#Iran #intensifies #persecution #Bahai #wave #arrests
Iranian authorities have stepped up their persecution of Baha’i with a spate of arrests of prominent members of the country’s largest non-Muslim minority, sending the battered community into shock, activists said on Monday.
Iran’s Baha’i, who have been harassed since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, had previously complained that dozens of parishioners were arrested, summoned or had their homes searched in June and July.
But the intensification of the persecution reached a new high on Sunday, when 13 Baha’i were suddenly arrested in raids on the homes and businesses of 52 Baha’i across the country, Bahai International Community (BIC) representative Diane Alai told AFP.
She said those jailed included prominent Iranian Baha’i figures Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi and Afif Naemi, who each previously served a decade in prison and were part of a now-defunct Bahai administration group called the Yaran.
“This is an outrageous move,” Alai told AFP. “It’s an escalation.”
“We didn’t want to believe this was going to happen, but we could see it happening,” she said, noting an “incitement to hate campaign” in pro-government media.
James Samimi Farr of the Baha’i of the United States added: “For whatever reason, there is an undaunted attempt to persecute our community and see what can be done against us.”
– ‘No proof’ –
Iranian intelligence said Monday it had arrested members of the Baha’i minority suspected of spying for a center in Israel and working illegally to spread their religion.
They were instructed to “infiltrate educational environments at various levels, particularly kindergartens across the country,” it said.
The Baha’i are used to accusations from Iran about ties to Israel, whose northern city of Haifa is home to a center of the Baha’i faith that was established due to the exile of a Baha’i leader long before the founding of the State of Israel.
Such allegations contain “no evidence,” Alai said.
Samimi Farr said: “The government has felt emboldened to prosecute us on flimsy pretexts that have been repeatedly debunked.”
The Islamic Republic recognizes non-Muslim faiths such as Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism, but does not accord the same recognition to Bahaism, whose adherents in Iran are estimated at 300,000.
Community leaders say Baha’i have faced persecution throughout the Islamic Republic’s more than four decades of existence, with members facing major obstacles in accessing higher education.
– ‘Eliminate the Fellowship’ –
During her earlier detention, Fariba Kamalabadi met the daughter of the late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Faezeh Hashemi, who was herself imprisoned as a result of protests.
When Kamalabadi was granted a short break from prison in 2016, Faezeh Hashemi met her, breaking a major taboo in Iran and outraging conservatives and her own father.
Mahvash Sabet, who wrote poetry during her decade in Tehran’s Evin Prison, was recognized as English PEN International Writer of Courage in 2017.
The Baha’i faith is a relatively modern monotheistic religion with spiritual roots dating back to early 19th century Iran promoting human unity and equality.
Adherents say the faith’s tenets encourage a non-confrontational approach known as “constructive resilience” and insist Iran’s Baha’i want to work for the country’s good, not against its leadership.
Iran is currently in the midst of a major crackdown affecting all walks of life in an economic crisis that has sparked protests. Filmmakers, trade unionists and foreigners were arrested.
Alai said the recent surge in repression has only one ultimate goal. “Their goal is to eliminate the Baha’i community as a viable entity.”
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