KEVIN MENZ 
Associate News Editor

     Members of Saskatoon’s Baha’i community gathered at the Rusty Macdonald Library in Saskatoon on Aug. 31 to pray for the release of seven Baha’i religious leaders in Iran. 

     On Aug. 8, seven Baha’i leaders — Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm — were sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of “espionage and crimes against the Islamic Republic,” according to Paul Hanley, secretary of the Saskatoon Baha’i Community.

     “These charges are completely false.” said Hanley.

“Their lawyers have said that in all the documents that have been produced, there is absolutely nothing corroborating any of these charges. It’s part of an overall campaign against the Baha’i community, so there’s kind of a religious cleansing going on.”

     The Baha’i community is the largest religious minority in Iran, consisting of 300,000 people. Because of its rapid growth, it’s perceived as a threat by some Muslims.

     “According to Muslims there can’t be any religion after the prophet Muhammed, but the Baha’i are saying there is another prophet, Bahá’u’lláh, that came to Iran in the 19th century. [Islamic fundamentalists] see that as kind of a blasphemy,” said Hanley.

     “The head of the Baha’i faith is an elected body that has asked the Baha’is around the world to get together and pray for the Baha’is in Iran and especially for this group that was just imprisoned,” added Hanley. “It’s a question of religious freedom.”

     After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, which overthrew Iran’s monarchy and established a predominantly Muslim form of government, the persecution of Baha’is increased dramatically. In fact, about 200 Baha’is have been executed since the revolution.

     Selena Crosson, a sessional history instructor at the University of Saskatchewan, gave a presentation on the persecutions of Baha’is in Iran.

She described the “ongoing destruction of Baha’i properties calculated to instil fear into the Iranian-Baha’i community,” including the destruction of homes, cemeteries, holy places and businesses; and she pointed out that Baha’i students are harassed in schools and banned from universities.

     Most significantly, however, she described the Iranian media’s unjust condemnation of Baha’is — which eerily resembled the Hutus use of media to persecute Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide.

     “It’s a deliberate distortion of history,” said Crosson.

The media in Iran has released “fake historical documents” presenting the Baha’i religion as one started by the British during their occupation of Iran. These fake documents — which would argue that Baha’is are British spies — justify the charges against the seven leaders.

     The major difference between this situation and the Rwandan genocide, however, is the international outcry on behalf of these leaders.

     “It has been the public concern around the world that has played a role in protecting some of the, not only Baha’is, but other prisoners in Iran,” said Hanley.

“For example, Prime Minister Harper and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made statements about this. When that happens there is a kind of international pressure and the government [in Iran] knows that people’s eyes are on them.”

     While the Baha’i leaders are still imprisoned, by holding gatherings throughout the world the Baha’i community hopes to “expedite a fairly conducted appeal hearing that respects international standards of jurisprudence.”

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image: Pete Yee