54 Baha’is sentenced to jail in Iran!
January 29th, 2008 by Admin It is with great disappointment and outrage that we republish the news of the 54 Baha’is who were arrested, simply for being Baha’i!
According to RTTNews:
Iran has sentenced three members of the Bahai faith to four years in jail and 51 others to suspended prison terms in the southern city of Shiraz for propaganda against the Islamic Revolutionary system, a judiciary spokesman said, without giving details.
The authorities said the defendants were proselytizing in the southern city of Shiraz under the cover of helping the poor when they were arrested early last year.
Helping the poor is apparently propaganda!
This is horrible and deeply threatening news for the Baha’i community in Iran. Our thoughts and prayers are with these innocent prisoners and their families.
It is imperative that we Muslims, Baha’is, Christians, Jews all alike protest this great injustice that has occurred in the name of interfaith, tolerance, justice, and coexistence. Please do what you can to spread the word and help out.
Baha’u'llah says that the poor are trust of God among mankind. It is a spiritual duty of the Baha’is to help the poor. Baha’u'llah also says, “Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.” And this is what these 54 obedient souls to the teachings of Baha’u'llah were doing. Baha’is are duty-bound to practice their Faith by deeds.
Then, you have the authorities of the Islamic Republic convict these helpers of their own cities as engaging in propaganda. Well, if acting caringly and helping the downtrodden is propaganda so be it. Perhaps the authorities should engage in the same kind of propaganda rather than the falsehood they spread against the Faith and wrongly imprison these workers.
We do well to keep in mind this Islamic saying: Al hokmo yodavemo bel kofr va la yodavemo bel thulm ( a rule of kofr may endure, but a rule of injustice will not).
Enough thulm, enough injustice, please.
It’s worth noting that moslim friends of the baha’is were helping in the so-called propaganda work in Shiraz. They were also arrested initially but quickly released without charge.
Baha’u'llah says : “Say: I swear by God! No one is despised in the sight of the Almighty for being poor. Rather is he exalted, if he is found to be of them who are patient.”
Helping the poor is not only giving them food and shelter, but it is mostly letting them know that they are exalted in the sight of God. Is this against the Islamic Republic? The world and the people of the Islamic Republic need to know.
We ask those pure souls who are imprisoned to pray for us all, and we pray to God to have mercy on those who imprisoned them.
Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for one day. Teach him how to fish, and he’ll eat for life. This is an old profound saying with immense practical implications. And this is exactly what these 54 Baha’i youth were doing. The mullahs are responsible to the masses of economically suffering poor. More importantly, they are accountable to God. It is never too late for us all to abandon our misguided ways and turn to righteousness. Let us hope and pray that the mullahs in power and their functionaries use their resources to help the poor rather than persecute those who do.
this is 54’s web site please visit it.
www.neda54.com
thanks