Thank you. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to address the sub-committee on human rights and for the genuine concern on the part of the committee and its members for the fate of the Baha'i community in Iran. The expressions of support and assistance that have been forthcoming from our Government and Members of the Oireachtas, from this esteemed committee and its members, is a great source of encouragement and pride for us as Irish Baha'is, deeply concerned as we are for our co-religionists in Iran.
It may be of assistance if I mention a few brief details on the background of the Baha'i faith and its origins. The Baha'i faith is the youngest of the world's religions and the second most widespread. It is based on the teachings of its founder, Baha'u'llah, who emerged in the mid-19th century in what was then Persia, now Iran.
Baha'is accept that all the different religions have proceeded from the same source, teach the same fundamental truth and have the same goal — the spiritual education of humanity. In this age, Baha'u'llah says that the time has come for the human race to be united as one people. "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens", he wrote. He teaches a spiritual solution to the world's problems, based on justice, equality and the elimination of prejudice. In the words of one of the Baha'i faith's central figure's, "The Baha'i faith recognises the unity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-in-hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, an ordered and progressive society."
Worldwide, the Baha'i faith has more than 5 million adherents, who are engaged in the process of learning how to translate that guidance into realities of individual and community life. Though they come from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, they are united by their belief in Baha'u'llah and by their desire for a united, prosperous and peaceful future for all of humanity. In Ireland, the Baha'i community is active in 25 localities and Baha'is have been in Ireland since the early decades of the last century. The Baha'i faith has no clergy. It is administered by democratically elected councils called spiritual assemblies. There are 17 local spiritual assemblies in Ireland and there is also a national spiritual assembly, responsible for all the affairs of the Baha'i community in this country.
I refer to the background to persecution in Iran. The Baha'is have been persecuted throughout their history in Iran. The central reason for this persecution is based on the religious doctrine of Islam that Muhammad is the final Prophet of God, the Seal of the Prophets, and that no divine teacher can arise after him. Many Muslims agree to disagree with people of other religious faiths, to live and let live when it comes to matters of belief but not, unfortunately, the authorities in Iran, whose actions against Baha'is are solely as a result of religious intolerance.
With 300,000 members, the Baha'i community is the largest religious minority in Iran. According to the Iranian constitution, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians are the only recognized religious minorities. The regime refers to the Baha'i faith as a heresy or a conspiracy and classifies its members as "unprotected infidels", who thus have no legal recourse. Some conservative Islamic leaders in Iran and elsewhere view the Baha'i faith as a threat to Islam and brand Baha'is as heretics or apostates. The progressive stands of the faith on women's rights, education and independent investigation of truth are of grave concern to many Muslim clerics. On the other hand, the Iranian constitution allows for the protection of the human rights of believers of unrecognised religions. Iran is also a signatory to the main international human rights covenant that guarantees freedom of religion or belief and frequently pays lip service to upholding the best standards of tolerance and justice.
I will outline recent events relating to how the Baha'i faith has come under pressure. Harassment of Baha'is is pervasive and includes many incidents of the following which have all been documented: arrests and detention, with imprisonment lasting for days, months, or years — in cases where the Baha'i is released, substantial bail is often required; direct intimidation and questioning by authorities, sometimes with the use of high intensity lights and physical mistreatment; searches of homes and business, usually with Baha'i books and other items confiscated; school expulsions and harassment of schoolchildren; prohibition on Baha'is attending universities; court proceedings where Baha'is are accused of promoting propaganda against the government "for the benefit of the Bahaist sect"; monitoring of the bank accounts, movement, and activities of Baha'is, including official questioning of Baha'is requiring them to give information about their lives, actions, neighbours, and so on; denial or confiscation of business licences; denial of work opportunities in general; denial of rightful inheritances to Baha'is; physical assaults, and efforts to drive Baha'is out of towns and villages; desecration and destruction of Baha'i cemeteries and harassment over burial rights; dissemination, including in official news media, of misinformation about Baha'is and incitement of hatred against Baha'is; evictions from places of business, including Baha'i doctors from their offices and clinics; intimidation of Muslims who associate with Baha'is; attempts by authorities to get Baha'is to spy on other Baha'is; threatening phone calls and letters to Baha'is; denial of pension benefits; denial of access to publishing or copying facilities for Baha'i literature; and confiscation of property.
The planned and systematic nature of the persecution against this religious minority came to light in 1993 with the discovery and publication by a former UN special representative of a government memorandum establishing a policy on "the Baha'i question". Drafted by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and signed by the Supreme Leader, the document states unequivocally that steps should be taken to subjugate the Baha'i community, culturally and economically in order that "their progress and development shall be blocked". The document provides conclusive evidence that the campaign against the Baha'is is centrally directed by the government.
The next section of the report deals with the plight of Baha'i leaders, which is the most recent development. Most people are aware of the imprisonment of Baha'i leaders. While dozens of Baha'is are held unjustifiably in Iranian prisons, particular concern has arisen in respect of a group of Baha'is, five men and two women, who were detained in March and May 2008 and have been held in Evin Prison in Tehran without any charge since then. During this period, their only outside contact has been family visits of ten minutes approximately once a month. It is reported that the conditions of their confinement are bleak. The seven people constitute an informal leadership group that is attempting to maintain links among Baha'i communities throughout Iran. Their arrest gives rise to particular concern because of the fate of members of the previous Baha'i leadership, who were arrested in 1980, in the early days of the Islamic Republic, and never seen again. Members of the successor leadership were arrested in 1981 and later executed.
A spokesman for the Iranian Government has announced that the seven Baha'is in this case will be charged with a number of offences, including running an illegal organisation, disseminating anti-regime propaganda, insulting religious values and engaging in espionage on behalf of Israel. The sub-committee may be interested to know that the charge with respect to Israel is frequently levelled against Baha'is because the spiritual and administrative centres of the faith are located in Israel. This fact, which predates the birth of the modern state of Israel, came about as a result of the banishment by the joint Persian and Ottoman authorities of the time of the founder of the Baha'i faith to what was then a remote province of the Ottoman empire. The basis for these serious charges, which could lead to the application of the death penalty, must be seriously questioned. Concerns are heightened by the fact that the lawyers for the accused, including the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, have been unable to see them at all, have been denied access to the case files and have been subject to public criticism and harassment. In such circumstances, there seems to be little prospect of a semblance of a fair trial.
Many voices have been raised internationally in defence of the Baha'i leaders. As the Chairman said earlier, our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, has directly raised his concerns about the treatment of Baha'is with members of the Iranian Government. He raised the matter with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr. Mottaki, at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in September 2008 and with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Safari, in Dublin in June 2008. Last December, the Minister, Deputy Martin, wrote a letter to Mr. Mottaki on the subject of human rights concerns in general. He raised the plight of the Baha'is, particularly the case of these seven representatives, in the letter. He argued that in such circumstances, it is difficult "to avoid the conclusion that the Government and authorities of Iran are actively trying to suppress a religious faith". The EU has expressed its concern and the UN has agreed resolutions, etc. It should be noted that there is encouraging evidence that Iranian writers, intellectuals and ordinary people, within and outside Iran, are beginning to question the validity of the systematic persecution of Baha'is. A prominent Iranian Islamic theologian has recently made a strong statement to this effect, which has created quite a stir in Islamic circles in Iran and elsewhere. This development is particularly noteworthy as those who speak on behalf of Baha'is in Iran are subject to pressure and put themselves in danger.
We are witnessing the intensification of a co-ordinated strategy of intimidation against the Baha'is. Our experience has been that when the spotlight of international attention focuses on attempts to culturally and economically strangle the Baha'i community and terrorise its members, this pressure is alleviated or, at least, is not allowed to develop to a more catastrophic outcome. We seek no special treatment or recognition for our co-religionists in Iran. We want the Iranian Government to honour its commitments under the various international covenants and standards to which it is a signatory, so that this beleaguered community can finally be emancipated. We are acutely aware that the Baha'i community is not the only one to suffer in Iran at present. Our call for the upholding of fundamental human rights extends to all citizens of that great country.
In conclusion, we want to make it clear that Iran's Baha'is love their country and have no wish other than to contribute to its progress and development. We hold no animosity towards the great message of Islam; rather we uphold and respect its divine origin. The followers of the Baha'i faith constitute a peace-loving community that is drawn from all backgrounds of Iranian life. They endeavour to live by the standard that was set down by the founder of the Baha'i faith, Baha'u'llah, when he wrote, "Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship". The sub-committee has the real and sincere gratitude of the Baha'i community in Ireland for giving it an opportunity to make its case today.
