In Iran, a Baha'i Holy Place destroyed:

[I, Brian]

Actually, there *is* a lot of international attention on Iran - not least because of the recent rigging of the elections by the conservative clerics - but also because Iran effectively has a nuclear re-processing unit, and the US doesn't like that at all.

The EU sent a delegation to get Iran to accept IAEA inspections - which Iran finally agreed to. But a soon as the UN inspectors came in, they were apparently fobbed off and kept away from the facilities processing nuclear waste.

Add to that the fact that Iran is a key element in stabilising at least some ethnic groups in Iraq.

So Iran is actually very much at the forefront of the world stage. A problem, perhaps, is that the US attitude to Iran is "Do what we say, or else we will punish you". To which the hardliners simply retreat from international contact and fortify their position. IMO, Iran is not a country for listening to others at the moment.

[barefootgal9]

It's why I am so concerned. I think that world opinion and censure has been all that has given the Baha'is there some protection for the past decade or two. If it ceases to be any restraint ...

The following article is of interest. It indicates the similar situation for the Jewish minority in Iran, and catches us up to 1996:

http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/archiv.../iran/iran.htm

You are much more on top of the news than I. This whole situation in that part of the world is very worrisome.

[barefootgal9]

The following is an excerpt from an article at

http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud/iran.htm

It gives a clear, relatively brief, background of the situation of the Baha'is in Iran up through 1985:

14. Recent history, 1979 onwards
Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Bahá'ís of Iran have been subjected to intense persecution. Every attempt has been made to eradicate the community. Members of the Tablíghát-i-Islámi (Hujjatiyyih), an organization that had been set up specifically as an anti-Bahá'í society, achieved important positions in the revolutionary government and were given a free hand against the Bahá'ís.

In the early days of the Revolution, the offices of the National Spiritual Assembly were raided and membership lists and other information removed. Based on this information large numbers of the leading Bahá'ís of Iran were arrested and many of them were executed. All property held by Bahá'í institutions was confiscated. As this included Bahá'í cemetries, great problems were created for Bahá'ís whose family members died. Bahá'í children and youth were expelled from schools and universities; Bahá'í government employees were dismissed and ordered to pay back salaries that they had received while employed; other employers were also put under pressure to dismiss Bahá'ís and to refuse them pay or pensions; Bahá'í businesses were boycotted; many Bahá'ís had their property looted and suffered beatings and harrassment.

The Iranian government claimed that no one was punished on account of religion and that anyone suffering must have committed other offences. Numerous documents exist, however, that demonstrate that these measures were taken solely because the victims were Bahá'ís and frequently the offer was made in writing to reverse such measures if the person would convert to Islam. The Bahá'í institutions were formally declared illegal in August 1983, whereupon they were disbanded and remain so.

An intense effort was made by the other Bahá'í communities of the world to mitigate these persecutions. Representations were made directly to the Iranian government. When these failed, other national governments and international organizations such as the European Community and the United Nations were approached. These efforts culminated in the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1985 of a resolution on human rights in Iran, in which the Bahá'ís were specifically named, and the appointment of a special representative to monitor the situation.

Since about 1985 the situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran has ameliorated to the extent that few executions have occurred and most Bahá'í prisoners have been released. Some unofficial relaxation of some of the other measures taken against the Bahá'ís has also occurred. But overall the Bahá'ís of Iran remain unable to exercise full human rights and the Bahá'í administrative institutions remain disbanded.

[smkolins]

Sorry for the extra posts showing up. I think perhaps I have to be more patient hitting the submit button.

As for the suffering of Baha'is in Iran I worked to help organize and support a grown woman who's father disappeared one night and she is still much tramatized by the event now more than twenty years ago.

Also I've got a book rather hard to find called _Debating Muslims_ which is mostly about the difficulty of the west dealing with Muslims but one of the contributing authors speaks of his own experience, that he is now ashamed of, being asked to infiltrate the Baha'is in a city in Iran and ultimately finding a prominant Baha'i according to his own testimony who is then taken away (I don't think these two incidents are in fact the same but of the same kind.)

[arthra]

New ploy by Iranian Government to deprive Baha'is of higher education

NEW YORK, United States, 11 August 2004 (BWNS) -- In yet another clear violation of the human rights of the Baha'is of Iran, nearly 1,000 Baha'i university-age students in Iran have been told they must accept identification as Muslims in order to enter university this year, the Baha'i International Community has learned.

Representatives of the Baha'i International Community heard yesterday about the action, which involves pre-printing the word "Islam" in a slot listing a prospective student's religious affiliation on national college entrance examination results, which were distributed to students recently.

The move comes after Baha'i students were led to believe, through Government pronouncements in the news media and private assurances, that their religion would not be an issue on university entrance forms this year in Iran.

"The Iranian Government is, in effect, attempting to force Baha'i youth to recant their faith if they want to go to university," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"This action goes against all the assurances that Iran has been giving the international community about its desire to respect religious freedom, and, indeed, against international covenants on human rights to which Iran is a party," said Ms. Dugal.

For more than 20 years, Baha'is have been banned from institutions of higher education solely because of their religious beliefs -- a violation that has been condemned in numerous international human rights forums.

The Government's move effectively extends this ban, inasmuch as Baha'is, as a matter of principle, do not deny their Faith.

In the past, entrance forms required that applicants list themselves as followers of one of the only four religions that enjoy official recognition in Iran -- Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism. These being the only choices given them, Baha'is, who refused to lie about their affiliation, were excluded from university.

This year examination forms had no such slot for religious affiliation. Instead, university applicants were merely asked to designate which of four approved religious subject examinations -- on Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism -- they chose to take as part of overall university entrance examinations.

Representatives of the Baha'i community were assured that by selecting Islam as the subject for examination there would be no implication that the students were members of that faith.

However, according to reports from Iran, now that Baha'i students have taken the exam, officials are saying that their action amounts to a de facto declaration of faith in Islam.

In that light, Baha'i students in Iran are unable to enter university, since it would amount to a renunciation of their faith, and would be used by the authorities as evidence of such renunciation.

"For more than a year, the Government has held out the promise that Baha'is would, for the first time in some 20 years, be allowed to attend national institutions of higher education," said Ms. Dugal.

"Now, in what amounts to a devious 'catch-22,' the Government is saying 'You can come, but you must pretend you are a Muslim.' But that is something Baha'is cannot do. And the Government knows that."

The Baha'i community of Iran, with some 350,000 members, is Iran's largest religious minority. Since 1979, when the Islamic Republic was established, more than 200 Baha'is have been killed, hundreds have been imprisoned, and thousands have been denied education, employment, and other rights in an ongoing episode of systematic religious persecution.


BWC-BP-040811-1-IRAN-317-N

Source:

http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story.cfm?storyid=317

[arthra]

We've just learned that the House of Mirza Abbas Nuri (also known as Mirza Buzurg) and the father of Baha'u'llah was demolished in Tehran, Iran, June 2004.

"The hatred of the extremist mullahs for the Baha'is is such that they, like the Taliban of Afghanistan who destroyed the towering Buddhist sculptures at Bamiyan, intend not only to eradicate the religion, but even to erase all traces of its existence in the country of its birth," says a statement, which took the form of a paid advertisement in the New York Times.

The house that was destroyed in June had been owned by Mirza Abbas Nuri (also known as Mirza Buzurg), the father of Baha'u'llah, Who founded the Baha'i Faith. Mirza Abbas Nuri was an eminent provincial governor and was widely regarded as one of Iran's greatest calligraphers.

The statement in the Times notes that Mirza Abbas Nuri's house was an "historical monument, a precious example of Islamic-Iranian architecture, 'a matchless model of art, spirituality, and architecture.'"

"In their determination to rid Iran of the Baha'i community and obliterate its very memory, the fundamentalists in power are prepared even to destroy the cultural heritage of their own country, which they appear not to realize they hold in trust for humankind" ....

Source:

http://www.bahaiworldnews.org./story.cfm?storyid=323

[Mus Zibii]

I can't believe the Shia ever allowed the Bahai to keep a temple in the first place.

"In their determination to rid Iran of the Baha'i community and obliterate its very memory, the fundamentalists in power are prepared even to destroy the cultural heritage of their own country, which they appear not to realize they hold in trust for humankind" ....

I think I've said before how much I love Persia and that statement is dead on. The religious/political lunatics! are willing to wipe out everything simply to support their own supremacy. Iran doesn't even look like Iran anymore.

[arthra]

  
Excerpts from the
International Religious Freedom Report 2004
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor


Baha'is, Jews, Christians, Mandaeans, and Zoroastrians constitute less than 1 percent of the population combined. The largest non-Muslim minority is the Baha'i community, which has an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 adherents throughout the country. Estimates on the size of the Jewish community vary from 20,000 to 30,000. This figure represents a substantial reduction from the estimated 75,000 to 80,000 Jews who resided in the country prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution. According to U.N. figures, there are approximately 300,000 Christians, the majority of whom are ethnic Armenians and Assyro-Chaldeans. There also are Protestant denominations, including evangelical churches. The U.N. Special Representative reported that Christians are emigrating at an estimated rate of 15,000 to 20,000 per year. The Mandaeans, a community whose religion draws on pre-Christian gnostic beliefs, number approximately 5,000 to 10,000 persons, with members residing primarily in Khuzestan in the southwest.

The Government estimates the Zoroastrian community at 35,000 adherents. Zoroastrian groups, however, cite a larger figure of approximately 60,000. Zoroastrians mainly are ethnic Persians and are concentrated in the cities of Tehran, Kerman, and Yazd. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the pre-Islamic Sassanid Empire and thus played a central role in the country's history.

Section II. Status of Religious Freedom

Legal/Policy Framework

The Government restricts freedom of religion. The Constitution declares the "official religion of Iran is Islam and the doctrine followed is that of Ja'fari (Twelver) Shi'ism." All laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of the Shari'a (Islamic law). The Constitution states that "within the limits of the law," Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are the only recognized religious minorities who are guaranteed freedom to practice their religion; however, members of minority religious groups have reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs. Adherents of religions not recognized by the Constitution do not enjoy the freedom to practice their beliefs. This restriction seriously affects adherents of the Baha'i Faith, which the Government regards as a heretical Islamic group with a political orientation that is antagonistic to the country's Islamic revolution. However, Baha'is view themselves as an independent religion with origins in the Shi'a Islamic tradition. Government officials have stated that, as individuals, all Bahai's are entitled to their beliefs and are protected under the articles of the Constitution as citizens; however, the Government has continued to prohibit Baha'is from teaching and practicing their faith.


Registration of Baha'is is a police function. The Government has pressured evangelical Christian groups to compile and submit membership lists for their congregations, but evangelicals have resisted this demand. Non-Muslim owners of grocery shops are required to indicate their religious affiliation on the fronts of their shops.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The Government does not protect the right of citizens to change or renounce their religious faith. Apostasy, specifically conversion from Islam, can be punishable by death; however, there were no reported cases of the death penalty being applied for apostasy during the period covered by this report.


The Government generally allows recognized religious minorities to conduct religious education for their adherents. This includes separate and privately funded Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian schools; however, official Baha'i schools are not allowed.

The legal system also discriminates against religious minorities who receive lower awards than Muslims in injury and death lawsuits and incur heavier punishments. In 2002 the Sixth Majlis approved a bill that would make the amount of "blood money" (diyeh) paid by a perpetrator for killing or wounding a Christian, Jew, or Zoroastrian man the same as it would be for killing or wounding a Muslim; the bill ultimately was passed by the Guardian Council. All women and Baha'i men were excluded from the equalization provisions of the bill. According to law, Baha'i blood is considered "Mobah," meaning it can be spilled with impunity.



The Baha'i Faith originated in the country during the 1840s as a reformist movement within Shi'a Islam. The Government considers Baha'is to be apostates because of their claim to a valid religious revelation subsequent to that of Mohammed, despite the fact that Baha'is do not consider themselves to be Muslim. Additionally, the Baha'i Faith is defined by the Government as a political "sect," linked to the Pahlavi regime and hence counterrevolutionary. A 2001 Ministry of Justice report demonstrates that government policy continued to aim for the eventual elimination of the Baha'is as a community. It stated in part that Baha'is would be permitted to enroll in schools only if they did not identify themselves as Baha'is, and that Baha'is preferably should be enrolled in schools with a strong and imposing religious ideology. The report also stated that Baha'is must be expelled from universities, either in the admission process or during the course of their studies, once their identity becomes known.

Baha'is may not teach or practice their faith or maintain links with coreligionists abroad. The fact that the Baha'i world headquarters (established by the founder of the Baha'i Faith in the 19th century, in what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine) is situated in what is now the state of Israel exposes Baha'is to government charges of "espionage on behalf of Zionism." These charges are more acute when Bahai's are caught communicating with or sending monetary contributions to the Baha'i headquarters.

Baha'is are banned from government employment. In addition Baha'is are regularly denied compensation for injury or criminal victimization.

The Government allows recognized religious minorities to establish community centers and certain cultural, social, athletic, or charitable associations that they finance themselves. However, the Government prohibits the Baha'i community from official assembly and from maintaining administrative institutions by actively closing such Baha'i institutions. Since the Baha'i Faith has no clergy, the denial of the right to form such institutions and elect officers threatens its existence in the country.

Broad restrictions on Baha'is undermine their ability to function as a community. Baha'is repeatedly have been offered relief from mistreatment in exchange for recanting their faith. Baha'i cemeteries, holy places, historical sites, administrative centers, and other assets were seized shortly after the 1979 Revolution. No properties have been returned, and many have been destroyed.

Baha'is are not allowed to bury and honor their dead in keeping with their religious tradition. In 2002 the Government offered the Tehran Baha'i community a plot of land for use as a cemetery; however, the land was in the desert and had no access to water, making it impossible to perform Baha'i mourning rituals. In addition the Government stipulated that no markers be put on individual graves and that no mortuary facilities be built on the site, making it impossible to perform a ceremonial burial in the Baha'i tradition.

Baha'i group meetings and religious education, which often take place in private homes and offices, are curtailed severely. Public and private universities continue to deny admittance to Baha'i students.

For the complete report see

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35497.htm

[Mus Zibii]

Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the pre-Islamic Sassanid Empire and thus played a central role in the country's history.

The good ole days.

[arthra]

UN expresses concern about Iran's Baha'is

NEW YORK, United States, 22 December 2004 (BWNS) --

For the 17th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing "serious concern" over the human rights situation in Iran, making specific mention of the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i community there.

The resolution, introduced by Canada, passed by a vote of 71 to 54 on 20 December 2004. It called on Iran to "eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds" and took note of the recent upsurge of human rights violations against the Baha'is of Iran.

Specifically, the resolution noted the "continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, including Christians, Jews, and Sunnis, and the increased discrimination against the Baha'is, including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of free worship or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational, and community-related activities, and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, and other benefits."

Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, said that the worldwide Baha'i community is thankful for the support of the international community of nations.

"As noted by the resolution, the situation for Baha'is has been worsening this year, and expressions of concern by the international community such as this remain the chief means of protection for Iran's beleaguered Baha'i community," said Ms. Dugal.

Source:

http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=341

[arthra]

I've received news this evening about the desecration of a Baha'i cemetary in Yazd, Iran.

A site has photos posted of this on

http://www.iranian.com/PhotoDay/2005/February/c1.html

We Baha'is have been aware of the descecration of our cemeteries in the past but here are photographs.

As soon as learn more about this story I'll provide supplemental information.

Note the following from a previous entry above:

"Baha'is are not allowed to bury and honor their dead in keeping with their religious tradition. In 2002 the Government offered the Tehran Baha'i community a plot of land for use as a cemetery; however, the land was in the desert and had no access to water, making it impossible to perform Baha'i mourning rituals. In addition the Government stipulated that no markers be put on individual graves and that no mortuary facilities be built on the site, making it impossible to perform a ceremonial burial in the Baha'i tradition."

Source:

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35497.htm


- Art

[arthra]

DISMAY AT LACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS RESOLUTION ON IRAN AS PERSECUTION
WORSENS

GENEVA, Switzerland, 14 April 2005 (BWNS) --

The Baha'i International
Community today expressed its dismay and disappointment at the failure
of the UN Commission on Human Rights to even consider a resolution on
human rights in Iran, given the worsening situation in that country and
in particular the persecution of the Baha'is.

"In view of the sharp increase of human rights violations against the
Baha'i community of Iran, it is nothing less than shocking that the
Commission on Human Rights has for the third year in a row failed to renew
international monitoring of the situation," said Bani Dugal, principal
representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United
Nations.

"Over the past year, two important Baha'i holy places have been
destroyed, Baha'i students have been denied access to higher education, and,
most recently, Baha'is in Yazd and Tehran have been swept up in a new
wave of assaults, harassment and detentions.

"All of this has come as part of a continuing pattern of religious
persecution instigated and condoned by the Iranian government, which has in
years past faced the clear condemnation of the international community
for its actions," said Ms. Dugal.

"We are very disappointed at the failure of the Commission on Human
Rights to live up to its mandate," said Ms. Dugal. "Unfortunately,
countries which in the past have initiated resolutions calling for the
international monitoring of Iran backed away from the table again this year,"
said Ms. Dugal.

Ms. Dugal's comments came at the end of the Commission's period for
consideration of country-specific resolutions today, when all hope for
such a resolution on Iran had passed.

Three weeks ago, the Baha'i International Community strongly urged the
Commission to table and pass a resolution on the human rights situation
in Iran, saying that "the gross, flagrant, repeated violations of human
rights in Iran -- including the abuses that target Baha'is in that
country -- warrant the re-establishment of a monitoring mechanism."

"For three years, this Commission has not been capable of presenting a
resolution on Iran, while the situation there has gradually but
steadily deteriorated," said Diane Ala'i, the community's representative to
the United Nations in Geneva, in a statement to the Commission on 23
March 2005.

"And now, over the past few months, we have had the impression of a
shifting back in time, some 20 years or more, as we have witnessed a
resumption of violent attacks on the Baha'i community in Iran," said Ms.
Ala'i.

"The most serious outbreak occurred in Yazd, where several Baha'is were
assaulted in their homes and beaten, a Baha'i's shop was set on fire
and burned, and others were harassed and threatened, following a series
of arrests and short-term detentions. The Baha'i cemetery in Yazd was
wantonly destroyed, with cars driven over the graves, tombstones smashed
and the remains of the interred left exposed."

Ms. Ala'i also said that in March, in Tehran, Iranian intelligence
agents entered the homes of several Baha'is and spent hours ransacking
their houses before carting away their possessions and taking them into
custody.

"Five Baha'is have been imprisoned just this past month," said Ms.
Ala'i. "Two were finally released on bail, but family and community members
have not been able to locate those in detention. Two others, who had
previously been briefly detained for nothing more than distributing
copies of a courteous letter to President Khatami, have now received the
maximum sentence for this so-called offence.

"Six more Baha'i families recently had their homes and land
confiscated, depriving them of their only means of livelihood."

"Indeed, human rights violations in Iran have again become so grave
that, in our view, they warrant a clear signal from the international
community and a decision to reestablish international monitoring -- now,"
Ms. Ala'i said in March.

Between 1978 and 1998, the Iranian government executed more than 200
Baha'is. Hundreds more Baha'is were imprisoned, and tens of thousands
were deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational
opportunities.

In the face of intense international pressure, most significantly
through a series of United Nations human rights resolutions, the Iranian
government has essentially halted the executions and greatly reduced the
number of Baha'is held in prison.

Yet while it has halted the most egregious forms of direct violence
against individual members of the Baha'i community, the government has
nevertheless continued its campaign of persecution, principally through
social and economic restrictions that aim at slowly suffocating an entire
religious community.


Copyright 2005 by the Baha'i World News Service. All stories and
photographs produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freely
reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise
reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are
attributed to the Baha'i World News Service. For more information,
visit
http://www.bahaiworldnews.org.

[ISFP]

that's such a shame! i remember last night at a Baha'i prayer meeting we were discussing the situation in Iran, and one person suggested we offer thanks for the safety and freedom to worship we find in our community. the religious bigotry in Iran must stop!

[arthra]

Denial of Access to Education in Iran:

The government’s efforts to deny Bahá’í youth access to higher education perhaps most clearly demonstrate the lengths to which the Iranian government is willing to go in its campaign of quiet strangulation.
Shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, large numbers of Bahá’í youth and children were expelled from school. The expulsions were not systematic, focusing mainly on children who were most strongly identified as Bahá’ís, but they ranged across the entire education system, from primary, through secondary, to the college-level, where the ban was virtually total.
In the 1990s, partly in response to international pressure, primary and secondary school children were allowed to re-enroll. However, the government has maintained the ban on the entry of Bahá’í youth into public and private institutions of higher education.

The government’s efforts to deny Bahá’í youth access to higher education perhaps most clearly demonstrate the lengths to which the Iranian government is willing to go in its campaign of quiet strangulation.


The government has used a very simple mechanism to exclude Bahá’ís from higher education: it has simply required that everyone who takes the national university entrance examination declare their religion. And applicants who indicate other than one of the four officially recognized religions in Iran — Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism — are excluded.
One young Iranian Bahá’í explained it this way: “In Iran, you have to apply for an examination to go to college. If you are successful at your exam, you can go to university. There is a place [on the examination form] which asks, ‘What is your religion?’ It has items just for Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. And all of us [the Bahá’í students], we didn’t write anything at that place. On the left side I just wrote ‘Bahá’í.’ So they don’t let us take that examination. They didn’t give us the entrance card to go to the examination hall. So we can’t even take the exam.”

Being denied access to higher education for years has had a demoralizing effect on Bahá’í youth, and the erosion of the educational level of the community is clearly aimed at hastening its impoverishment. The Bahá’í Faith places a high value on education, and Bahá’ís have always been among the best-educated groups in Iran.

In the late 1980s, Bahá’í sought to mitigate the effects of the ban by establishing their own institution of higher education. Known as the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), the Institute offered classes in private homes throughout the country, augmented by a scattering of specialized classrooms, laboratories and libraries. At its peak, the Institute enrolled more than 900 students. [See "The Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education"]

The Institute, however, was in large part shut down in 1998 when agents of the government staged a series of raids, arresting at least 36 members of the BIHE’s faculty and staff and confiscating much of its equipment and records.
The raids on the Institute, however, drew considerable international attention to the government’s oppressive policies. Human rights organs at the United Nations called for an end to religious discrimination against Bahá’í students, and various governments have pressed Iran to allow Bahá’ís back into university.

Apparently in response to this pressure, the government officially announced in late 2003 that it would drop the declaration of religious affiliation on the application for the national university entrance examination.
Being denied access to higher education for years has had a demoralizing effect on Bahá’í youth, and the erosion of the educational level of the community is clearly aimed at hastening its impoverishment. The Bahá’í Faith places a high value on education, and Bahá’ís have always been among the best-educated groups in Iran.


This, Bahá’í youth believed at the time, cleared the way for them to take the examination and to enroll in university in the fall of 2004.
The removal of the data field asking for religious affiliation was critical to Bahá’í youth who sought to enter university. The government had always said that if Bahá’ís simply declare themselves as Muslims, they would be allowed to enroll. But for Bahá’ís, who as a matter of religious principle refuse to lie or dissimulate about their belief, even pretending to be a Muslim for the sake of going to university was unthinkable.

False Promises

With the promise that religious affiliation would not matter, about 1,000 Bahá’ís accordingly signed up for and took university entrance examinations in 2004. And, indeed, no field declaring religion was on the papers.
Students were asked to take a religious subject examination, however. It came as part of the whole range of subject tests relating to mathematics, language, history, and so on. The religion tests were offered in four subjects, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, corresponding to the four recognized religions in Iran.

Most Bahá’í students opted for the Islamic subject test since, as the majority religion, Islam is taught in all schools and most Bahá’ís accordingly have a solid familiarity with its teachings.

In August, however, when the examination results were mailed out, government authorities had printed the word “Islam” in a data field listing a prospective student’s religion.

“This duplicity astounded the Bahá’í community,” the Bahá’í community of Iran wrote in a letter to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, referring to the incident. “Alas, the joyful news that the question about the religion of the applicants had been omitted from the national university entrance examination…was quite short-lived.”

When confronted by Bahá’ís, officials cynically explained they did that on the assumption that choosing to take the subject test on Islam amounts to a de facto declaration of faith in Islam.

The government’s intentions were further revealed when a group of Bahá’í students complained to officials at the national Educational Measurement and Evaluation Organization (EMEO), asking if they could return the exam results with corrected information. A footnote in the letter conveying examination results said that incorrect names and addresses could and should be corrected and returned.

However, no mention was made about correcting religious information. Indeed, Bahá’ís were told by EMEO officials that “incorrect religion would not be corrected” on the forms since the Bahá’í Faith is not among the officially recognized religions in Iran.

Shortly after that meeting, Bahá’í students wrote a letter of protest to the EMEO. The students expressed, clearly, their objection to having been designated as Muslims after having been promised that they would not have to state their religion in order to take the entrance examination.

At first, EMEO officials seemed to sympathize with their problem, even allowing Bahá’ís to fill out revised registration forms with no religious affiliation.
“Another glimmer of hope was thus kindled in the hearts of the Bahá’í youth, who immediately proceeded to meet with the authorities in order to choose their fields of study,” wrote the Bahá’í community of Iran in its letter to President Khatami.

However, even though some 800 Bahá’í students who had passed their examinations also met the new deadline for submission of the revised forms, only ten names were published in an EMEO bulletin on 12 September 2004 announcing which students had been admitted to university.

It’s worth noting also that many Bahá’ís received high scores on the examinations, and, in fact, many of them were passed over in the admission process, while many lower-scoring Muslim students were accepted.
It’s worth noting also that many Bahá’ís received high scores on the examinations, and, in fact, many of them were passed over in the admission process, while many lower-scoring Muslim students were accepted.


In the end, out of solidarity with the rest of the 800 students who had been unfairly discriminated against, those ten Bahá’ís declined to register in the universities to which they had been accepted. And so, for the school year 2004-2005, Bahá’í young people were once again utterly deprived of access to higher education.

The Iranian government has continued to pursue its strange game for the 2005–2006 school year. By mid-August 2005, hundreds of Bahá’ís had received their university entrance examination results. And once again, the government had falsely printed the word “Islam” as the religious identification for the Bahá’í students.



Source:

http://denial.bahai.org/

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by arthra

Denial of Access to Education in Iran:

SNIP
The Iranian government has continued to pursue its strange game for the 2005–2006 school year. By mid-August 2005, hundreds of Bahá’ís had received their university entrance examination results. And once again, the government had falsely printed the word “Islam” as the religious identification for the Bahá’í students.



Source:

http://denial.bahai.org/

In Shi'ih Islam in particular one has the right to deny one's religion if one feels endangered. This practice is called "taqqiyih". It is used as a litmus test against Baha`i's because Baha`i's are forbidden to follow this cultural practice at all. In the eighties many Baha`'is were imprisoned and offered the opportunity to use 'taqqiyih' to escape from prison terms and death sentences. Only handful did this, thereby ending their enrollment as Baha`i's.
About 250 Baha`i's died in prison or were assassinated during that period. One was as young as 16, a young woman killed for teaching Baha`i children classes. She and her fellow teachers were hung. The penalty for the men was the firing squad, and the families were billed by the government for the cost of the ammunition expended in their execution.

International pressure finally released most of those Baha`i's. In the course of government action, however, it was mandated by the government that the administrative organs of the Baha`i Faith were declared illegal and the Baha`i authorities at the world center cooperated in ending the national spiritual assembly of Iran. Unfortunately as soon as the Shah was gone from the country mobs had siezed all the Baha`i centers including the national center in Tehran. In the process of doing this all the national membership records were in the hands of the revolutionary government.

Regards,
Scott