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Religious persecution close to the hearts of some
By CHRISTINA ROWLAND/ Staff Writer
A small crowd gathered March 5 in Town Square to pray for those with who they share a common bond. The bond is religion. Members of the Baha’i faith prayed for seven people from their religion who were arrested last May in Iran.
The seven were not charged until February, 2009. They are facing charges of espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic, a press release noted.
According to www.iran.bahai.us, no evidence has been brought to light to prove that the seven people in custody are guilty of the crimes they have been accused of and that they have been denied access to their attorneys.
According to John Leonard, media representative for the Baha’i’ of Southlake, there was a threefold purpose to last week’s event.
He said the first reason they came together was to say a prayer for those of his religion that have been arrested.
Second, he said it was important to have dissemination of the information. The Baha’i’ want to spread the word about actions such as these in Iran and make people aware that religious persecution still exists.
The third reason for their gathering was to suggest a line of action that people can take. They provided ways for those attending the event to take action and contact congress about what is happening.
The U.S. House of Representatives have already made their stance known on Iran’s treatment of the Baha’is’.
On Feb. 13, Robert Wood, spokes person for the U.S. Department of State issued a statement saying, “The U.S. condemns the Iranian government’s decision to level baseless charges of espionage against seven leaders of the Baha’i community. We join the international community in urging the authorities to release all religious minorities who are currently in detention for peacefully exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
A similar resolution, Senate Resolution 71, was introduced March 9.
Additional other foreign governments and NGOs have spoken out about their concern for the arrested Baha’i and about them being released.
There were Baha’i executions in the 1980s that were stopped when foreign governments spoke out against Iran’s practices.
“We are hoping that a similar expression now would stop the Baha’i from execution and possibly lead to their release,” Leonard said.
Because the official religion of Iran is Islam, government allows the practice of other religions but sometimes persecute those people.
Leonard explained that they are a religiously-free country in theory but don’t practice that in law.
He hopes that last week’s event opened people’s eyes to what is going on in other parts of the world. The contact information was provided for how people can reach Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Sen. John Cornyn, the two elected Texas representatives to the U.S. Senate.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Karin Ferguson wrote on Mar 12, 2009 6:31 PM:
" These Baha'is that have gathered for Prayers for the Baha'is in Iran are not alone. Many Baha'is around the world join them in our daily prayers for the Protection of the over 250,000 Baha'is in Iran.. and presently at this time... for the 7 who are being tried .... NOT by the Country's official judicial system... but by the Revolutionaary Court which uniltaterally judged and sentenced so many to death when Ayatollah Khouemeni returned to Iran from France , over 30 years ago. The Baha'is are blameless in every way.... their only Goal being to love humanity and to strive for the propagation of the Oneness of God and the Oneness of Mankind. Certainly not a welcomed quest by the Government and Mullahs of Iran. "
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