From: towfiq@FTP.COM (Mark Towfiq)
Subject: Re: PROMINENT IRANIAN BAHA'I EXECUTED
Followup-To: soc.rights.human
Reply-To: towfiq@FTP.COM
Organization: FTP Software, Inc., Wakefield, MA
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 13:47:43 GMT

  (I will be away for a week, so if you want me to see your reply,
please mail it to me, as well as post.  Also, please note the followup
to soc.rights.human.)

>>>>> In article <1992Apr13.174855.3057@cs.brown.edu> dzk@cs.brown.edu
>>>>> (Danny Keren) writes:

dzk> If I am not mistaken, the Baha'i religion originated in Iran
dzk> about a hundred and fifty years ago. It calls (among other
dzk> things) to brotherhood of all people, and is very peaceful.

  This is exactly right.

dzk> Why are these people persecuted and killed in Iran?  The Baha'i
dzk> center is in Haifa, Israel. Could that have anything to do with
dzk> it?

  The fact that the Baha'i World Centre is in Haifa, Israel has been
used by the Iranian government to accuse Baha'is of being "Zionist
spies" (this despite the fact that the World Centre pre-dates the
formation of the state of Israel, and that one of Baha'u'llah's
teachings is to abstain from involvement in politics).

  To answer your question, "why are these people persecuted and killed
in Iran?", the main reason is the view of the Islamic clergy of the
Baha'i Faith (and of course this view is adopted by their followers).
Baha'is believe Baha'u'llah, the Founder of their Faith, and the Bab,
His Forerunner, to be the Promised Ones foretold in all the Holy
Books.  The Muslim clergy rejects this and regards Baha'is as
apostates, although the Baha'i Faith has been recognized as an
independent religion in the Islamic world as early as 1925, in a court
in Egypt.

  Because of this, while Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians are
recognized in the Iranian Constitution as religious minorities, and
thereby accorded the rights which go along with this category, no such
mention is made of the Baha'is, who therefore have little protection
under the law, as was mentioned in the article.

  Another reason for the persecution of Baha'is is that Baha'u'llah
has taught that men and women are equal and should be accorded the
same rights and opportunities, which, as you can surmise, goes against
the present structure of society and government in Iran.

  Briefly, this lack of rights has resulted in Baha'is losing the
homes, jobs, and lives, and Baha'i youth being prohibited from
attending school--in the early 1980's, Baha'i children could not
attend elementary school; presently, Baha'is may not attend
university.  Also, Baha'i marriages are not officially recognized, so
that Baha'i wives and mothers have been charged with prostitution.

  I can post a more detailed description of this situation if people
wish.
--
Mark Towfiq, FTP Software, towfiq@FTP.COM, W:+1 617 224 6275, H:+1 617 488 2818

The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes,
is one of the most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace.
The denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the
world's population and promotes in men harmful attitudes and habits that are
carried from the family to the workplace, to political life, and ultimately to
international relations.
		-- "The Promise of World Peace", The Universal House of Justice