TruthBook Religious News Blog

By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
Published: June 26, 2009

Sometimes during the past two weeks, making her rounds as a hospital resident, Dr. Saughar Samali has caught a glimpse of television news in a patient’s room or heard a bulletin on the radio in the family-practice office. Against her desire, against her better judgment, she has been plunged back into the maelstrom of Iran.

As long as she is on duty, Dr. Samali can suppress what she sees and hears of the marchers, the arrests, the beatings. But when she leaves St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson and returns home to nearby Clifton, the present conjures up a terrible past.

She remembers when her father’s factory in Tehran was set afire, leaving him severely scarred and blind in one eye. She remembers her family’s trying to escape to Pakistan, traveling in a smuggler’s Jeep, headlights out on a midnight desert. She remembers the army bullets that shattered the windshield and pierced the tires, and she remembers the months in prison that followed.

It was 1985, and she was 5 years old. In all the years since, even after a subsequent, successful escape and a new life in the United States, Dr. Samali has not forgotten what it meant to be a Bahai in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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Labels: Bahá'í, Iran, religious freedom, Samuel G. Freedman, Saughar Samali

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Sufi rising

January 25, 2009

For years, the Islamic revival has seemed to be a story of ever-growing fundamentalism and political extremism, but around the world, Sufi orders are rapidly gaining strength -- in Turkey and Syria, Uzbekistan and Indonesia. Sufism is also growing quickly in Iran, as younger Muslims seek a liberal and liberating kind of spirituality utterly different from anything the ayatollahs can provide. In 1979, Iran had 100,000 Sufis; today, there may be 5 million.

Globally, the movement represents a close parallel to the explosive worldwide growth of charismatic and Pentecostal styles within Christianity. Both practice a passionate style of religion, and both have demography on their side. The Sufi revival is most obvious in the African and Asian lands that have some of the world's highest birth rates. Although the Sufi revival has its impact in many Muslim countries, the North African story is particularly important for Europe and the West because of the influence of migrants. As Morocco and Senegal spawn new forms of Sufi devotion, for example, these spread to African communities in Europe, and find expression in youth culture and hip hop, even in Sufi rap.

Always, these movements speak the language of peace, hope, and reconciliation, and condemn extremism. These are the Muslim voices that can compete with the calls to jihad and terror.

Labels: charismatics, Christianity, Iran, Muslims, passion, religion, Sufism

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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Iran's Crackdown Victimizes Baha'is

RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION |
Rest of the world needs to speak out on minority's behalf

September 30, 2007
BY MARK KIRK

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage this week to address students at Columbia University, his government was working at his direction to find and expel students from Iranian universities -- solely based on the religion they practice.

There is a little-told story from Iran -- a story we thought would forever stay buried in the darkness of 1930s Europe. This story is about a religion founded in Iran in the mid-1800s that has become Iran's largest religious minority with over 250,000 members.

As the representative in Congress for the Baha'i Temple of North America, I know the Baha'i faith well -- a faith of tolerance and diversity of thought. These are values we embrace on the North Shore. But in an oppressive Islamic dictatorship like Iran, Baha'is pose a clear and present danger to the regime.

In March 2006, just a few months into Ahmadinejad's presidency, the Command Headquarters of Iran's Armed Forces ordered the police, Revolutionary Guard and Ministry of Information to identify all Baha'is and collect information on their activities.

Two months later, the Iranian Association of Chambers of Commerce began compiling a list of Baha'is serving in every business sector.

In May of last year, 54 Baha'is were arrested in Shiraz and held for several days without trial -- the largest roundup of Baha'is since the 1980s. Then in August, Iran's feared Ministry of the Interior ordered provincial officials to "cautiously and carefully monitor and manage" all Baha'i social activities. The Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology ordered 81 Iranian universities to expel any student discovered to be a Baha'i. A letter issued in November from one university stated that it is Iranian policy to prevent Baha'is from enrolling in universities and to expel Baha'is upon discovery.

This year, the safety of Iranian Baha'is continued to deteriorate, as 104 Baha'is were expelled from Iranian universities. In February, police in Tehran and surrounding towns entered Baha'i homes and businesses to collect details on family members. The First Branch of the Falard Public Court refused to hear a lawsuit "due to the plaintiffs' belonging to the Bahaist sect."

In April, the Iranian Public Intelligence and Security Force ordered 25 industries to deny business licenses to Baha'is. The Ministry of Information threatened to shut down one company unless it fired all Baha'i employees. Banks are closing Baha'i accounts and refusing loans to Baha'i applicants. Just last week, the Iranian government bulldozed a Baha'i cemetery, erasing the memory of thousands of Iranian citizens.

The U.S. State Department's 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom paints an even darker picture.

"Broad restrictions on Baha'is severely undermined their ability to function as a community. The Government repeatedly offers Baha'is relief from mistreatment in exchange for recanting their faith. . . .

"Baha'is may not teach or practice their faith or maintain links with co-religionists abroad. Baha'is are often officially charged with "espionage on behalf of Zionism. . . . "

"Since late 2005 Baha'is have faced an increasing number of public attacks. . . . Radio and television broadcasts have also increasingly condemned the Baha'is and their religion. . . .

"Public and private universities continued either to deny admittance to or expel Baha'i students."

On Tuesday, the Iranian president addressed the United Nations General Assembly. That will be a defining moment for our new century. The lessons of the 20th century gave us all the warning signs of what will come if we do not speak out.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk represents the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. He is co-chairman of the House Iran Working Group and a member of the Human Rights Caucus.

Labels: Baha'i, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mark Kirk, religious freedom, Report on International Religious Freedom

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Religion Can Be Used As A Force For Peace

by Eliza Carney

Many of the worldwide celebrations of Easter reported in the Coloradoan focused on bringing peace and a better future for this fractured world. But many see religion itself as a primary cause of the fracturing. And this is unfortunately true in many places.

But there are other instances where people of faith do try to be true to the ideals of justice and peace of their founders. This is true of the U.S. Christian leaders' mission (United Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, Quaker, Mennonite, National Council of Churches and others) to Tehran several weeks ago, an event little-reported in the media. Their objective was "to meet with religious and political leaders in Iran to help diffuse tensions and explore ways to forge peace between Iran and the U.S."

Here are excerpts from the U.S. religious delegation's wrap-up statement on the Tehran mission, words we hope will be echoed in faith communities across the land:

"As Christian leaders from the United States, we went to Iran at this time of increased tension believing that it is possible to build bridges of understanding between our two countries. We believe military action is not the answer, and that God calls us to just and peaceful relationships within the global community.

"We were warmly welcomed by the Iranian people, and our time in Iran convinced us that religious leaders from both countries can help pave the way for mutual respect and peaceful relations between our nations.

"During our visit, we met with Muslim and Christian leaders, government officials, and other Iranian people. Our final day included a meeting with former President Khatami and current President Ahmadinejad. The meeting with President Ahmadinejad was the first time an American delegation had met with a sitting Iranian President in Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979. The meeting lasted 2.5 hours and covered a range of topics including the role of religion in transforming conflict, Iraq, nuclear proliferation, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"What the delegation found most encouraging from the meeting with President Ahmadinejad was a clear declaration from him of no intention to acquire or use nuclear weapons, as well as a statement that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be solved through political not military means. Finally, he said, 'I have no reservation about conducting talks with American officials if we see some good will.'

"We believe it is possible for further dialogue and that there can be a new day in U.S.-Iranian relations. The Iranian government has already built a bridge toward the American people by inviting our delegation to come to Iran. We ask the U.S. government to welcome a similar delegation of Iranian religious leaders to the United States.

"As additional steps in building bridges between our nations, we call upon both the United States and Iranian governments to:

Immediately engage in direct face-to-face talks;

Cease using language that defines the other using "enemy" images;

Promote more people-to-people exchanges including religious leaders, members of Parliament/ Congress, and civil society.

"As people of faith, we are committed to working toward these and other confidence-building measures, which we hope will move our two nations from the precipice of war toward a more just and peaceful settlement."

Peace between the United States and Iran is both possible and essential. People of faith in both nations can help make it happen.

Will we?

Eliza Carney is a member of the Peace and Justice Committee at the Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship.

Labels: Christian, Eliza Carney, God, Iran, peace, President Ahmadinejad, religion, Tehran