Today, rather than writing anything new, I decided to check my logs and see what my top 5 Bahá’í-related posts have been over a period of 5 years. Continue reading Top Five Bahá’í-Related Posts
Tag Archives: Shiraz
The Ten Female Martyrs of Shiraz
On 18th June 1983 ten women (pictured above), one of whom was only 17 years old, were executed in Iran for teaching Baha’i children more about their Faith. They were among more than 200 individuals who were killed in Iran for being Baha’is but their story has stood out throught the years as they were all women and many of them are very young.Shirin Dalvand, pictured bottom left, was 25 years old when she was executed, Shirin was Ladan’s aunt and, while Baha’is beleive it an honour to die for your beliefs, Ladan has always been very upset about the loss of her aunt. Ladan was only seven at the time of Shirin Dalvand’s execution, it is hard enough as an adult to attempt to comprehend that a government should seek to kill people on basis of their religion.
Sadly there are renewed fears over the safety of the Baha’is currently living in Iran, following an instruction from Ayatollah Khamenei that all Baha’is living in Iran should all be identified and their activities monitored.
In Newcastle we decided, at the last minute, to hold a devotional meeting to commemorate the lives of those martyred in Iran, including Shirin, and to pray for the safety of those Baha’is living there now. In spite of the very short notice there was good attendance, and the basic programme of a few prayers and a little music and video was very moving.
There are several resources on the Internet relating to the executions on 18th June 1983, executions which followed on from several other Baha’is being executed in Shiraz for being Baha’is, some of whom were related to these ten woman. Among the resources available is a music video by Canadian pop musician Doug Cameron called “Mona and the Children”, there is also a web page about the event here, and you can find the latest on thPersection of the Baha’i commun ity in Iran from here
Update on Arrests in Shiraz, Iran
NEW YORK, 26 May 2006 (BWNS) After their arrests on 19 May in Shiraz, Iran, three Baha’is remain in jail while 51 others have been released on bail. No indication has been given as to when the three will be released. None of those who had been released, nor the three who are still being detained, have been formally charged.
On the day of the arrests, one Baha’i, under the age of 15, was released without having to post bail. At that same time, several other young people who are not Baha’is and who had been arrested with the Baha’is, were also released without bail.
On Wednesday 24 May, five days after their summary arrests, 14 of the Baha’is were released, each having been required to provide deeds of property to the value of ten million tumans (approximately US$11,000) as collateral for release. The following day, Thursday 25 May, 36 Baha’is were released on the strength of either personal guarantees or the deposit of work licenses with the court as surety that they will appear when summoned to court.
Link: Full Story and photo
Link: Information on the situation of the Baha’is in Iran
54 Baha’is Arrested in Iran
Friday 19th May, Shiraz, 54 Baha’is were arrested while carrying out a local project in schools with permission of the Islamic Council of Shiraz.
The charges are not yet clear but the arrests are all the more concerning due to the facts that most of those arrested are youth and this is one of the largest number of Bahá’ís taken at once since the 1980s. Several non-Bahá’í youth who were also involved in the project have been permitted to go free.
The Bahá’í World News Service has today (May 24th) officially reported that only one younger Bahá’í has been freed in addition to all of the non-Bahá’í participants, this disturbing confirmation follows unconfirmed reports that all the Bahá’ís had been released.
The BWNS also reveals that “The arrests coincided with raids on six Baha’i homes during which notebooks, computers, books, and other documents were confiscated. In the last 14 months, 72 Baha’is across Iran have been arrested and held for up to several weeks.”
Link: Full story and photo, 54 Baha’is arrested in Iran. [BWNS]
Link: The Growing Threat to Iran’s Baha’is