Local Baha'is react to sentencing

Iran sentenced seven leaders of the Baha’i community last August to 10 years for crimes against the state. The sentence was reduced from 20 years after an outcry from the international community and a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The faith has seen persecution from the government since its inception in Iran more than 150 years ago. After the Islamic revolution, treatment of the Baha’i grew worse.
Blair Johnson, a graduate student studying law and a Baha’i member, said the Iranian government is not allowing members of the Baha’i faith to receive an education.

“The government has engaged in a lot of tactics to persecute Baha’is,” Johnson said. “Baha’is are denied access to education because they are required to fill out documents to deny their faith, and that’s the one thing that a Baha’i cannot do.”

Johnson estimated that seven students at IU are part of the Baha’i community. Wherever there are at least nine Baha’i in an area, they establish a local spiritual assembly, Johnson said. There is a local one in Bloomington, which is responsible for overseeing administrative issues.

The assembly finances contributions made to Baha’i funds which includes taking care of the center, making sure the bills are paid and taking care of basic
center needs.

“The Baha’i association at IU is pretty dormant because we don’t have many Baha’i students. Our primary purpose has been just to raise awareness to what the Baha’i faith is,” Johnson said.

Iran does not have an assembly because they do not recognize the Baha’i faith. The seven sentenced leaders were part of an unofficial national-level advocacy group whose duties were to oversee and help in basic needs of their 300,000 community members.

“They are seen as a good source of knowledge,” Johnson said. “They are involved in the maintenance and support of the existing Baha’i community.”

The seven leaders oversee the Baha’i community in Iran, much the same way the local assembly oversees members in Bloomington, but they do so unofficially.

“The Yarans, these seven members, over the course of the year were picked up and thrown into prison for a variety of charges,” Johnson said. “Corruption of the world, collusion with the state of Israel, essentially treason.”

Sara Hatch, the public information officer at the Bloomington Baha’i Center, said the health conditions of the seven Baha’i leaders are bad and that they are forbidden from seeing their families.

“Baha’i don’t speak out against the government and the only recourse is for the other Baha’i to speak out for them,” Hatch said.

One of the fundamental requirements for the Baha’i faith is obedience to state laws. They are not allowed to engage in protests.

“The basis of the faith is resolution of conflict through consultation not conflict,” Johnson said. “It is important that we are obedient to state laws. The government of Iran has asked that the Baha’is not teach their faith. And they don’t.”

The seven leaders were detained for 20 months before they were tried by a Revolutionary Court in Iran.

“They are leading members of the Iranian community. They have done so much to help everyone, not just the Baha’i, and just because they are Baha’i they are seen to be a threat to the government,” Hatch said.

The National Spiritual Assembly, the headquarters of the Baha’i faith in the United States, has asked for its members to work with U.S. legislature to resolve the issue.

“At the end of last year, the National Spiritual Assembly asked Baha’is in certain regions to speak to their congressmen, who are identified as being pro or in the middle of the stance,” Johnson said. “Essentially they are seeking to have a resolution passed sanctioning or reprimanding the Iranian government for the trail.”

Meanwhile the Baha’i community in Bloomington is working on raising awareness of the situation in Iran.

“We had an observance where we told their stories and we had some prayers, music and a candle lighting ceremony,” Hatch said. “We just want the people to know that we are a law-abiding faith, that we are a peaceful faith.”

The Baha’i center is trying to raise awareness about the Iranian situation through local media and by addressing the public directly.

“All we can do is just let the world know, and put pressure on the government to be just,” Hatch said.