From TNR: ‘An Evening in Support of the Bahais of Iran’
August 16, 2009
From The New Republic: Abbas Milani’s speech at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco.
Posted on Saturday, August 15, 2009
For the last few weeks, all around the world, there have been meetings in support of the Bahai Seven in Iran. And last Wednesday, at the San Fransisco Herbst Theater, where the meeting to draft the declaration of Human Rights was once convened, a delightfully multi-ethnic, multi-faith group came to show their concern for the fate of the Bahai Seven and solidarity with the 300,000 Bahais who still live in Iran. Ross Mirkarimi, an Iranian-American member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was among the political leaders who spoke at the gathering. The president of the University of San Francisco offered a few words of prayer to begin the meeting. Here is the text of the talk I gave on that night. I am not a member of the Bahai faith, and like many in the hall, I was there in solidarity with a much persecuted religious minority in Iran.
My name is Abbas Milani, and I stand here as an Iranian contrite and resolute–ashamed for what I consider Iran’s disgraceful past in our treatment of our Bahai citizens, and resolute in my determination to say, Never Again, And Never More.
Pogroms were a fact of life in 19th century European Anti-Semitism. In the 20th century they begot the Holocaust. In Iran, there have never been more than a handful of murderous pogroms. But by the 19th century, Iranian Anti-Semites had turned a kind of psychological, emotional pogrom into a sinister art, and tragically, all the subtle and crude techniques of this persecution were turned against members of the Bahai faith, the new bane of Shiite zealots.
One can certainly understand why Shiism, and its belief that its prophet ends the prophetic line, and that the Messiah that must come is none other than its twelfth Imam, might have profound theological tensions with the Bahai faith. But it is a singular requirement of civility in our modern world that we no longer try to solve our theological difference at the point of a gun, or the end of a whip.
But there is also another reason for the obsessive zeal of many Shiites in fighting the Bahai faith. The Bahai’s message of peace in contrast to the Islamists’ increasing use of violence; the Bahai’s promise of gender equality in contrast to a faith where misogyny has long been a way of life; and finally the Bahai’s almost Jeffersonian devotion to the principle that in matters of faith there must be neither coercion, nor acceptance by happenstance of birth, but that children born to Bahai parents should at the moment of maturity decide for themselves their own faith in contrast to a state religion that mandates conversion a capital crime, punishable by death–all combine to create a glaring set of contrasts that render traditional Shiism sclerotic. In comparison, their nemesis faith is a harbinger of modernity and its incumbent reformation–a reformation wherein faith is a private matter between men and women and their own notions of the sacred.
Read the rest of this great presentation here.
And thank you, Mr. Milani, for your support.
If you are one of the many who are monitoring the question of the Baha’is in Iran closely, the Baha’i Community of the United States has a page on its website dedicated to the situation in Iran which is regularly updates with the latest news and links to various articles posted on the net.
Check it out here.
You might be wondering why I would put such an article up. Well, it’s simple really. Remember the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran? Well, I thought I’d go a little beyond my little sphere – i.e. the Bahá’í community – and see if I find anything else about other groups or people who are being persecuted in Iran. And what better reference than The Lancet, a respected medical journal?
The recent conviction of two Iranian doctors could be detrimental to public health and sour relations between academics in Iran and the rest of the world.
By Kristin Elisabeth Solberg
Published in The Lancet, Volume 373, Number 9663, page 533
The conviction of the pioneering Iranian HIV/AIDS doctors Kamiar and Arash Alaei could have devastating effects on public health in the region and around the world, human-rights groups warn. On Dec 31, 2008, the Alaei brothers were tried behind closed doors in the Iranian capital Tehran. After a brief trial, in which some of the charges were kept secret, they were found guilty of plotting to overthrow the regime, and sentenced to 3 and 6 years in prison. The Iranian authorities claim the brothers, who founded the country’s first HIV/AIDS prevention programme in the late 1990s, were part of a US$32 million, US-funded “intelligence war” aimed at stirring up civil unrest and starting a revolution.
Human-rights groups have condemned the trial as unfair and politically motivated, and have warned of its far-reaching consequences on public health. “Public health will suffer in Iran, and around the world”, said Jonathan Hutson, chief communications officer with the US-based group Physicians for Human Rights. He added that the doctors were not known to be politically active. “If these doctors were engaged in any kind of warfare, it was only the battle to prevent and treat AIDS”, he said.
In a region where HIV/AIDS is taboo, the Alaei doctors’ work is widely regarded as pioneering and innovative. Working with the blessing of Iran’s religious leaders and the passive approval of the government, they believed in a holistic approach to the treatment and prevention of the infection, focusing primarily on harm reduction and injecting drug users. Among their initiatives is a nationwide needle-exchange programme— reflecting the needs of a country with one of the highest proportions of heroin users in the world. Their work has been praised by WHO and UNAIDS, and is widely seen as a model for the rest of the Middle East. The region faces one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS rates in the world, but its rulers have so far done little to combat the threat.
The charges against the Alaei brothers seems to stem from their work. The evidence against them, say human-rights groups, seems to include training people in public-health work; engaging with international non-governmental organisations; and attending conferences abroad. “These are not crimes, it is good medicine”, said Hutson. Reflecting the view of the medical community he said it was “shocked” when it learned of the arrest of the brothers in June, 2008.
The case could curb scholarly exchange between Iran and the rest of the world, campaigners now fear. Joe Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS Programme at Human Rights Watch, is alarmed by the potentially devastating effects of the case, especially on Middle Eastern countries. “It will be harder for Iranians to share their experiences, in, for example, harm reduction and HIV prevention, with other countries in the region”, he said. But the effects of the trial could reach far beyond HIV/ AIDS, Amon warned: “It will also be harder to learn from the experiences of other countries in addressing various different problems—be it HIV, SARS [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome], or avian influenza—which are really critical to global health and security.” It remains to be seen whether the case also signals a shift in Iran’s HIV/AIDS policy, or if the government is simply warning against close ties with the west. The conviction could be part of a general crackdown on opposition figures and activists ahead of the presidential election in June. If so, the many HIV/AIDS clinics set up by the Alaei brothers in Iranian cities and prisons should be allowed to continue their work. But with the doctors behind bars, campaigners believe the drive to battle HIV/AIDS will be substantially reduced. Some campaigners remain hopeful that the brothers will be released. Several scholars with ties to the west have been arrested in Iran since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took over in 2005; most have been released without conviction. The Alaei brothers’ attorney has announced that he will appeal the verdict. Some activists believe that the government will respond to the public outcry from health professionals around the world. “The doctors should be freed immediately, so they can go about their business saving lives in Iran”, said Hutson.
A petition to free the doctors can be signed here: http://iranfreethedocs.org.
The Baha’i International Community sends a letter to the Prosecutor General of the Islamic Republic of Iran
March 6, 2009
The situations of the Baha’is in Iran is unfortunately not getting any better, however many people have been joining in to protest their plight. And so, the Baha’i International Community sent on, two days ago, a letter to the Prosecutor General of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
As the Baha’i World News Service explains: “The letter comes after a series of statements from Ayatollah Najafabadi quoted in the Iranian news media leveling charges at the Baha’is and stating that the ad hoc arrangements that tend to the spiritual and social affairs of the Baha’i community of Iran are illegal.”
I’m a little biased about this, so please do not hesitate to correct me if I’m wrong; but this letter is absolutely amazing in that while respectful and polite, it doesn’t hesitate to broach, openly and honestly, the very sensitive yet important topic at hand.
For example, the letter neither hides the fact that the Baha’i community in Iran exists nor that it has been trying for the last thirty years to manage its spiritual and social life within the laws set by the Government of Iran: “The steps that have been taken to formulate the response of the Iranian Bahá’í community to your announcement have surely been communicated to you. The Yaran and the Khademin, the small groups that have been attending to the spiritual and social needs of the several hundred thousand Bahá’ís of Iran, the former at the national level and the latter at the local, have expressed their willingness to bring to a close their collective functioning. This decision has been made for no other reason than to demonstrate yet again the goodwill that the Bahá’ís have consistently shown to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the past thirty years.”
It needs to be explained that in other countries in the world, the Baha’i community is administered by an elected National Spiritual Assembly at the national level and by elected Local Spiritual Assemblies at the local level. In 1983, the Prosecutor General of Iran called for the dismantling of the Baha’i administrative structure in Iran; in response, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran dissolved itself and the rest of the administrative apparatus in Iran.
It might have been devious of the Baha’is to hide the existence of their ad hoc groups that kept tending to the spiritual and social needs of their community; however, as the letter explains: “For some twenty years, government agencies had regular contact with the Yaran and the Khademin — some times friendly and other times in the form of unreasonably long and aggressive interrogations — consulted with their members and were entirely aware of their activities. The possibility of some degree of dialogue between the Bahá’ís and government agencies seemed to be emerging.” So the Government of Iran has always been fully aware of these ad hoc groups they are now denouncing as illegal.
When considering the past in light of the above facts, it seems clear that, as it is happening now, were the Prosecutor General to ask the Baha’is to dismantle these committees, they would have done so without hesitation. The Baha’i International Community isn’t asking for the Governement of Iran’s mercy in regards to these ad hoc groups, which are already being dismantled, but rather it is asking for fairness in the Prosecutor General’s assessment of the situation.
The Baha’is, in Iran and everywhere around the world, have always striven to maintain an open and honest dialog with their governments. The value given to the point of view of Baha’is by such governments can be demonstrated by two simple facts: the Baha’i International Community’s Office at the United Nations in New York is often asked to release statements, and the National Baha’i Communities of many countries such as Canada are also often asked for such statements.
Further reflection of such honesty is evident in the letter; for example, it clearly states that the Baha’i International Community doesn’t hide that it trusts that the Baha’is in Iran, steadfast in their faith in Baha’u'llah, will yet again figure out a way of catering to its spiritual needs while fully obeying the Government of Iran: “The Universal House of Justice has assured us that the disruption in the functioning of these groups need not be seen as a cause for concern. There is no doubt in the minds of millions of Bahá’ís residing in virtually every country around the world — nor in the minds of many others who are watching these events with impartiality and who are aware of the historical development of the Faith—that the Bahá’ís in Iran will find ways of managing the spiritual life of their community, as they have done for generations over the past one hundred and sixty-five years of persecution.” Even faced with groundless and unfair accusations, the Baha’i International Community is therefore continuing it’s policy of honesty and openness by stating what the future holds for the Baha’i Community in Iran: figuring out a legal way of catering to its spiritual needs.
Hardly seems like a crime, does it?
This mix of obedience to the government and steadfastness is probably what has prompted the Government of Iran to accuse Baha’is of various crimes they are not guilty of. Unfortunately, these false accusations do nothing to find a peaceful, amicable and human way for the Baha’is to live in Iran while contributing to the development of Iran, and I sincerely hope that the letter from the Baha’i International Community will clarify any misconception or miscommunication to clear the way for an open and honest discussion between the two.
The most powerful paragraph of this letter in my opinion is the following: “In light of these well-established facts, Your Honor, it is difficult to understand how words such as “manipulative” and “deceitful,” “dangerous” and “threatening,” can be applied to Bahá’í activity in Iran. Do you consider dangerous the efforts of a group of young people who, out of a sense of obligation to their fellow citizens, work with youngsters from families of little means to improve their mathematics and language skills and to develop their abilities to play a constructive part in the progress of their nation? Is it a threat to society for Bahá’ís to discuss with their neighbors noble and high-minded ideals, reinforcing the conviction that the betterment of the world is to be achieved through pure and goodly deeds and through commendable and seemly conduct? In what way is it manipulative for a couple to speak in the privacy of their home with a few friends confused by the portrayal of Bahá’ís in the mass media and to share with them the true nature of their beliefs, which revolve around such fundamental verities as the oneness of God and the oneness of humankind? What duplicity is there if a child at school, after listening to offensive language about the Founder of her Faith Whom she so loves, politely raises her hand and requests permission to explain to her classmates some of the teachings she follows? What deceit is there if a young person, committed to the acquisition of knowledge and learning, seeks the right from the authorities to enter university without having to lie about his faith? What harm is done if several families gather together periodically for communal worship and for the discussion of matters of concern to them all? Given that the human soul has no sex, is it so alarming for someone to express the view that men and women are equal in the sight of God and should be able to work shoulder to shoulder in all fields of human endeavor? And is it so unreasonable for a small group of people, in the absence of the administrative structures prescribed in their teachings, to facilitate the marriage of young couples, the education of children and the burial of the dead in conformity with the tenets of their Faith?“
I could go on and one about this amazing letter, but perhaps, after almost 1′500 words, I should practice the art of moderation and let you read it for yourself here. You can also read the report of the Baha’i World News Service here.
‘We are ashamed!’ – an open letter from a group of Iranians in solidarity to the Baha’is
February 6, 2009
All I can say is thank you.
Editor’s Note: The following is an open letter from a group of academics, writers, artists, journalists and Iranian activists throughout the world to the Baha’i community. This letter has been signed by a large number of the most prominent Iranian intellectuals.
We are ashamed!
A century and a half of oppression and silence is enough!
In the name of goodness and beauty, and in the name of humanity and liberty!
As Iranian human beings, we are ashamed for what has been perpetrated upon the Baha’is in the last century and a half in Iran.
We firmly believe that every Iranian, “without distinction of any kind, such as, race, color, sex, language, religion, politics or other opinions,” and also without regard to ethnic background, “social origin, property, birth or other status,” is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, from the very inception of the Baha’i Faith, the followers of this religion in Iran have been deprived of many provisions of human rights solely on account of their religious convictions.
According to historical documents and evidence, from the commencement of the Babi Movement followed by the appearance of the Baha’i Faith, thousands of our countrymen have been slain by the sword of bigotry and superstition only for their religious beliefs. Just in the first decades of its establishment, some twenty thousand of those who stood identified with this faith community were savagely killed throughout various regions of Iran.
We are ashamed that during that period, no voice of protest against these barbaric murders was registered;
We are ashamed that until today the voice of protest against this heinous crime has been infrequent and muted;
We are ashamed that in addition to the intense suppression of Baha’is during its formative decades, the last century also witnessed periodic episodes of persecution of this group of our countrymen, in which their homes and businesses were set on fire, and their lives, property and families were subjected to brutal persecution – but all the while, the intellectual community of Iran remained silent;
We are ashamed that during the last thirty years, the killing of Baha’is solely on the basis of their religious beliefs has gained legal status and over two-hundred Baha’is have been slain on this account;
We are ashamed that a group of intellectuals have justified coercion against the Baha’i community of Iran;
We are ashamed of our silence that after many decades of service to Iran, Baha’i retired persons have been deprived of their right to a pension;
We are ashamed of our silence that on the account of their fidelity to their religion and truthfulness in stating this conviction, thousands of Baha’i youth have been barred from education in universities and other institutions of higher learning in Iran;
We are ashamed that because of their parents’ religious beliefs, Baha’i children are subjected to denigration in schools and in public.
We are ashamed of our silence over this painful reality that in our nation, Baha’is are systematically oppressed and maligned, a number of them are incarcerated because of their religious convictions, their homes and places of business are attacked and destroyed, and periodically their burial places are desecrated;
We are ashamed of our silence when confronted with the long, dark and atrocious record that our laws and legal system have marginalized and deprived Baha’is of their rights, and the injustice and harassment of both official and unofficial organs of the government towards this group of our countrymen;
We are ashamed for all these transgressions and injustices, and we are ashamed for our silence over these deeds.
We, the undersigned, asked you, the Baha’is, to forgive us for the wrongs committed against the Baha’i community of Iran.
We will no longer be silent when injustice is visited upon you.
We stand by you in achieving all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights.
Let us join hands in replacing hatred and ignorance with love and tolerance.
February 3, 2009
Take a look at the full list of signatures here.
