Aadel Collection
Local Bahais Fear for Faithful in Iran (Clearwater Sun – 7/30/1983)
i ) CLEARWATER, FLA. SUN 0. 41 523—S. 43,015 TAMPAST. PEtERSBURG METRO AREA JUL IJ $(.:; By ANNETTE DROLET Sun staff writer When Kainbiz and Farah Rouhani hear news re- ports about the persecutions of Baha'is in their na- tive Iran, they feel especially alarmed. Besides being Baha'is themselves, the Clearwater couple has relatives iii that Middle Eastern country. Though their loved ones have escaped harm so far, the Rouhanis fear their relatives will fall victim to 0 Baha'i the ‘one true faith,' next page the violence that has left at least 150 Baha'is dead n Iran since the Ayatollah Khomeini's regime came to power in 1979. “The Iranians say they want to eliminate all Ba- ba'is,” Mrs. Rouhani said. “They're killing people because of their beliefs. In that sense, I feel it's a genocide.” Mrs. Rouhani said letters from her Iranian rela- tives—an aunt, uncles and grandmothers—have con- tained no information on the persecutions, because her loved ones are afraid similar things will happen to them if they talk about the situation. “I think all the correspondence is read” by Iranian authorities, Mrs. Rouhani said. “What my husband and I know about the situation is what we see on television and what we read in the newspapers.” In the past two months alone, according to news reports, at least 17 Baha'is have been murdered in Iran. On June 18, for instance, 10 women were hanged after hours of questioning, threats and assur- ances that they could save their lives if they would renounce their faith. Two days before the women died, 81X Baha'i men, ranging in age from 23 to 60, also were hanged. On June 24, another young man was executed. “They're beginning to kill groups of Baha'is with- out any trial or levying any charges,” said Linda Brown of the Clearwater Baha'i community. “There's not even a pretense at a trial. “The families don't find out about the deaths until afterward. The Baha'is aren't given the rights the rest of Islam has. In the Islamic religion, burial is very important. After they execute these Baha'is, they throw them in a mass grave. Even after death they do as much as they can to degrade.” In addition to being murdered, Baha'is in Iran (who number about 350,000) are being imprisoned, deni& .heir pensions, ousted from schools and jobs and deprived of their homes, businesses and other properties, according to news reports. S v r, 'l w k ape. bcet 130 P,aha'is. includine Since the Ayatollah Khomeini (above) has been in power in Iran, at least 150 Baha'is there have died because of their beliefs. Yet, Baha'is (whose symbol is shown in inset) throughout the world remain faithful to the teachings of a prophet who coming was foretold'by the Bab. The Shrine of the Bab (left) is part of the Baha'i World Center in Haifa, Israel. I3]1 C) (1)0249 4 Local Sahals- fear fOr faithful in -Iran
v ry important After they execute these Baha'iS, they throw them in a mass grave. Even after death-- they do as much as they can to degrade.” in addition to being murdered, Baba'is in Iran (who. number about 350,000) are being imprisoned. denie.' lieir pensions, ousted from schools and jobs and deprived of their homes, businesses and other properties. according to news reports. Several weeks ago, about 130 Baha'iS, including women and children, from the northern village of Ival were confined three days and denied food and water unless they converted to Islam. Unyielding, they eventually were released, at- tacked by mobs, driven from their homes and forced to hide in a forest bordering their village. “All these victims are innocent people who have comniitt d no crime,” said Mary Allen, public tot or- mation representative for the Clearwater. Baha'i communitY. “We just can't sit back and let this happen.” Baha'is don't know what action to take that will stop the persecutions. Mrs. Brown said. But she and others of the faithful think letter-Writing campaigns to elected representatives will help. “it's making the masses aware of what's happen- tog,” Mrs. Allen said. “People have to know what's going on. When that was happening to the Jews, we didn't know about it until it was over. This cannot happen again.” This afternoon, Baba'is and other concerned per- sons who want to “stand up an be counted” may attend a memorial service for the murdered Iranian Baha'iS, Mrs. Brown said. Services, sponsored by the Bahs'is of Largo, will be held at 3 p.m. at the Largo CommunitY Center, 65 FOurth St. N.W. Local Baha'is believe that it enough people voice their outrage against the situation in Iran, the Kho- meini regime could be swayed by the criticism. “Although Iran says it doesn't care about the views of the American people, it still has an effect,” Mrs. Rouhani said. Since the Ayatollah Khomeini (above) has been in power in Iran, at least 150 Baha'is there have died because of their beliefs. Yet, Baha'is (whose symbol is shown in inset) throughout the world remain faithful to the teachings of a prophet who coming was foretold by the Bab. The Shrine of the Bab (left) is part of the Bahal World Center in Haifa, Israel. Several governments, including the United States, Canada, West Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Switzerland and Luxembourg, and the United Na- tions Commission on Human Rights have protested the perseCutiOnS. Mrs. Brown recalled an outbreak of mob violence against the Baha'is in the 195 that was quelled by the Shah of Iran after telegrams were sent by Ba- ha's from throughout the world. “The shah realized the Baha'i faith had spread way beyond Iran and wasn't just a local problem anymore,” she said. “Public pressure led him to stop the physical danger.” Balia'is living in the birthplace of their faith have been under threat of peril since 1844, when a young Persian merchant who became known as the Bab promised that God would send a prophet made in the image of Buddha, Mnh,.mmed and thrist. Baha'is say that prophet is Baha-u-ilab, an early disciple of the Bab and founder of their faith. The Bab's teachings, which spread throughout Per- sia, provoked opposition by Moslem clergy and the government. Consequently, the Bsb and more than 20,000 of his followers were killed. Among those who died was Mrs. Bouhani's great- great aunt, who was burned at the stake. Mrs. Rouhani, who moved-to America 18 years ago after a decade in Iran, has firsthand knowledge of discrimation of Baha'is in her native land. “In school, the teachers and students picked on you,” she said. Mrs. Rouhani remembers having the (Please see IRAN, next page)
* k'an (from page 1 C) grade on one of her assignments re- In present-day executions, the Irani- duced from -a .“98” to a “50” because an courts have labeled the Baha'is as she began the essay with a quote from American spies, agents of Zionism, Baha'i writings, collaborators with imperialism, ene- “We couldn't publicly talk about the mies of Iran, moral degenerates and, faith because we were afraid fOr in the case of women, prostitutes. pie to know we were. Baha'i,” she said. mc last accusation, American Ba- “The Baha'is, were ziOt looked onkind- ha'i officials say, stems from the Ba . • - ha'i belief in the equality of the sexes, The reason, according to a Baha'i which Islam rejects and which the publication, is that fundamentalist Khomeini regime considers to be de- Moslems in Iran regard the Baha'i prayed. - - faith as a threat to Islam, which they All of the Iranians' charges against • hold to be th& final-religion for all the Baha ‘is—peace-loving people who people advocate obedience to government and “The Baha'is are denounced as non-involvement in politics—can be re- ‘heretics' and as ‘renegades' from futOd, Mrs. Brown said. lam be ause the founders of their reli- Though saddened by the plight of her • gion iii the last century were, for the Baha'i brethren tn Iran, Mrs. Brown most part, Persian Muslims (or Mos- predicts that a positive future will lems),.. and because their. proph- emerge from' today's darkness. et. ..had the misfortune tobeborn “As painful as it is for Bàh is tO after Mohammed, who is considered live through this period, it can only (by Moslems) to be the last messenger help the faith in the long run because of God.” That statement was reprinted that's what it's done in the past,” she. from the French daily,- LeMonde, in a said. “It's the persecutions that have Baba'i pamphlet.: . - . . : . actually pushed through the faith.”