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In a most articulatelecture called “The Baha’i Community, Human Rights, and the Construction of a New Iranian Identity
on February 24, 2010 In Chicago, Dr. Payam Akhavan sheds light on one of the most puzzling contemporary issues raised by the Iranian community.
In this lecture Dr. Ahavan addresses some key questions raised by some Iranians such as: Who is an Iranian and what makes a good Iranian, a good citizen or bad Iranians? Who deserve to be put into prison and subject to violations of their human rights.
bellow you will read some highlights of the talk. You may also read the entire talk by visiting the site.
…In Iran, we are witnessing a struggle far greater than a mere political contest between different presidential candidates. We are witnessing a struggle for the soul of the nation; a struggle to build a new identity for the Iranian people. The encounter between the protestors and their tormentors is an encounter between the dark past and the bright future. It is an encounter between violence and non-violence, between the courage of those that are willing to sacrifice their lives for justice, and the cowardice of those that savagely beat and murder the defenseless. It is an encounter between the best and worst potentials inherent in humankind…
For the people of Iran, democracy and human rights are not intellectual abstractions. Freedom and tolerance are not about idle theological disputes. For them, these are existential needs in the face of a daily onslaught of violence, deception, corruption, and hatred. For them, these demands go to the very meaning of what it means to be Iranian and what it means to be a human being. What they seek simply is an Iranian nation where every citizen enjoys fundamental human rights…
The denial of human rights is not only the problem of its direct victims. It is an assault on our common humanness. Nowhere is this more apparent than laws and policies that make a particular status or belief a crime. In this light, what makes the persecution of Baha’is important is not just the Baha’is themselves. When the Constitution and leaders of the Islamic Republic proclaim that citizens of Iran can be denied the right to education and lawful marriage, dispossessed of their sacred sites, cemeteries, personal property and livelihood, arrested, tortured, and murdered, and subject to slander and hate propaganda, merely because of their religion, this is a crime not just against the Baha’is, but also a crime against the Iranian people, and a crime against humanity.
Our identity is not to be found in blind imitation of outward pretensions of religious piety. Our identity is a reflection of the moral choices that we make in today’s world and our willingness to embrace both our self and the other in a common home. Our identity is a social construction, our nation an imagined community, a shared cultural space in which the lives of our people are intertwined in a mutual search for meaning, prosperity, and progress. Our identity is not fixed in time or place. It is fluid, complex, and constantly evolving. But we have a fundamental choice. And that choice is whether we define our self through hatred or humanity…
In 1987, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran reported that the persecution of Baha’is included “torture, arbitrary imprisonment, denial of education and employment, arbitrary seizure of homes and possessions, confiscation of community assets, and seizure, desecration and destruction of holy places.” As “unprotected infidels”, Baha’is were legal non-persons and denied redress through the courts. For instance, on 21 September 1993, the court in the city of Shahr-e Rey failed to impose a penalty on two killers because the murdered man was, in the language of the verdict, “a member of the misled and misleading sect of Baha’ism.” This amounts to judicial approval of murder based solely on the religious beliefs of the victim. A more fundamental negation of human rights cannot be imagined…
The emancipation of the Baha’is is also about the emancipation of Iran. It is about emancipation from hatred, ignorance, and violence. It is about building a future in which a divided and backward looking Iran is transformed into a nation that unites its diverse peoples under the banner of human dignity and true civilization and reclaims its place as a leader among nations; an Iran in which the measure of patriotism will be compassion and respect for the rights of all Iranian citizens. At long last, that day is within our reach. But a long and tortuous road lays ahead, and each and every one of us must arise in solidarity with the Iranian people, to struggle for a common justice, and to contribute his share at this unique moment in the history of our beloved home.
Source: Gozaar, A Forum on Human Rights and Democracy in Iran
What a wonderful news. She is a bird in the garden of divine love. She was in reality always free. We pray that Zhinoos and the rest of the inocent people in Iran especially the children and youth continiou to be under the shadow of His protection and not interrupted while singing the songs of His praise and glory. The world of humanity is proud of its humanity because of such noble souls.
Wouldn’t it be also wonderful if all the people whose human rights are violated and are in prison because of ignorance and injustice of the authorities be freed so they are able to do what is good and seemly and serve the cause of peace, justice and human rights.
And while we are at it, wouldn’t it be a great cause for joy when those whose eyes are blind to see the justice of the Cause of the One and only Creater of all mankind, can see it no matter in what mirror it shines and let His people go and let love, peace and unity rein? Please God set free every one who is in bond especially the ignorant and blind in mind who are in power and are stuck in the prison of their own selves and can cause so much pain and agony for the innocent and the meek. Please God let all children be safe from the malice of the ignorant and unjust. O’ God, please let the Bahaí children in Iran grow and develop in peace.
The following prayer of Abdu’l-Baha says all that I want to say and even more in a most beautiful way. Let us all pray:
O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.
O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.
O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.
O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.
O God! Establish the Most Great Peace.
Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.
O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.
Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind.
Keyvan
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Mohamad Reza Larijani wants the representative of the human rights at the recent UN meeting believe that Baha’is have equal human rights as the rest of the citizens of their country!! I would like to know who believes him and which human rights organization laughs at such a false claim. Please refer to the article in Negah in Farsi called
