Bahá’í World/Volume 23/Update, the Situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran
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Update: The Sitljation o1 THEBAHA’IS 1N IRAN
inee 1979, the Bahá’í community in Iran, numbering some
350,000, has been systematically persecuted, harassed, and discriminated against in a variety of ways by the governing regime. More than 200 Bahá’ís have been killed or have disappeared and are presumed dead, and as of August 1994 seven Bahá’ís were still held in prisons because of their religious beliefs; three death sentences still stand.
It is now estimated that some 15,000 Bahá’í graves were desecrated in the summer of 1993, when authorities bulldozed the oldest Bahá’í cemetery in Tehran to make way for an Islamic cultural center, leaving the Bahá’ís only a wasteland for their use where they are not permitted to mark graves of their loved ones.1 Many other Bahá’í properties, some belonging to widows of Bahá’ís who have been executed, have also been seized by the government.
Bahá’ís can expect little satisfaction in the country’s Islamic legal system. In one case, two Muslims who killed a Bahá’í were
1. For further details, see The Bahá’í World 1993—94, pp. 139—145.
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released from prison because the person they killed was “an unprotected infidel.” Bahá’í marriages and divorces are not recognized, and Bahá’ís may not legally inherit property. It is extremely difficult for them to obtain passports and exit Visas to travel outside the country. With regard to education, Bahá’í youth are systematically barred from institutions of higher education such as colleges and universities. Bahá’ís even experience difficulties in circulating Bahá’í literature within their own community.
The Faith’s members in Iran also suffer great economic hardship. More than 10,000 have been dismissed from positions in government and public education, pensions have been revoked, and in some cases Bahá’ís have been required to return salaries and pensions received. Bahá’í farmers are prevented from joining farmers’ cooperatives, often the only source of credit, seeds, pesticide, and fertilizer. Private companies have often been compelled to discharge members of the Faith, and in some locations Bahá’ís have been prevented from operating their own businesses.
In 1993 the Special Representative of the United Nations Human Rights Commission revealed the existence of a secret official document asserting that the government Will treat Bahá’ís “such that their progress and development shall be blocked” and urging the development of a plan to uproot the cultural foundations of the Bahá’í community outside Iran. This official policy statement provides ample demonstration that the international community must continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the treatment of Iran’s Bahá’ís does not deteriorate even further. During 1994—95, both the United States and the United Nations acted to keep the spotlight of international pressure on the government of that country.
In the United States
Following on the US Senate resolution “Concerning the Emancipation of the Iranian Bahá’í Community,” passed unanimously by both the Senate, in November 1993, and the House of Representatives, in April 1994—the sixth such concurrent resolution passed since 1982—a group of five Senators from both major
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parties wrote a letter to President Clinton on 21 July 1994. In it, they expressed their concern over the “officially—sponsored repression that has been directed against Bahá’ís since the Iranian Revolution” and urged the US administration “to continue its leadership and diplomatic efforts on the issue of the Bahá’ís and to continue to speak out in support of the cause of tolerance and freedom in Iran through the Voice of America and other appropriate public Channels.” The letter noted that the Bahá’ís of Iran “continue to be singled out for persecution based on their religious beliefs.”
In response, a 23 August 1994 letter from President Clinton to the Chairman of the Senate expressed concern over the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran, praising the Senate resolution as “a useful reminder that we must continue to be vigilant in calling attention to the plight of the Bahá’ís” and promising that his administration “will continue to work to create an international consensus to influence Iran to change its behavior on human rights.”
United Nations
The interim report of the Special Representative on Iran, Professor Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, to the United Nations General Assembly included eight paragraphs on the Iranian Bahá’í community. Canada, Ireland, Sweden, and Germany (representing the European Union) made specific mention of the Bahá’ís in their oral presentations to the Third Committee, the General Assembly’s social, humanitarian, and cultural committee that includes all United Nations members. On 13 December 1994, the Third Committee of the 49th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted another strongly—worded resolution on Iran, with specific mention of the Bahá’ís. The resolution was adopted with a vote of 68 in favor and 23 against, with 56 abstentions.
Shortly after, on 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning human rights abuses in Iran, with specific mention of the Bahá’ís in two paragraphs, noting the “discriminatory treatment of minorities for reason of their religious beliefs, notably the Bahá’í’s, whose existence as a Viable religious community is threatened.” The
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General Assembly also resolved to “continue examination of the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran including the situation of minority groups, such as the Bahá’ís, during its fiftieth session under the item entitled ‘Human Rights Questions’ in the light of additional elements provided by the Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social Council.” The resolution was cosponsored by 27 countries, with 74 voting in favor, 25 against, and 55 abstentions. A further 31 countries did not participate in the vote.
The Bahá’í International Community was active at the 5 lst session of the UN Human Rights Commission, making an oral statement during its meeting in Geneva between 29 J anuary and 10 March 1995. The statement reviewed the unrelenting economic strangulation to which the Bahá’í community has been subjected, the barring Of Bahá’ís from institutions of higher learning in Iran, the destruction and desecration Of Bahá’í properties, including cemeteries and holy places, and the denial of basic economic, social, and civil rights. On 8 March 1995, by a vote of 28 to 8, the UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the continued Violation of human rights in Iran, taking particular note of the situation of the Bahá’í community there. Like the General Assembly resolution, the Human Rights Commission resolution noted that the Bahá’ís’ “existence as a Viable religious community...is threatened.” This was the thirteenth resolution since 1983 expressing concern over human rights Violations in Iran and taking note of the Bahá’í community’s special situation. Before the General Assembly and the Commission acted, resolutions concerning the human rights situation in Iran, that included specific mention of the Bahá’ís, were passed by both the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Sub-Commission 0n the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities.
In the News Newspapers around the world continued to mention the Iranian
Bahá’í community, particularly with regard to the country’s human rights situation. Some highlights of this coverage follow.
The persecution of Iran’s Bahá’ís was mentioned as a matter
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of course in numerous newspaper articles focusing on abuses perpetrated against other religious leaders, notably Christians, in that country during 1994. Publications such as the International Herald Tribune, the New York Times, and London’s newspapers the Guardian, the Universe, and the Times mentioned the Bahá’í community in this connection. Egypt’s newspaper Al-Ahrcim reported on the UN Human Rights Commission resolution condemning Iran’s human rights Violations and specifically mentioned the Bahá’ís, as did Belgian newspapers such as Le Soir. Papers in Taiwan and Ireland also mentioned the persecution of Iran’s Bahá’ís.
A report about the US Senators’ letter and President Clinton’s reply appeared in the Iran Times International of Washington, DC, in September 1994 and was reprinted elsewhere, including in France’s Revue de la presse arabe, iranienne et turque later the same month. The Voice of America Persian Service also broadcast an editorial about the Senators’ resolution, which drew an angry response from one ayatollah the following Friday in his prayer sermon at Tehran University.
Olya Roohizadegan, whose book Olya’s Story chronicles her imprisonment with other Bahá’í women following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, continued to travel widely during 1994—95 to promote the publication. Among the newspapers covering her Visits in the US were the L05 Angeles Times, the Phoenix Gazette, the Dallas Morning News, and the San Jose Mercury News. During her travels in Ireland, the Evening Press and Ulster’s Sunday World, as well as other papers, printed stories about her experiences.
Conclusion
Principles of the Bahá’í Faith require Bahá’ís to be obedient to the government of the country in which they live, and so the community has never posed, nor does it now pose, any threat to the authorities. In 1983, when ordered to disband its elected administrative system that organizes community life, Iran’s Bahá’í community obeyed. The persecution is based solely on the members’ religious beliefs, and the Bahá’ís have been consistently offered their lives, their freedom, and the return of their property
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if they will recant their faith. The Bahá’ís of Iran, who desire only their basic rights as outlined in the International Bill of Human Rights, have suffered for fifteen years. In support of their spiritual brothers and sisters, Bahá’ís around the world have made use of the few avenues of appeal open to them, including the UN human rights system and direct access to governments through National Spiritual Assemblies. In 1994—95, there was ample evidence that both governments and international
agencies were still keenly aware of their situation. '
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