Feb 11th, 2008
Europe rises to the defence
Arise, O wayfarer in the path of the Love of God, and aid thou His Cause. Bahá’u'lláh, Bahá’í writings
On Friday I travelled up to Lancaster University to participate in a seminar sponsored by the Bahá’í society there on `The Bahá’í Community of Iran: A Case of Suspended Genocide’. There were four papers, one by Barney Leith giving an overview of the Bahá’í understanding of human rights and how this relates to what is happening to the Bahá’í community in Iran, a paper by Moojan Momen providing a historical overview of the persecution and putting the present situation in context; a third by Nazila Ghanea-Hercock outlining the response of the international community and the UN; and a fourth by me looking at the denial of higher education to Bahá’ís and their response by developing the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education. Chaired by Dominic Brookshaw, there was a good turnout and it was well supported by members of the university.
It’s not always easy to convince people, though, that the Bahá’ís in Iran are actually being persecuted and that they have been for quite some time. The persecution is sometimes subtle - denying human rights, denying access to education - not the drama of executions (although there have in the past been many of those) and imprisonment (although there are Bahá’ís who have recently been imprisoned for taking part, with Muslims, in a social and economic development project) but rather the slow strangulation of a religious minority by making it impossible for them to do normal things and for their children to excel and achieve. When the world turns its back on even the most dramatic of human rights abuses, as in Darfur, it is any wonder that it is so difficult to alert people to this sophisticated attempt at genocide?
Gratifying, then, to learn that someone out there is paying attention. In a statement released this week, the EU presidency expressed `its serious concern at the worsening situation of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, in particular, the plight of the Baha’i’. This following the jail sentences given to 54 Baha’is in Shiraz for `propaganda against the regime’. 51 of these were suspended but, as I noted in an earlier blog, three Baha’is were sentenced to four years in prison.
`The EU is concerned about the ongoing systematic discrimination and harassment of Baha’is in Iran,’ the presidency statement said. This includes `the expulsion of university and high school students, restrictions on employment and anti-Baha’i propaganda campaigns in the Iranian media’.
`The EU urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to release the Baha’i prisoners and stop prosecuting members of the Baha’i minority due to their belief and practice of the Baha’i faith,’ the statement concluded.
Thanks, EU, for being enlightened and rising to the defence of the Bahá’ís in Iran. And thanks, Lancaster University, for hosting a seminar that enabled so many others to understand what is happening to the Baha’is.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, persecution, EU, Lancaster University, Moojan Momen, Nazila Ghanea-Hercock, Barney Leith, Dominic Brookshaw