Ayatollah Abdulhamid Masoumi Tehrani, by sending a piece of artwork along with a letter to the Universal House of Justice (the global center of the Baha’i Faith), called for the coexistence of all religions in Iran. In this artwork, he has beautifully written and decorated a verse from the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

This prominent Shia cleric has written in his letter: “There was a time when in this land, different religious sects and beliefs coexisted peacefully, following various paths and rituals in their social interactions and coexistence, and benefiting from each other’s lives, for indeed it is within the community that a human can flourish.”

The interview of the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh” with Ayatollah Abdulhamid Masoumi Tehrani regarding this artistic work and his views on religious minorities in general and Baha’is in particular, follows.

Mr. Tehrani, with appreciation for your valuable action, please kindly state what your purpose was in doing this task?

Thank you. This symbolic gesture and Norooz gift was presented on the eve of the beginning of the year 1393, and as I have mentioned before, my intention was to promote unity, friendship, love, and leaving behind enmity. I expressed this through my art. Furthermore, as I wrote in that letter, I sympathize with all my fellow Baha’is who have been affected by blind religious prejudices in various ways, and I share their pain and offer them my support…

What made such an unprecedented idea come to your mind? Especially considering that it has been used in your work, which is essentially one of the Islamic arts.

This was not a new action and I had previously written the Torah and the Psalms through artistic work, which was dedicated to the victims and survivors of 9/11 in America and is now on display at the Congress of a Thousand Years of Persian Book. The purpose was also to tell the people of the world not to think that all Muslims are like those individuals who commit suicide and are full of violence. In my opinion, Islam has another face or at least it can have one. Mr. Nouri Zadeh was also a pioneer in this regard. Considering these things that I have mentioned to you, this work was not unprecedented. Of course, I used to write the whole book in beautiful handwriting like before, but since I can no longer do that, I only wrote a verse from it and I am sad about it.

In any case, considering that Baha’i Faith is not considered one of the Abrahamic religions, we witness that many clerics and religious leaders, as mentioned before, refer to its followers as infidels or impure and advise their followers to avoid any interaction with them. With this explanation, we have rarely seen a Shia cleric who would show sympathy towards Baha’is or take any action that could be considered supportive, making your work unprecedented or rare.

See, according to the jurists, until recently non-Muslims were considered impure; whether they were followers of Abrahamic religions or not. Now the question arises, can a person even become impure!? Human, by nature, is not impure. Gentlemen must change their views as we have no rational or religious justification for physical impurities. Regarding the justifications given about the issue of purity, we should reflect on them a little. We do not live in the age of ignorance where we can talk about these things and we must become more modern. Furthermore, we do not have anything called impurity in Islam, this issue has been introduced from Judaism and now I do not intend to get into the legal aspect of it.

Please note that ultimately, Islam was also considered a false religion from the perspective of Christianity, and dozens of reasons and arguments have been presented that the Prophet of Islam was not a true prophet. But did all the conflicts that existed at the beginning lead to a conclusion? The reality is that both Islam and Christianity have their own followers, and both Christians and Muslims live their lives. Before the issues of 2001 arose, there was no serious problem between Christians and Muslims in America and Europe, and there was generally peace between them. In fact, some people who think and act more ignorantly than the time of ignorance have brought the situation to the point where people in other countries are afraid and think that someone with a long beard and different clothing is carrying explosives.

But in regards to Bahais, these sensitivities are not new and have existed since ancient times. The reason for this is that because the Bahai faith emerged from within Islamic and Shia thought, there is a fear of being challenged and questioned about the concept of the Mahdi. In the past, when the clergy formed the Hojjatieh Society as a means of protecting Shia interests and fighting against the “deviant Bahai sect,” people would follow suit. But now, things are not the same as before. People are aware that these individuals are not protecting Shia interests and are instead trying to maintain their own power and authority. Gone are the days when Mirza Shirazi would issue a fatwa against smoking and people would break their hookahs. Now, when they say not to eat chicken, no one pays attention, or when they say not to receive subsidies, they are ridiculed.

My view is that if we have a legal problem with an individual or individuals, we should discuss it in academic gatherings. There is no problem with discussing it. Let’s criticize Baha’ism and present our own reasons for the so-called fake nature of this religion. But using violence and force is no longer logical. No religion can be eradicated by violence and threats, as I mentioned, neither Islam nor Christianity could be eradicated. For example, they killed all the Jews in Germany and other countries, did Judaism disappear?

My intention in mentioning these matters was for us to witness that these conflicts will not lead us anywhere, and some who think differently will ultimately come to the conclusion that Bahá’ís, like Christians and followers of any other religion, have their own rights and freedoms.

What rights do you believe are currently being violated as citizens’ rights for Baha’is in Iran?

What is clear is that not only Baha’is, but all religious minorities that we have, from Christians and Jews to even Sufis, do not have equal rights and are discriminated against in various issues. They are not even equal in matters of retribution; I do not agree with the death penalty, but if a Muslim intentionally kills a Christian, they will not face retribution, but in the opposite scenario, if a Christian even unintentionally kills a Muslim, will they not face retribution?

“We must go towards a direction where we respect human civil rights, as there is no place for the entry of Christianity, Islam, and others in this matter.”

In your opinion, to what extent can ideas like this, which are symbolic actions, contribute to the creation of a peaceful life and respect for the rights of all human beings regardless of religion, faith, and similar factors?

In any case, this is an effective work and will not be without impact, but the reality is that in Iran we are not familiar with symbolic work like Western countries and do not understand its meaning; therefore, for any symbolic work, a specific explanation must be provided and for this reason, I also wrote that letter. Of course, I should also mention that the majority of people are much further ahead in this path and have already understood and are currently working towards it.

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us.