#bahai persecution

[ramonswriting]

[spokanefavs]

Pete Haug further explains the religious persecution in Iran of Baha'is.

[nicklloydnow]

“May I be permitted to say a few words? I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic & Islamic History under William Montgomery Watt & Laurence Elwell Sutton, 2 of Britain ‘s great Middle East experts. I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge & to teach Arabic & Islamic Studies at Newcastle University . Naturally, I am the author of several books & 100s of articles in this field.

I say all that to show that I am well informed in Middle Eastern affairs & that, for that reason, I am shocked & disheartened for a simple reason: there is not & has never been a system of apartheid in Israel. That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality should anyone choose to visit Israel.

Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that many students are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, & that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.

Hating Israel

Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable. But I’m not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel . I’m speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies & myths it pours out. Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a “Nazi” state. In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor? Where are the Israeli concentration camps? The einzatsgruppen? The SS? The Nuremberg Laws?

None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel, precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for. It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere). Where? When?

No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt. But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is a way to subvert historical fact. Likewise apartheid.

No Apartheid

For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Unfortunately for those who believe this, a day in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous this is.

The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country’s 20% Arab population. Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha’is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan & elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; or anyone else; the holy places of all religions are protected by Israeli law.

Free Arab Israelis

Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population). In Iran , the Bahai’s (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren’t your members boycotting Iran ?

Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa. They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews — something no blacks were able to do in South Africa.

Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews & Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank. On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.

Women’s Rights

In Israel, women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid. Gay men & women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays oftn escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.

It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel & say nothing about countries like Iran, where gay men are hanged or stoned to death. That illustrates a mindset that beggars belief.

Intelligent students thinking it’s better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people. Is that supposed to be a sick joke?

(…)

I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel. I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations.

(…)

Israeli citizens, Jews & Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest). Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations & call for no boycotts against Libya , Bahrain , Saudi Arabia , Yemen , & Iran. They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world’s freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the ME that gives refuge to gay men & women, the only country in the ME that protects the Bahai’s…. Need I go on?

(…)

Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you. Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more.”

[amagi2000]

Scholar Drops Truth Bomb on Ignorant, Protesting Students

Dr. Denis MacEoin was a British academic, scholar and writer with a focus on Persian, Arabic, and Islamic studies. He was an expert in Middle Eastern affairs and was a senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly.

The following is an open letter of rebuttal that he wrote to The Edinburgh Student's Association who voted to boycott Israel based on a claim that  Israel is under an apartheid regime.

TO: The Committee Edinburgh University Student Association.

May I be permitted to say a few words to members of the EUSA? I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic and Islamic History in Buccleuch Place under William Montgomery Watt and Laurence Elwell Sutton, two of Britain 's great Middle East experts in their day. I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge and to teach Arabic and Islamic Studies at Newcastle University. Naturally, I am the author of several books and hundreds of articles in this field. I say all that to show that I am well informed in Middle Eastern affairs and that, for that reason, I am shocked and disheartened by the EUSA motion and vote.

I am shocked for a simple reason: there is not and has never been a system of apartheid in Israel.

That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality by any Edinburgh student, should he or she choose to visit Israel to see for themselves. Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that those members of EUSA who voted for this motion are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, and that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.

Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable. But I'm not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel. I'm speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies and myths it pours out. Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a "Nazi" state. In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor? Where are the Israeli concentration camps? The einzatsgruppen? The SS? The Nuremberg Laws? The Final Solution? None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel, precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for.

It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere). Where? When? No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt it deserves. But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is as basic a way to subvert historical fact as anything I can think of. 

Likewise apartheid. For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Unfortunately for those who believe this, a weekend in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous the claim is.

That a body of university students actually fell for this and voted on it is a sad comment on the state of modern education. The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country's 20% Arab population. Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha'is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan and elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; the holy places of all religions are protected under a specific Israeli law. Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population).

In Iran, the Bahai's (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren't your members boycotting Iran ? Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa . They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews - something no blacks were able to do in South Africa.

Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews and Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.  On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.

In Israel , women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid.

Gay men and women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays often escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.

It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel and say nothing about countries like Iran , where gay men are hanged or stoned to death. That illustrates a mindset that beggars belief.

Intelligent students thinking it's better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people. Is that supposed to be a sick joke?

University is supposed to be about learning to use your brain, to think rationally, to examine evidence, to reach conclusions based on solid evidence, to compare sources, to weigh up one view against one or more others. If the best Edinburgh can now produce are students who have no idea how to do any of these things, then the future is bleak.

I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel. I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations. We are going through the biggest upheaval in the Middle East since the 7th and 8th centuries, and it's clear that Arabs and Iranians are rebelling against terrifying regimes that fight back by killing their own citizens.

Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest). Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations and call for no boycotts against Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran. They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world's freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the Middle East that gives refuge to gay men and women, the only country in the Middle East that protects the Bahai's.... Need I go on?

The imbalance is perceptible, and it sheds no credit on anyone who voted for this boycott. I ask you to show some common sense. Get information from the Israeli embassy. Ask for some speakers. Listen to more than one side.

Do not make your minds up until you have given a fair hearing to both parties. You have a duty to your students, and that is to protect them from one-sided argument.

They are not at university to be propagandized. And they are certainly not there to be tricked into anti-Semitism by punishing one country among all the countries of the world, which happens to be the only Jewish state. If there had been a single Jewish state in the 1930's (which, sadly, there was not), don't you think Adolf Hitler would have decided to boycott it?

Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you. Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more. You have a chance to avert a very great evil, simply by using reason and a sense of fair play. Please tell me that this makes sense. I have given you some of the evidence.

It's up to you to find out more.

Yours sincerely,

Denis MacEoin

[swiftsnowmane]

In what the Baha'i International Community is calling an "escalating pattern of persecution against the Baha’is in Iran," 39 more incidents targeting the community have been reported in recent days, affecting mostly women.

Ten women Baha’is, mostly young, were arrested while 26 additional individuals, 16 of whom were also women, have been sentenced to a total of 126 years in prison.

The 10 Baha’i women were arrested in Isfahan, in central Iran, earlier this week. Three other Baha’is were arrested in Yazd and three more have had court hearings and await sentencing.

The arrests took place after homes were raided and the personal property of several individuals was confiscated, including electronics, books, cash and gold. More than 10 agents were reported to have raided the home of one of the women during her arrest.

“Every one of the Baha’i individuals arrested, and whose homes were raided by the Iranian government, indeed every Baha’i in Iran, has a lifelong story of persecution which has affected every facet of their lives. These stories are a chilling testament to decades of heartless persecution against an entire community, only for their beliefs,” said Simin Fahandej, Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. “And as we see women in Iran targeted in general, Baha’i women face even greater persecution, not only as women but also as Baha’is, further demonstrating how, today, all Iranians face persecution and discrimination only for daring to stand up for justice and equality.”

“The international community must hold the Iranian government accountable for its human rights violations,” Fahandej said. The 10 women arrested this week have committed no crimes. The dozens sentenced to years in prison are also innocent. All they want is to serve their society. But instead of their contributions being welcomed, they are put behind bars, and the Iranian government deprives its entire society of some of the most capable individuals in its society.”

The latest arrests and prison sentences follow more than a year of intensified attacks on Iran’s Baha’i community. Dozens of other Baha’is have been either arrested, tried, summoned to begin prison sentences, barred from higher education or earning a livelihood over recent months. And in August the Baha’i International Community reported that 180 Baha’is had been targeted—including one 90-year-old man, Jamaloddin Khanjani, who was detained and interrogated for two weeks.

Two other Baha’i women, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi—who along with Khanjani and four other Baha’is spent a decade in prison from 2008 to 2018—were re-arrested in July 2022 and are now each serving a second 10-year jail term.

See also: https://www.bic.org/news/twenty-six-bahais-iran-sentenced-126-years-prison-10-bahai-women-arrested-isfahan-and-3-bahais-yazd

[inah-rosario]

sino ba si Angela Valdez. pinag-iipunan talaga siya nina Manang Aida at ng mga Panganay.

masyado siyang Puti na may Color Black nga. pang-view ng Persecution pala yung bodycon. puro blackhead lahat.

taong may Bao daw yan.

nangingitim siya for the first time????

Contact & Tab

Review & Rating

* School ID : 300273 * School Name : Angela Valdez Ramos National High School * School Name w/ Add : Angela Valdez Ramos National High School, Asingan, Pangasinan * Short Name : AVRNHS * Previous Name : Asingan Community High School * Address : Macalong * Municipality : Asingan * Region : Region I * Province : Pangasinan * Division : Pangasinan II, Binalonan * Legistative District : 6th District * Curricular Class : Junior High School with Senior High School * Date of Operation : Sunday, January 01, 1967 * Sub-Classification : DepED Managed * School Type : School with no Annexes * Class Organization : Monograde * Telephone : 0755634638/563-4637 * Fax Number : n/a

kasi tinirhan niya yung bahay ko sa Cubao O.O

eh yun nga yung lugar ng The Virgin Suicides O.O

Miranda na Miranda siya masyado pala.

nakita talaga namin sa krus ay Miranda Cosgrove O.O

[makethesausage]

Upcoming: H.Res. 492 Condemning the Government of Irans state-sponsored persecution of the Bahai minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights

H.Res. 492 Condemning the Government of Iran’s state-sponsored persecution of the Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, sponsored by , is scheduled for a vote by the House of Representatives on the week of September 11th, 2023.

[michaelgabrill]

Upcoming: H.Res. 492 Condemning the Government of Irans state-sponsored persecution of the Bahai minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights

H.Res. 492 Condemning the Government of Iran’s state-sponsored persecution of the Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, sponsored by , is scheduled for a vote by the House of Representatives on the week of September 11th, 2023. https://ift.tt/nNLWyC9

[aliksaliks]

A LETTER TO FIRST GENERATION CHRISTIAN

Hello.

Just by hearing these words, "FIRST GENERATION CHRISTIAN," nakakaramdam ako ng lungkot. Ito kasi 'yung mga tao na hindi lumaki sa isang pamilya na Christ centered. Hindi naranasan 'yung may pamilyang kasama sa church para magpuri. Ito 'yung mga taong binago na ng Panginoon pero pilit pinapaalala ng iba kung ano 'yung dating buhay na meron siya. Ito 'yung mga taong persecuted ng mga tao sa paligid niya. Hindi pinapayagang mag church ng pamilya niya at nasasabihan pa ng kung anu-anong mga masasakit na salita.

FIRST GENERATION CHRISTIANS are the people whom God assigned to be the BLOODLINE BREAKER of the family. Hindi madali lalo na't hindi naman ikaw 'yung nagkalasa, it's your ancestors but you are the one whom God assigned to ask for the forgiveness of their sins. May it be generational curse-sickness, premature death, barrenness, poverty, adultery, lust, cancer, addiction, divorces, and many more.

When I was in high school, sumagi na sa isip ko na kung magkakaroon ako ng anak, ano kaya ang bagay na pwede kong iwan or ipamana sa kanila. Sa iba maaring, kwintas, pera, bahay, lupa, kayamanan at kung ano pa. Parents will surely do everything just for them to leave their children a treasure, someday.

But we all know that heaven and earth will pass away. Ang lahat ng bagay sa mundong ito ay temporary lamang. "Ang mundo at lahat ng bagay dito na hinahangad ng tao ay mawawala, ngunit ang taong sumusunod sa kalooban ng Dios ay mabubuhay magpakailanman." (1 Juan 2:17)

At the end of the day, iisa lang ang mahalaga. Ang relasyon na natin kay Kristo. Hindi ang materyal na bagay, kundi ang relasyon natin kay Kristo dahil, "Ano ba ang mapapala ng isang tao kung mapasakanya man ang lahat ng bagay sa mundo, pero mapapahamak naman ang kaluluwa niya?" (Marcos 8:36)

To all first generation Christian out there, tindihan mo pa ang pagtitiwala sa Panginoon. Tandaan mo, may mga naghihintay sayo. Ito ang pagkatawag ng Panginoon sayo, ang ilaban ang susunod na henerasyon. Pray for your future family. Your future children and their grand children. Every generational curse will stop on you! Remember that you are not fighting for victory, but from victory of our Lord Jesus Christ!

PARA SA SUSUNOD NA HENERAYON, MAGPATULOY KA!

GOD IS WITH YOU. HE IS FOR YOU. HIS PRESENCE IS BEHIND YOU, BESIDES YOU, ALL AROUND YOU, AND WITHIN YOU!

[ramonswriting]

The Lioness’ Of Shiraz

“I will not.” One after another the moving melody of the women’s words was made Sweeter like honey on their lips. When like peals rending asunder authority they routinely refused To give in for the nightingale’s destiny is to reach the Rose. “I will not.” At every sigh or tear, their inner mirth led to the Gate of Love and They entered; And to the Blessed Spot and Valley they journeyed. “I will not.” For the will was not theirs, and they knew For their words were a fire created in darkness by His Hand. “I will not.” Such was the litany of answers like they were one body, breathing In the Word of God to gain a devoted sustenance. “I will not.” And they smiled for every morn the obligatory prayer was recited; Each utterance, how great the quake in their hearts, How great the immersion that one can see the faces of union. “I will not.” It was their stage to command. No theatrics of lies, no remark, And curse, and no act turned them to turmoil For there was naught but His Presence and Words. “I will not.” They must have thought of Tahirih, the solace of their eyes. And Anis, the friend, Quddus, the letter, Badi, the bearer, And the Martyrs afore. Let their strength before the dawn be ours they said and it was. “I will not.” Holding each other’s hand, the feast of joy commenced, And the éclat of true wealth and with it true poverty was invoked. The Trumpet Blast sounded off— the look in their eyes, And in the women’s hearts, precious and free, The bird seeing out from the cage. “I will not.” Martyrdom, that declaration, to kiss its robe! To wear the beauty upon their skin! They chanted to its praise and its starry light, And looked upon it, smiling in that silent moment where self was no more; When the spirit ascends, witnessing the Threshold of His Abode, Keeping hold the ecstasy of the reverie of the next world. The silent contentment; of things made new;  of principals that were their Glory; The children they educated; the embracing of virtues as though time were limited; And mirroring the love of the thought of the Final embarkation towards the Plains of the Beloved. “I will not recant.”

[rivaltimes]

The Bahai community accuses Iran of "intensifying the persecution" of members of this minority

The Bahai community accuses Iran of “intensifying the persecution” of members of this minority

Archive – Police in Iran – ROUZBEH FOULADI / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO The Baha’i community accused the Iranian authorities on Tuesday of “intensifying the persecution” of members of this minority, after Iran announced the arrest of several members of the community for alleged ties to Israel. The Bahai International Community has denounced in a statement that the Iranian authorities have…

[spokanefavs]

Pete Haug, who has been a Baha'i for 6 decades, writes about the religious persecution of Baha'is in Iran, which is happening right now largely through property seizures

[tamlins-stories-and-poems]

Maybe you all will listen this time. Every holy day I have ever celebrated, I hear about the Bahá’ís in Iran being arrested, or having their shops, their only source of income, locked by their government. Over the past few years, I’ve heard more and more about the mistreatment of the Yemeni Bahá’ís getting raided for teaching virtues or having a prayer gathering to celebrate our holy days. It really takes a toll after a while, and I don’t even personally know anyone there. A friend, whose family name translates to heart of light, and who I’ve known since grade school, however, his aunts and uncles were taken this time. And all I know to do to help is pray and spread the word. They have probably been taken to the Evin political prison, and I have no clue what the arrestees in Yemen are going through. And I know from the past that most of you don’t give a damn about religious minorities in the Middle East, unless they’re your own religion, but for the love of god, call the governments in charge of this out! Let them know that their treatment of Bahá’ís, from unlawful arrests, desecration of entire graveyards, to pardon of the people who murder them for our faith, will not go unnoticed, nor unpunished! Please!

[catdotjpeg]

[Image ID: A image with six small illustrations on it. The text reads: “This season*, I’m thinking of...” The asterisk leads to a smaller note at the bottom that reads “And throughout time, until victory.” The text continues: “Typhoon survivors and those bearing the brunt of climate change”, with a small illustration of a bahay kubo being buffeted by wind and rain; “Political prisoners persecuted by the state for fighting for the people”, with a small illustration of a white dove holding an olive branch; “Overseas Filipino workers separated by forced migration from their families”, with a small illustration of a balikbayan box; “Indigenous peoples fighting for their self-determination and ancestral land”, with a small illustration of a Lumad woman with her fist raised; “Peasants facing landlessness and seeking genuine land reform”, with an illustration of a rice farmer; and “Legal democratic organizations who are tagged as terrorists”, with an illustration of five women sitting around a table and having a discussion. End ID.]

This holiday season (and throughout time, until victory) I’m thinking of: 

those bearing the brunt of climate change 

Political prisoners

Overseas Filipino Workers

Indigenous Peoples

Peasants

Legal democratic organizations

-- @ate_agit, 26 Dec 2021

[dmcblue]

There is a lot of overwhelming news at the moment. The world is very preoccupied with many large-scale issues. But if you can spare the time and attention, please read about Mr. Hamed bin Haydara. He has been sentenced to death for practicing his faith, a Faith which explicitly calls on its followers to treat every one of every belief with care, love and dignity.

The continued large-scale violence in Yemen leads, as warfare always does, to the persecution of minorities. The more we demand that world leaders take action towards building sustainable, meaningful peace in Yemen, and not just the use of violence to create an absence of open conflict, the sooner everyone will be safe.

Bahá'ís believe deeply in the importance of prayer and of our existence in the spiritual world. If you can spare a moment of prayer, meditation or just reaching your heart out for him, I'm sure it would mean a great deal to Mr. Haydara.