Bahá’í World/Volume 26/Update, the Situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran

←Previous

The Bahá’í World Volume 26

Next→

[Page 51]

Update: The Situatign 01 THE BAHA’IS INIRAN

O n 17 J anuary 1998, an open letter from the Bahá’í community of the United States to the President of Iran appeared in The New York Times and a week later, in T he L05 Angeles Times. The letter was a response to statements made by President Mohammad Khatami during a televised interview the previous week on CNN, in which he asserted that “religion and liberty are consistent and compatible,” that “prosperous life should hinge on three pillars: religiosity, liberty and justice,” and that these “are the assets and aspirations of the Islamic Revolution as it enters the twenty-first century.” In their letter, the Bahá’ís Of the United States asked if Iran’s Bahá’ís, who constitute the country’s largest religious minority, are to be included in these aspirations. The letter continued, “Your explicitly stated determination to fulfill the provisions of the Iranian Constitution and to establish the rule of law gives us hope that the freedom of the Bahá’í community in Iran openly to practice its religion will be guaranteed.” Finally, the Bahá’í community of the United States expressed its hope that the United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for the “emancipation” of the Iranian Bahá’í community Will be implemented.

51

[Page 52]THEE Bahá’í WORLD

A RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC

MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT KHATAMI

TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

(AX)

January 13, 1998 His Excellency President Mohammad Khatarni Islamic Republic of Iran Tehran, Iran

Your Excellency,

We, the American Bahá’ís, residing in more than seven thousand cities and towns across the United States and representing all races, cultures and ethnic origins in our nation, have listened with great interest to your words addressed to the American people, of which we are an organic part.

Your message prompts us to address you directly, because of your expressed dedication to the principles of freedom, justice and the rule of law — principles which, as you noted, are cherished by the American people.

We who enjoy such freedoms hope that our co-religionists in Iran, who have been deprived of them, will be granted their full rights as law-abiding citizens of your nation.

We are particularly encouraged by your assertion “that religion and liberty are consistent and compatible.“ As you said, “Human experience has taught us that prosperous life should hinge on three pillars: religiosity, liberty and justice.” These, you concluded, “are the assets and aspirations of the Islamic Revolution as it enters the twenty-firSt century.”

Are the Bahá’ís of Iran - your nation’s largest religious minority —— included in these aspirations?

Your explicitly stated determination to fulfill the provisions of the Iranian Constitution and to establish the rule of law gives us hope that the freedom of the Bahá’í community in Iran openly to practice its religion will be guaranteed.

May we not expect, in the light of your commitment to human dignity and freedom. that the United Nations General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/52/142), which calls for the emancipation of the Bahá’í community of Iran, will now be implemented?

Respectfully yours,

THE BAHA‘lS OF THE UNITED STATES

Robert Calvin Henderson Secretary

‘ NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA'lS OF THF UNITED SI'AI'FS ‘

1320 NINI IHNIII 5L. N.W.. Sum 70! ~ WMIHNMUN. l).(1.2003(» - 202.833.8000

The open letter to the President ofIran from the Bahá’í community of

the United States that appeared in the 1 7 January 1998 edition of The New York Times and other newspapers in the United States.

52

[Page 53]BAHA’ts LN I RAN

While President Khatami is broadly regarded as moderate in his Views on many subjects, the Bahá’í community of Iran has seen no discernible Change in government policies since he took office in the summer of 1997. And in fact, the American community’s open letter met only complete silence in official Iranian circles. The Iran Daily newspaper, a publication of the Islamic Republic News Agency, did quote an article from another Iranian publication that summarized the open letter and reaffirmed the standard governmental position that the Bahá’í Faith is “a political group. . .and is not a true religion, but a political doctrine to deviate Muslims from their true path.”

To refute accusations such as these and to press for the restoration of the Iranian community’s rights, over the past eighteen years the Bahá’í International Community has taken its case to the United Nations and has sought to keep the situation of Iran’s Bahá’ís before the gaze of the governments and peoples of the world. The year under review was an historic one for the Bahá’í community in that forum, since it was the first time that all three bodies that monitor human rights issues—the Third Committee, the General Assembly, and the Human Rights Commission—called for the emancipation of the Bahá’í community of Iran.

The year began with the unprecedented call for full emancipation contained in the United Nations’ Third Committee resolution passed 25 November 1997. It “calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: to implement fully the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur. . .on religious intolerance relating to the Bahá’ís and to other religious minority groups, including Christians, until they are completely emancipated.”1 The resolution was cosponsored by 33 countries, including four new cosponsors: Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Lithuania, and the Marshall Islands. Specific mention of the Bahá’í issue was included in the statements of several missions, including that given on behalf of the European Union. The result of the vote was 68 in favor and 27 against, with 49 abstentions.

1. For further details concerning the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, see The Bahá’í World 1995—96, pp. 140—41.

53

[Page 54]THE Bahá’í W_C>_RL_D.

Just a few weeks later, on 12 December, the fifty-second session of the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution with identical wording, expressing its concern “at the grave breaches of the human rights of the Bahá’ís.” The vote in this forum was 74 in favor and 32 against, with 5 6 abstentions.

The fifty-fourth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, held from 16 March to 24 April 1998 in Geneva, heard the report of the Special Representative on Iran, Professor Maurice D. Copithome, which states clearly that “The situation of the Bahá’ís continues to Violate accepted international norms. .. Reports of cases in which the human rights of Bahá’ís have been breached and of situations of discrimination and even persecution, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, refusal of entry to universities, confiscation of property, and dismissal from employment, continued to be received.” The report reiterates Professor Copithome’s View that the recommendations previously made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Professor Abdelfattah Amer, would constitute “an important first step” towards the improvement of the situation of Iran’s Bahá’ís.

Statements made by several government delegations were helpful in drawing attention to the plight of the Bahá’ís. Ireland spoke of “particularly vulnerable groups, such as the Bahá’í community in many countries but particularly in Iran”; Norway noted, “There has been a significant increase in the number of executions and the authorities show a lack of respect for freedom of speech and freedom of religion on numerous occasions, with particular reference to the situation for members of the Bahá’í community”; Canada referred to “Iran’s relentless persecution of the Bahá’ís” as “another case of selective application of human rights, as is that country’s disregard for some aspects of freedom of expression”; the US. delegation stated, “we urge Iran to cease its persecution of religious minorities like the Bahá’ís, Christians, and others”; and Australia expressed its continuing concern about the human rights situation in Iran, “including treatment of the Bahá’í minority.”

On 22 April 1998, the session adopted a strongly worded resolution on Iran, of which three paragraphs make direct reference to the Bahá’ís. The Commission expresses its concern “At continuing grave Violations of the human rights of the Bahá’ís” and at the

54

[Page 55]Bahá’ís I__

1m

death sentences against Messrs. Dhabihu’llah Mahrarni, Mfisa Talibi, Bihnam Mimaqi, and Kayvan Qalajabadi. It calls upon the Iranian government “To implement fully the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance relating to the Bahá’ís, Christians and other minority religious groups, until they are completely emancipated” and states the Commission’s intention to continue its examination of Iran’s human rights situation in its next session.

Imprisonment and Death The position of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Government that the Bahá’í Faith “is not a true religion, but a political doctrine to deviate Muslims from their true path” is one that it has maintained since it assumed power in 1979. Such a stance has been used to justify persecution of Bahá’ís on a variety of pretexts. The government has been responsible for the deaths of more than two hundred followers and the imprisonment of thousands more. In other cases, governmental agencies have turned a blind eye towards the killing of Bahá’ís by various groups. In July 1997, for example, two Bahá’ís were killed because of their religious beliefs. The first, Masha’llah ‘Inayati, a sixty-three-year—old resident of Tehran, was arrested under circumstances which are not Clear while he was attending a Bahá’í meeting in his native Village of Ardistan. Taken to prison in Iṣfahán and held there for about a week, he was severely beaten on all parts of his body before being transferred to a hospital, where he died. On the death certificate, “cause of death” is given as “will be known later,” suggesting that the doctor who filled it in might also have been under threat.

The second Bahá’í killed that same month was Shahram Reza’i, a young man serving as a conscript in the Iranian army. While stationed on a military base near the City of Rasht, he was shot in the head by his superior officer and died the following day. The officer, who was responsible for weapons training, maintained that the bullets were fired in error and was released after a few days when it was determined that the dead soldier was a Bahá’í. The court did not order the officer to pay the blood money usually demanded in such cases; rather, he was required only to pay the cost of the three bullets that killed Mr. Reza’i. It is understood that the new government in Iran later ordered that the officer be

55

[Page 56]TILE BAHAJ WQBLQ

rearrested, but nothing further is known about the matter. This was the seventh instance of a Bahá’í engaged in compulsory military service in Iran having been killed by officers or other soldiers.

Aside from the threat of death, Iran’s Bahá’ís face an increased possibility of short—term arbitrary imprisonment. Over the past three years, more than two hundred Bahá’ís have been arrested and detained anywhere from forty-eight hours to six months. During 1997—98, between eleven and twenty—one Bahá’ís were in prison because of their beliefs; in April 1998 the number stood at fourteen. Charges against them include “Zionist Bahá’í activities,” apostasy, endangering the country’s security by holding a children’s art exhibition, enrolling a Muslim into the Faith, “continuing ‘family life’ meetings,” and not having a work permit. Two Bahá’ís detained with several Muslims on charges of “misconduct” early in 1996 were sentenced to eight years in prison after refusing to recant their faith as demanded by the authorities in order to be freed. The Muslims detained with them were released soon after their arrest.

Four of those now in prison remain under the sentence of death. Messrs. Kayvan Lhalajabadi, Bihnam Mimaqi, Mt’isa Talibi, and D_habihu’llah Mahrami have no access to their lawyers, although their counsel continues to act on their behalf. The first three, held in the Evin prison in Tehran, are permitted Visits with their families once a week—and these at the discretion of the court. Their wives are now required to present proof of marriage in order to Visit them. Since Bahá’í marriage certificates are not considered valid by Iranian authorities, the prisoners suffer an additional hardship.

The charges of “Zionist Bahá’í activities” against Messrs. _I§_halajabadi and Mithaqi, imprisoned since 1989, arise solely from their membership in the Bahá’í community. Arrested in 1979, Mr Talibi is Charged with apostasy and with teaching the Faith, for which he was sentenced in 1996. Mr. Mahrami was arrested on the charge of apostasy in 1995 and sentenced in 1996, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court in J anuary 1997.2

2. See The Bahá’í World 1995—96, p. 140 for further information regarding the case of Mr. Mahrami and The Bahá’í World 1996—97, pp. 150—51 for additional details regarding the cases of all four men.

56

[Page 57]

Bahá’í

U)

mIN

Other T ypes ofPersecution

The Bahá’í Faith has no clergy. Throughout the world, its community organization and governance are carried out by democratically elected administrative institutions. Since 1983, when the Iranian government outlawed these bodies, the Bahá’í community in that country has been denied the right to organize and function as a Viable religious community. Gradually its members have developed makeshift arrangements to worship in small groups, to conduct classes for Children, and to take care of other community needs. Authorities, however, disrupt meetings and sometimes arrest teachers of the Children’s or “family life” classes. As of April 1998, five persons remained in prison on such charges.

Since the early years of the Islamic Revolution Bahá’í youth have been barred from legally recognized institutions of higher learning. Prior to the Revolution, Bahá’ís had been among the best educated groups in Iran, and the erosion of the educational level of the community is obviously designed to lead to both its intellectual and material impoverishment.

To meet the educational needs of as many of its youth as its resources allow, the Iranian Bahá’í community established its own higher education program in 1987. To date, several hundred youth have enrolled in it; by 1996 eleven students had graduated with the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. The security of those participating is now under question, however, since government officials temporarily seized all the student records of the open university. While no students have been arrested to date, the possibility exists that the files were copied and the authorities will use that information in some way detrimental to the community.

Regarded as “unprotected infidels” under the Iranian Constitution, Bahá’ís face a situation in which their rights are ignored with impunity. Bahá’í marriage and divorce are not legally recognized in Iran, and Bahá’ís have been denied inheritance rights on the basis of their faith. Bahá’ís in some communities have been summoned to security offices on various specious pretexts, only to be insulted and belittled in the hope of creating fear in their families and of weakening their spirit. Travel outside and even inside Iran is often impeded or denied by authorities. Passport applicants who state on the forms that they are Bahá’ís are generally refilsed. Only

57

[Page 58]fifilvfifiim, I 7 WW, I E. f I T “ ‘ I Liw‘fli I II IIILIIJJJi/J; 17L ,,

THE Bahá’í WORLD

determined persistence in the face of humiliation at the hands of officials has enabled some Bahá’ís to obtain passports for single trips or, in rare cases, multiple journeys. Iranian Bahá’ís outside Iran face similar treatment at Iranian embassies when attempting to renew their passports or secure Visas, except in countries where applicants are not required to state religious affiliation on their forms.

The recent practice of arresting Bahá’ís on the basis that they do not have work permits is another example of the ways in which selective discriminatory treatment adversely affects the Iranian Bahá’í community. While the law states that anyone who works or is self-employed must have a work permit, it is rarely enforced owing to the high unemployment rate. Requests by Bahá’ís for work permits are almost always denied.

Properties held by the Bahá’í community, including cemeteries, holy places, historical sites, administrative centers, and other assets, were seized by the authorities shortly after the 1979 revolution and, to date, none have been returned. In fact, many have been destroyed. Most distressing has been the seizure of Bahá’í cemeteries throughout the country. In 1993, for example, some fifteen thousand graves were desecrated when the Bahá’í cemetery in Tehran was confiscated to make way for a municipal cultural center. Bahá’ís have been relegated to areas of wasteland for the burial of their dead and are not permitted to identify grave sites.

Private and business properties held by individual Bahá’ís have also been arbitrarily confiscated. In Kashan, a mosque was built on land confiscated from Bahá’ís; complaints to the government, supported by ownership documents, have brought no results. Residents have been evicted from their homes and “inspections” by government officials in several cities have resulted in the seizure of items such as computers, Video recorders, televisions, a piano, and other musical equipment. Reports indicate that the majority of the Bahá’ís living in the city of Yazd are now prohibited from conducting any business transactions.

While property seizure is one method used to erode the economic base of the Bahá’í community, another is depriving its members of the means to earn a living. More than ten thousand Bahá’ís were dismissed from positions in government and educational institutions in the early 1980’s, solely on the basis of their religious beliefs;

58

[Page 59]BAHA'IS LN IRAN

their pensions were terminated—and in some cases they were required to pay back both salaries and pensions. Intimidation has been used to force Bahá’ís to abandon their professions; businesses have been forced to close for no reason; farmers are denied admission to cooperatives that supply credit, seeds, pesticide, and fertilizer. Many Bahá’ís are now unable to work and receive no unemployment benefits.

Other International Action While Iran’s Bahá’í community is still oppressed and circumscribed, its sister communities around the world remain active in their efforts to restore its rights and secure its freedom. The letter from the Bahá’í community of the United States to the government of Iran, Cited above, is one such undertaking.

Also in the United States, the situation of Iran’s Bahá’ís was treated in the Interim Report of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Religious F reedom Abroad. The Committee, which comprises twenty religious leaders and academics that reflect a diversity of beliefs and perspectives, was established in November 1996. Its mandate includes calling attention to problems of religious persecution and other Violations of religious freedom abroad and advising how to address them, as well as providing information on how to bring about reconciliation in areas of conflict, particularly where religion is a factor. The initial four paragraphs of a number of press articles about the Committee’s report focused on the persecution of the Bahá’ís and other religious minorities in Iran. The US State Department’s 1997 Iran Country Report on Human Rights Practices, released in January 1998, also included detailed descriptions of many of the human rights violations practiced against Bahá’ís.

On 27 J anuary 1998 “Voice of America” broadcast an editorial expressing the policy of the United States Government with regard to President Khatami’s address to the American people and stating that his words “may ring hollow to those who suffer religious persecution in lran—including Iran’s largest religious minority, the Bahá’ís.” The editorial went on to catalogue the list of discriminatory policies and activities against the Bahá’ís in that country. It concluded, “President Khatami’s words will only have meaning

59

[Page 60]when freedom of religion becomes a reality in Iran—and the persecution of Bahá’ís and other minorities comes to an end.”

C onclusion

For nineteen years Iran’s Bahá’í community has suffered repression under the Islamic Revolutionary Government. While official executions have abated under the glare of the international spotlight, the government’s recent actions continue to demonstrate that in Iran killing a Bahá’í is not regarded as homicide and that the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of Bahá’ís is sanctioned, that their property may be seized with impunity, and their civil rights likewise disregarded. The root policy of all such actions can be found in the 1991 secret government document on “the Bahá’í question.” Written and approved by Iran’s most senior clerical and civil authorities and adopted by Iran’s Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council, it directs not only that the “progress and development” of the Bahá’ís within Iran’s borders “shall be blocked” but also that “a plan shall be formulated to combat and destroy the cultural roots which this group has outside the country.” In the face of such an explicitly discriminatory policy, the worldwide Bahá’í community continues to labor to keep the case of its Iranian brothers and sisters in the consciousness—and conscienee—of the governments and leaders of the world. This is their only recourse.

60