Baha’is are asking us to speak up for their co-religionists in Iran

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/08/2022 (1144 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Recently, there’s been a lot of media attention about Salman Rushdie, who was attacked a week ago while delivering a lecture in Chautauqua, N.Y.

One focus of the reports is whether Iran was behind the attack, the result of an order by former supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In 1988 Khomeini pronounced a religious decree against Rushdie, calling on Muslims to kill him for blasphemy over his book, The Satanic Verses.

It is not known if the attacker, identified as Hadi Matar, 24, from New Jersey, did it under direction from Iran or independently. He has been charged with attempted murder and assault.

While the possible Iranian connection to the attack is being explored by the world’s press, another story about how Iran treats people it disagrees with is getting much less media attention.

Earlier this month the Muslim country renewed its persecution of the Baha’i minority, arresting leaders and destroying homes belonging to members of the group. The destruction took place in the village of Roushankouh, in the northern part of the country.

According to news reports, Iranian agents destroyed six homes, confiscated over 20 hectares of land and arrested more than 100 Baha’is.

The persecution is being closely watched by Winnipeg’s Baha’i community.

“The last two to three weeks there have been very coordinated efforts against Baha’is in Iran,” said Payam Towfigh, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is in the city.

“The Iranian government is conducting injustices and atrocities of the highest form,” he added. “And the only reason is because they are Baha’is. It is so very sad.”

Iranian persecution of the Baha’i faith goes back to the beginning of that faith, which started in the 19th century in what was then called Persia.

Its founder, Baha’i founder Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, known as Baha’u’llah, was imprisoned and then banished from Persia in 1853. He went through several stages of exile and imprisonment until 1868, when he went to what today is Israel. He died there in 1892.

Baha’is recognize him as an additional messenger who appeared after the Prophet Muhammad — something that causes the Iranian government to see them as heretics and apostates to the faith.

Today there are between five to eight million Baha’is in the world, with most living in India. About 300,000 live in Iran.

Although Baha’is have been persecuted in Iran for a long time, the pressure ramped up after the 1979 revolution when the country was taken over by hardline Muslim fundamentalist leaders.

Since then, hundreds of Baha’is have been executed and imprisoned. Baha’i property has been confiscated, members of the group have lost jobs or prevented from getting employment, and Baha’i youth are not allowed to attend university.

Towfigh, who is originally from Iran, escaped that country in 1984. He came to Canada a year later. He still has friends and relatives in Iran, as do some other members of the Baha’i community in Winnipeg.

Watching the news about the persecution makes him sad, but also “proud” for how Bahai’s in that country are willing to pay a price for what they believe.

“They tell us to tell the world they are still here, and they are still proud to be Baha’i,” he said, citing a message he received from Iran.

“Even though they have lost their homes, they still have the courage to believe,” Towfigh said. “It is so uplifting.”

Towfigh doesn’t know what caused the Iranian government to increase its pressure on Baha’is over the past few weeks. Maybe it has something to do with the country’s economic situation, due to sanctions, he said — an effort to divert attention away from the financial hardships facing many Iranians.

Whatever the reason, he wants Winnipeggers to know what is happening to Baha’is in that country.

“People can pray for Bahai’s in Iran,” he said, adding they can also write their Members of Parliament about the worsening situation there.

He is also grateful for any media attention; the Iranian government, he said, keeps tabs on news about that country, including about Baha’is. If nothing is said about it in the world’s press, they could carry on the persecution with impunity, he said.

“If they think nobody is watching, the atrocities could become much more severe,” he said. “We need to get the word out.”

We can’t fix every problem in the world. But the Baha’is in Winnipeg are asking us to speak up for their co-religionists in Iran. It’s the least we can do.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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