I am not religious and think that religion is dividing people but with all due respect most of you are going off the topic, Iran belongs to Muslims,Jews,Bahia's, Zoroastrians and Christians or any other religion they all have a right to live freely and practice their religion, going back to the topic its indeed very sad to see Bahia's getting abused by God damn Akhoonds, I have had friends from almost all the religions mentioned above and I love them all dearly because most important of all they are Iranians.
"Joonevar, your smug comments and a general lack of disrespect to others just shows what sort of personality you have. Your personal experiences with your ex wife should not and does not allow you to generalise the way you have, moshkeli dari boro ba zanet harf bezan, na biya inja and belittle the persecution that is happening to bahais right this moment."
buddy be hech kasi tohin nakardam,hamun juri ke ur challenging my personality,I also can comment,its called freedom of speech.Agar mikhoondi thread dorost midi ke be harchi man reply kardam it was a response to what someone had written,it doesnt mean chon ke religion is old its always right.I think u need to check yourself before to biya inja tohin be thoughts eh bagi bezani.I didnt belittle anyone buddy it was a true statement,chera vaghti in hame bachehaye mosalmoon to iran koshte mishan its not a big deal and bahais dont talk about it ta bahai aro migaran ye dafe political mishan give me a break man you know what it is the true hurts thats y.agar nemiduni bahai va kheili dinaye digaro to iran akhoonda migiran so its nothing new in this regime.So smug comments are yours dont come here with your 2 cents and then try to belittle others khob bekhoon badan javab bede amo.
buddy be hech kasi tohin nakardam,hamun juri ke ur challenging my personality,I also can comment,its called freedom of speech.Agar mikhoondi thread dorost midi ke be harchi man reply kardam it was a response to what someone had written,it doesnt mean chon ke religion is old its always right.I think u need to check yourself before to biya inja tohin be thoughts eh bagi bezani.I didnt belittle anyone buddy it was a true statement,chera vaghti in hame bachehaye mosalmoon to iran koshte mishan its not a big deal and bahais dont talk about it ta bahai aro migaran ye dafe political mishan give me a break man you know what it is the true hurts thats y.agar nemiduni bahai va kheili dinaye digaro to iran akhoonda migiran so its nothing new in this regime.So smug comments are yours dont come here with your 2 cents and then try to belittle others khob bekhoon badan javab bede amo.
I encourage everyone to take the time to read this article:
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/barker24.html
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/barker24.html
Meanwhile in Iran, while we are discussing these behind our computers with nice cup of coffee and procecute BT.
عکس یک بسیجی که ۲۵ خرداد به معترضان تیراندازی کرد.
۱۳۸۸/۰۴/۲۳
طبق گزارش های رسیده از ایران، يعقوب بروايه، دانشجویی که چهارم تير ماه توسط نيروهای بسيج از بام مسجد لولاگر مورد اصابت گلوله قرار گرفته بود در بیمارستان درگذشت.
سایت نوروز که نزدیک به اصلاح طلبان است در مورد درگذشت یعقوب براویه می نویسد : « این دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد رشته نمايش در دانشکده هنر و معماری دانشگاه تهران، روز چهارم تير ماه توسط نيروهای بسيج از بام مسجد لولاگر مورد اصابت گلوله قرار گرفت، از ناحيه سر مجروح شد و بلافاصله توسط دوستانش به بيمارستان لقمان انتقال يافت اما به رغم تلاش پزشکان برای جان وی، در نهايت دچار مرگ مغزی شد.»
بیشتر بخوانید:
سهراب اعرابی در بهشت زهرا به خاک سپرده شد
به گزارش نوروز، يعقوب بروايه فرزند دوم يک خانواده پنج نفری و اهل اهواز بود. وی متولد تيرماه ۱۳۶۱ بوده و در هنگام مرگ تنها ۲۷ سال سن داشت.
بر اساس آمارهای رسمی دست***کم ۲۰ نفر در روايدادهای پس از انتخابات به دست بسيج يا نيروهای انتظامی کشته شده***اند. آمار غیر رسمی تعداد کشته شدگان را بیش از صد نفر می داند.
مقامات امنیتی جمهوری اسلامی ، پس از آغاز اعتراضات گسترده به نتایج انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، صدها نفر از معترضان، روزنامه نگاران و شخصیت های سیاسی را بازداشت کردند.
پيشتر سازمان عفو بين***الملل از احتمال شکنجه چند تن از نزديکان ميرحسين موسوی که به دنبال انتخابات رياست جمهوری دستگير شدند و واداشتن آنها به «اعترافات» تلويزيونی شديداً ابراز نگرانی کرد.
سهراب اعرابی در بهشت زهرا به خاک سپرده شد
سهراب اعرابی، جوان نوزده ساله***ای که در راهپیمایی مردم تهران در اعتراض به نتیجه انتخابات ریاست جمهوری با شلیک گلوله کشته شد، بامداد روز دوشنبه در بهشت زهرا به خاک سپرده شد.
مراسم خاکسپاری سهراب اعرابی با شرکت بستگان و اعضای خانواده وی و نيز شماری از مردم تهران برگزار شد. مقام***های امنيتی از خانواده اعرابی خواسته بودند، از «سياسی کردن» مراسم خاکسپاری خودداری کنند و هر چه سريع***تر آن را به پايان ببرند.
در باره نحوه و زمان دقيق کشته شدن سهراب اعرابی تاکنون گزارش دقيقی منتشر نشده است. برخی گزارش***ها حکايت از آن دارد که وی روز ۲۵ خرداد ماه و در جريان راهپيمايی ميليونی طرفداران ميرحسين موسوی در تهران هدف گلوله قرار گرفته و در بيمارستان جان سپرده است.
تصاویر ویدئویی تیراندازی مستقیم یک عضو نیروی مقاومت بسیج به سوی جمعیت معترض در پایان راهپیمایی مسالمت***آمیز ۲۵ خرداد را نشان می دهند.
مقام***های قضايی جمهوری اسلامی روز شنبه بيستم تيرماه خبر مرگ سهراب اعرابی را به خانواده وی اطلاع داده بودند.
در اين ميان مليحه محمدی، عمه سهراب اعرابی، به راديو فردا گفته است: «سهراب بر اثر اصابت گلوله به زير قلبش کشته شده است.»
خانم محمدی افزود: سهراب اعرابی پس از شرکت در راهپيمايی ۲۵ خرداد، ديگر به خانه برنگشته بود.
در اين مدت مادر وی هر روز برای کسب اطلاع از سرنوشت فرزندش به مقابل زندان اوين می***رفت، ولی مسئولان مربوطه از دادن اطلاعات خودداری می***کردند.
راهپيمايی مسالمت آميز روز ۲۵ خرداد با دعوت مير حسين موسوی و با حضور صدها هزار معترض به نتيجه انتخابات رياست جمهوری در تهران برگزار شد. به دنبال انجام اين راهپيمايی، راديو دولتی ايران اعلام کرده بود، دست کم هفت نفر در اين روز در تهران کشته شدند
عکس یک بسیجی که ۲۵ خرداد به معترضان تیراندازی کرد.
۱۳۸۸/۰۴/۲۳
طبق گزارش های رسیده از ایران، يعقوب بروايه، دانشجویی که چهارم تير ماه توسط نيروهای بسيج از بام مسجد لولاگر مورد اصابت گلوله قرار گرفته بود در بیمارستان درگذشت.
سایت نوروز که نزدیک به اصلاح طلبان است در مورد درگذشت یعقوب براویه می نویسد : « این دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد رشته نمايش در دانشکده هنر و معماری دانشگاه تهران، روز چهارم تير ماه توسط نيروهای بسيج از بام مسجد لولاگر مورد اصابت گلوله قرار گرفت، از ناحيه سر مجروح شد و بلافاصله توسط دوستانش به بيمارستان لقمان انتقال يافت اما به رغم تلاش پزشکان برای جان وی، در نهايت دچار مرگ مغزی شد.»
بیشتر بخوانید:
سهراب اعرابی در بهشت زهرا به خاک سپرده شد
به گزارش نوروز، يعقوب بروايه فرزند دوم يک خانواده پنج نفری و اهل اهواز بود. وی متولد تيرماه ۱۳۶۱ بوده و در هنگام مرگ تنها ۲۷ سال سن داشت.
بر اساس آمارهای رسمی دست***کم ۲۰ نفر در روايدادهای پس از انتخابات به دست بسيج يا نيروهای انتظامی کشته شده***اند. آمار غیر رسمی تعداد کشته شدگان را بیش از صد نفر می داند.
مقامات امنیتی جمهوری اسلامی ، پس از آغاز اعتراضات گسترده به نتایج انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، صدها نفر از معترضان، روزنامه نگاران و شخصیت های سیاسی را بازداشت کردند.
پيشتر سازمان عفو بين***الملل از احتمال شکنجه چند تن از نزديکان ميرحسين موسوی که به دنبال انتخابات رياست جمهوری دستگير شدند و واداشتن آنها به «اعترافات» تلويزيونی شديداً ابراز نگرانی کرد.
سهراب اعرابی در بهشت زهرا به خاک سپرده شد
سهراب اعرابی، جوان نوزده ساله***ای که در راهپیمایی مردم تهران در اعتراض به نتیجه انتخابات ریاست جمهوری با شلیک گلوله کشته شد، بامداد روز دوشنبه در بهشت زهرا به خاک سپرده شد.
مراسم خاکسپاری سهراب اعرابی با شرکت بستگان و اعضای خانواده وی و نيز شماری از مردم تهران برگزار شد. مقام***های امنيتی از خانواده اعرابی خواسته بودند، از «سياسی کردن» مراسم خاکسپاری خودداری کنند و هر چه سريع***تر آن را به پايان ببرند.
در باره نحوه و زمان دقيق کشته شدن سهراب اعرابی تاکنون گزارش دقيقی منتشر نشده است. برخی گزارش***ها حکايت از آن دارد که وی روز ۲۵ خرداد ماه و در جريان راهپيمايی ميليونی طرفداران ميرحسين موسوی در تهران هدف گلوله قرار گرفته و در بيمارستان جان سپرده است.
تصاویر ویدئویی تیراندازی مستقیم یک عضو نیروی مقاومت بسیج به سوی جمعیت معترض در پایان راهپیمایی مسالمت***آمیز ۲۵ خرداد را نشان می دهند.
مقام***های قضايی جمهوری اسلامی روز شنبه بيستم تيرماه خبر مرگ سهراب اعرابی را به خانواده وی اطلاع داده بودند.
در اين ميان مليحه محمدی، عمه سهراب اعرابی، به راديو فردا گفته است: «سهراب بر اثر اصابت گلوله به زير قلبش کشته شده است.»
خانم محمدی افزود: سهراب اعرابی پس از شرکت در راهپيمايی ۲۵ خرداد، ديگر به خانه برنگشته بود.
در اين مدت مادر وی هر روز برای کسب اطلاع از سرنوشت فرزندش به مقابل زندان اوين می***رفت، ولی مسئولان مربوطه از دادن اطلاعات خودداری می***کردند.
راهپيمايی مسالمت آميز روز ۲۵ خرداد با دعوت مير حسين موسوی و با حضور صدها هزار معترض به نتيجه انتخابات رياست جمهوری در تهران برگزار شد. به دنبال انجام اين راهپيمايی، راديو دولتی ايران اعلام کرده بود، دست کم هفت نفر در اين روز در تهران کشته شدند
More related news: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/14/iran.bahai.trial/
Trial of Baha'is delayed in Iran
July 14, 2009 -- Updated 0625 GMT (1425 HKT)
(CNN) -- A death-penalty trial of seven Baha'i prisoners accused of spying for Israel has been delayed, Iranian officials have told family members, according to the U.S. Baha'i Office of External Affairs.
The trial did not begin Saturday as scheduled and no date for its resumption has been given, the Baha'i office said. The government has not officially commented on the status of the trial.
The seven Baha'is have been held for more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys, said Diane Ala'i, representative to the United Nations for the Baha'i International Community.
She said the seven are being legally represented by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani. But according to the human rights group Amnesty International, Soltani was arrested in Iran on June 16 and his whereabouts are unknown.
Ala'i said the lawyers have not had access to their clients, though they have been able to read their files.
The Iranian government has been under international pressure to release the Baha'i prisoners.
Responding to a letter from Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who spent four months in an Iranian jail earlier this year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has demanded the group be freed rather than stand trial on charges of espionage and religious violations. If convicted, they could face execution.
"In addition to the hundreds of Iranians who have been detained in the context of Iran's disputed presidential poll, many other 'security detainees' arrested long before the June election remain behind bars," Saberi said in her letter requesting U.S. government intervention in the Baha'i case.
"These Iranians and the authorities who have detained them need to know that the Iranian people's human rights are a matter of international concern," she said.
Saberi, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison on espionage charges, spent time in a cell at Tehran's Evin prison with two of the Baha'i prisoners. Saberi was released in May.
Leonard Leo, chairman of USCIRF, said last week that the crackdown on protests after Iran's June 12 presidential elections "have exposed the world to the cold realities about how the Iranian government regularly deals with dissent or views that are a perceived threat to the theocratic regime."
"The charges against these imprisoned Baha'is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority," Leo said. "They should be released immediately."
USCIRF, which is an independent bipartisan federal commission, said the seven Baha'is are charged under the jurisdiction of Branch 28 of Iran's Revolutionary Court, the same judicial process that convicted Saberi in April. The Baha'i prisoners are accused of spying for Israel, spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and committing religious offenses.
"This trial is all about them being Baha'i," Ala'i said. "The accusations are completely false."
The Baha'i faith is a world religion that originated in 19th-century Persia, but Iran does not recognize it. Baha'is are regarded as apostates and heretics in Iran, where they have long been persecuted.
Ala'i said that, since the Islamic revolution in 1979, more than 200 Baha'is have been executed in Iran.
Iran denies that the Baha'i community is mistreated. Earlier this year, prosecutor general Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi told state-run Press TV that the Iranian government has afforded the Baha'is "all the facilities offered to other Iranian citizens."
Najafabadi also said there is irrefutable evidence that many Baha'is are in close contact with Iran's enemies and have strong links to Israel.
The treatment of the Baha'is in Iran and the detention of the seven prisoners have attracted global attention.
Human Rights Watch, the world rights monitoring group, last month called for the release of the imprisoned or a prompt trial, with "fair and open proceedings."
Lawyer Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, wrote a newspaper column last week urging international pressure before the trial to "ensure the seven men and women receive a fair trial and a chance of justice."
Trial of Baha'is delayed in Iran
July 14, 2009 -- Updated 0625 GMT (1425 HKT)
(CNN) -- A death-penalty trial of seven Baha'i prisoners accused of spying for Israel has been delayed, Iranian officials have told family members, according to the U.S. Baha'i Office of External Affairs.
The trial did not begin Saturday as scheduled and no date for its resumption has been given, the Baha'i office said. The government has not officially commented on the status of the trial.
The seven Baha'is have been held for more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys, said Diane Ala'i, representative to the United Nations for the Baha'i International Community.
She said the seven are being legally represented by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani. But according to the human rights group Amnesty International, Soltani was arrested in Iran on June 16 and his whereabouts are unknown.
Ala'i said the lawyers have not had access to their clients, though they have been able to read their files.
The Iranian government has been under international pressure to release the Baha'i prisoners.
Responding to a letter from Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who spent four months in an Iranian jail earlier this year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has demanded the group be freed rather than stand trial on charges of espionage and religious violations. If convicted, they could face execution.
"In addition to the hundreds of Iranians who have been detained in the context of Iran's disputed presidential poll, many other 'security detainees' arrested long before the June election remain behind bars," Saberi said in her letter requesting U.S. government intervention in the Baha'i case.
"These Iranians and the authorities who have detained them need to know that the Iranian people's human rights are a matter of international concern," she said.
Saberi, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison on espionage charges, spent time in a cell at Tehran's Evin prison with two of the Baha'i prisoners. Saberi was released in May.
Leonard Leo, chairman of USCIRF, said last week that the crackdown on protests after Iran's June 12 presidential elections "have exposed the world to the cold realities about how the Iranian government regularly deals with dissent or views that are a perceived threat to the theocratic regime."
"The charges against these imprisoned Baha'is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority," Leo said. "They should be released immediately."
USCIRF, which is an independent bipartisan federal commission, said the seven Baha'is are charged under the jurisdiction of Branch 28 of Iran's Revolutionary Court, the same judicial process that convicted Saberi in April. The Baha'i prisoners are accused of spying for Israel, spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and committing religious offenses.
"This trial is all about them being Baha'i," Ala'i said. "The accusations are completely false."
The Baha'i faith is a world religion that originated in 19th-century Persia, but Iran does not recognize it. Baha'is are regarded as apostates and heretics in Iran, where they have long been persecuted.
Ala'i said that, since the Islamic revolution in 1979, more than 200 Baha'is have been executed in Iran.
Iran denies that the Baha'i community is mistreated. Earlier this year, prosecutor general Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi told state-run Press TV that the Iranian government has afforded the Baha'is "all the facilities offered to other Iranian citizens."
Najafabadi also said there is irrefutable evidence that many Baha'is are in close contact with Iran's enemies and have strong links to Israel.
The treatment of the Baha'is in Iran and the detention of the seven prisoners have attracted global attention.
Human Rights Watch, the world rights monitoring group, last month called for the release of the imprisoned or a prompt trial, with "fair and open proceedings."
Lawyer Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, wrote a newspaper column last week urging international pressure before the trial to "ensure the seven men and women receive a fair trial and a chance of justice."
Some seem to be under the impression that speaking for freedom of belief and speech and open dialogue advocated by Baha'is is involvement in politics which they do only when they are being persecuted and otherwise are aloof and do not care about the sufferings of others. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Firstly, speaking against oppression and cruelty and for the downtrodden and oppressed are most certainly NOT politics, rather social duty of every caring person. By partisan politics which is forbidden in the Baha'i faith is meant creating or joining parties to achieve certain goals by opposing other parties and other political wrangling which is futile and divisive.
Secondly, even though Baha'is in Iran are severely restricted, oppressed, and vilified in an attempt to separate them from the rest of the Iranian society, they do support ALL in their inalienable right to freedom of belief and speech. Furthermore, not only around the globe where Baha'is have more freedom, but even in Iran where they are restricted, they have initiated and worked tirelessly in social development projects such as education of children and empowerment of women.
Recall the group of Baha'i youth that were arrested and jailed in Shiraz for conducting educational classes for children and youth a couple of years ago and three of them are still in prison for teaching children math and language! What service can be more vital and meritorious than educating the next generation of Iran? What reward is worthy of such service, honour and gratitude to the teachers and providing them all available resources, or arrest and prison?
Likewise, these seven individuals or Yaran-e Melli, which is the de-facto National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Iran, are those responsible for the spiritual leadership of the Baha'i community. They have been held captive in section 209 of notorious Evin prison for over a year without trial or access to legal counsel.
Firstly, speaking against oppression and cruelty and for the downtrodden and oppressed are most certainly NOT politics, rather social duty of every caring person. By partisan politics which is forbidden in the Baha'i faith is meant creating or joining parties to achieve certain goals by opposing other parties and other political wrangling which is futile and divisive.
Secondly, even though Baha'is in Iran are severely restricted, oppressed, and vilified in an attempt to separate them from the rest of the Iranian society, they do support ALL in their inalienable right to freedom of belief and speech. Furthermore, not only around the globe where Baha'is have more freedom, but even in Iran where they are restricted, they have initiated and worked tirelessly in social development projects such as education of children and empowerment of women.
Recall the group of Baha'i youth that were arrested and jailed in Shiraz for conducting educational classes for children and youth a couple of years ago and three of them are still in prison for teaching children math and language! What service can be more vital and meritorious than educating the next generation of Iran? What reward is worthy of such service, honour and gratitude to the teachers and providing them all available resources, or arrest and prison?
Likewise, these seven individuals or Yaran-e Melli, which is the de-facto National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Iran, are those responsible for the spiritual leadership of the Baha'i community. They have been held captive in section 209 of notorious Evin prison for over a year without trial or access to legal counsel.
What a beautiful Video Meehandoost jan,
Nothing else to it, har cheh koni ham vatani , looking at some of the pictures from Bahia's in Iran they look more Persian (Iranian) than most of those fucking basijies that you see beating up people. Dorood bar tamam Iranian regardless of their religion, yes religion its been around for a long time but Iran its been around for much longer.
Nothing else to it, har cheh koni ham vatani , looking at some of the pictures from Bahia's in Iran they look more Persian (Iranian) than most of those fucking basijies that you see beating up people. Dorood bar tamam Iranian regardless of their religion, yes religion its been around for a long time but Iran its been around for much longer.
I think right now there is no time for these talks. I know love all the Iranians regardless of religions, but Bahai religion is no different than other religions, on surface yeah it is all good but in depth it is all the same thing. If you need to discuss we can on the phone, just know that I am married to bahai family and have lots of bahai friends and have studied the in and out of it.
Exactly for what talks do you say there is no time? Talking about people that have been in prison for over a year without a trial or legal counsel, or talking about youth that have been in prison for nearly 3 years for teaching neglected children about science and arts and crafts? If not for justice, for what then should the time be used for? Lastly, how is the Baha'i faith different in depth?
Thank you Doste Aziz.
What ever Bahai religion is ( this thread is not a debate on that), This is about human right and freedom of People to express themself. Some of you should put your prejeduce aside and think if you would have responded the sameway if these people were chiristians or Jews or .... would you even disscuss if their religion is this or that or ....
Yashar Aziz,
I read your posts many times and NOT EVEN IN ONE PLACE I saw you declaring your support for your fellow Hamvatans who are in jailed !!!
At the end, Mr.Tick said it the best. We are all Iranians and it is time to unit.
deerouz jaan, I don't know your exact meaning by the first part, but totally agree with the rest of your statement after the comma which was the point of sharing this news!
Shahin jaan, you are absolutely correct about prejudice and how it blinds people to the sufferings of others. Abandoning all prejudice and "unconditionally" without any "buts" recognizing and supporting others' right to their belief is the first step towards establishing a free Iran. Unfortunately, as a result of the machinations of the clerics in Iran, most have lost their faith, but some have kept their prejudice which ironically was breathed into them by the same clerical cast!
Shahin jaan, you are absolutely correct about prejudice and how it blinds people to the sufferings of others. Abandoning all prejudice and "unconditionally" without any "buts" recognizing and supporting others' right to their belief is the first step towards establishing a free Iran. Unfortunately, as a result of the machinations of the clerics in Iran, most have lost their faith, but some have kept their prejudice which ironically was breathed into them by the same clerical cast!
Germantown woman shares story of uncle imprisoned in Iran
Uncle is one of seven imprisoned for espionage and religious offenses
Monir Khanjani has lost family in Iran, relatives who were killed for their religious beliefs. She fears it may happen again.
Khanjani's uncle, Jamaloddin Khanjani, is one of seven Baha'i leaders — five men and two women — arrested more than a year ago whose trial was reportedly postponed from Saturday in Iran for espionage and religious offenses that include "spreading corruption on earth," a crime punishable by death, according to media reports. The international community, including the United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms, have condemned the arrests and asked for the prisoners to be released.
With more than 300,000 members, Baha'is are the largest religious minority in Iran. Baha'is have faced a long history of persecution in Iran by those who believe the religion, which states that 19th century Persian nobleman Baha'u'llah is the latest in a series of prophets to emerge throughout human history, is heretical to Islam.
The attacks intensified after the 1979 revolution, and religious persecution against Baha'is became government policy, according to The Baha'i International Community, a non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations.
At a Baha'i prayer meeting in Germantown last week, Khanjani began to cry as she shared memories of her uncle. Others in the crowd of about 20 people also wiped away tears as she spoke.
"He was very dedicated as a humanitarian to helping the underprivileged and people who needed jobs. He was always a champion of justice," said Khanjani, a therapist in the county's corrections department who left Iran 30 years ago and lives in Germantown. "Their home was open to everybody, a safe sanctuary for all Baha'is and non-Baha'is, family or not family."
"It's hard to live in the U.S. and try to imagine the emotional pressure and psychological pressure, let alone that their lives are in danger, that is just because of their Baha'i faith," Khanjani said. "…When you live in a country where there's freedom of speech and you can speak your mind, it's hard for Americans to comprehend why they are being persecuted. They don't understand. With what's happened in Iran the past few weeks, the world is finally seeing the fanaticism and what it's been like. It's nothing new — for the past 30 years, this has been happening to Baha'is."
The group prayed for the prisoners.
"We're all just keeping them in our prayers," said Sereena Fiorini of Germantown. "Because we tell people about unity and peace, we're spreading false messages. It's sad that in the 21st century, we still have people being persecuted for their faith."
Khanjani said her parents, who live in Iran, have visited her uncle about once a month, and they told her that all the prisoners have remained in high spirits and that they are at peace with whatever their fate may be.
"They're not even slightly worried about their own lives — they believe whatever happens is the will of God," Khanjani said. "They don't have the glitz and glamour of our material world, but they are real-life heroes and through their suffering and through their faith they'll help change the world."
Uncle is one of seven imprisoned for espionage and religious offenses
Monir Khanjani has lost family in Iran, relatives who were killed for their religious beliefs. She fears it may happen again.
Khanjani's uncle, Jamaloddin Khanjani, is one of seven Baha'i leaders — five men and two women — arrested more than a year ago whose trial was reportedly postponed from Saturday in Iran for espionage and religious offenses that include "spreading corruption on earth," a crime punishable by death, according to media reports. The international community, including the United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms, have condemned the arrests and asked for the prisoners to be released.
With more than 300,000 members, Baha'is are the largest religious minority in Iran. Baha'is have faced a long history of persecution in Iran by those who believe the religion, which states that 19th century Persian nobleman Baha'u'llah is the latest in a series of prophets to emerge throughout human history, is heretical to Islam.
The attacks intensified after the 1979 revolution, and religious persecution against Baha'is became government policy, according to The Baha'i International Community, a non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations.
At a Baha'i prayer meeting in Germantown last week, Khanjani began to cry as she shared memories of her uncle. Others in the crowd of about 20 people also wiped away tears as she spoke.
"He was very dedicated as a humanitarian to helping the underprivileged and people who needed jobs. He was always a champion of justice," said Khanjani, a therapist in the county's corrections department who left Iran 30 years ago and lives in Germantown. "Their home was open to everybody, a safe sanctuary for all Baha'is and non-Baha'is, family or not family."
"It's hard to live in the U.S. and try to imagine the emotional pressure and psychological pressure, let alone that their lives are in danger, that is just because of their Baha'i faith," Khanjani said. "…When you live in a country where there's freedom of speech and you can speak your mind, it's hard for Americans to comprehend why they are being persecuted. They don't understand. With what's happened in Iran the past few weeks, the world is finally seeing the fanaticism and what it's been like. It's nothing new — for the past 30 years, this has been happening to Baha'is."
The group prayed for the prisoners.
"We're all just keeping them in our prayers," said Sereena Fiorini of Germantown. "Because we tell people about unity and peace, we're spreading false messages. It's sad that in the 21st century, we still have people being persecuted for their faith."
Khanjani said her parents, who live in Iran, have visited her uncle about once a month, and they told her that all the prisoners have remained in high spirits and that they are at peace with whatever their fate may be.
"They're not even slightly worried about their own lives — they believe whatever happens is the will of God," Khanjani said. "They don't have the glitz and glamour of our material world, but they are real-life heroes and through their suffering and through their faith they'll help change the world."
Two countries are worlds apart for Bahai faithful
July 27, 2009
The 2,700 or so followers of the Bahai faith in Southern California enjoy a life their brethren in Iran have cause to desire.
Here, they have access to education, work, and, most importantly for them, the right to worship.
Iran's fundamentalist Shiite government has barred the country's 300,000 Bahai from holding government jobs, attending universities and practicing their religion, according to human-rights groups and the United Nations. Conditions have worsened in recent years, observers say, and now seven leaders of Iran's Bahai community are held in Tehran's Evin prison, where they face charges of espionage and possible execution.
Their imprisonment has been condemned by the United States and human-rights groups, who see it as evidence of Iran's persistent persecution of Bahais, its largest non-Muslim minority. It has weighed heavily on the faith's adherents in Los Angeles.
Nonetheless, the Bahai's response to the arrests has been understated, at least in public. Local Bahais -- immigrants and American converts -- have neither taken to the streets in protest, nor have they tried to ride the wave of international indignation over Iran's disputed presidential election last month.
To do so, they said, would run counter to their religious principles of love, compassion and trustworthiness.
"These tests and difficulties have a purpose to them. They help us grow spiritually," said Randy Dobbs, a Western-born Bahai leader who lives in Los Angeles. "Persecution makes people come together."
In recent weeks, especially before the postponement of a July 11 trial date for the imprisoned leaders in Iran, Dobbs and others had quietly courted media attention here. They also have hosted support meetings at the large Bahai Center on Rodeo Drive near Culver City for relatives of the imprisoned Iranians.
Dobbs said that the Bahai faith is a religion of peace, and that its followers are required to support the government wherever they live. He said Bahais in Iran don't want to meddle in the country's politics, they just want their rights.
The roots of the Bahai faith stretch to 19th century Persia. It was there that a man who called himself the Bab, which comes from the Arabic term for "the gate," said he was a divine messenger. He said his mission was to prepare the way for the coming of a greater messenger, according to Bahai teachings.
In the 1850s, a Tehran man who became known as Baha'ullah, which comes from the Arabic term for "the glory of God," claimed to be such a messenger, sent to unify history's great religions and bring the world peace. Baha'ullah said that he and other founders of the world's religions, among them Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad, were all messengers of the same God.
Baha'ullah's message, which he wrote in a number of key works known as the Tablets, not only won him a following but also the label of an Islamic heretic. He was exiled to Baghdad, to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and finally to Acre, in what is now Israel, where he died in prison in 1892.
His son, Abdul-Baha, succeeded him and helped spread the Bahai faith around the world. Today, there are more than 5 million adherents worldwide, including 165,000 in the United States, according to Bahai statistics. The Bahai do not have clergy, although members elect administrators at the local, national and global levels.
Bahais have faced persecution since the faith's founding days, especially in Iran, where its followers are considered apostates. As many as 50,000 Bahais have left Iran in the last 50 years, scholars say. Conditions reached a low point during the years following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, when, they say, as many as 200 Bahai were executed or disappeared.
For Iraj Kamalabadi of Rancho Cucamonga, the record of persecution against Iranian Bahais is part of his family's history, with both his father and, lately, his sister having been imprisoned.
Kamalabadi, 51, was born in Iran and came to the U.S. in 1977. In 1983, his father was arrested, evidently because of his faith. He was imprisoned and tortured, Kamalabadi said. When his father was eventually released, he suffered a series of strokes and died not long afterward.
"When I think of my father and the tortures he had gone through, and I imagine the faces of those who tortured him, I forgive them," Kamalabadi said. "You focus on the positive. You don't want to become the same people as these enemies."
The situation for Iranian Bahais has worsened in the four years since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. United Nations officials have said the Ahmadinejad government has circulated documents ordering the police and the Revolutionary Guard to collect information on Bahai followers.
The Iranian government insists that it does not harass Bahais and that it only investigates those who have connections to Iranian rivals abroad. The seven leaders who were arrested last year were charged with "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic," according to Iranian news reports.
Bahai leaders said the imprisoned leaders may have been in contact with people in Haifa, Israel, because the faith's headquarters is located there.
Kamalabadi's sister, Fariba, was arrested at her home last spring and has spent more than a year in jail. At one point, she shared a cell with Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who has petitioned for the release of the Bahai since her release in May.
Fariba Kamalabadi was kept in solitary confinement for four months with only a thin blanket for a covering, her brother said. She contracted pneumonia and has had difficulty recovering. When their mother visited Fariba in prison last month, "she did not even recognize her own daughter," he said.
These days, Iraj Kamalabadi spends most of his free time searching the Internet for the latest word on his sister. The ordeal has frustrated him, but he said he tries to remain peaceful. The Bahai believe that suffering can help human beings advance spiritually.
"I have been praying more fervently," he said, "and with more ardor."
July 27, 2009
The 2,700 or so followers of the Bahai faith in Southern California enjoy a life their brethren in Iran have cause to desire.
Here, they have access to education, work, and, most importantly for them, the right to worship.
Iran's fundamentalist Shiite government has barred the country's 300,000 Bahai from holding government jobs, attending universities and practicing their religion, according to human-rights groups and the United Nations. Conditions have worsened in recent years, observers say, and now seven leaders of Iran's Bahai community are held in Tehran's Evin prison, where they face charges of espionage and possible execution.
Their imprisonment has been condemned by the United States and human-rights groups, who see it as evidence of Iran's persistent persecution of Bahais, its largest non-Muslim minority. It has weighed heavily on the faith's adherents in Los Angeles.
Nonetheless, the Bahai's response to the arrests has been understated, at least in public. Local Bahais -- immigrants and American converts -- have neither taken to the streets in protest, nor have they tried to ride the wave of international indignation over Iran's disputed presidential election last month.
To do so, they said, would run counter to their religious principles of love, compassion and trustworthiness.
"These tests and difficulties have a purpose to them. They help us grow spiritually," said Randy Dobbs, a Western-born Bahai leader who lives in Los Angeles. "Persecution makes people come together."
In recent weeks, especially before the postponement of a July 11 trial date for the imprisoned leaders in Iran, Dobbs and others had quietly courted media attention here. They also have hosted support meetings at the large Bahai Center on Rodeo Drive near Culver City for relatives of the imprisoned Iranians.
Dobbs said that the Bahai faith is a religion of peace, and that its followers are required to support the government wherever they live. He said Bahais in Iran don't want to meddle in the country's politics, they just want their rights.
The roots of the Bahai faith stretch to 19th century Persia. It was there that a man who called himself the Bab, which comes from the Arabic term for "the gate," said he was a divine messenger. He said his mission was to prepare the way for the coming of a greater messenger, according to Bahai teachings.
In the 1850s, a Tehran man who became known as Baha'ullah, which comes from the Arabic term for "the glory of God," claimed to be such a messenger, sent to unify history's great religions and bring the world peace. Baha'ullah said that he and other founders of the world's religions, among them Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad, were all messengers of the same God.
Baha'ullah's message, which he wrote in a number of key works known as the Tablets, not only won him a following but also the label of an Islamic heretic. He was exiled to Baghdad, to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and finally to Acre, in what is now Israel, where he died in prison in 1892.
His son, Abdul-Baha, succeeded him and helped spread the Bahai faith around the world. Today, there are more than 5 million adherents worldwide, including 165,000 in the United States, according to Bahai statistics. The Bahai do not have clergy, although members elect administrators at the local, national and global levels.
Bahais have faced persecution since the faith's founding days, especially in Iran, where its followers are considered apostates. As many as 50,000 Bahais have left Iran in the last 50 years, scholars say. Conditions reached a low point during the years following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, when, they say, as many as 200 Bahai were executed or disappeared.
For Iraj Kamalabadi of Rancho Cucamonga, the record of persecution against Iranian Bahais is part of his family's history, with both his father and, lately, his sister having been imprisoned.
Kamalabadi, 51, was born in Iran and came to the U.S. in 1977. In 1983, his father was arrested, evidently because of his faith. He was imprisoned and tortured, Kamalabadi said. When his father was eventually released, he suffered a series of strokes and died not long afterward.
"When I think of my father and the tortures he had gone through, and I imagine the faces of those who tortured him, I forgive them," Kamalabadi said. "You focus on the positive. You don't want to become the same people as these enemies."
The situation for Iranian Bahais has worsened in the four years since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. United Nations officials have said the Ahmadinejad government has circulated documents ordering the police and the Revolutionary Guard to collect information on Bahai followers.
The Iranian government insists that it does not harass Bahais and that it only investigates those who have connections to Iranian rivals abroad. The seven leaders who were arrested last year were charged with "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic," according to Iranian news reports.
Bahai leaders said the imprisoned leaders may have been in contact with people in Haifa, Israel, because the faith's headquarters is located there.
Kamalabadi's sister, Fariba, was arrested at her home last spring and has spent more than a year in jail. At one point, she shared a cell with Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who has petitioned for the release of the Bahai since her release in May.
Fariba Kamalabadi was kept in solitary confinement for four months with only a thin blanket for a covering, her brother said. She contracted pneumonia and has had difficulty recovering. When their mother visited Fariba in prison last month, "she did not even recognize her own daughter," he said.
These days, Iraj Kamalabadi spends most of his free time searching the Internet for the latest word on his sister. The ordeal has frustrated him, but he said he tries to remain peaceful. The Bahai believe that suffering can help human beings advance spiritually.
"I have been praying more fervently," he said, "and with more ardor."