Religious persecution, 21 st century style

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights  Is signed by all member states  “…every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance”

1844 in Shiraz: a new world faith is born

The Baha’i Faith  Upholds the divine origin of all the world’s major faiths  Advocates the equality of men and women  Proclaims the equal worth of all people, of whatever race, religion or nationality  Advocates a world government  Upholds the essential unity of science and religion  Supports marriage, family life and universal education

Baha’is now  Live in every significant country and territory in the world  Derive from a bewildering variety of ethnic groups  Run thousands of socio-economic and educational programmes  Are active in the NGO and civil society programmes of the UNO

Baha’is are loyal to governments  “In every country or government where any of this community reside, they must behave towards that government with faithfulness, trustfulness and truthfulness.”  “If it should happen that one of the friends be called upon to serve his country and people in some capacity, he should apply himself to the work with heart and soul, and discharge his duties with perfect honesty, trustworthiness and godliness.”

Iran: A long history of persecution

For many…death…for others exile

“We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem us a stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment… That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers…what harm is there in this?” Baha’u’llah to Dr E.G. Browne, 1890

“We fain would hope…that His Majesty the Shah will himself examine these matters, and bring hope to the hearts.”

The persecutions of the 1950s…before  The House of the Bab in Shiraz

… and after  The House of the Bab in Shiraz

The persecutions of the 1950s -before  The Baha’i national centre in Teheran

The army does its bit

As does the clergy!

… and after  In 1979 the site became “The Free Islamic University”

The persecutions from 1979 onwards - before  The House of the Bab restored to its pre-1955 condition

And after… The house has since become a car park

1979 onwards, a systematic campaign of persecution  Women required to wear “Islamic” dress  Baha’is dismissed from schools and universities  Baha’is in government employment dismissed, pensions cancelled, and some ordered to repay all salaries ever earned!  At first no protection from mobs and assassinations. Next, the government joined in, and many Baha’is have been imprisoned, and around 300 executed  Baha’i marriage outlawed as “prostitution”

 A lady murdered in front of her family at Kata in 1979

 Prof M Hakim, Prof of Medicine at the University of Tehran, assassinated in January 1981.

1979 onwards (cont.)  The elected National Spiritual Assembly disappeared in 1981, never to be seen again  After an election was held to replace the arrested National Spiritual Assembly, the new National Spiritual Assembly also disappeared for good  The Baha’i administration was outlawed  The Baha’i children’s savings bank was seized without any compensation

 Seven members of the Baha’i community of Yazd, executed in September 1980

1979 onwards (cont.)  At least 7 Baha’i conscripts in the army have been murdered without any punishment of the perpetrators  Hundreds of houses burned and assets seized  Many Baha’is escaped to camps in Pakistan, and thence elsewhere  Women hanged in Shiraz in 1983 for teaching Baha’i Sunday School  Baha'i cemeteries desecrated

 The Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz

So, why are we talking about this now?  UN action vastly slowed down the persecution after The number of actual executions declined with UN pressure. We therefore know that international efforts are effective  The Baha’i home schooling and home university system, created when state education was denied them, has been closed down in 2005  2005 has seen an upturn in arrests, and further Baha’i holy places destroyed, including Baha’u’llah’s parents’ house, one of the best preserved early 19-century houses in the country

And above all…  The Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion and belief, Asma Jahangir, announced in March 2006 that she had discovered: – A letter of 29 October 2005 from the Chairman of the Command HQ of the Armed Forces of Iran that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran has instructed government agencies to identify Baha’is and to monitor their activities.

UN Statement 20 March 2006 (1) “ The Special Rapporteur states that she is apprehensive about the initiative to monitor the activities of individuals merely because they adhere to a religion that differs from the state religion. She considers that such monitoring constitutes an impermissible and unacceptable interference with the rights of members of religious minorities…”

UN Statement 20 March 2006 (2) “ She also expresses concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Baha’i Faith, in violation of international standards.”

What are we asking for?  We seek no special privileges  We ask for international monitoring to continue  We ask for Iran to observe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which it has signed  We want a Faith whose members are loyal, peaceful, honest and trustworthy, to be emancipated in the land of its birth.