them again.” These adverse conditions were of course shared by all the prisoners, but for Jamshid “being a Baha’i” was the cause of greater discrimination. How did Baha’i and other non-Muslim prisoners cope under these conditions? “No one knew me there. I tried to stay neutral. I neither associated with the Hezbollah group nor befriended the Iraqi prison guards and soldiers. I was afraid – of the Iranians as well as the Iraqis. I conducted my daily devotions secretly. During Friday prayers I would stand in the back row and recite my prayers. Sometimes, when I was assigned to clean the dormitory, I would sit in a corner by myself and say my prayers after everyone had left.” Discrimination, prisoners and unrecognized martyrs Zeinalabedin Alai states that after his brother was killed, Bonyad Shahid (Martyr’s Foundation) archived his file and the person in charge called Baha’is perverted and a deviant cult (fergheh zalleh). “They said they archived his file because they were not certain that he was martyred and that he may have committed suicide. I told them that they should show some compassion and sympathy instead of treating us this way. I said that if we are perverse, you should show us the right path. After a lengthy discussion they apologized and told me they would do what they could to assist us.” Mr. Alai adds that their situation was not similar to those who had lost a child or a spouse; nonetheless he and his family did everything in their power to claim their rights. “In court, after my numerous appeals, the judge said he regretted the turn of events and showed me a letter stamped “confidential” which stated that they must refrain from providing written replies to the members of the “deviant Baha’i cult”, as any written document would legitimize their existence.” He continued, “Since the Martyr’s Foundation had archived the file and would not respond to our inquiries, we appealed through Army channels.” The Army kept inquiring about the status of these individuals. The latest ruling they received from the Leader [Ayatollah Khomeini} was that the pensions of Baha’is killed in action should be paid.” Mr. Alai says that his mother’s pension was reinstated after ten years of appeals. Jamshid also states: “We were under the jurisdiction of the Azadegan Regiment. Their form included a section for religion. I put Baha’i as my religion. Our commander was an unbiased man. He said Central Command had announced that all non-Muslim applicants should be removed from the list and their files closed, but since he had not received anything in writing, he would disregard it.” He adds that the support gradually diminished. Later, he was told that if he put down Muslim as his religion he could go straight to university and could get a government job. Jamshid says, “Generally, those who adhered to the regime’s policies were taken care of but those who didn’t suffered many injustices and discrimination.” Of course, discrimination toward the survivors of the martyrs and prisoners of war was not limited to Baha’is alone. All other groups who were forced to fight, or those who did not consider the war to be “a war between right and wrong”, as Ayatollah Khomeini put it, were sacrificed during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. — Translation by Iran Press Watch Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2013/09/130924_l44_iran_iraq_war_bahai.shtml * Available (in Persian) here: http://www.bahaibookstore.com/productdetails.cfm?sku=P160YR#.UkT2vH_gxMg

This photo was taken on Naw Ruz of this year at Rajai Shahr Prison in Iran, where many Iranian Baha'i prisoners live. Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani is in this photo, as is another of the Yaran. A friend and fellow community member has a brother in this prison (he worked at BIHE). She flies to Iran to visit him. She told us at Feast about the daily life of the prisoners in this photo. What was remarkable to me regarding her comments was how she explained the prisoners activities. Both Baha'is and Muslims have worked together consistently to improve prison conditions, have taken over cooking for the entire ward (because the food was so bad), have initiated lending libraries and not surprisingly, are giving instructional courses to other inmates. They have earned real respect from their wardens. Another friend who is an activist for Iranian minority rights made the comment that some of most progressive minds in presnet day Iran are looking out at us from this photo. Not everyone in the photo is Baha'i, but all shown are being held as prisoners of conscience.

— with Saeid Rezaie and Jamaloddin Khanjani.

: "بوسه برپای یک "بهایی" کوچک! "

محمد نوری زاد، روزنامه نگار و سینماگر ایرانی و از نویسندگان سابق روزنامه کیهان که پس از انتخابات ریاست‌جمهوری ۱۳۸۸

به صف منتقدان حکومت پیوست در مطلبی با عنوان «بوسه برپای یک بهایی کوچک» از ماجرای دیدارش با یک خانوادهٔ بهایی می‌نویسد.

به نقل از صفحه  "فیسبوک" محمد نوری زاد
متن کامل نوشته محمد نوری زاد

     امروزبه دیدن یک خانواده ی کوچک بهایی رفتم. کوچک ازآن روی که: ازخانواده، یک مادربزرگ مانده است ویک نوه ی چهارساله:  "آرتین" یعنی همان پسرک چهارساله ی بهایی را نشاندم بریک صندلی، وازجانب همه ی گردنفرازان شیعه، ازاو پوزش خواستم وبرپاهای کوچکش بوسه زدم. چشم درچشم او دوختم وبا التماسی آمیخته به درد، ازاو خواستم که اگرمی تواند به روی منِ شیعه آب دهان بیندازد وبه صورتم سیلی بزند.
     درآن خانه ی کوچک، گرچه جای پدرومادرآرتین خالی بود، اما جای رهبرومراجع صاحب نام ومسئولین روحانی وغیرروحانی ما خالی تربود. ومن، بجای همه ی آنانی که درآنجا نبودند، ازآرتین پوزشخواهی کردم. به وی گفتم: آرتین عزیز، نگران مباش، اگرپدرومادرت بی دلیل وهمزمان درزندان اند، رهبر شیعیان ایران که نه، رهبرمسلمین جهان اما هست. او خود شخصاً به تأسی ازعلیِ مرتضی تو را سرپرستی می کند وحق تورا ازحلقوم قانونی که دراین ملک به طنزگراییده بیرون می کشد وبرکات آن را برسرتومی بارد. اگراین روزها پدرومادرت بی دلیل درزندان اند، مراجع صاحب نام وپرآوازه ی ما هستند وبه تونشان خواهند داد که: درقاموس الهی، مردمان را بخاطرعقایدشان ازهستی ساقط نمی کنند. وبه توخواهند فهماند: بفرض اگرپدرومادرت مقصرند، تورا دراین میان هیچ گناه وتقصیری نیست.
     امروز بدلیل کسالت وبیماری، روزه نبودم. آرتین که برایم آب آورد، گرفتم ونوشیدم. وبعد که میوه آورد، گرفتم وتناول کردم. تا نشان او بدهم: خوردنی های یک بهایی، اگرازخوردنی های یک مرجع تقلید شیعه ی دوازده امامی پاکیزه ترنباشد، حتماً دست کمی ازپاکیِ آن ندارد. وبهایی کوچک، با حیرت به دهان من می نگریست. که: مگرمی شود یک مسلمان شیعه ازخوردنی های خانه ی یک بهایی تناول کند؟
     به آرتین گفتم: پسرکم، من ازطرف آنانی که دراین سالهای اسلامی، برتوو برهمه ی همکیشان توجفا باریده اند، ازتو پوزش می خواهم. به اوگفتم: وقتی پاپ، رهبرکاتولیک های جهان خم می شود وپاهای یک دخترکِ بزهکارمسلمان را می شوید وبرآن بوسه می زند، من چرا به نمایندگی ازدم ودستگاه عریض وطویل رهبرمسلمین جهان ومراجعِ پشت به پشت شیعه برپاهای کوچک وبهشتیِ توبوسه نزنم؟
     آرتین کوچک، یکشنبه به یکشنبه به ملاقات می رود. یکباربه کرج برای ملاقات پدروعمویش، ویکباربه زندان اوین برای ملاقات مادرش. پدرومادرآرتین، جزاین که بهایی اند، هیچ خطایی مرتکب نشده اند. پس جرمشان چیست؟ جرمشان تدریسِ درسهای دانشگاهی به جوانان بهایی است. تدریس به جوانانی که به حکم دستگاههای اسلامی ما ازتحصیل محرومند.
     امروزچشمان معصوم آرتین ازمن پرسیدند: آهای ای محمد نوری زاد، آهای ای شیعه ی اثنی عشری که غیرخودت همه را جهنمی می دانی، مگرنه این که پیامبرشما فرموده: زگهواره تا گوردانش بجوی؟ ومگرنه این که پدرومادرمن به همین سخن پیامبرتان عمل می کردند؟ ومگرنه این که دراین خانه وآن خانه به جوانان محروم ازتحصیلِ بهایی فیزیک وشیمی وروانشناسی درس می دادند؟ پس چرا اکنون باید آنان درزندانِ شما باشند ومرا مادربزرگم پرستاری ونگهداری کند ؟
     آرتین، این بهایی کوچک، عکس پدربزرگش را نشان من داد. پدربزرگی که سالها پیش به حکم دستگاههای اسلامیِ ما واحتمالاً بجرم جاسوسی اعدام شده است. کجایند صاحب نامان شیعه ی دوازده امامیِ ما تا عدل را درمقیاس علوی اش تماشا کنند و ازتناول یک لذتِ مستمردرپوست نگنجند؟ خانه ی کوچک که می گویم یعنی همین! مادربزرگی با نوه اش. ومابقی؟ یا اعدام یا زندان.
     امروزدرآن خانه ی کوچک، احساس کردم ازرهبرمسلمین جهان به خدا نزدیکترم. ازهمه ی مراجع شیعه فهیم تروبا تقوا ترم. ازآقایان روحانی وخاتمی وهاشمی رفسنجانی وهمه نمایندگان مجلس برترم. چرا؟ چون اطمینان دارم همه ی اینان دردل آرزومی کنند ایکاش جای من بودند. وشهامت این را داشتند که آشکارا وبی واهمه از شماتتِ خشک مغزانِ دینی، درآن خانه ی کوچک می بودند. اما چه جای درد که ترسی پنهانی، همه ی غیرت مندی اینان را بخاک آغشته. ترس ازبی آبرویی. که مثلاً: ای امان، رهبرمسلمین جهان راببین که به خانه ی یک بهایی رفته! رییس جمهورمنتخب را ببین که ازحقوق تباه شده ی بهاییان می گوید! نمایندگان مجلس را ببین که برای دلجویی ازآرتین این بهایی کوچک، وبرای استجابتِ دعاهای خود دست به پاهای بهشتیِ او می سایند.
     امروز ازاین که گرایشی به هیچ تشکیلات وبه هیچ حزب ودسته ای ندارم، وتوانستم بی واهمه به دیدن این خانواده ی کوچک بهایی بروم خدای را سپاس گفتم. معتقدم: حزب وتشکیلات ونمایندگانی که نتوانند درامتداد حقوق تباه شده، واستیفای حقوق شهروندی آرتین این بهایی کوچک گریبان چاک زنند، به آفتابه داریِ آبریزگاه های مسجد شاه اصفهان شایسته ترند. 
           محمد نوری زاد           بیست وچهارم تیرماه سال نود ودو – تهران

صد نامه تا آزادی

"صد نامه تا آزادی"  تلاش می‌کند ظلم و ستم وارده بر بهائیان ایران را بازگو کند

http://tavaana.org/fa/node/3431

English text about the same subject on
"Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty" :

http://www.rferl.mobi/a/25048285.html

Following Pope's Example, Iranian Dissident Kisses Feet of Baha'i Boy

July 16, 2013

Iranian dissident Mohammad NOURIZAD has blogged about kissing the feet of
a 4-year-old Baha'i boy whose parents are in jail because of their faith.

On July 15, Mohammad NOURIZAD, a former hard-line conservative columnist turned dissident, kissed the feet of a 4-year-old Baha'i boy named Artin.

Nourizad posted a photo of the scene on his blog along with an account of the meeting. "I told Artin: 'My little boy, I apologize to you on behalf of all of those who, in these Islamic years, have made you and your [Baha'i] fellows face injustice.' "

Nourizad, who has previously been accused by some of political exhibitionism, suggested that by kissing the boy's feet, he was following the example of Pope Francis, who earlier this year kissed the feet of a young female Muslim prisoner.

"When the pope, the leader of the world's Catholics, bends, washes, and kisses the feet of a Muslim criminal, why shouldn't I kiss your feet as a representative of the office of [Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the [many] Shi'ite sources of emulation?" he wrote.

Artin, whose parents are in jail because of their faith, is being cared for by his grandmother. NOURIZAD wrote that Artin's grandfather was executed several years ago "most likely" on spying charges.

Baha'is comprise Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority and face persecution and discrimination. Their faith is not officially recognized by the regime.

Some Muslims consider Baha'is heretics because the religion's founder, Bahaullah, declared himself a prophet of God. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad is "the end of prophesy."

In recent years, state pressure on Baha'is has reportedly increased. Artin's parents are among many who have been sentenced to prison for teaching Baha'i students at underground universities. Baha'is are banned from access to higher education in Iran. 

The pressure on adherents of the religion comes amid attempts by hard-line Iranian clerics and media to demonize the country's 300,000 Baha'is.

The Baha'i International Community issued a report in 2011 documenting reports in Iranian media in which the Baha'i faith was branded "deviant," a "misguided cult," and its followers "Satanists."

On his blog, NOURIZAD wrote: "Little Artin meets [his parents] every Sunday. He goes to Karaj [prison] to meet his father and uncle and to Evin prison to meet his mother. Artin's parents have not committed any crime, except that they're Baha'i."

Nourizad's visit is just the latest act of dissent among several that he has committed against the Iranian establishment and Khamenei, whom he once cherished.

He has written more than a dozen open letters to Khamenei accusing him of mistreating Iranians and isolating the nation on the international stage.

Nourizad was jailed in 2009 after criticizing that year's brutal state crackdown on protesters challenging the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who leaves office next month.

-- Golnaz ESFANDIARI

 Aujourd’hui, je suis allé rendre visite à une petite famille bahà’ie : en effet, de cette famille, il ne reste qu’une grand-mère et son petit-fils, un petit garçon de 4 ans appelé « Artïn ». Les autres membres de la famille ont été exécutés ou sont en prison !

            J’ai fait asseoir ce petit garçon sur une chaise et j’ai embrassé ses petits pieds et, de la part des Musulmans chiites, je lui ai demandé Pardon !

            En effet, son grand-père a été exécuté [par le régime islamique d’Iran], son père, sa mère et son oncle sont actuellement en prison sans raisons [uniquement] à cause de leur appartenance à la Foi Bahá'ie]… Les lois divines ne demandent pas que l’on emprisonne quelqu’un à cause de son opinion !

            Artïn m’a apporté de l’eau et des fruits que j’ai mangés pour lui montrer que, pour moi [malgré l’anathème lancé par les autorités religieuses], un aliment touché par les Bahá'is n’est pas « impurs » (nadjès), ce qui a beaucoup étonné ce petit garçon !

            Le petit Artïn va une semaine à la prison de la ville de Karadj afin de rendre visite à son père et à son oncle, une autre semaine il va voir sa mère qui est derrière les barreaux de la [tristement célèbre] prison d’Évïn à Téhéran. Ses parents, à part le fait d’être Bahá'is, n’ont commis aucun délit. Alors pourquoi sont-ils emprisonnés ?  Leur ‘‘crime’’ est d’avoir donné un enseignement universitaire [dans des domiciles privés] aux jeunes Bahá'is iraniens que la République Islamique d’Iran interdit d’entrer à l’Université.

            J’ai dit à Artïn, en le regardant droit dans les yeux et, avec une supplication teintée de douleur :  « Mon petit garçon, de la part de tous ceux qui, durant cette période islamique, vous ont persécutés, je demande, à toi et à tes coreligionnaires, de nous excuser et dans ce but, me considérant comme le représentant des Musulmans et des Chiites, j’embrasse tes petits pieds angéliques… »

 

            Aujourd’hui, je suis allé rendre visite à une petite famille bahà’ie : en effet, de cette famille, il ne reste qu’une grand-mère et son petit-fils, un petit garçon de 4 ans appelé « Artïn ». Les autres membres de la famille ont été exécutés ou sont en prison !

            J’ai fait asseoir ce petit garçon sur une chaise et j’ai embrassé ses petits pieds et, de la part des Musulmans chiites, je lui ai demandé Pardon !

            En effet, son grand-père a été exécuté [par le régime islamique d’Iran], son père, sa mère et son oncle sont actuellement en prison sans raisons [uniquement] à cause de leur appartenance à la Foi Bahá'ie]… Les lois divines ne demandent pas que l’on emprisonne quelqu’un à cause de son opinion !

            Artïn m’a apporté de l’eau et des fruits que j’ai mangés pour lui montrer que, pour moi [malgré l’anathème lancé par les autorités religieuses], un aliment touché par les Bahá'is n’est pas « impurs » (nadjès), ce qui a beaucoup étonné ce petit garçon !

            Le petit Artïn va une semaine à la prison de la ville de Karadj afin de rendre visite à son père et à son oncle, une autre semaine il va voir sa mère qui est derrière les barreaux de la [tristement célèbre] prison d’Évïn à Téhéran. Ses parents, à part le fait d’être Bahá'is, n’ont commis aucun délit. Alors pourquoi sont-ils emprisonnés ?  Leur ‘‘crime’’ est d’avoir donné un enseignement universitaire [dans des domiciles privés] aux jeunes Bahá'is iraniens que la République Islamique d’Iran interdit d’entrer à l’Université.

            J’ai dit à Artïn, en le regardant droit dans les yeux et, avec une supplication teintée de douleur :  « Mon petit garçon, de la part de tous ceux qui, durant cette période islamique, vous ont persécutés, je demande, à toi et à tes coreligionnaires, de nous excuser et dans ce but, me considérant comme le représentant des Musulmans et des Chiites, j’embrasse tes petits pieds angéliques… »

محمد نوری زاد  به دیدن آرتین چهار ساله رفت

: "بوسه برپای یک "بهایی" کوچک! "

محمد نوری زاد، روزنامه نگار و سینماگر ایرانی و از نویسندگان سابق روزنامه کیهان که پس از انتخابات ریاست‌جمهوری ۱۳۸۸

به صف منتقدان حکومت پیوست در مطلبی با عنوان «بوسه برپای یک بهایی کوچک» از ماجرای دیدارش با یک خانوادهٔ بهایی می‌نویسد.

به نقل از صفحه  "فیسبوک" محمد نوری زاد
متن کامل نوشته محمد نوری زاد

     امروزبه دیدن یک خانواده ی کوچک بهایی رفتم. کوچک ازآن روی که: ازخانواده، یک مادربزرگ مانده است ویک نوه ی چهارساله:  "آرتین" یعنی همان پسرک چهارساله ی بهایی را نشاندم بریک صندلی، وازجانب همه ی گردنفرازان شیعه، ازاو پوزش خواستم وبرپاهای کوچکش بوسه زدم. چشم درچشم او دوختم وبا التماسی آمیخته به درد، ازاو خواستم که اگرمی تواند به روی منِ شیعه آب دهان بیندازد وبه صورتم سیلی بزند.     درآن خانه ی کوچک، گرچه جای پدرومادرآرتین خالی بود، اما جای رهبرومراجع صاحب نام ومسئولین روحانی وغیرروحانی ما خالی تربود. ومن، بجای همه ی آنانی که درآنجا نبودند، ازآرتین پوزشخواهی کردم. به وی گفتم: آرتین عزیز، نگران مباش، اگرپدرومادرت بی دلیل وهمزمان درزندان اند، رهبر شیعیان ایران که نه، رهبرمسلمین جهان اما هست. او خود شخصاً به تأسی ازعلیِ مرتضی تو را سرپرستی می کند وحق تورا ازحلقوم قانونی که دراین ملک به طنزگراییده بیرون می کشد وبرکات آن را برسرتومی بارد. اگراین روزها پدرومادرت بی دلیل درزندان اند، مراجع صاحب نام وپرآوازه ی ما هستند وبه تونشان خواهند داد که: درقاموس الهی، مردمان را بخاطرعقایدشان ازهستی ساقط نمی کنند. وبه توخواهند فهماند: بفرض اگرپدرومادرت مقصرند، تورا دراین میان هیچ گناه وتقصیری نیست.     امروز بدلیل کسالت وبیماری، روزه نبودم. آرتین که برایم آب آورد، گرفتم ونوشیدم. وبعد که میوه آورد، گرفتم وتناول کردم. تا نشان او بدهم: خوردنی های یک بهایی، اگرازخوردنی های یک مرجع تقلید شیعه ی دوازده امامی پاکیزه ترنباشد، حتماً دست کمی ازپاکیِ آن ندارد. وبهایی کوچک، با حیرت به دهان من می نگریست. که: مگرمی شود یک مسلمان شیعه ازخوردنی های خانه ی یک بهایی تناول کند؟     به آرتین گفتم: پسرکم، من ازطرف آنانی که دراین سالهای اسلامی، برتوو برهمه ی همکیشان توجفا باریده اند، ازتو پوزش می خواهم. به اوگفتم: وقتی پاپ، رهبرکاتولیک های جهان خم می شود وپاهای یک دخترکِ بزهکارمسلمان را می شوید وبرآن بوسه می زند، من چرا به نمایندگی ازدم ودستگاه عریض وطویل رهبرمسلمین جهان ومراجعِ پشت به پشت شیعه برپاهای کوچک وبهشتیِ توبوسه نزنم؟     آرتین کوچک، یکشنبه به یکشنبه به ملاقات می رود. یکباربه کرج برای ملاقات پدروعمویش، ویکباربه زندان اوین برای ملاقات مادرش. پدرومادرآرتین، جزاین که بهایی اند، هیچ خطایی مرتکب نشده اند. پس جرمشان چیست؟ جرمشان تدریسِ درسهای دانشگاهی به جوانان بهایی است. تدریس به جوانانی که به حکم دستگاههای اسلامی ما ازتحصیل محرومند.     امروزچشمان معصوم آرتین ازمن پرسیدند: آهای ای محمد نوری زاد، آهای ای شیعه ی اثنی عشری که غیرخودت همه را جهنمی می دانی، مگرنه این که پیامبرشما فرموده: زگهواره تا گوردانش بجوی؟ ومگرنه این که پدرومادرمن به همین سخن پیامبرتان عمل می کردند؟ ومگرنه این که دراین خانه وآن خانه به جوانان محروم ازتحصیلِ بهایی فیزیک وشیمی وروانشناسی درس می دادند؟ پس چرا اکنون باید آنان درزندانِ شما باشند ومرا مادربزرگم پرستاری ونگهداری کند ؟     آرتین، این بهایی کوچک، عکس پدربزرگش را نشان من داد. پدربزرگی که سالها پیش به حکم دستگاههای اسلامیِ ما واحتمالاً بجرم جاسوسی اعدام شده است. کجایند صاحب نامان شیعه ی دوازده امامیِ ما تا عدل را درمقیاس علوی اش تماشا کنند و ازتناول یک لذتِ مستمردرپوست نگنجند؟ خانه ی کوچک که می گویم یعنی همین! مادربزرگی با نوه اش. ومابقی؟ یا اعدام یا زندان.     امروزدرآن خانه ی کوچک، احساس کردم ازرهبرمسلمین جهان به خدا نزدیکترم. ازهمه ی مراجع شیعه فهیم تروبا تقوا ترم. ازآقایان روحانی وخاتمی وهاشمی رفسنجانی وهمه نمایندگان مجلس برترم. چرا؟ چون اطمینان دارم همه ی اینان دردل آرزومی کنند ایکاش جای من بودند. وشهامت این را داشتند که آشکارا وبی واهمه از شماتتِ خشک مغزانِ دینی، درآن خانه ی کوچک می بودند. اما چه جای درد که ترسی پنهانی، همه ی غیرت مندی اینان را بخاک آغشته. ترس ازبی آبرویی. که مثلاً: ای امان، رهبرمسلمین جهان راببین که به خانه ی یک بهایی رفته! رییس جمهورمنتخب را ببین که ازحقوق تباه شده ی بهاییان می گوید! نمایندگان مجلس را ببین که برای دلجویی ازآرتین این بهایی کوچک، وبرای استجابتِ دعاهای خود دست به پاهای بهشتیِ او می سایند.     امروز ازاین که گرایشی به هیچ تشکیلات وبه هیچ حزب ودسته ای ندارم، وتوانستم بی واهمه به دیدن این خانواده ی کوچک بهایی بروم خدای را سپاس گفتم. معتقدم: حزب وتشکیلات ونمایندگانی که نتوانند درامتداد حقوق تباه شده، واستیفای حقوق شهروندی آرتین این بهایی کوچک گریبان چاک زنند، به آفتابه داریِ آبریزگاه های مسجد شاه اصفهان شایسته ترند. 
           محمد نوری زاد           بیست وچهارم تیرماه سال نود ودو – تهران

صد نامه تا آزادی

"صد نامه تا آزادی"  تلاش می‌کند ظلم و ستم وارده بر بهائیان ایران را بازگو کند

http://tavaana.org/fa/node/3431

English text about the same subject on
"Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty" :

http://www.rferl.mobi/a/25048285.html

Following Pope's Example, Iranian Dissident Kisses Feet of Baha'i Boy

July 16, 2013

Iranian dissident Mohammad NOURIZAD has blogged about kissing the feet of
a 4-year-old Baha'i boy whose parents are in jail because of their faith.

On July 15, Mohammad NOURIZAD, a former hard-line conservative columnist turned dissident, kissed the feet of a 4-year-old Baha'i boy named Artin.

Nourizad posted a photo of the scene on his blog along with an account of the meeting. "I told Artin: 'My little boy, I apologize to you on behalf of all of those who, in these Islamic years, have made you and your [Baha'i] fellows face injustice.' "

Nourizad, who has previously been accused by some of political exhibitionism, suggested that by kissing the boy's feet, he was following the example of Pope Francis, who earlier this year kissed the feet of a young female Muslim prisoner.

"When the pope, the leader of the world's Catholics, bends, washes, and kisses the feet of a Muslim criminal, why shouldn't I kiss your feet as a representative of the office of [Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the [many] Shi'ite sources of emulation?" he wrote.

Artin, whose parents are in jail because of their faith, is being cared for by his grandmother. NOURIZAD wrote that Artin's grandfather was executed several years ago "most likely" on spying charges.

Baha'is comprise Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority and face persecution and discrimination. Their faith is not officially recognized by the regime.

Some Muslims consider Baha'is heretics because the religion's founder, Bahaullah, declared himself a prophet of God. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad is "the end of prophesy."

In recent years, state pressure on Baha'is has reportedly increased. Artin's parents are among many who have been sentenced to prison for teaching Baha'i students at underground universities. Baha'is are banned from access to higher education in Iran. 

The pressure on adherents of the religion comes amid attempts by hard-line Iranian clerics and media to demonize the country's 300,000 Baha'is.

The Baha'i International Community issued a report in 2011 documenting reports in Iranian media in which the Baha'i faith was branded "deviant," a "misguided cult," and its followers "Satanists."

On his blog, NOURIZAD wrote: "Little Artin meets [his parents] every Sunday. He goes to Karaj [prison] to meet his father and uncle and to Evin prison to meet his mother. Artin's parents have not committed any crime, except that they're Baha'i."

Nourizad's visit is just the latest act of dissent among several that he has committed against the Iranian establishment and Khamenei, whom he once cherished.

He has written more than a dozen open letters to Khamenei accusing him of mistreating Iranians and isolating the nation on the international stage.

Nourizad was jailed in 2009 after criticizing that year's brutal state crackdown on protesters challenging the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who leaves office next month.

-- Golnaz ESFANDIARI

summoned to appear in court in Tehran on March 12

Six Bahais associated with the Bahai Open University (BIHE) were summoned to appear in court in Tehran on March 12. Their names are given as Azita Rafi`zadeh, Peyman Kushkabaghi, Nazanin Niku-Sarasht, Nasim Baqeri, Talu` Golkar and Ahmad Golzadeh ( آزیتا رفیع‌زاده، پیمان کوشکباغی، نازنین نیکو سرشت، نسیم باقری، طلوع گلکار و احمد گلزار ).

Golrokh Firuzeyan arrested in Semnan by Sen HRANA, March 12 Golrokh Firuzeyan ( گلرخ فیروزیان ) has been arrested, after having gone to the court in Semnan on March 9. She has been handed over to the Ministry of Intelligence. She is from Semnan, but has been living in Tehran. For some weeks the Ministry of Intelligence in Semnan has been holding her sister Shidrock hostage, and threatening the safety of her family in Semnan. Short link: http://wp.me/pNMoJ-1F5 Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here. Sen | March 12, 2013 at 9:49 pm | Tags: Bahai Faith, Human rights in Iran, Iran, religious persecution, Semnan, Tehran, بهایی, بهائی, بهائیت, تهران, سمنان | Categories: Bahai rights | URL:http://wp.me/pNMoJ-1F5