Despite Claims of Tortured Baha'i Inmates, Iran Takes No Action

24 Baha'is arrested in Iran's Golestan Province

24 Baha'is arrested in Iran's Golestan Province. Image source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

A version of this article was originally published on the site of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

On March 27, 2016, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran learned of a letter that describes torture inflicted on twelve Baha’is. The letter documents acts of torture that were committed by interrogators three years ago at Amir Abad prison and detention centers located in Iran’s Golestan Province. The human rights group also learned that the Iranian Judiciary has stood by idly, despite evidence of the torture and a formal letter of complaint sent in 2012 by torture victims to the head of the Judiciary of Golestan Province.

The organization says it's also obtained a copy of the six-page, typed complaint. It was written and signed by twelve Baha’is who were arrested on October 17, 2012. The letter was sent directly to the Prosecutor General of Golestan Province after the twelve were released on bail. (In total, the twelve spent between 11 and 45 days in jail.)

On November 29, 2012, the letter was filed and officially stamped, indicating formally that the Judiciary received it. The letter itself describes in detail how they were tortured by their interrogators. These acts were committed at Amir Abad Prison, in the city of Gorgan, as well as at other unnamed detention centers in Golestan province, northeast of Tehran.

The letter stated:

On the first day of his interrogation, Mr. Behnam Hassani’s wrist was tied very tightly with a rope and attached to a metal ring. The ring was raised to a nail above his head such that only his toes could touch the ground. He was in so much pain that he started to scream and shout.

Then they brought him down and dragged him into a room and beat him. They pressed a pen between his fingers and hit him behind the head and on his mouth… Then they kept him under the rain for several hours on a cold night.

Is this what you call justice in the name of freedom and religion?

These twelve Baha’is were among the 24 Baha’is who received long prison sentences in January 2016. The other twelve were arrested in February and March 2013, also in Golestan Province.

Persecution of the Baha'i Community

The Baha’i community is one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran. Their faith is not recognized by the Islamic Republic’s constitution, and the community's members face severe discrimination. They can even be prosecuted for displaying their faith in public.

Forced Confessions

The letter states:

They forced Ms. Hana Aghighian to go under a table and then kicked her body while asking questions. Are confessions legitimate when obtained in such an atmosphere of terror?

The practice of forced “confessions” in Iran is well-documented by international human rights organizations. These are often elicited under torture or the threat of torture.

According to the letter:

Ms. Aghighian was told that if she does not answer questions the way her interrogators want her to, then she would be handed over to others who would employ other methods.

When she again did not respond to the interrogator’s liking, the interrogator tore up the interrogation sheet and stuffed it in her mouth! … Even if all the accusations against us were true… the honorable intelligence agents had no right to treat us this way.

A source told International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the other twelve Baha’is arrested in February and March 2013 also endured harsh treatment (though this description was not as severe as what was described by the first twelve in the letter).

“They were mistreated in the sense that they were sent to solitary confinement if an interrogator didn’t like the answers he was hearing,” said the source in an interview. “That by itself is considered torture.”

“They would turn off the heat in the cells and—when prisoners complained—they were told that they would have to suffer because they had not cooperated,” the source claims. “They would leave the lights on for 24 hours or turn the radio on and off or ignore them [inmates] for several days, except to give them food.”

“They were all accused of having illegitimate sexual relations,” added the source. “Their interrogators would say that the [Baha’i] women and girls were used to attract [non-Baha’i] men. Another interrogator told a Baha’i prisoner: ‘I want to tear you to pieces. Too bad my hands are tied.’ Another interrogator pressed one of the female prisoners against the wall with his foot and would hurl threats at her from a close distance.”

“The interrogators would say that Mohammad is the last prophet but if the accused said that there had been another messenger after Mohammad, they would be accused of being against Islam and trying to overthrow the Islamic Republic,” the source continued.

“They say Islam is the country's official religion and believing in the Baha’i faith means being against Velayat-e Faghih [Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, which holds that the ultimate leadership of the state must be held by a leading Islamic jurist],” said the source.

“They [interrogators] also would accuse them [prisoners] of trying to overthrow the regime because enemy states such as Israel, the US, and the UK, opposed the Islamic Republic and supported Baha’is,” the source says. “The interrogators would say that support for Baha’is in the US media proves that the US government is backing Baha’is. They wanted the prisoners to reveal their leaders and network structure.”

“One of the imprisoned Baha’is asked an interrogator on what basis they were being held. The response was that they had taken part in [proselytizing] projects known as Roohi, which is commonly practiced by Baha’is around the world. The Islamic Republic is well aware of it [this practice],” the source says. “When Baha’is believe in something, they share it with others. This is every person’s right.”

“These 24 Baha’is were all tried together and had the same charges filed against them. They were tried in eight sessions and given different verdicts. We believe their verdicts were predetermined before the trial, and the court only played a functionary role,” the source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Religious Intolerance

In his annual reports, Dr. Ahmad Shaheed, the UN special rzapporteur for human rights in Iran, has repeatedly detailed widespread abuse and discrimination against Baha’is in Iran. In the reports, Shaheed has called on the Iranian government to end its policy of religious intolerance.

According to Simin Fahandej, spokesperson for the Baha'i faith in New York, more than 80 Baha’is are currently held in Iranian prisons. In February 2016, she said:

Unfortunately, since [President Hassan] Rouhani came to power some two years ago, many Baha’is have been arrested, many Baha’i cemeteries have been destroyed, and Baha’i youths with top grades have been denied entry into the universities only because of their faith.

This begs the question, who are the criminals here? The Baha’is or the officials who send Baha’is to prison?

54 comments

  • President Obama passed on an opportunity to try to help the Iranian people in the summer of 2009 when the United States stood by silently as the Islamist regime crushed dissent when demonstrations arose in Tehran. But when he was given another chance to try to help change Iran, he chose instead to go partner with the ayatollahs and the result is a nuclear deal that not only preserves their nuclear program but also ensures that they will have the financial clout to keep their grip on a restive and dissatisfied Iranian people.

    In the long run, the Iranian people would have benefited by the kind of economic pressure and embargo that would have forced the regime to drop their dangerous nuclear dreams or face a collapse. But instead, President Obama chose to make sure that the theocrats never run out of cash or lose power. That is a formula for helping Islamist tyrants and their state-sponsored terror; not the Iranian people.

  • Behnaz Noruzian

    Citizen of the Country are bound to follow the law of the land. Iran has other religion minorities like Zoroastrian, Christians, Jews and Skihs. They never face any issues and are free to practise their faith because they follow the law. Please read more details on Judgement of UK Judge (Non Bahai) bahaism.blogspot.com/2014/11/uk-court-demolishes-iranian-bahai.html

    • Al

      I have a feeling you, Badi 19, asim firoz, below are all one person or work in one office. You can go around the internet and put links funded by Islamic Republic and try to poison people’s minds, but have you ever wondered why hasn’t the efforts of so many fanatics in Iran, powerful kings and ministers in its early days, and petty laughable efforts by the likes of you has not created a single setback to the onward progress of this Faith?

      • Badi19

        “onward progress of this Faith?”
        LOL – You are in dreams. Go and check the reality.

        • Al

          For you everything is LOL, not for Baha’is who are involved. If you had the slightest clue of what ‘s going with the Baha’i communities around the world, you would see that you are the one living in a fantasy world!

          • Badi19

            All your “claims” are refuted here.
            http://bahaicensusindia.blogspot.co.uk

            These are the records from official governments census. All verifiable. If you still believe what “Baha’i Annual Reports” say, then it is your problem.

            Baha’is are exposed in every aspect.
            See what Mr. Frederick Glaysher (a renowned ex-Baha’i scholar, who believes in reforming the Baha’i “Faith”) has to say in this regard :

            https://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/FalseStats.htm

            And he is not paid by the Iranian Government. Or you believe the other way regarding him also ?

            The problem with some individual Baha’is is that they want to remain in the cocoon created for them by their beloved Universal House of Justice. They utterly reject everything that goes against their official stance. That is why most westerners have also started to believe that this “Faith” has many qualities of a cult.

            In the upcoming comments I will start exposing your cult with all kinds of verifiable proofs.

            You are also requested to present the verifiable facts.

            Thank you.

             
          • Al

            Don’t bother to “expose” because you only have exposed yourself… in the years to come you will only hear more about the achievements and progress of the Baha’i Faith with the wonderful guidance of the Universal House of Justice… bye!

             
          • Dawnbreaking

            Yeah we are waiting that day when the Baha’i world government is established and Baha’u’llah’s wondrous laws like burning arsons to death on the stake are implemented:

            “Should anyone
            intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also shall ye burn”
            Baha’u’llah, The Kitabi Aqdas, p. 203.

            Backward darkage cultists

             
          • Dawnbreaking

            Yeah we know what is going around the world. People have come to realize that the cult is a body of lies whose leader BAha’u’llah would run around calling his deniers donkeys pigs and dogs: http://www.bahaibahai.com/eng/index.php/articles?id=86

             
      • Behnaz Noruzian

        Lolz… Typical evasive ambiguous vague answer from a Sans-Guardian Haifan Baha’i :)

      • Dawnbreaking

        What progress? 150 years have passed and the Baha’i population has stagnated. And BTW, instead of accusing the dude of being someone else or being on the payroll of Iran answer his criticism.

  • Behnaz Noruzian

    UHJ (Immaculate Governing Body) of Baha’is themselves want Bahai’s to be persecuted. https://bahaicult.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/uhj-is-interested-in-having-more-martyrs-from-iran/

  • Badi19

    These are imprisoned / persecuted Baha’is. They have Refrigerators, Television, Good Clothes, Iranian Carpets, Air Conditioners, Pistachios, Almonds, they get Ghormeh Sabzi when they demand. Very often they visit good Hospitals for treatments, they celebrate Nowruz, they teach their religion to police officials & other prisoners, they write letters to Iranian Government officials demanding their release, they enjoy every other hospitality that Iranian people offers to their guests. I feel they are the Guests of Iranian Government.

    • Al

      First of all not all the people in this photo are Baha’is. But who I am even trying to convince?! Anyway, not only they deserve all the freedom outside of jail but I hope they receive and benefit all the freedoms the guards themselves give them (since their only crime is being a Baha’i) Good for them and Happy Naw-Ruz to them!

      • Roxanne Firoz

        They deserve to be in jail for not following the law of their country. Being a Baha’i is not a crime in Iran. Teaching and spreading your faith is. Anyway, Happy Naw-Ruz to everyone! :)

        • Al

          The law of the country is against the law of their Faith and they are not going to ignore the law of their Faith. Besides, it’s not like they are forcing any Iranian to become Baha’is! But we all know how Islam has spread to everywhere throughout history! Thanks for spelling the Naw-Ruz the Baha’i way!

          • Dawnbreaking

            You hypocrites. According to your leader Shoghi Baha’is can only implement their laws if they are no in conflict with the laws of the country:
            “The laws revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in the Aqdas are, whenever practicable and not in direct conflict with the Civil Law of the land, absolutely binding on every believer or Bahá’í institution whether in the East or in the West.” (Source: Kitab-i Aqdas)

             
          • Roxanne Firoz

            Mind you that the law of the country should be given an upper hand, always! If someone does not want to abide by the law are most unwelcome and they can leave the country and go the place where they can practice their faith and openly preach their religion to others. Anyway, the Baha’is are treated well in our country. We Iranians respect all religion and everyone is allowed to follow their faith what-so-ever. We all are brothers and live together in harmony. These news are just the work of some evil minded people sitting in UHJ to create discord amongst people and gain sympathy from the people around the world. Trust me, the ground reality is totally different from what the paid media has spread. Once again, Happy Naw-Ruz to you! :)

             
          • Badi19

            They are not even welcomed in their holy land. They cannot teach the lovely people of Israel. Why? Bcoz their leader said so. Screwed religion! or Cult !?

             
      • Badi19

        Presently there are approx. 100 Baha’is in Iranian prisons and they are not there for their beliefs but due to violation of the “Laws of the Land”. Iranian regime does not recognize the Baha’i faith as a divine religion.

        Baha’i prisoners are the guest of Iranian regime and it is taking proper care of its guests. Please share the pictures of any other prison where this kind of treatment is given. Look at their happy faces. They enjoy their life.

        If their crime was their religion then there would have been more Baha’is in prisons. Baha’is claim there are 300 thousand Baha’is in Iran and only some 100 are imprisoned. Can’t you believe these 100 broke the law? There are so many Baha’is outside Iran who are involved in various criminal activities and breaking the laws in different countries. Do you want me to show you the proofs? Are all the Baha’is of Iran infallible?

        They are enjoying their lives in Prison and those 9 infallible monkeys sitting in Haifa are en-cashing the situation. This article is itself a proof of it.

        Your hypocrisy is exposed.

        • Al

          “the violation of the laws of the land”! you mean for being Baha’is who are active in their Faith, right?! “Iranian regime…taking proper care of its guests” They really should treat these honorable guests with difference since they have not committed any crime. “If their crime was….” If they had the room and the International community, and fair-minded Iranian citizen didn’t care, they would have imprisoned all of them… or even committed genocide. Fortunately many governments, UN, etc. Iranians themselves all know what Baha’is are guilty of…. being a Baha’i and wanting to practice their Faith. The rest of your threats don’t mean anything since I don’t really care what you guys come up with… you either have some grudge towards the Baha’is out of jealousy or work for the Islamic Republic’s regime.

          • Badi19

            No. As per my knowledge being a Baha’i is not a crime in Iran. Otherwise all those who are Baha’i would have been punished. Proselytizing the Baha’i cult is a punishable offense. Whoever proselytizes (using Moral Classes, Ruhi Study Circles, JYSEPs, Devotionals) are all punished. I think you should see the interview of Mr. Larijani regarding this.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRUXf3ZLHjY

             
          • Al

            Well, Islamic Republic of Iran can do whatever it wants… And Baha’is will do whatever they are told by Baha’u’llah. At the end it will be clear who was wrong. Actually it’s already clear, but not to the likes of you. Bye!

             
          • Badi19

            A time will come (very sooner) when every nation will do what IR is doing. Your deceptive 4 Core Activities are exposed. They are not meant for the welfare of the humanity but to increase your Human Resource Pyramid. Shame on you Haifan Cultists. You hypocrites.

             
          • asim firoze

            baha’is will do whatever is told to them by their leaders from UHJ.

             
          • Dawnbreaking

            Iran should kick them out of the country like what Israel did. That would be much better don’t you think?

             
        • escocesrojo

          The Jews believe that after Moses no revelation comes from God. The Christians declare that God has uniquely revealed Himself in Christ; hence any future revelation from God is superfluous and impossible. Muslims hold that Muhammad is the last prophet who brought a revelation from God and, like Jews and Christians, hold that God’s hand is chained up. Who is right? The Jews? The Christians? the Muslims? Can God be held captive to human caprice? Can God be imprisoned by human exegesis?

          Who has the right to condemn others on the basis of belief or conscience? How can anyone place judgment on another’s conscience?

          “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an 2:256)

          “Whatever you disagree about, its judgment belongs to God.” (Qur’an 42:10)

          “Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. All the holy prophets were as doctors to the soul; they gave prescriptions for the healing of mankind; thus any remedy that causes disease does not come from the great and supreme Physician.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha)

      • Dawnbreaking

        Freedom to spy for Israel.

  • asim firoze

    with the anti-national acitivities bahais do, see how the govt deals with them https://bahaicult.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/iranian-bahais-yaran-enjoying-nowruz-in-prison-2015/

    • Al

      Are you the same person as the other two who are commenting here?! lol how can all 3 of u show up 7 hours ago and bombard this article? I have a strong feeling your monthly income depends on this. Well, enjoy the money but know your efforts have the opposite effect on the Baha’i Faith!

      • Badi19

        Typical Haifan Baha’i way of Slandering.

      • Behnaz Noruzian

        A sans-guardian can only speak in this way. Keep on daydreaming and fantasizing.

        • Al

          why don’t you let “asim” answer my question?! You don’t have to come to his defend or are you guys real buddies?

          • Badi19

            What are your questions ? Let me put some points. If your answers are not here, then please be specific I will try to enlighten you.

            • In Iran Baha’ism is a Cult. Why ? This needs a proper study. If you want we can start discussing here.

            • Baha’is wish to establish a NWO replacing the old one. Iranians know what does this mean.

            • Baha’is are supported (unconditionally) by all those imperialist / colonialist “Great Nations” who are unfriendly with Iran and playing the Human Rights (persecution) card with the help of Baha’is.

            • Baha’ism is the most Political cult – totally against what they claim.

            I can prove any point (and many others) if you wish with verifiable proofs.

            Awaiting your questions that were unanswered.

             
          • Al

            It’s OK, don’t bother!.. as if you are going to change my mind or any other Baha’i! What we have is Faith in God and in His Manifestation, what you have is imagination and malice.

             
          • Badi19

            Ok as per your request I will not bother myself ;-)
            In your view and in the view of most of the Haifan Baha’is “real verifiable proofs” are Imagination and malice. You people are great.

             
          • asim firoze

            what is your question tell me?

             
  • Hatred is not of God

    I was recently contacted by one of my brothers in the Baha’i Faith who is a member of the organization whose leaders presently sit in Haifa and Wilmette. Let’s call him “Bill”. That group considers me an enemy simply because I do not accept the authority of its leaders, I have been shunned and sued by this organization to try to silence me and prevent me from calling myself a Baha’i (and it is obvious that it did not work). That is why it was surprising to hear from Bill.

    As the Master taught us, we must not regard anyone as our enemies. We must show kindness to everyone. People need guidance and education; not condemnation. I do not consider Bill my enemy simply because he believes otherwise than me. I don’t think Bill considers me an enemy either.

    In his communication to me, I received condemnation, but I think he was trying to help me. He wrote that I was “out of touch”. I had fallen for “this complete garbage” referring to my conviction that a Guardian only can lead the Baha’i Faith (one of the fundamental tenets of the Faith according to Shoghi Effendi).

    Bill concludes with this warm blessing: “Thank God you and your small, tiny nothing of a group will never last and you’ll be only be a small obscure footnote in some dusty book in a forgotten section of a small library in Missoula, Montana, or where ever it is you and the 10 other crazies hang out…Wake up!!!” (Bill seems to be unable to distinguish between the Orthodox Baha’i Faith of which I am a member, and the Baha’is Under the Provisions of the Covenant that originated in Missoula). Bill obviously takes comfort in the larger numbers of his group despite the fact that his group is miniscule too, compared to other religions, and despite the false inflated numbers released by the group. I have nothing to do with the BUPC, but do not confuse Bill with the facts. I care not how many people agree with my beliefs, and Bill doesn’t get this. Truth is not subject to a democratic vote, It is Truth regardless of how many believe, and falsehood is still error no matter how many people spout it.

    Again, I believe Bill sincerely is trying to help me awaken, and his evident lack of kindness is derived from frustration that I do not see things as he does. It has been my experience that the ones who are always trying to convert others, like Bill is trying to do for me, are not sure themselves. They do not have a firm conviction of the truth of their beliefs. As a result, they take comfort from the fact that others believe the same as they do, and it is intolerable for them to see someone else who believes in “error.”

    It is so intolerable for them, in fact, that they must constantly attempt to convert them or condemn them as heretics. I do not share this feeling. I am totally satisfied in my own religious beliefs and I care not at all what anyone else believes. I am willing to share what I know and what I believe with others, but what they ultimately believe is none of my business. This is because my faith does not need validation from any other person.

    The fanatical venom displayed by the heterodox Baha’is against the Orthodox Baha’is is mirrored perfectly in how the Muslim leaders in Iran regard the Baha’is.

    http://iranpresswatch.org/post/10324/

    This article about the holocaust of Baha’is in the Republic of Iran quotes Khamenei on this oppression: “All the members of the deviant Baha’i Sect are infidels and unclean (1), all should avoid food or other items that have been touched by them. It is incumbent upon the believers to combat the deception and fraud of this misguided sect… In case they have come into contact with anything, the proper cleansing process must be observed… All believers should confront the trickeries of the misguided Baha’i sect and prevent others from becoming misguided and joining them… any sort of interaction with this deviant sect should be avoided.”

    How interesting that Khomeni, as the leader of the Shi’ite Muslims in Iran, expresses a similar sentiment to how Bill feels about me and my fellow “crazies”. Just like Bill, Khomeni cannot tolerate the fact that people believe differently from him, and he feels compelled to oppose and demonize the Baha’is on trumped up charges. The article details the outrageous atrocities committed by the fanatical Muslims in Iran against innocent Baha’is. The difference between Bill and Khomeni is largely on the power they have to influence people. The heterodox Baha’is tried hard to silence us with their shunning tactic, and many years of battle against us in federal court, but they were powerless to silence us. If they had the power, they would do anything to stop us.

    Their desperate need to obtain validation by converting others and condemning the infidels is a common archetype in religious history. I submit to you that both Bill and Khomeni are suffering from a spiritual aridity that equates religious belief with spiritual attainment, which seeks to control and convert others into that same belief, and which rejects true spirituality and free thinking in others as dangerous. It is time now for all of us to grow up and be civil.

    Here was my response to Bill:

    “All the Haifan Baha’is ever have done is to meet my questions and statements with derision and personal animosity and attack. Just as you are doing. Is this the proper attitude of a Baha’i? Whatever happened to independent investigation of truth?

    “No member of your organization has displayed the courage and integrity to question the source of the authority claimed by the people in charge of the organization. If they had authority, nobody would have any problem responding. But because they have no authority and have hijacked the Faith from the true authority, any evaluation of their authority is forbidden and so you accept them blindly.

    And then you have the audacity to contact me and tell me I am out of touch!”

    I would say the same thing to Khomeni. The evil he attributes to the Baha’is is nothing more than a mirror projection of his own darkness. He is more dangerous than Bill because he has power, but they are the same in their irrational and fanatical hatred and intolerance.

    All of us, whether Muslim or Baha’i, and whatever religious organization to which we belong, are the children of the same God. If we are loving to one another, despite our differences, we are living as servants of God. If we show hate to one another, this is simply satanic. Hatred is not of God and we must put this behind us.

    • Badi19

      Thank you Jefrey. I agree with you.

      • Thank you Badi. We are Orthodox Bahá’ís. The Haifan Bahá’ís persecute us, call us Covenant Breakers and Shun us. They prohibit us from calling ourselves as Bahá’í and they took us to court for using the Greatest Name symbol. They were defeated as the court ruled in our favor. We are persecuted by our own friends, by the so called lovers of the Cause. We don’t call them Covenant Breaker but we pray for them.

    • Al

      Good ‘copy and paste’ story! How much time did you spend to come with this stuff?!

      • Dear Ali,

        This is not “Copy Paste”. I invite you to the “Independent Investigation of Truth”. Most of the Bahá’ís avoid discussing this topic. But I hope you will not run away and stay here. You will not “Shun me” like Ruhiized Brainwashed Haifan Baha’i Cultists do.

        Here is an introduction of the Orthodox Bahá’í faith. Please read. May the Blessed Beauty guide you and help you attain divine confirmations.

        What do Orthodox Bahá’ís believe?

        1) We are the “true Bahá’ís” We have not altered the true Faith of God. We believe just the same as all Bahá’ís believed before 1957 that the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh requires obedience to the Guardian of the Cause of God. We believe the present Guardian is Nosrat’u’llah Bahremand.

        2) Orthodox Bahá’ís have all of the Institutions of the Cause of God as set forth in the Will and Testament of `Abdu’l-Bahá, including the Hands of the Cause of God, and an international body with the Guardian at its head, the International Bahá’í Council, which is destined in time to become the Universal House of Justice.

        3) The Orthodox Baha’is, being under the shade of the Tree of Covenant are divinely guided and blessed. The “table of heaven is prepared” for them, “the angels of heaven” are their “assistants and helpers”, and “the life of the Holy Spirit is breathing upon” them (from `Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 214).

        The Guardian’s web page is at http://www.bahai-guardian.com.

        I am here to help you and God willing we will come to some conclusion.

        God bless you.

        • Al

          Good that you clarified who you are… no need to say more

          • Don’t worry and please don’t run away.

            A warning call to obey “The Summons of the Lord of Hosts”

            by Nosrat’u’llah Bahremand

            It was brought to my attention that the illegitimate organization which is headquartered in Haifa and which undeservedly calls itself “the Universal House of Justice”, has recently organized a Web-page and claims that it is the “Official website of the Bahá’í Faith”!

            They should have honestly clarified that they meant a version of the Baha’i Faith modified and manipulated by Ruhiyyih Khanum and those former Hands of the Cause who followed her; a faith which repudiates the “Center of the Cause” and does not adhere to the sacred provisions of the Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha, a faith that is based on imitation, herd instinct and mind control, and by scare and hate-mongering rhetoric; a version of faith which is compatible with the ill wishes of “The Center of Sedition, the Prime Mover of mischief, Mirza Muhammad Alí,”, by “interpolating and falsifying the words and verses of the Sacred Text,” and consequently they “inflicted a grievous loss upon the true Faith of God,” by ignoring writings of the first Guardian of the Cause of God, especially his Proclamation of 9 January 1951 the only Proclamation during his own life; and opposing the descendant Guardians of the Cause of God.

            The bogus organization pretends to be real; to be the same Universal House of Justice revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Will and Testament of Abdu’l Baha, and as mentioned throughout the writings of Shoghi Effendi. They are trying to say that their organization has originated from the Most Holy Book, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, when in reality this organization has been rooted in the violation of the Covenant by Ruhiyyih Khanum and the former Hands of the Cause who followed her.

            They have written:
            “In 1951, Shoghi Effendi appointed a number of individuals to an International Bahá’í Council, a forerunner to the Universal House of Justice. In 1961, this appointed Council was reformed as a body elected by all the National and Regional Assemblies then established in the world.

            “After Shoghi Effendi’s sudden passing in 1957, his work was faithfully carried on by the group of distinguished Bahá’ís he had appointed as Hands of the Cause of God. These individuals arranged for the first election of the Universal House of Justice.”

            The International Baha’i Council, so contemptuously mentioned in their writing, was truly an august body, the formation of which was announced by Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Cause of God, in his proclamation of January 9, 1951, the only proclamation of his lifetime to the Baha’i World. Rebellious Hands of the Cause did not have any authority to “reform” the IBC, which by that term they meant the termination of the Embryo IBC.

            Full article here.
            https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nhp2Q4Nrecte9-jrCh5GX0VcEPRb7R77Ax15O63HDXc/edit

             
  • Dawnbreaking

    Baha’is lie and make false statements for their own benefit. Unfortunately, this attitude runs in the family. Take as an example their leader claiming he has 10 million followers worldwide way back in
    1912 when the number of Baha’is was only a few thousand:

    “Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, leader of the Bahá’í movement, which he says has 10,000,000 followers in the world, is in Salt Lake City.”
    Source: http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-comes-lecture-bahai-religion

    I don’t believe a single word from these people. They have cried wolf once too many times.

  • escocesrojo

    The Jews believe that no revelation from God comes after Moses. The Christians declare that God has uniquely revealed Himself in Christ; hence any future revelation from God is superfluous and impossible. Muslims hold that Muhammad is the last prophet. Who is right? Which religious believer has the right to persecute others on the basis of conscience? Who can think that God can be held captive in his pocket?

    “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an 2:256)

    “Whatever you disagree about, its judgment belongs to God.” (Qur’an 42:10)

    “Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. All the holy prophets were as doctors to the soul; they gave prescriptions for the healing of mankind; thus any remedy that causes disease does not come from the great and supreme Physician.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha)

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