Jeune Street

Evidently, it is not only CNN that requires a more exacting standard of journalism… the Washington Post just published this appalling article today. It is riddled with errors and misrepresentation that I couldn’t help but dissect, paragraph by paragraph (the quotations are my commentary).

Iran Accuses 7 Jailed Leaders of Bahai Faith of Espionage
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, February 18, 2009; Page A09

TEHRAN, Feb. 17 — Seven leaders of the Bahai faith who have been detained for more than eight months in Iran have been officially accused of espionage, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said Tuesday.

The charges also included ‘insulting religious sanctities’ and ‘propaganda against the Islamic republic’.

“Next week, an indictment will be issued and will be discussed in court,” judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told reporters, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. The seven leaders were arrested in May, prompting international criticism of Iran for its treatment of Bahai followers.

Six of the seven were arrested in May. The seventh was arrested earlier, on 5 March 2008.

On Friday, in response to initial reports that the seven leaders would be charged with spying, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood issued a statement condemning the leveling of “baseless charges” against the Bahai leaders. “The accusations reported in Iranian and international media are part of the ongoing persecution of Bahai in Iran,” Wood said.

Bahai officials also said the Iranian detainees were innocent of the charges.

That is not, in fact, what the Baha’is said. Diane Ala’i, the spokeswoman for the Baha’i International Community, actually said: “The accusations are false, and the government knows this.” The distinction is subtle, but important.

Saying the Baha’is are ‘innocent’ validates the act of charging the Baha’is, and is a gross understatement of the context in which these charges are made – namely, that the government has a policy oriented towards the suffocation of the Baha’i community and a pattern of action indicating that the policy is still in place.

Followers of the Bahai faith, an offshoot of Islam that originated in 19th-century Persia, say the Bahai founder is the final prophet, a distinction that Muslim scholars say should be reserved for the prophet Muhammad. Iranian officials do not recognize the Bahai faith as a religion, referring to it as an “organization.”

The Baha’i Faith is not an offshoot of Islam – it is an independent world religion.

Baha’u'llah does not claim to be the final prophet – an essential tenet of Baha’i belief is that divine revelation will continue into the future.

There is no indication of which “Muslim scholars” are being referred to here. Although Muslims believe that Muhammad is the “seal of the prophets,” there is also the expectation among Shia Muslims in Iran that the Hidden Imam will return with Jesus to herald a new age of peace and justice on earth.

Bahais claim 300,000 followers in Iran, but there are no independent statistics on the denomination’s size in the country. The Islamic republic allows Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, who are regarded as members of monotheistic religions, to hold religious gatherings. Bahais are forbidden to hold such meetings, and those who make their faith public are banned from studying at universities, serving in the army and working in government offices.

There are no independent statistics on the size of the Baha’i community because the community is formally banned in Iran, making enumeration difficult. Nevertheless, many third parties have verified that the Baha’i community is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran.

The Baha’i Faith is also a monotheistic religion, contrary to the implication of the journalist.

The final sentence suggests that Baha’is who do not make their faith public would be allowed to study, serve in the army and work in government. In fact, the government goes to great lengths to discover the faith of its citizens and it would be well nigh impossible for a Baha’i to be fully discrete about her faith. Furthermore, recent circulars to security forces have asked them to “identify and monitor” members of the Baha’i community.

The seven arrested Bahais form the leadership of the sect in Iran. The Bahai International Community, which represents members of the faith worldwide, says hundreds of followers have been jailed and some executed in the years since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Iran denies that it has detained or executed people because of their religion.

The Baha’i Faith is not a sect. It is an independent world religion, with its roots in Islam – analogous to the Jewish roots of Christianity.

Thousands of Baha’is have been jailed (not hundreds) and hundreds executed (not ’some’).

The documentation about the killing of Baha’is because of their religion is beyond dispute – it is a matter of historical record, not debate. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre and scholars such as Eliz Sanasarian and Reza Afshari have catalogued the religious roots of Baha’i persecution.

“Any activity which would be propagation against the country, system and Islam is certainly a crime, and the instigators will be punished,” Jamshidi said in response to a question about a letter by Iran’s prosecutor general in which Bahais were portrayed as spies for Israel. “However, there is no problem for these people in Iran, just as they have lived in Iran for years,” he said.

Jamshidi’s claim is manifestly false. Why give credence to these lies?

The 1991 Golpaygani Memorandum (signed by Ayatollah Khamenei) which has been repeatedly cited by the United Nations, states that “the Government’s treatment of them [Baha'is] shall be such that their progress and development shall be blocked.”

The prosecutor general, Ayatollah Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi, wrote in a letter made public Sunday that there are “strong and long-term relations between the Bahais and the Zionists,” as Iranian officials often refer to Israelis. The Bahai headquarters is in Haifa, Israel, but the denomination says it has adherents in virtually every country.

Some historical context would be relevant: The presence of the Baha’i Faith (since 1868) in Israel predates the establishment state of Israel (in 1948) and is a indirect consequence of the actions of the Persian government, which expelled Baha’u'llah from Iran and requested that the Ottoman Empire banish him – which they did, to Acre (now in Israel).

“All evidence points to the fact that the Bahai organization is in direct contact with the foreign enemies of Iran,” Dorri-Najafabadi wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. The letter appeared in the Kayhan newspaper, which has strong ties to the government.

It is an understatement to say that Kayhan “has strong ties to the government.” The editor is appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei, and the newspaper has published over 200 articles over the past two years attacking the history of the Baha’i Faith, its central figures, Baha’i beliefs and aspects of community life.

“The ghastly Bahai organization is illegal on all levels, their dependence on Israel has been documented, their antagonism with Islam and the Islamic System is obvious, their danger for national security is proven and any replacement organization must also be dealt with according to the law,” Dorri-Najafabadi wrote.

Where is the counterpoint to these odious claims?

Far from antagonizing Islam, the sacred writings of the Baha’i Faith call upon believers to defend the religion. The claim that Baha’is represent a danger to national security is completely unfounded. In fact, a recent letter from the Universal House of Justice (the international governing council of the Baha’i community) to the Baha’is in Iran said:

You should take every opportunity to explain to your fellow citizens the fundamental principle of the Faith that strictly prohibits involvement in partisan political activity of any kind, whether local, national or international. Baha’is view government as a system for maintaining the welfare and orderly progress of human society, and obedience to the laws of the land is a distinguishing feature of their beliefs. Iran is dear to the Baha’is, who are the well-wishers of all.

Thanks to Kawthar over at the legendary Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights, who brought this article to my attention.