
Violation of human dignity and spreading hatred against Baha’is; in conversation with Dr. Farhad Sabetan / Simin Roozgar.
Conversation with Simin Rouzgar
Bahá’ís in Iran can be considered as the most marginalized individuals. They are not only deprived of the right to education in universities and higher education centers, or the right to employment in government offices, but they also face various insults and humiliations in their daily lives. Even after their death, they are not safe from systematic discrimination; their graves are often desecrated and their cemeteries destroyed. In addition to these, the economic rights of Bahá’ís are also systematically violated and their properties confiscated in Iran. Just in June of this year, it was reported that 25 Bahá’í-owned businesses in the city of Urmia were sealed without any explanation.
Recently, “Ahmad Shahid,” the special reporter of the United Nations on human rights in Iran, and “Heiner Bielefeldt,” the special reporter of the United Nations on freedom of religion and belief, announced that a new wave of incitement and hatred against the Baha’i community is evident in the statements of religious, judicial, and political authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, indicating the lack of tolerance for religious minorities by Iranian authorities.
In this issue of the monthly magazine “Peace Line” and considering our special feature, we have gone to Dr. Farhad Sabetan, the spokesperson for the International Baha’i Community in the United States. In this interview with Mr. Sabetan, who is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, we have asked about the various forms of violation of the dignity and human rights of Baha’is in Iran and the reasons behind them.
Dear Mr. Sabtan,
As the first question, I wanted to ask if it is possible to establish a relationship between human dignity or status and human rights, what would your definition of it be?
I believe that human rights, without considering human dignity, may lose its meaning. The reason is that when we talk about human rights, we are actually talking about what another person (a responsible individual or society) can impose on that person, and we intend to prevent that. In other words, when we say that a person has the right to live, it means that no one can take this right away from them, and no one can kill or harm them. With this description, the question is, what is the basis for this non-harm or the fact that the person deserves to live? The answer to such a question can only be human dignity. In essence, humans are noble. Humans are inherently dignified. Humans are a high being, and therefore, in their existence, they are flawless, deserving, and worthy of being treated in a way that they can remain in society, establish relationships, and live.
Therefore, I do not see these two issues as separate and I believe they are closely related. Unfortunately, in societies where human rights are violated, the meaning of humanity itself is also violated. Human is a word that comes from intimacy and it means someone with whom we can connect and should treat with kindness. In places where human rights are ignored, instead of intimacy and connection, there is hatred and hostility towards humans.
Considering this ratio, which groups do you believe have their human dignity violated the most in Iran?
It seems that in Iran, those whose human dignity is violated are individuals who, in general, have different beliefs and standards from the Islamic Republic system. This means that anyone who thinks differently, has a different motivation, or behaves differently from the model of the Islamic Republic – which, in any case, the officials consider as the principles of Twelver Shiism and belief in the rule of the Supreme Leader – is considered a violation of human rights. These individuals can be religious minorities, journalists, lawyers, and even women who think and behave differently, and for example, do not believe that women should cover themselves with a veil.
When we look at the issue as a whole, we see that the violation of human dignity encompasses a wide range of social classes in Iran, whose behavior and thoughts vary, and this issue is not only limited to religious minorities.
I agree with you, but it should be taken into consideration that some groups or populations in Iran have more difficult and complicated conditions. In this regard, we can mention the Bahai community; as we recently saw when Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi was on furlough, the meeting between Mrs. Faizah Hashemi and her caused a lot of reactions and controversies, while meeting with other minorities and various political and civil activists, during furlough or after release from prison, does not currently cause any controversies.
Your point is correct. In this regard, I must add a note to what I have said. The situation of the Baha’i minority in Iran, in addition to what has been mentioned (in addition to the difference in beliefs between Baha’is and Shiites), unfortunately includes another layer that is placed on top of it, which is in fact a form of hatred towards this community in particular. This hatred is rooted in religious beliefs; meaning that the Islamic Republic is very sensitive to religious matters and instead of being a secular and inclusive government, it is a religious government. Therefore, when they see another religious community in front of them, the issue goes beyond differences in beliefs and we see that they consider the entire community as impure and label everyone as spies, foreigners, and enemies. Of course, the Islamic Republic sees them as their opponents, not the Baha’i community; because the Baha’i community does not want to confront anyone and only wants to live in a society.
We have witnessed this issue in various forms, and it seems that the most recent one was the one you mentioned. Mrs. Hashemi, following the Iranian tradition of hospitality, went to visit her friend for a brief meeting. However, this meeting caused them to be labeled as infidels, as you are sitting and conversing with an impure person. It seems that a taboo has been placed around the Baha’i community, and these individuals are not even deserving of a friendly human interaction. This issue arises from a specific hatred towards a religious group that does not exist towards any other religion within the country.
What benefit can there possibly be for those who engage in the despicable act of trampling on the rights of citizenship and human dignity?
The benefit of it can be defined as a deterrent force. In other words, I imagine that the government feels a great danger in this ceremony and in order to warn others, it relies on tricks such as impurity, espionage, foreignness, and similar cases. But perhaps a question arises as to where the root of this danger lies? The root of this danger is that the Islamic Republic wants the Iranian society to be closed and not think for itself, and for people to continue to imitate and follow a particular group without thinking and without having dynamic thoughts. Whereas when we look at the Baha’i community, the first principle that Baha’is believe in and tell their friends is that a person must search for themselves and accept a belief with their own independent thinking, without being influenced by their family or society. That is, the right to choose a belief, without being influenced by anyone, will be the primary right of a human being. Imagine that all the people of Iran want to
In fact, when the government is faced with modern ideas that contradict its roots, it is clear that it sees it as a threat and resorts to restrictive behaviors and actions in order to not expose the people to this threat. Therefore, the discussion of impurity, deviant thinking, or being political and a spy in relation to Baha’is is brought up. All of this is to prevent a small conversation between a Baha’i and another Iranian citizen from taking place and suddenly a large group of Iranians becoming Baha’is! While isn’t a young Iranian capable of thinking correctly and making decisions about the belief he wants to have, that they have to play the role of a judge for him? Perhaps an Iranian person may want to accept a belief in Godlessness; what is the problem with that?
What is your opinion on the violation of the Baha’i community’s dignity in Iran through physical persecution?
If I want to start from the most severe confrontations, as you know, in the early days of the revolution, more than 200 leaders and citizens of the Baha’i Faith were arrested and executed. After that, we witnessed the imprisonment of many Baha’is during these years – which may even reach thousands. In addition, hundreds of thousands of Baha’is lost their properties and were not allowed to attend university. All of these are prominent examples of the violation of human dignity that I mentioned at the beginning of our conversation. Imagine someone who is denied the right to education and, in fact, the right to learn from them; here, human dignity should be considered as a seed that is sprouting and growing, and the growth of human dignity actually blossoms with truth. A system that prevents education and learning is, in fact, preventing the blossoming of human dignity. Or if you deprive someone of their economic rights, that person no longer has the opportunity to blossom
These are clear violations of human dignity, but what is perhaps less talked about and paid attention to is the widespread campaign of hatred against Baha’is in Iran. For example, in the past 3 or 4 years, we have seen more than seven thousand instances of incitement of hatred against Baha’is on websites, radio, television, and newspapers of the Islamic Republic, and they do not allow Baha’is to defend themselves against these attacks. Essentially, whenever they want to mention Baha’is, they use the term “misguided sect” and whenever they want to refer to a Baha’i, they call them impure, spies, and foreigners. In their speeches, they say to avoid Baha’is and burn their homes. These are all based on documents collected by the Baha’i community and are also available on the website of the Baha’i International Community. Consider that one day a clergyman goes up to the pulpit and encourages
To what extent does this spread of hatred that you are referring to affect ordinary citizens?
I wish we could study this issue sociologically. Undoubtedly, most Iranian citizens are aware enough to not allow this type of hatred to take root in them. However, unfortunately we cannot say that it is completely ineffective. It can be said that about 5 to 10 percent of the population are unfortunately influenced by such spread of hatred without even realizing it and having independent thinking.
Personally, I have experienced receiving hateful emails from Iran. These emails are usually sent by ordinary people who are influenced by an individual or a group. For example, it has been seen that after a sermon against the Baha’is, acts of violence have taken place the next day. These incidents show that unfortunately, a percentage of society is vulnerable and this percentage is mostly made up of young people who have not been allowed to think independently and are easily influenced by such talks. This issue exists in all parts of the world and many people may fall under the influence of terrorist propaganda and cause great tragedies. However, as I mentioned, this is not the case for the majority and there have been unprecedented acts of defense by ordinary citizens of the Baha’i community and their fellow Iranians. In fact, they have the courage to interact and talk with their Baha’i neighbors, despite knowing the potential consequences, because they do not want to lose this human and Iranian connection. As a result, a typical
During approximately four decades of the life of the Islamic Republic, has there ever been a case where at least some effort was made to improve the status of Baha’i citizens’ rights?
Judging this issue is very difficult because, in general, the trend of relationship and behavior with the Baha’i community is a negative one that is getting worse. However, if we take a brief look at different periods, it can be said that in some years during Mr. Khatami’s presidency, there were few signs of attempts to improve the situation (not that it had improved). This issue was related to the supervision of some constitutional principles in Iran by Mr. Hossein Mehrpour, the head of the Guardian Council during Mohammad Khatami’s presidency. In this regard, Mr. Mehrpour made great efforts and caused the issue of violation of Baha’i rights in Iran to be monitored by authorities within the Islamic Republic system. However, despite all their efforts, they never reached a solution to issues such as reviving the right to education for Baha’i students, not confiscating citizens’ properties, or preventing arbitrary arrests, interrogations, and baseless accusations. These issues
What outlook do you envision in this regard? Do you think we will see an improvement in the economic situation of Iranians in the future?
Personally, I am a hopeful person and my hope is for humanity and being human; however, realism is also necessary. I am not very optimistic about the short-term improvement of the situation, given the intense hatred I see. This is because the necessary condition for respecting human rights is actually recognizing a person as a human being. This means that a person deserves to be treated properly and their human dignity should not be violated. In a situation where the Islamic Republic fundamentally does not accept a Baha’i citizen as a human being and considers them impure, and says that based on their thoughts or the spirit within them, they should not be touched or approached, there is not much hope for the future. When such a perception of a person is formed, it is not possible to hope for them to have the right to life, education, property, or freedom of expression.
I believe that the root cause should be recovered and reviewed, and the respected officials of the Islamic Republic should accept that a Baha’i is also a human being. They should accept that a human being, regardless of their beliefs and convictions, is first and foremost a human being, with dignity and deserving of being treated with respect as a noble human being. If this issue can be accepted by the officials of the Republic, then we can say that the grounds for the revival of the rights of Baha’is have been provided. Of course, I can extend this to all other groups of our fellow citizens who are also subject to human rights violations.
Thank you for the opportunity you have given us in the monthly magazine of “Peace Line”.

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Baha'is Board of Advisors Farhad Sabetan Human dignity peace line Simin Daytrip The Baha'i community The Baha'i global community The human rights activists group in Iran. ماهنامه خط صلح