From: hakim@bigq.enet.dec.com (Kamran Hakim)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian
Subject: Re: Reply to  Bahaies  gang
Date: 8 Apr 92 10:27:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: rdg.1992Apr8.143550.14138
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


In article <ku171rINNoip@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>, smortaz@handel.Eng.Sun.COM 
(Shahrokh Mortazavi) writes:

SM> observe what a warped image of other religions and prophets a typical
SM> kid growing up in iran can develop.  _especially_ toward bahaayees.

In article <1992Apr6.214428.1050@ucbeh.san.uc.edu>, minhaszt@ucbeh.san.uc.edu 
you write:

Z>it is very saddening the treatment the baha'is
Z>have been receiving at the hands of the geovernment. any bahais on the net, i
Z>as a muslim apologize for what other muslims have done, 

Zafar I appreciate your concern. No need to apologize. You are not responsible
for the collective evil which has been done to the Baha'is. What is done 
is done. The challenge for the individual Iranian citizen, on a personal 
level, is perhaps to identify why Baha'is were persecuted, and what can 
be done to PREVENT such a thing from happening in the future! Implications 
of such a PERSONAL undertaking is far-reaching and will positively affect 
our relationship toward all those who may be different from us by the virtue 
of ethnic, religious, class, language, wealth, etc...

Z>....it is a violation of
Z>the teachings of islam, it should be made clear.

I am confused about this statement in light of the following paragraph:

Z>if there are muslims who try to uplift islam by putting down the prophets, then
Z>they are doing a terrible job because all of the prophets are prophets of islam
					^^^	   ^^^^^^^^^^^^	^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^	
Z>from adam all the way down to mohammad. by insulting the prophets one is for
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Z>all practical purposes trying to put down islam.

I am quite sure that you are sincere about the fate of the Iranian Baha'is.
However, I'd like to point out that what you are suggesting above is the 
ENGINE which has historically powered the Muslim prejudice against Baha'is.

Beliefs are an integral factor in the formulation of one's mentality and 
attitude. The BELIEF of: "all of the prophets are prophets of islam from 
ADAM all the way down to MOHAMMAD.", may be a reasonable safeguard for
granting certain rights to Jews and Christians. However, it COVERTLY equates
a Baha'i with a KAfar in the mind of a Muslim believer (thus the formation
of a harmful MENTALITY), since, neither The Bab, nor Baha'u'llah fall under 
this theological umbrella. From this point onward the issue for a faithful 
Muslim is no more "being morally concerned about the rights of a Baha'i in 
a Muslim society". His ultimate task and moral responsibility becomes "what 
is my religious duty in dealing properly and effectively with a KAfar". 
Such a mentality translates to "prejudice" and "abuse" displayed, on a
social level by the believer, and "punishment" (loss of jobs, property and 
life) displayed, on a judicial level by the religious leaders. I do not
think that it is necessary to remind you of the examples of these in Iran.

The reason I have mentioned this here is to point out that acknowledging
the symptoms, ALONE, will not remove the ROOT CAUSE of religious prejudice 
in our country. Further steps must be taken by the individuals to identify
the root cause and effectively deal with it.

Please understand that no disrespect is intended here toward you. I am 
simply attempting to highlight an issue of social concern as honestly 
and directly as possible.

Warm regards,

Kamran Hakim
Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian