In the United States, freedom of religion has been a precious
right since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
In the United States, freedom of religion has been a precious right since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
Still, it is endangered in this country by those who want to use government to enforce their religious beliefs and by public apathy. Many other nations, though, are ruled by governments, which actively persecute religious minorities.
One of the worst offenders in this regard is the Islamic Republic of Iran – in the news a lot lately for charges it is developing nuclear weapons and is brutally suppressing its citizens after a rigged election.
Former National Public Radio correspondent Roxana Saberi recently wrote a book (“Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran”) in which she recounts her experiences while living in Iran and doing research for a book she was writing.
The reporter was arrested in January 2009 and jailed in Evin Prison, accused of being a spy. While incarcerated, she shared a cell with two women imprisoned for their Baha’i religious beliefs.
The Baha’i community of Iran, numbering about 300,000 people, is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country and has suffered severe persecution since its inception in 1844, when a young man known as the Báb announced the imminent appearance of Baha’u’llah, which means “Glory of God,” the Prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith.
Seven Baha’i leaders being held in Evin Prison in Tehran will have been jailed two full years. They were part of an ad hoc group called the Friends in Iran that helped tend to the needs of the Baha’is in that country after the government abolished their community’s formal leadership structure.
A representative to the United Nations in Geneva has called upon the Republic of Iran to “immediately set free these seven innocent prisoners. The dictates of justice demand no less. They are have been incarcerated for baseless charges which they have categorically denied and for which the government has no evidence whatsoever.”
Since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979, more than 200 Bahá’Ãs have been killed, hundreds have been imprisoned and thousands have lost property and access to higher education.
At least 50 Baha’is are currently in prison throughout Iran, including the seven mentioned above, all for their religion. The number is constantly changing as new people are arrested while others are released after depositing cash or property deeds as bail. The amount of bail can be exorbitant: the equivalent of $70,000 to $150,000 is not unusual.
“Besides arrests, there have been confiscation of assets, closing of businesses, long and frightening interrogations, raids on homes, denial of education and employment and interference in burials,” said Frank Azad, public information representative of the Gilroy Baha’i Community.
Iranian government spokesmen have levied many charges against members, including espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, acting against the security of the country and corruption.
Azad points out that the accusations about working with Israel are based on the fact that the international headquarters of the Baha’i Faith is located within the borders of modern-day Israel, purely the result of Baha’u’llah being banished from his native Tehran and sent by Persian and Ottoman authorities in the 19th century to exile in the city of Acre, near Haifa.
Baha’u’llah arrived in Acre in 1868, 80 years before the establishment of the state of Israel
The Baha’i faith is the youngest of the world’s independent monotheistic religions. Its founder, Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by the Baha’is as “the Messenger of God for this age and the Promised One of all ages and the most recent in the line of messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.”
Today, the faith is practiced in more than 236 countries and territories, includes more than $2,100 different ethnic groupings, and is among the fastest-growing religions, with more than five million members. It has no clergy and accepts no money from non-members.
Baha’i teachings require members to uphold the authority of established governments through loyalty and obedience to the laws of their country, abstain from partisanship or joining political parties and practice non-violence.
The group has democratically-elected bodies at the local, national and international levels. Every community with at least nine adult members (like Gilroy) elects a Local Spiritual Assembly.
They, in turn, elect national assemblies, which elect the Universal House of Justice that is the governing body of the worldwide Baha’i faith.
A temple for worship is being constructed in Chile. Previously, South America was the only continent not to have a temple.
In small Baha’i communities, assemblies meet in individual homes. Larger groups have dedicated buildings for worship, social and educational activities such as the Baha’i Center in San Jose.
For more information, contact Frank Azad at [email protected] or (408) 310-7685.
