Why Baha’is are persecuted in Iran and some other countries ?
July 3, 2016 5 Comments
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| The students of underground Baha’i university “BIHE” in Iran |
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| The students of underground Baha’i university “BIHE” in Iran |
It is actually PROsecution not PERsecution.
Putting aside all the propaganda and exaggeration that Baha’is spread about what happens to them or how they are treated in Iran; the answer to this question is very simple.
Baha’ism is not a simple religious entity where you keep your beliefs to yourselves. It is an ORGANIZATION where the adherents are required by their beliefs to participate in all matters of the cult in an organized matter taking orders in a hierarchical form from the highest in rank, the Universal House of Justice, down to the Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Any organization, and I repeat any organization in any country, must first obtain the necessary legal approvals in accordance with that country’s laws for it to be able to start its activities. Baha’is have received no approvals whatsoever and their organizational activities are all illegal in Iran. When they are busted by the authorities for their illegal activities they go around claiming that they are being PERSECUTED FOR THEIR BELIEFS while in reality it is LEGAL PROSECUTION.
Funny thing is, the Israeli government does not allow them to have any activities in Israel and Baha’is happily oblige and never protest. Their persecution in Israel is so harsh that they are not even allowed to live in Israel (only allowed a short few day visit to visit their holy sites, and only IF the Universal House of Justice allows them), yet they never ever protest to this. This hypocritical behavior makes matters even worse for them in Iran because they are obviously making themselves a tool of the western governments against Iran by this attitude.
About imranshaykh
The Bahai Insider 
“Any organization, and I repeat any organization in any country, must first obtain the necessary legal approvals in accordance with that country’s laws for it to be able to start its activities. Baha’is have received no approvals whatsoever and their organizational activities are all illegal in Iran.”
Talk about a Catch-22! You say the religion isn’t persecuted because the religion isn’t legal, yet isn’t making a religion illegal the very definition of persecution? Lewis Carroll and George Orwell would have been proud of you(or just very amused.) It’s apparent that the concept of religious freedom has no bearing on your outlook.
Dear William:
The laws of a land are the prerogative of the government of the land and one must respect that. The government in Iran is a democratically elected government which frames laws which are applicable to every citizen of the country. So if the law in Iran says that Bahaism is banned, so be it. One must learn to adhere to the laws of the country.
I wish to have pork in Saudi Arabia. Sorry I cannot because it is banned there.
I wish to wear the niqab in France. Sorry I cannot because it is banned there.
Persecution or not, the law of the land must be respected. Period.
Warm regards
Imran
“Any organization, and I repeat any organization in any country, must first obtain the necessary legal approvals in accordance with that country’s laws for it to be able to start its activities. Baha’is have received no approvals whatsoever and their organizational activities are all illegal in Iran. When they are busted by the authorities for their illegal activities they go around claiming that they are being PERSECUTED FOR THEIR BELIEFS while in reality it is LEGAL PROSECUTION.”
Talk about a Catch-22. Making a religion illegal is the very definition of persecution. Yours is the rationale of every inquisitor and kommisar who has sought to impose whatever orthdoxy on the minds of others. It is the mindset that has erected gallows, guillotines, and gas chambers throughout the blood soaked annals of human history. Lewis Carroll and George Orwell would be proud or atleast very amused.
Obviously the concept of freedom thought has no place in your view. The question of religious truth can only be established when there is no coercion. If any religious belief can only thrive by the cruel force of government then it is a belief that does not deserve to survive.
Dear William:
The laws of a land are the prerogative of the government of the land and one must respect that. The government in Iran is a democratically elected government which frames laws which are applicable to every citizen of the country. So if the law in Iran says that Bahaism is banned, so be it. One must learn to adhere to the laws of the country.
I wish to have pork in Saudi Arabia. Sorry I cannot because it is banned there.
I wish to wear the niqab in France. Sorry I cannot because it is banned there.
Persecution or not, the law of the land must be respected. Period.
Warm regards
Imran
Iramshaykh,
So you’re saying that might makes right, that the prerogative of a government suffices for morality and human dignity? Governments have been banning and coercing all kinds of activity throughout history. That doesn’t suffice for a moral law. If the prerogatives of government are what makes right then there is no concept of human rights because people would only exist at the mercy of an all powerful government. Whatever the state does to them could never be considered wrong because it is only the prerogative of their government. If moral right is made by the power of government then why shouldn’t the actions of mobs and gangs be considered right? Saying that such prerogatives must be respected is the same as saying that a helpless shopkeeper should respect the gangsters who are shaking him down. This type of “respect” is not the same as honor or admiration.
So the Iranian government bans Baha’ism while the French government bans headscarves. But none of this answers the question on what criteria do these governments do these things? Or on what criteria does any government do anything? If theological debates are to be settled by the force of government then it is persecution. You can call it the “law of the land” but I would point out that slavery and genocides were the law of the land.
William Jarrell