Archives › 2009 › March
Iranian Human Rights Leader Shirin Ebadi in Danger: Peace Activists Call on Tehran to Ensure Her Safety
Peace activists have called on the Iranian government to ensure the safety of Shirin Ebadi, the epicenter of human rights activism in Iran and lawyer for the seven Baha’i leaders soon to be on trial. You can read the letter and learn more about this initiative at the Campaign for Peace and Democracy website.
JPost: Suffocating the Baha'i
On March 24, The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed titled “Suffocating the Baha’i” about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. Sean Gannon, a freelance journalist writing mainly on Irish and Middle Eastern affairs, wrote the article.
Khatami asked about Iran's treatment of Baha’is during visit to Australia
The former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami addressed an audience in Canberra, Australia on March 24. As he turned to the audience for questions, he was asked about Iran’s treatment of the Baha’is. The Brisbane Times posted the two following articles from the event: No answers yet, but talk is solution in Middle East: Khatami Israel, [...]
JPost.com: 'Postcards for Iran' campaign spotlight on human rights
The Jerusalem Post published an article about the Middle East Youth organization’s initiative encouraging people to send postcards to Iranian officials in an effort to challenge the country’s recent claim that it is protecting its national security by arresting rights activists, outspoken critics and religious minorities like the Baha’is. Visit Postcards for Iran
David Addy
Vista, CA
Became a Baha’i in Germany, 1989
Growing up in Germany, I first heard about the Baha’i Faith from my mother, who had a Baha’i colleague.
An important part of the spiritual practice of members of the Baha’i Faith is daily prayer and meditation. Maggie Wilkins, a Baha’i in Highland Park, Illinois, knew that saying prayers was key in her spiritual development, but found the Baha’i prayers “next-to impossible” to learn because of her dyslexia.
Minoo Expelled from University in Semnan
On Saturday, March 7, 2009, several Persian online journals carried this report about the expulsion of Miss Minoo Shahriari on the grounds that she was a Baha’i.
Video Contest on the Baha'is in Iran
Because of the escalation in the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran in recent months and the circumstances surrounding the possible trial of the seven Bahá’í national leaders in Iran, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S has decided to expand the scope of the video contest it launched late last fall [...]
World Focus online radio show on the Baha'is in Iran
World Focus, PBS’s nightly international news program, aired a live online radio program on Tuesday, March 17, that explored the Baha’i Faith and modern Iran. The program covered the background and history of the persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran with a particular focus on the arrest and forthcoming trial of the seven national [...]
GENEVA (BWNS) — A court in Egypt today removed any grounds for preventing Baha’is from receiving proper official identity documents, clearing the way for an end to years of deprivation for Egyptian Baha’is – and opening the door to a new level of respect for religious privacy in Egypt.
AFP: Iran's Ebadi says aide freed on bail
TEHRAN (AFP) – An aide of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi who was arrested in January for links with the banned Bahai faith has been freed on bail by the Iranian Authorities, Ebadi told AFP on Friday.
World Focus online radio program on the Baha'i Faith in Iran airing March 17
World Focus, PBS’s nightly international news program, will air a live online radio program on Tuesday, March 17, that will explore the Baha’i Faith and the situation of Baha’is in Iran. The program will be hosted by World Focus anchor Martin Savidge and will feature a panel of guests.
Human Rights Council dialogue on freedom of religion or belief and on human rights defenders
The Human Rights Council on March 12, 2009, held an interactive dialogue on freedom of religion or belief and on human rights defenders. Those speaking in the dialogue who raised the issue of the Baha’is in Iran were Canada, Czech Republic, speaking on behalf of the European Union, and the Baha’i International Community. Canada and [...]
H. Res. 175 now has 35 co-sponsors
H. Res. 175 condemning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran introduced on February 13, 2009, has 30 cosponsors as of March 13, 2009.
Human rights defender released on bail in Iran
Iran VNC has reported on the release of Ms. Jinous Sobhani, a Baha’i who had worked at the Tehran office of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, run by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Iranian Parliament Ready to Approve Budget Item to Combat Baha’is
Ayandeh Rouchan news agency, the mouthpiece of the religious establishment in Qom, Iran, reported on Sunday, March 8, 2009, that Iran’s Parliament had finally passed the administration’s budget request for the next fiscal year by a vote of 148 Members of Parliament out of a total of 237. According to the same report, on the [...]
Concern about detained Baha’i leaders in Iran raised at UN Human Rights Council debate
The United States told the United Nations on March 12, 2009, that “some Muslim countries were using the concept of religious defamation to justify curbs on freedom of speech and civil dissent.” During Thursday’s debate, Canada and the Czech Republic, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stressed the need to protect religious minorities, including [...]
Iran’s Attorney-General's letter to the Minister of Intelligence
Iran’s Attorney General, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, wrote a letter to the country’s Minister of Intelligence, Muhseni-Azheh’i. The letter is undated, but since it was published online on 19 February 2009, it appears that it was dispatched around mid-February. The letter includes various instructions regarding the government’s treatment of the Baha’i community. Below is a translation [...]
Call by academics to stop the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran
In an open letter dated March 9, 2009, scholars and academic specialists in the fields of Middle Eastern and Iranian studies call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to put an end to human rights abuses against Baha’is in Iran.
H.Res. 175 on the Baha'is in Iran has 30 cosponsors
H. Res. 175 condemning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran introduced on February 13, 2009, has 30 cosponsors as of March 11, 2009.
S. Res. 71 about the Bahais in Iran introduced in the Senate
Senate Resolution 71 (S. Res. 71) a concurrent resolution to House Resolution 175 (H. Res. 175) regarding the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, was introduced into the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2009, by Senator Wyden of Oregon. The other original cosponsors are Senators Brownback, Menendez, Snowe and Whitehouse. For information on how you [...]
Rainn Wilson shares spiritual insights with Oprah
On March 9, actor Rainn Wilson was Oprah’s guest on her Soul Series webcast. Wilson discusses the religion in which he was raised, the Baha’i Faith, and his new website: SoulPancake.com—a place to discuss life’s big questions.
ISNA: Baha'i leaders will be tried soon, perhaps next week
Iran’s official news organ, Iranian Students News Agency (ISNR), reported the following today: “The file of the seven accused Baha’is will go to court soon. The Deputy Public Prosecutor of Tehran commented about the illegal administration of the Baha’i sect that has been engaged in illegal activities. He stated, “The charges against these individuals are [...]
Four more cosponsors for H. Res. 175
H. Res. 175, condemning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran and introduced on February 13, 2009, has 26 cosponsors as of March 6, 2009.
Baha'i International Community sends letter to Iran's Prosecutor General
Stating that “what is at stake is the very cause of the freedom of conscience for all the peoples of your nation” the Baha’i International Community addressed the Prosecutor General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in an open letter dated March 4, 2009. The letter was a response to his February 15, 2009 statement [...]
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