Persecution

I encourage readers of  Baha’i Views to join this campaign. -gw

The Campaign
To stand in solidarity with our fellow citizens in Iran, and to call on the Iranian government to uphold its commitment to protecting the rights of its citizens, Mideast Youth is launching a new campaign – “Postcards for Iran“. As the name suggests, the “Postcards for Iran” campaign involves sending Iranian officials hundreds of postcards, urging them to bring an end to the violations occurring within Iran.

But it’s not only the Iranian authorities that we seek to address through the campaign, but imprisoned prisoners of conscience as well. We wish to send them a message that we are aware of their plight and supports them in their struggle.

Combined with pressure from governments and human rights bodies and unabated media attention, grassroots initiatives such as “Postcards for Iran” have proven to be effective in . Furthermore, former detainees have testified that prisoners receiving mail received better treatment, as authorities were aware that the world is monitoring their situation.

Get Involved
You can send a postcard in three easy steps:

Select a recipient. You can choose to send either a Postcard of Concern to an official, or a Postcard of Support to a prisoner

http://www.postcards-for-iran.org/

http://mideastyouth.com/2009/03/21/postcards-for-iran/

 From Hamed Saber  From t3knomanser  From TheTrident  From my mailo  From TheTrident  From Reza Vaziri  From Mohammadhoss…  From my mailo  From HORIZON  From rangorang

The table of the seven “sin”s in memory of the seven dear friends in the Evin Prison.

For centuries Iranians in accordance with an ancient tradition celebrating the festival of Nawruz prepare a table with the famous seven objects starting with the letter ‘s’ each one of which is a symbol for the start of a prosperous and blessed New Year. A year filled with health and success, joy and radiance, happiness and prosperity. The people of Iran, in accord with their ancient culture and practice make all effort that the dust and dross of hatreds and enmities may be washed from their hearts and instead they would aim to plant the seed of love and kindliness of compassion and humanity in the soil of their heart. It is in these days of Nawruz that the aspiration is about that the plant of friendship and amity may take upon itself new life. Truly it is rather beautiful that after the lapse of centuries and innumerable vicissitudes of fortune that have transpired in this ancient land of Iran that the cause of love and friendship should not be forgotten and with the start of the new solar year and the resurrection of all nature that all men and women should focus on what renewal and renovation really mean. In this year the Bahá’ís of Iran also look forward to its new inception and these friends in addition to the classical table of the seven ‘S’ remember the seven friends of Iran and indeed all other innocent prisoners all of whom look forward to the start of a New Year, all of whom wish for the good, the happiness, the upliftment of all humanity. The Bahá’ís pray fervently that the clouds of prejudice, misconception, hatred, animosity may be dispelled and instead the orb of peacefulness, reconciliation and love may shine. The Bahá’ís of Iran altogether in the silence of their heart despite innumerable pressures and threats murmur these words of his Holiness Abdu’l-Bahá:

‘He is God, O thou who art attracted to the divine fragrances it is the day of Nawruz and all Iranians are engaged in joy and festivity, but for these exiles and imprisoned ones every moment a fresh news arrives from the arena of tests and tribulations. Some say that that whole land will be disturbed; others believe that these exiles will be sent to the limitless and arid desert. Yet others say that they will obliterate these lowly ones and remove all traces of our existence and yet others say that these storms will settle and this dust cloud will end and peace and tranquility will be achieved but as for us we are not engaged in any of these thoughts, Praise be to God that we know of none of these suggestions save closeness to the present of the Countenance of the Well Beloved. We have no hope but to get close to that musk laden lock of hair of the Beloved. In fact we have forgotten totally time and space and at all time wish to hear the call of the Heavenly Spirit and of Gabriel. That which God has ordained will come to pass and that which is other than the wish of the one true God will come to naught and upon thee be all greetings and salutations.”

translated by Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir

How will the leaders of Iran respond to invitations for responsible behavior in keeping with a modern, and not a medieval,  state? -gw

 

President Obama’s special video message for all those celebrating Nowruz, or “New Day.” This year, the President wanted to send a special message to the people and government of Iran, acknowledging the strain in our relations over the last few decades. After committing his administration to a future of honest and respectful diplomacy, he addresses Iran’s leaders directly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY_utC-hrjI

President Barack Obama told Iran’s people and leaders that the United States wants to engage with their country and end decades of strained relationship, but not unless their officials stop making threats. Obama on Friday released a video message with Farsi subtitles that urged the two countries to resolve their long-standing differences. His video was timed to the festival of Nowruz (no-ROOZ), which means “new day.” It marks the arrival of spring and is a major holiday in Iran.

Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZKyHoLGOY0

Barack Obama on Naw Rúz!

Happy Naw Rúz to you too Mr. Obama!

http://mauxito.blogspot.com/2009/03/barack-obama-on-naw-ruz.html

Note: I have updated this post to use the official “whitehouse” YouTube video. -gw

Here it is, folks, the 37:17 minute World Focus radio show on the Baha’i Faith that aired live today. -gw

It’s today. Tune in. -gw

Worldfocus.org’s weekly radio show on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. EDT will explore the background and history of the Baha’i faith, religious persecution in Iran and the arrest and forthcoming trial of the seven Baha’i leaders.

Martin Savidge will host a panel of guests:

• Dwight Bashir is a senior advisor for the Middle East at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. …
• Kit Bigelow is the director of external affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S. Since 1985, she has represented the National Spiritual Assembly in the promotion and protection of human rights, including religious freedom, the rights of women, U.S. ratification of United Nations human rights treaties and the elimination of racism. …
• Trita Parsi is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council and an expert on U.S.-Iranian relations, Iranian politics and the balance of power in the Middle East.

http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/03/11/qa-ask-your-questions-on-bahai-faith-and-iran/4371/

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March 15th, 2009 Iran: In Defence of the Bahá’í Minority
Hamid Tehrani · 20:17 · Education , Governance
lingua → fr
The Bahá’í minority in Iran has long been under pressure, and it seems the situation has become worse. Iranian authorities recently accused seven leaders of the Bahá’í faith of espionage. The Bahá’í themselves say they are being persecuted because of their religion. 3 comments · read »

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/03/15/iran-in-defence-of-the-bahai-minority/

In the early morning hours, unidentified individuals spray-painted slogans and threats on the walls of several Baha’i homes in the city of Semnan.

http://www.dipity.com/mideastyouth/Persecution_of_Baha_is

The website I am SPY is apparently an advertising vehicle for spy equipment. It draws traffic by picking up on any blog content that mentions the word conspiracy. Hence, it picked up this post from Iran Press Watch. Conspiracy theories have broad appeal in many countries, a prime example of which is Iran today, which has a long history in this arena going back to the Persia of old. Adib offers a succinct summaryof the conspiracy theories that have specifically involved the Baha’i Faith. -gw

Vladimir Lenin once said that a lie told often enough becomes truth. If one takes a look at the way Bahá’ís have been viewed and treated by their adversaries, particularly Muslim clerics from Shaykh Fazlollah Nuri to Falsafi to Dorri-Najafabadi and other leaders of the current Iranian regime, they will see an unfortunate truth to Lenin’s assertion. Several baseless claims have been put forth as truth in various public forums and media. Over time, these have been accepted as “truth” due to repetition and a general apathy by the Iranian masses towards independent investigation of such claims. Gradually, most of us have simply come to accept a variety of often conflicting claims about the Bahá’ís. For instance, the Bahá’ís were created by the British AND Russians in the 19th-century (while both were actually competing for influence in Persia!). Or that we held positions of power in the Pahlavi regime and were also agents of Israel, international Zionism, and American Imperialism. During the Iran-Iraqi war, some Bahá’ís were even labeled as Iraqi agents!

“Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories on the Genesis and Mission of the Bahá’í Faith” … provides an analysis of the most widespread anti-Bahá’í allegations raised by clerics and Iranian polemicists over the past century or so. These include such myths as Prince Dolgorukov of Russia acting as the prime motivator of the Báb, the British General, Arthur Conolly, as the one who persuaded Mulla Husayn to push the Báb into starting his religion, or considering `Abdu’l-Bahá’s knighthood in 1920 as irrefutable evidence of Bahá’í ties to British imperialism.

The book also discusses whether any of the influential members of the Sháh’s regime were Bahá’ís from Amir Abbas Hoveida to General Nassiri or Parviz Sabeti of SAVAK to Farrokhroo Pársá and others. And unlike anti-Bahá’í polemicists who hardly ever provide credible sources for their claims, this book offers about 140 citations with a bibliography of over 50 different books and credible websites (both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í) to substantiate its assertions.

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/debunking_the_myths/5483633

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/debunking_the_myths/6430166

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=56057789489#

Dear Worldfocus fan:

Thank you for your comment regarding our coverage of Iranian persecution of the Baha’i community in our show on February 25. It got such a wide response

http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/02/25/full-show-february-25-2009/4202/

that we’ve decided to explore the Baha’is in Iran and learn about the Baha’i faith in depth on our next online radio show.  You can submit questions for our panel of guests here:

http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/03/11/qa-ask-your-questions-on-bahai-faith-and-iran/4371/

And don’t forget to tune into the live show on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30p.m. EST.  You will also be able to call in with questions or submit them via chat.

It’s all at worldfocus.org. Thanks again, and let me know if you have any questions.

Katie Combs, Worldfocus.org

Barmak sent this one with some editorializing — “Yessss!” -gw

 kKat9 Editorial in the UK Telegraph by Nazila Ghanea ‘Iran’s persecution of Bahá’ís is devastating’ http://bit.ly/UtSiv 37 minutes ago from TweetDeck

What connects an academic, a blogger, a Nobel prize winner, a postgraduate researcher, a cyber feminist, a journalist and a woman who let her head covering slip? The answer? They have all had their freedom to express themselves violated. They have all been imprisoned, flogged and fined in Iran. …

But now a new embargo on freedom of expression has formally been announced. Iran’s Prosecutor General, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, has declared that the very expression of affiliation to the Bahá’í faith is illegal. This was communicated in a letter to the Minister of Intelligence, Ghulam-Husayn Ejeyee, who needs no encouragement to violate rights. Human Rights Watch named him one of Iran’s ‘Ministers of Murder’ four years ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/4979875/Irans-persecution-of-Bahais-devastating.html

And there is no one more qualified to speak to the issue than Nazila Ghanea . -gw

Mayor’s Corner: Religious Persecution in Iran Causes Concern in Maine