PM underlines concern for Iran’s Bahá’ís at historic meeting with Bahá’í delegation

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 04:00 PM PDT

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has underlined the UK government’s concern over the seven Bahá’í leaders being detained in Iran.

Mr Brown’s remarks were made at a meeting which took place this afternoon at the Prime Minister’s office in the Houses of Parliament, attended by Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomeryshire – who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Bahá’ís group – and a delegation of three Bahá’ís, including two members of the national governing council of the Bahá’í Faith in the United Kingdom.

It was the first ever meeting between a UK Prime Minister and representatives of the Bahá’í community, which was established in Britain in 1898.

The prisoners – five men and two women – were arrested in spring 2008. Prior to their arrest they were members of an informal committee looking after the affairs of Iran’s 300,000 strong Bahá’í community, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. Charges against the seven have been reported in government-controlled mass media as “espionage for Israel”, “insulting religious sanctities” and “propaganda against the Islamic republic”. A further accusation of “spreading corruption on earth” has also been cited.

Continue reading…

List of Baha’is Imprisoned in Iran

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 01:51 PM PDT

Introduction

Iran Press Watch has updated its list of Baha’is imprisoned in Iran because of their religious affiliation and plans to publish a monthly update.

Babol

Mr. Moshfeq Samandari (Apr. 14, 2009) here

Bushehr

Asadollah Jaberi (Jul. 9, 2009) here

Amad (Kaveh) Jaberi (Jul. 9, 2009) here

Karaj

Shahram Safajoo (Apr. 26, 2009) here

Qa’emshahr

Masoud Atayian (Nov 17, 2008) here

Anisa Fanaian (Jan 18, 2009) here

Mazandaran

Zia’u’llah Allahverdi (Jun. 24, 2009) here

Sonya Tebyanian (Allahverdi) (Jun. 24, 2009) here

Sari

Fayzu’llah Rushan (Apr. 2008) here

Fuad Naeimi (Sep. 2007) here

Simin Gorji (2008) here

‘Ali Ahmadi (2008) here

Changiz Derakhshanian (2008) here

Siyamak Ibrahimi-Nia (2008) here

Zia’u’llah Allahverdi (Oct 18, 2008) here

Sonya Allahverdi (Oct 18, 2008) here

Anvar Moslemi (Nov 22, 2008) here

Soheila Motallebi (Nov 22, 2008) here

Firouzeh Yegan (Jan 10, 2009) here

Pegah Sanai (Jan 10, 2009) here

Torreh Taqi-Zadeh (Feb 15, 2009) here

Mishel Ismaelpour (Apr 21, 2009) here

Semnan

Mrs. Sahba Rezvani-Fanaian (Dec. 15, 2008; transferred to Evin on May 4, 2009) here

Adel Fanaian (Jan. 5, 2009) here

Taher Eskandarian (Jan. 5, 2009) here

Abbas Nurani (Jan. 5, 2009) here

Mr. Pooya Tebyanian (Mar. 8, 2009)

Mrs. Manizheh Nasrillahi (June 17, 2009) here

Shiraz

Sasan Taqva (Nov. 2007)

Raha Sabet (Nov. 2007)

Mehran Karami (Feb. 2009)

Haleh Rouhi (Nov. 2007)

Tehran

Mahvash Sabet (Mar. 2008) here

Jamaloddin Khanjani (May 2008) here

Saeid Rezaie (May 2008) here

Fariba Kamalabadi (May 2008) here

Vahid Tizfahm (May 2008) here

Behrouz Tavakkoli (May 2008) here

Afif Naeimi (May 2008) here

Tonekabon

Badi’u’llah Fazli

Yasuj

Ali-Askar Ravanbakhsh (Oct. 28, 2008) here

Zulaykha Musavi (Oct. 28, 2008) here

Ruhiyyih Yazdani (Oct. 28, 2008) here

Yazd

Mehran Bandi (Aug. 28, 2008) here

Plane Crash in Iran

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 05:35 AM PDT

Iran Press Watch was deeply saddened to learn of the plane crash earlier this morning in Iran in which 168 passengers were killed, including Iran’s national judo team. Our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and the people of Iran. Our prayers are with all Iranians.

For further details, kindly consult such sites as CNN or other major news outlets.

Two Baha’is Sentenced to Imprisonment

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 04:47 AM PDT

The following news was posted in Persian on the Khabar Navard site and is offered below in translation:

Last year witnessed many incidents of attacks on Baha’i homes in the Mazandaran region, and interrogations and arrests of Baha’is. These persecutions were particularly intense in such towns as Behshahr, Qaemshahr, Sari and Tonekabon

Two Baha’i residents of Behshahr, in the province of Mazandaran, namely, Zia’u’llah Allahverdi and his wife, Sonya Tebyanian (Allahverdi) were incarcerated for 50 days last fall (see previous post). During May and June of 2009, they had two court sessions, which on June 24 resulted in a verdict of a 2-year and a 1-year sentence for the husband and wife, respectively.

The charge against them is “activities against national security”. The two Baha’is were given 20 days, that is, until July 14, 2009, to file an appeal.

The above is happening against a background such that every form of turmoil and insecurity in the nation is blamed on the Baha’is, though no one has ever produced the slightest evidence in support of any wrongdoing by the Baha’is. From the bombing of the Husayniyh in Shiraz to the present conflicts in all towns, particularly Tehran, they blame every form of unrest on the Baha’is!

It is noteworthy that from the perspective of religious law, civil law or just basic ethics, to charge someone without any evidence or proof is viewed as immoral and a transgression. However, every day, based on the most frivolous excuses, Baha’is are subject to interrogation, violation and arrest – and so far, not a shred of evidence against them has come to light.

It is now more than a year since the former Baha’i leaders of Iran were incarcerated without any formal charges in the notorious Evin prison, and languish in the harshest physical and psychological conditions. Each day, the Iranian regime accuses them of a new crime and adds to the preposterous charges against them. Every so often their families have been promised a trial for their 7 loved ones, and then the trial has been canceled or postponed.

[Posted on June 28, 2009, at: http://khabarnavard.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_4152.html. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Editorials – An Invitation

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 04:43 AM PDT

As part of its continuing service, Iran Press Watch is instituting a series of editorials which comment on conditions in Iran as well as potential pathways to solutions which could be explored through the Baha’i writings and related materials.

The Baha’is of Iran are eager to contribute actively to the social and economic improvement of that country and have had a long and cherished record of doing so through the formation of many schools, moral training classes, building of hospitals, hospices, motels, bathhouses, and much more.

Although Iran Press Watch was founded in order to provide independent and academic information on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran, we also look forward to a time when Iranians of all religious, ethnic and tribal communities can work together for the betterment of their homeland.

Towards this goal, we invite our readers to contribute short essays that might be suitable as editorials, which are oriented toward two very broad subjects:

1. Current conditions in Iran, and why they have led to the state of the country as it exists, from a social or economic perspective.

2. Outlines for how some of the ideas presented in the writings of the Baha’i faith-community could suggest solutions to social, economic or governance issues of Iran.

A few possible topics:

§ Why such a small minority as the Baha’is, obedient to government and laws, attracts such intense hatred over such a long period of time

§ The coming trial of the Yaran, and its effect on the image of Iran abroad

§ The effect of the recent upheavals on Baha’is’ relationships with their Muslim neighbors in Iran

§ The Baha’i approach to elections — indirect (electing local electors, who then elect national leaders), no parties, no politicking — and how such an approach might be of interest in areas of the world where the politics of disunity has led to national unrest

§ The usefulness of integrating Iran socially and economically with the rest of the world

§ The usefulness of orienting the encouragement of certain social norms toward rewards for desired behavior more than punishment for not behaving as desired

§ The importance of trustworthiness in government

§ Importance of the equality of men & women, and women’s education

§ Usefulness to Iran of reducing extremes of wealth & poverty

And many more.

The point to this series is that the Baha’i writings are not merely abstract indicators for a future perfect society, but are highly relevant to specific currently existing conditions in the Iranian republic; they point to ways to improve that society through their consequent effects. Editorials in this series will make this link explicitly and in some detail.

Baha’is Arrested in Bushehr

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 03:12 AM PDT

The port city of Bushehr (or Bushihr) has a long and important association with the Baha’i community, as it was in Bushehr that Siyyid Ali-Muhammad Shirazi, known as the Bab, a co-founder of the Baha’i Faith, lived for six years from 1834 to 1840, engaged in commerce and writing the early compositions of his doctrines and teachings.

In recent times, there has been almost no news about harassment of the Baha’is in that town, but the following disturbing report was filed by the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, which appears below in translation:

According to a report received by our office, on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 11:30 am, a number of individuals in civilian clothing who introduced themselves as agents of the Ministry of Intelligence went to the work place of Mr. Asadollah Jaberi in Bushehr and asked him to accompany them to his residence.

Upon arrival, they searched Mr. Jaberi’s home for three hours from 12 noon until 3 pm, and confiscated a large quantity of his personal property, such as books, CDs, videos, computer case, laptop, mobile phone, and other items belonging to the Jaberi family.

Once the search was concluded, the agents arrested Mr. Jaberi and his son, Amad (Kaveh) and took them to the local office of the Ministry of Intelligence.

At 3:30 pm, agents of the same Ministry went to the home of Farideh Jaberi [a daughter of Asadollah Jaberi] and confiscated her books, CDs, computer case and other personal items, and compelled her to present herself at the Ministry’s office in Bushehr on Saturday, July 11.

On the same day, the home of Mr. Parham Ranjir was searched at 7:30 pm, followed by the search of the residence of Mr. Bahram Zare’i at 8 pm, and the search of the home of Abbas Zare’i at 8:30 pm. However, since Bahram Zare’i was away on a journey, the agents were not able to search his residence.

It should be noted that the arrest of Asadollah and Amad Jaberi took place without any court order or warrants, and the arresting agents did not specify the charge against these two individuals. So far, no news has been received of their condition.

[Posted on July 10, 2009, at http://chrr.us/spip.php?article4478 and http://khabarnavard.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post_9359.html. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Accusations against Baha’is within the Context of Islamic Heresiography
Posted: 14 Jul 2009 08:09 AM PDT
The Baha’i Faith is an independent world religion which began in the Iran in the 19th century. In 1844 (1260 AH) Siyyid Ali-Muhammad Shirazi declared himself to be the Hidden Imam, the Qa’im or Mahdi expected by Shi’ite Muslims. In 1850 the Bab was executed in Tabriz and for a number of years the Babi community was in disarray until in 1863 Baha’u'llah declared himself to be not only He Whom God Shall Make Manifest foretold by the Bab [man yazhirullah], but the Promised One of all religions. The Baha’i Faith therefore bares the same relationship to Islam that Christianity has to Judaism. Baha’is believes in the divine origin of all religion, but sees their social teachings of revelation as varying according to the needs of the time and place.
As a graduate student I sometimes hired Iranian students to assist me with translating certain Persian Baha’i histories. My preference, of course was to use Iranian Baha’is who would be more familiar with the vocabulary specific to our Faith, but there were occasions when I resorted to non-Baha’is. On one occasion an intelligent, rather secularized young man of Muslim background was reading a Baha’i text in Persian with me when he awkwardly asked me the following question: “Is it true that Baha’is believe that before a man gives away an apple, he should taste it first.”
I knew better than to take his question literally, but I wasn’t about to guess at what he meant, so I said, “Farhad if you want an answer to your question you’re going to have to be clearer.” After fumbling around a bit he finally asked me if it were true that Baha’is believed that a father should sleep with his daughter before he gave her away in marriage. At that point I said, “Think, for a minute, Farhad. If you were going to make up stories to discredit a religion, what sort of things would you say?” He then admitted that he had figured the stories weren’t true but he couldn’t be sure.
This story, as fantastic as it might appear is all too typical of the rumors and slander that are spread about Baha’is in various places throughout the Islamic world.[1] The Nineteen Day Feast where Baha’is gather to say prayers, read from their scriptures, discuss the affairs of the community and share refreshments and food are rumored to be sexual orgies. The Baha’i Faith itself is thought to have been a Russian and British plot to destroy the unity of Islam, notwithstanding the unlikelihood of those two countries having colluded on anything in the 19th century. Nowadays it is imagined that Baha’is are receiving their support from Zionists or the US government.
A plethora of largely fabricated evidence has been published to support such charges, the most famous being the forged memoirs of Prince Dolgorukov which are aimed at proving the Baha’i Faith to be a Russian plot.[2] Similarly, Firaydun Adamiyyat, in his biography of Nasser-al-Din Shah’s first Prime Minster, Amir Kabir states that a British intelligence officer claims Arthur Conolly admits to recruiting Mulla Husayn as a spy in his traveler’s narrative Journey to the North of India Overland from England through Russia, Persia, and Affghaunistaun, however there is no mention of Mulla Husayn or the Báb there.[3] As was the case with Dolgorkov’s forged memoirs there was a problem with the chronology. The meeting supposedly takes place in 1830 when Mulla Husayn would have been 17 and the Bab ten years of age. Connolly died two years before the Bab declared his mission to Mulla Husayn. After Adamiyyat was confronted with these facts, this allegation was removed from subsequent editions of the book.
In 2003 a somewhat more imaginative version of these charges was published by Abdullah Shahbazi in the Quarterly Journal of the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies. The article entitled “History of Baha’ism in Iran” argues the Bab had been approached by Anglo-Jews companies to make claims which which disrupt the Islamic world.[4] The article has a rather unique take on an incident which took place in 1839 wherein the Jews of Mashhad were forcibly converted to Islam after accusations of blood libel.[5] Shahbazi’s position is that these Jews voluntarily converted en mass in order to subsequently become Babis in order to provide a false impression that numerous Muslims were converting to the Bab’s religion. About sixty of these crypto-Jews did become Babis and subsequently Baha’is, but the majority did not.[6] They make up only a minuscule portion of the Baha’is of Muslim background in Iran.
More recently there has been a renewed effort in Iran to fabricate links between Baha’is and Zionism. The propagandists have gone so far as to masquerade as Baha’is on internet sites such as http://jewbahais.blogspot.com run by someone using the name Yohanna, where misleading information is posted regarding the relationship of Baha’is to both Judaism and Zionism. Photos are included supposedly picturing Jewish-Baha’is in New York that in fact depict Baha’is of Christian background in London.
It is not my purpose here to refute these charges as they have been adequately dealt with elsewhere by abler writers than myself.[7] What I wish to do here is provide some insight as to the origins of such charges, and how they have been part of the standard repertoire used against religious dissidence in Islamicate culture for centuries. While some scholars have argued that many of the conspiracies theories regarding the Baha’i Faith emerged only in 1940’s and reflect the propensity of Iranian society to “believe and endorse conspiracy theories,”[8] I would like to suggest that such charges are really quite old, much older than the Baha’i Faith itself and extend beyond the borders of Iran itself. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that the charges being made against Baha’is by Shi’ites are virtually the same ones Sunnis have been making against Shi’ites for centuries within the Islamic world.
Aside from the Baha’i Faith itself, Islam has historically been the most tolerant of the world’s religions. This is mostly owing to the fact that Qur’an itself asserts that there is no people to whom a prophet has not been sent. (Qur’an 35:24, 16:24.) This opened the door for the acceptance of the legitimacy of nearly all the previous religions, even those not formally considered People of the Book (i.e. Christians and Jews.) Much more problematic has been the acceptance of any claims to revelation after Muhammad. No religion likes to be superseded, but in Islam particularly the notion that there would be no revelation after the Qur’an came to be seen as every bit as fundamental to the religion as the Oneness of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad, so much so that many Muslims erroneously believe that asserting the Finality of Prophethood is part of the shahadah or Islamic declaration of Faith. For this reason, any religious movement arising after Islam or which departed from the common understanding of Islam had to be explained away as something other than a religion. The stock explanation came to be that such movements were really political in nature, usually instigated by an outsider, often a Jew, aimed at creating disruption (fitna.) For instance, Sunni Muslims hold a Yemenite Jew, Abdallah ibn Saba, responsible for the founding Shi’ism, a belief that goes back at least as far as al-Tabari and is most famously cited in al-Shahristani’s classical heresiogrpahy, Al-Milal wa al-Nihal.[9]
A classical work which illustrates the manner in which Muslims came to view religious dissidence is in Nizam ul-Mulk’s Siyasat-Nameh or Treatise on Government. Nizam u’l-Mulk served as Grand Vizier to the Seljuks who had invaded the Middle East under the pretext of saving Islam and the Caliphate from Shi’ite heretics. Most especially Nizam u’l-Mulk had to contend with the Ismaeli Assassins, to whom according to some accounts he eventually fell victim. The Siyasat Nameh presents the Sassanid ruler Khosrau the Just as the ideal ruler and one of the acts which is depicted as bringing him to power was his suppression of the Mazdakite heresy. Nizam u’l-Mulk presents the Mazdakite religion as a Manichean-type dualism which was especially dangerous for its social program of community of property and wives.[10] It is difficult to know at this distance if the historical Mazdak really had anything more radical in mind than a more equal distribution of property and ending the practice of the wealthy having several wives while the poor could afford none, but the notion of communism and wife-swapping came to be associated not only with his heresy but with subsequent religious dissidence as well. Shi’ites, as well as the Babis, were accused of engaging in such practices. While the economic prosperity of the Baha’is of Iran during the Pahlavi period may have dissolved any notion that Baha’is were communists, the idea that Baha’is practiced a ‘community of wives’ lived on in lurid stories about Baha’i sexual orgies.[11]
As in Christianity, Manicheanism came to be seen in the Islamic world as the paradigmatic heresy, and in works like al-Tabari, it came to be associated with incest as well. Such charges have echoed down the ages and been associated with virtually any dissident religious movement which arose thereafter, especially in Iran, and especially in regards to any movement associated with Shi’ism. The association of heresy with incest appears to go back to the Arabs first encounter with Zoroastrianism. Certain Zoroastrian scriptures appeared to approve of next-of-kin marriages, though the extent to which this was actually practiced during the Sasanian period is a matter of debate. Nonetheless, since Islam had extensive definitions of what constituted incest (lit. mahram or taboo) Muslims found Zoroastrian beliefs in this area to be shocking. As Geert Jan Van Gelder points out in his article on “Incest and Interbreeding” in Encyclopedia Iranica,
Marriage rules help to define a religion and a culture; the alleged practices of the Zoroastrians are a recurrent motif in Muslim texts and are used to distinguish between “us” and “them.” Heretical sects are often credited with a sexual free-for-all or holding women as communal sex objects, with all the implications of possible incest.[12]
Shi’ites were particularly vulnerable to such charges. For instance, the Arabic poet and prose writer, Abu’l-Ala Maarri (d. 449/1058), accused the Carmathians of incestuous practices. Likewise the Ismaelis are accused by early Muslim heresiographers with allowing “marriage with daughters and sisters, drinking wine, and all sorts of sensual pleasures.”[13]
If we compare the attacks against Baha’is even today to those made by Sunni Islamists against Shiites we will see that they are virtually identical. For instance, someone writing under the name of Dr. Abdullah Muhammad al-Gharib warned of Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power arguing that he was in fact an American agent, working to support the cause of Zionism in order for Persians to wreck their revenge on Islam for the destruction of the Persian Empire. Al-Gharib insists “the day will comes when people will know that the Jews were behind [the Iranian Revolution] just like Ibn Saba’ was behind their emergence in the first place.”[14]
In describing how it was necessary for Salah al-Din to defeat the Fatimids before turning his attention to the Crusaders he notes that despite the defeat of the Shi’ites they once again emerged:
with their old beliefs with only the names changed: the Safavids, the Baha’is, the Qadianis, the Druze, the Nusayris [‘Alawites], the Assassins, the Isma’ilis…. The [batinis] returned to support the enemies of Allah and to cooperate with them against Muslims. They cooperated with Britain, Portugal, France, and Czarist Russia…. They returned to shred Islamic unity all over again.[15]
Two months before the death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, he preached a four hour sermon attacking the Shi’ites utilizing al-Gharib’s work. In that sermon the Iran-Iraq War is blamed on a conspiracy on the part of the U.S., Iran, and Iraqi Shi’ites to destroy an Islamic nation. Even the Lebanese Hizbullah was labeled an “Israeli puppet.” The Shi’ites are accused of sexual corruption which includes, yes, accusations of incest.
It should be apparent by now that the charges being made against Baha’is have little to do with their own beliefs and practices but are instead drawn from a standard Islamic repertoire of what a heresy is supposed to look like and the assumed motives behind its origins and propagation. That Muslims might presume some of these things about Baha’is to be true, is perhaps not surprising. What is more disturbing is the fact that evidence is being deliberately fabricated primarily by Shi’ite ‘ulama (though sometimes Sunnis are also involved) to support such charges. One would hope that a religion sect born of oppression would refrain from utilizing the same weapons against Baha’is that been aimed against them. But alas, this appears not to be the case.
[1] For instance former Deputy Head of Al-Azhar and Member of the Islamic Research Council Seif Mahmoud Ashour, stated the following in regards to Baha’is:
“We hear they permit incest, that a man can marry his sister, pray with nineteen raq’aa , fast nineteen days a year and pray towards Acre (in Israel, resting place of Baha’u’llah’s remains) and not towards Mecca”. The Daily Star, December 7, 2006.
The truth of course, is that while Baha’is have a different Qiblih and fast for only nineteen days as opposed to the thirty days in Islam, incest is most certainly not part of their religion, nor do they marry their sisters.
[2] Intrafamily-i siyasi ya yad-dashtha-yi Kinyaz Dulquruki [Political Confessions, or the Memoirs of Count Dolgoruki].’ In Salnama-yi Khurasan [Khurasan Yearbook], Historical Section, 1st. Reprinted Tehran, 1323 Sh/1943-44. These fictitious memoirs of the former Russian ambassador to Iran (1846-1853) has the ambassador hatching this plot with Baha’u'llah and Mirza Yahya in the home of Hakim Ahmad Gilani. The problem with this scenario is that Gilani died in 1835, years before Dolgorukov ever set foot in Iran. Baha’u'llah would have been about 17 at the time while Mirza Yahya was only five. No Russian version of Dolgorukov’s memoirs have ever been produced. Some of the more egregious mistakes have been edited out of later editions, such as the one where Dolgorukov supposedly gives Baha’u'llah money to build a house in Akka. Dolgorukov died long before Baha’u'llah was exiled there.
[3] Amir Kabir va Iran. Tihran in 1323/1944 (pp. 243-4)
[4] Abdullah Shahbazi, “History of Baha’ism in Iran” http://www.shahbazi.org/pages/bahaism2.htm
[5] Blood libel accusations against Jews have been historically connected with Christianity, not Islam, but they were introduced to the Islamic world in the 18th and 19th centuries by the French.
[6] When the state of Israel was formed in 1948 many members of this community immigrated there, the families which had become Baha’i, did not.
[7] cf. Momen, Moojan (2004), “Conspiracies and Forgeries: the attack upon the Baha’i community in Iran”, Persian Heritage 9 (35) As if to prove that refuting such charges is child’s play, an eighteen year old boy Adib Masumian has written a book doing so entitled Debunking the Myths (Lulu:2009.) Unfortunately such refutations cannot be made in the Iranian press where these charges are usually repeated.
[8] Eliz Sanasarian , “The Comparative Dimension of the Baha’i Case and Prospects for Change in the Future”, in Brookshaw; Fazel, Seena B., The Baha’is of Iran: Socio-Historical Studies, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2008), p. 159.
[9] Al-Milal wa al-Nihal, Ed. William Cureton in Books of Religions and Philosophical Sects. 2 vols. Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz (reprint of the edition of London 1846), vol. 2, p. 11.
This story is recounted in numerous Sunni sources, such as the following from ImamAbu Hanifa’s Musnad Imam-e-Azam p. 158:
“Abdullah ibn Saba was a Jew who accepted Islam during the time of Uthman and he urged the people of Egypt to kill Uthman and he would exhibit much love for Ali. He was an evil infiltrator and whose mission it was to spread corruption among the Muslims.”
[10] Hubert Darke, trans. The book of government, or, Rules for kings : the Siyar al-Muluk, or, Siyasat-nama of Nizam al-Mulk , (Surrey : Curzon Press, 2002) p. 192.
[11] Note this description from a Muslim website of Tahirih’s proclamation at the Badasht which separated the early Babis from Islam: “The ruling of Islamic sharee’ah no longer applied and it was permissible for the people – indeed prescribed for them – to share their wealth and women.” http://islamqa.com/en/ref/88689 Accessed June 8, 2009. Tahirih’s proclamation did call for the abrogation of the shariah, but not mention was made of the community of wives and property.
[12] http://www.iranica.com/newsite/index.isc?Article=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v13f1/v13f1005.html, accessed June 10, 2009.
[13] ‘Abd-al-Qaher Bagdadi, al-Farq bayn al-feraq, ed. Mohammad Badr, (Cairo, 1910), p. 270.
[14] Al-Gharib, Wa ja’a dawr al-majus, [Then came the Turn of the Maajus] p. 296, from the internet edition available at www.d-sunnah.org
[15] Al-Gharib, Wa ja’a dawr al-majus, p. 78
[Above paper was presented at 2009 CESNUR Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 11-13, 2009]

Dear Friends,

No doubt you’ll be relieved to know that trial of Baha’is in Iran is postponed.

Whilst this is a great relief please lets not stop praying for these pure souls or stop the campaign to release them and other Baha'is. 40 in Total.

The Blessed Beauty of Abhá: Bahá’u’lláh – may my life be sacrificed for His followers - instructed the believers to detach themselves from all else and recite this prayer 9 times, for the release of the friends from prisons and their freedom the fangs of the enemies.

He is, in truth, the Omnipotent, the Unrestrained!

O Lord of all Names and Fashioner of the Heavens! Release [Thy] friends from the prison of enemies. Verily, Thou art the Sovereign Ordainer of Thine decrees, He who shineth, resplendent, from the Horizon of Creation.

O Thou, Everlasting Root! By the life of Bahá *, deprive them not of hope, nay rather aid and assist them. Verily, Thou rulest as Thou pleasest and within Thy grasp lie the Kingdom of Creation. The fangs of Thine enemies have been whetted, ready to bite into the flesh of Thy friends. Protect these companions, O Thou Who rulest over all Humankind and art the Judge on the Day of Judgment!

Bahá’u’lláh

Elder's Meditation of the Day - July 11
"Do not grieve. Misfortunes will happen to the wisest and best of men. Death will come, always out of season. It is the command of the Great Spirit, and all nations and people must obey. What is past and what cannot be prevented should not be grieved for..."
--Big Elk, OMAHA Chief
Our earth continues to grow by cycles and seasons: The cycles of growth - spring, summer, fall, winter. The cycles of the human being - baby, youth, adult, elder. It is through these cycles that we will experience the changes. I will not always necessarily agree with these changes, but I need to trust the Grandfathers are in charge. Things will come and things will go. Really, I own nothing, the Creator owns all. Too often I label things as mine. I say this belongs to me, but it really belongs to the Creator. He gives me things to take care of. I need to do the best I can with what I have, with what I know at the time. And when the Creator changes things, I need to let go for His planning is the best.

Oh Great Spirit, today let me do the best I can with what I know, with what I have. Let me experience acceptance of Your will.

Iran Press Watch: The Baha'i Community

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• Cherie Blair: Iran’s Baha’is face “uncertain, dangerous future.”
• Roxana Saberi and USCIRF Call for Release of Iranian Baha’is
• Congressman Frank Wolf demands human rights as integral part of dialogue with Iran
• Norway summons Iran diplomat over human rights concerns

Cherie Blair: Iran’s Baha’is face “uncertain, dangerous future.” Posted: 09 Jul 2009 03:22 PM PDT Cherie Blair QC – one of the United Kingdom’s leading human rights lawyers and wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair – is calling for Iran to ensure that seven leaders of the Bahá’í faith – held in prison for more than a year without charge or access to their legal counsel – be given a fair trial and a chance of justice. In an article published in Thursday’s edition of The Times, Mrs Blair writes that, in the aftermath of Iran’s disputed Presidential election result, there is a risk that the ongoing threat to the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority may be overlooked. “They face a very uncertain, dangerous future,” writes Ms Blair. Read Cherie Blair’s article here (Times Online) The five men and two women, detained in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since the spring of 2008, helped see to the minimum needs of Iran’s Bahá’í community after all Bahá’í institutions were banned by the Iranian government. Their informal committee was disbanded along with all local-level Bahá’í administrative groups in Iran in March this year. Family members of the seven have recently been told that they will face trial on Saturday 11 July. Spurious allegations made against them include “espionage for Israel”, “insulting religious sanctities”, “propaganda against the Islamic republic” and “spreading corruption on earth.” “We must urge that the Iranian Government give the leaders of the Bahá’í community a fair trial,” writes Mrs Blair, “and allow independent observers access to ensure this happens. We must also call on Iran to live up to their international obligations to protect all their citizens and allow them to hold and practise their religious beliefs, without discrimination or fear.” Mrs Blair’s article also pays tribute to Iranian lawyer and Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, who announced that she would defend the Bahá’í prisoners. As a result, Dr Ebadi’s “offices were raided and shut down, angry mobs appeared outside her home and she, and her family, received renewed and serious threats to their safety,” writes Mrs Blair. “Shirin Ebadi is a courageous woman and a brilliant advocate. But we can not let her carry this burden on her own,” Mrs Blair says. [Source: http://bahainews-uk.info/2009/07/08/cherie-blair-iran%e2%80%99s-baha%e2%80%99is-face-%e2%80%9cuncertain-dangerous-future-%e2%80%9d/]

Roxana Saberi and USCIRF Call for Release of Iranian Baha’is Posted: 09 Jul 2009 02:56 PM PDT The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)– responding to a letter from Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who spent almost four months in an Iranian cell–today demanded the release of seven Iranian Baha’i prisoners of conscience who are set to go on trial Saturday and could face the death penalty, noting that this particular action is just one manifestation of the much broader pattern and practice of the theocratically supported repression that marks Iran’s current electoral crisis. “In addition to the hundreds of Iranians who have been detained in the context of Iran’s disputed presidential poll, many other ‘security detainees’ arrested long before the June election remain behind bars,” wrote Miss Saberi in a letter to USCIRF requesting U.S. government intervention in the Baha’i case. “These Iranians and the authorities who have detained them need to know that the Iranian people’s human rights are a matter of international concern. “The elections in Iran last month have exposed the world to the cold realities about how the Iranian government regularly deals with dissent or views that are a perceived threat to the theocratic regime,” said Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair. For example, a senior cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, recently said in a Friday sermon that election demonstrators should be convicted and sentenced to death for “waging war against God.” The seven Baha’is to be tried, two of whom shared a cell with Miss Saberi, are charged under the jurisdiction of Branch 28 of Iran’s Revolutionary Court, the same judicial process which convicted Miss Saberi in April. The Baha’is are accused of spying for Israel and other religious offenses. “The charges against these imprisoned Baha’is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority. They should be released immediately,” said Mr. Leo. “USCIRF urges the President and other leaders in the international community to speak out and call for the release of the seven Baha’i leaders, as the President did for Miss Saberi. These prisoners are in jail solely because of their religious identity, and have not been afforded any due process or direct access to legal representation.” On April 18, Miss Saberi was tried, convicted, and sentenced to eight years in prison on false espionage charges. After an international outcry, including statements by President Barack Obama, Miss Saberi appealed the verdict and was released weeks later. Currently, in Iranian prisons are more than 30 members of the Baha’i community, which is banned from practicing its faith. On July 6, 10 Nobel laureates, including former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to urge the release of political prisoners and appoint a special envoy to assess the Iranian elections and their aftermath. The letter noted the laureates’ concern for 2003 Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, a human rights lawyer who is legal counsel for the seven Baha’is and has not been permitted access to her clients. “USCIRF urges Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to appoint an envoy to investigate the elections and other instances of repression in Iran such as the impending Baha’i trial,” said Leo. Read the Letter by Roxana Saberi

Congressman Frank Wolf demands human rights as integral part of dialogue with Iran Posted: 09 Jul 2009 02:24 PM PDT On July 9, 2009, Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia made the following statement, urging the Obama administration “to make human rights and religious freedom, including the persecuted Baha’is, an integral part of the dialogue” with Iran. “Madam Speaker, May 14 marked the one-year anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven-member national committee of the Iranian Baha’is. They have been unjustly held for over a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys.“According to The New York Times, the seven Baha’is are scheduled to face trial this Saturday, July 11. “They will reportedly be charged with “espionage for Israel,” a crime which is punishable by death. “The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released their 2009 report which recommends that the State Department designate Iran a country of particular concern due to its gross violations of religious freedom. “Such violations include the execution of over 200 Baha’i leaders since 1979, the desecration of Baha’i cemeteries and places of worship and the violent arrest and harassment of members of the Baha’i faith. “As the administration seeks diplomatic engagement with Iran, I urge them to make human rights and religious freedom, including the persecuted Baha’is, an integral part of the dialogue. “Human dignity and freedom must not be relegated to the sidelines.” [Source: http://iran.bahai.us/2009/07/09/u-s-representative-frank-wolf-makes-statement-in-defense-of-the-bahais-in-iran/]

Norway summons Iran diplomat over human rights concerns Posted: 09 Jul 2009 02:10 PM PDT Norway’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Oslo, Mohsen Bavafa, to express its concern for the human rights situation in Iran. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere also called on Iran to release protesters arrested after the disputed 12 June presidential election, the ministry said in a statement. “The authorities in Iran do not respect basic human rights,” Stoere said. “Norway objects to the politically-motivated arrests, and reacts in particular to the fact that local employees at the British embassy in Tehran have been imprisoned,” he added. Iran arrested nine Iranian employees at the British embassy in Tehran, and accused them of fomenting post-election unrest. All but one of the nine have been released. Oslo also condemned the arrests of opposition members, journalists, human rights activists and peaceful demonstrators. “Iranian authorities are urged to immediately stop political arrests and release those unjustly imprisoned,” said the foreign minister. Norway also condemned the 4 July execution of 20 Iranians convicted of drug trafficking. In addition, Stoere raised his concern over the situation of the Baha’i community in Iran, in particular the upcoming trial against seven Baha’i leaders in Tehran. “I urge the Iranian authorities to respect the religious beliefs of all minorities in Iran,” he said. [Source: Norway’s Foreign Ministry website via Washington TV]

l have rolled up the world and all that is therein, and spread out a new Order in its stead.’ `The day is approaching when God will have raised up a people who will call to remembrance Our days, who will tell the tale of Our trials, who will demand the restitution of Our rights. Bahai writings

TO -MORROW 11TH JULY TRIAL FOR 7 BAHAIS IN EVIN IRAN

PLEASE

recite prayers for the Yaran ( friends) on Friday ( 11-11:30 pm ,Iranian Time) and Saturday (7-7:30pm ,Iranian Time ) before their possible trial at the Branch 28,Revolutionary Court.

the Bab was set before a firing squad in Tabriz, Iran, on 9 July 1850, He explained to His executioners that they had no idea who He was and what they were doing. His last words were: `

`O wayward generation! Had you believed in Me every one of you would have followed the example of this youth [Anis], who stood in rank above most of you, and would have willingly sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you.’

Like Jesus, who prayed as He was crucified,`Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’

July 11th is Baha’i Rights Day
July 8th, 2009
Baha’i Rights Day is dedicated to raise awareness about human rights abuses perpetrated against the Baha’i community. Decades have passed and the Baha’is in Iran and Egypt have not had a minute of rest from the ongoing persecution. Looting of Baha’i homes, the arrest and incarceration of Baha’is, denial of civil rights, the desecration of Baha’i cemeteries, the expulsion of Baha’i students from university and the closure of Baha’i businesses are only a few aspects of the crusade launched against the Baha’is.
The date is significant inasmuch as the the trial of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders, arrested in the spring of 2008, is scheduled to be held at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court on July 11, 2009.

Here’s how you can help
Inform your friends, family and colleagues that on July 11 they should tweet, blog, Facebook in support of human rights for Baha’is
Contact journalists to formally recognize this day and write about the Baha’i persecution
Contact bloggers and request that they write about Baha’is and their rights.
Tweet about it consistently on July 11 and use the #BahaiRights hashtag in order for people to locate. The idea is to make #BahaiRights a top trend on July 11. Follow @BahaiRightsDay
You do not have to be a Baha’i to participate! Please make others aware of that. We’re uniting to help raise awareness for the plight of the Baha’is, no matter what our race or religion may be.
Inform yourself on the persecution at Iran Press Watch or the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights
Make every effort to spread the word about the day! Thank you.

• Distribution of an Anti-Baha’i Proclamation
• Arson in a Baha’i-Owned Automotive Store
• Iran’s Baha’is mentioned in U.K. Prime Minister’s questions

Distribution of an Anti-Baha’i Proclamation Posted: 03 Jul 2009 10:48 AM PDT The reliable outlet Peyke Iran reported on Friday, July 3, 2009, that certain unknown individuals have widely disseminated a proclamation in Marvdasht, a district in Shiraz, warning people against business dealings with the Baha’is. In this proclamation, they have cited high religious authorities who have issued rulings against such dealings and interactions with the Baha’is. Pictures of two such documents were provided by the Baha’is of Iran to media outlets and appear below in translation. The first is a letter to Grand Ayatollahs inquiring about the Baha’is and dealing with them: In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! Peace be upon the blessed threshold of the sources of emulation of the Islamic world! Respectfully it is submitted: the wayward sect of the Baha’i has been active in one of the districts in the vicinity of Shiraz and, regrettably, some Muslims, because of being ill-informed, have associated and consort with them on a regular basis. As such, we beseech your distinguished selves to offer an opinion on the following questions so that the public is informed: We cherish the hope that all enemies of the Sacred Household of Muhammad (Peace be upon them), particularly those harboring enmity towards the Hidden Imam, are uprooted. 1. What is the ruling in regard to wedlock of a Muslim with a Baha’i (namely, for a Baha’i woman with a Muslim man, and for a Muslim woman with a Baha’i man)? 2. What is the ruling about business transactions or dealings with Baha’is? 3. What is the opinion of your distinguished selves regarding shaking hands and kissing Baha’is? 4. What is the ruling about eating food prepared at a Baha’i home or by a Baha’i hand? 5. What is the ruling for eating out of a plate or drinking from a glass used earlier by a Baha’i? 6. What is the ruling for attending celebrations or weddings of Baha’is, or attending commemorative services by Baha’is because they were known to [Muslim] attendees? 7. Working (such as in building construction, etc) by a Baha’i for a Muslim, and for a Muslim to be employed by a Baha’i? 8. Are the Baha’is considered infidels and najis [lit. defiled, in Shi’te jurisprudence it designates unclean or untouchable]? The second document provides the response of several Grand Ayatollahs to these questions and request for religious rulings. Responses bear the signature and seal of each jurist: The illustrious Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei: All followers of the wayward Baha’i sect are condemned as infidels and najis [unclean], and [Muslims] should avoid food and substances containing moisture touched by the Baha’is. The believers are duty-bound to combat trickeries and seditions of this wayward sect. The illustrious Ayatollah Behjat: They are najis and association with them should be avoided. The illustrious Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi: Every form of affiliation, socializing, marriage, buying, selling and other contact with members of the misguided Baha’i sect is forbidden. Muslims must completely avoid such actions. The members of the misguided [Baha’i] sect are outside of Islam and any kind of interaction with them is forbidden. [Source: http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=3244. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

Arson in a Baha’i-Owned Automotive Store Posted: 03 Jul 2009 04:51 AM PDT At midnight on Tuesday June 30th 2009, unidentified men broke the glass storefront of the Mr. Peyman Shadman’s automotive supply store in Semnan and set the place on fire by throwing explosives inside. Mr. Shadman is an Iranian citizen and a Baha’i. As the store carried flammables like motor oil, the fire did tremendous damage. The firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to homes nearby. Mr. Shadman’s store has been set on fire several times but the authorities have shown no effort to stop the arsonists. [Source: HRA-Iran http://hra-iran.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1360:arson-in-a-bahai-owned-automotive-shop&catid=66:304&Itemid=293]

Iran’s Baha’is mentioned in U.K. Prime Minister’s questions Posted: 03 Jul 2009 04:43 AM PDT The Prime Minister has promised to continue raising Britain’s concerns with Iran, over the issue of the seven Bahá’ís being detained in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Gordon Brown’s comments came during Prime Minister’s questions in the House of Commons, in response to the MP for Montgomeryshire, Lembit Opik. Click here to view the embedded video. “I have become deeply concerned about the seven Baha’i leaders in Iran facing trial by the revolutionary court on 11 July on serious but unsubstantiated charges, with no evidence being offered against them,” said Mr Opik, who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Bahá’ís group. Describing current circumstances in Iran as “very difficult issues”, Mr Brown expressed his “disappointment at the restrictions that (Mr Opik) has mentioned on the freedoms of the Iranian people, with people due to stand before a closed court on 11 July.” According to information conveyed by the authorities at Evin to the family members of the seven Bahá’ís who have been imprisoned for more than a year, a trial date has been set for 11 July. The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held without any formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the Baha’is will be accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” “Some people in Iran are seeking to use Britain as an explanation for the legitimate Iranian voices calling for greater openness and democracy. However, we will continue, with our international partners, to raise our concerns with Iran, including on the issue that the honorable Gentleman raised,” Mr Brown said. [Source: http://bahainews-uk.info/2009/07/02/irans-bahais-mentioned-in-prime-ministers-questions/]

For Bahais, a Crackdown Is Old News

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By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN

Published: June 26, 2009

CLIFTON, N.J.

Michal Czerwonka for The New York Times

Habib Hosseiny and his wife, Ahdieh, in front of a painting of a Bahai leader, Abdul-Baha.

Follow the latest updates on The Times’s news blog.

• Updates on Iran’s Disputed Election

Related

Iranian Leaders Gaining the Edge Over Protesters (June 27, 2009)

Times Topics: Iran

Sometimes during the past two weeks, making her rounds as a hospital resident, Dr. Saughar Samali has caught a glimpse of television news in a patient’s room or heard a bulletin on the radio in the family-practice office. Against her desire, against her better judgment, she has been plunged back into the maelstrom of Iran.

As long as she is on duty, Dr. Samali can suppress what she sees and hears of the marchers, the arrests, the beatings. But when she leaves St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson and returns home to nearby Clifton, the present conjures up a terrible past.

She remembers when her father’s factory in Tehran was set afire, leaving him severely scarred and blind in one eye. She remembers her family’s trying to escape to Pakistan, traveling in a smuggler’s Jeep, headlights out on a midnight desert. She remembers the army bullets that shattered the windshield and pierced the tires, and she remembers the months in prison that followed.

It was 1985, and she was 5 years old. In all the years since, even after a subsequent, successful escape and a new life in the United States, Dr. Samali has not forgotten what it meant to be a Bahai in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“I try to turn my emotions off,” Dr. Samali, 28, said of the current turbulence in Iran. “The Bahais in Iran go through this every day. It’s sad to see this, but maybe this is a way for the truth to come out.”

The Bahais have long served as the proverbial canaries in the coal mine of Iran’s theocracy. Their persecution, as documented over nearly 30 years in numerous human rights reports, has contradicted all the näively hopeful predictions that the hard-line surface of Iran obscures a deeper wellspring of moderation and tolerance.

In 1983, the Iranian government banned all official Bahai activity. Deeming the faith an apostasy, Iran’s fundamentalist Shiite government has denied Bahais higher education, confiscated Bahai property, desecrated Bahai cemeteries and refused to recognize Bahai marriages.

During the recent upheaval, which is essentially a struggle among Shiites over the dubious re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bahais have again served as scapegoats. Supporters of President Ahmadinejad have recycled the canard that Bahais are American spies and secret Zionists, and have added a new one, claiming the British Broadcasting Corporation stands for the Bahai Broadcasting Company.

The rhetorical attacks have coincided with the government’s decision to put seven Bahai leaders on trial on July 11 in a so-called Revolutionary Court. The leaders, arrested in early 2008, face charges of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” according to official Iranian press reports. Espionage is punishable by death.

So, for the 165,000 Bahais in the United States, at least 10,000 of whom are refugees from Iran, the questionable election and the crackdown on protesters come as grim confirmation of the government’s character.

“I feel a sense of turmoil in my heart,” said Farhad Sabetan, a spokesman for the Bahai International Community, the organization that represents Bahai interests at the United Nations. “Bahais have gone through this kind of pressure for over the last 30 years, and the way they’ve been treated is how the Iranian people are now being treated.”

The Bahai community in Clifton embodies both stirring achievement and unrelenting tragedy. A mixture of American converts and Iranian immigrants and refugees, the group operates a Bahai center for classes and celebrations and elects a nine-member “spiritual assembly.”

One of those nine, Habib Hosseiny, was born and raised in Iran, becoming a professor of English. He was studying for his master’s degree at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vt., when the Islamic revolution overthrew the shah in 1979. After hearing of the execution of seven Bahai leaders in 1981 in Hamadan — “all my friends, such beautiful people,” Mr. Hosseiny said — he decided not to return.

In the United States, Mr. Hosseiny built a career teaching English as a second language in colleges and high schools. He and his wife, Ahdieh, raised children, who gave them grandchildren. His Bahai friends in Clifton included doctors, engineers and journalists.

All the while, from afar, Mr. Hosseiny followed the waves of persecution in Iran. His father-in-law was imprisoned three times. A gynecologist who served on the spiritual assembly in Mr. Hosseiny’s home city, Kermanshah, was arrested and killed. The Iranian government seized Mr. Hosseiny’s home and all of his savings.

“When you’re strong in your faith, you accept this as a test,” Mr. Hosseiny, 69, said. “You want to take on important, difficult tests, so you can achieve.”

Even after 30 years of official oppression of Bahais, Mr. Hosseiny repeats a mantra that mullahs plainly do not hear: that Bahaism is a religion of peace, that Bahais are not political, that Bahais support the government wherever they live. All the Bahais in Iran want, he said, are the same human rights as other citizens.

As he watches the news, as he tries to call relatives in Iran, as he tracks events as obsessively as Dr. Samali tries to screen them out, Mr. Hosseiny has arrived at a conclusion similar to hers. Maybe the Bahais have achieved some kind of equality at last.

Attacked by the Basij militia and the Revolutionary Guard, assaulted with water cannons and guns, Iranian Muslims, at least the ones who publicly call for fair elections and human rights, are being treated just like Bahais.

E-mail: sgfreedman@nytimes.com

Sign in to Recommend More Articles in US » A version of this article appeared in print on June 27, 2009, on page A13 of the New York edition.

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