arthra

Attached is an interview with Farhad Sabetan of the Office of the International Baha'i Community on NPR about the recent election in Iran - the Baha'i perspective:


NPR Media Player

arthra

June 27, 2009
On Religion
For Bahais, a Crackdown Is Old News
By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
CLIFTON, N.J.

Sometimes during the past two weeks, making her rounds as a hospital resident, Dr. Saughar Samali has caught a glimpse of television news in a patient’s room or heard a bulletin on the radio in the family-practice office. Against her desire, against her better judgment, she has been plunged back into the maelstrom of Iran.

As long as she is on duty, Dr. Samali can suppress what she sees and hears of the marchers, the arrests, the beatings. But when she leaves St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson and returns home to nearby Clifton, the present conjures up a terrible past.

She remembers when her father’s factory in Tehran was set afire, leaving him severely scarred and blind in one eye. She remembers her family’s trying to escape to Pakistan, traveling in a smuggler’s Jeep, headlights out on a midnight desert. She remembers the army bullets that shattered the windshield and pierced the tires, and she remembers the months in prison that followed.

It was 1985, and she was 5 years old. In all the years since, even after a subsequent, successful escape and a new life in the United States, Dr. Samali has not forgotten what it meant to be a Bahai in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“I try to turn my emotions off,” Dr. Samali, 28, said of the current turbulence in Iran. “The Bahais in Iran go through this every day. It’s sad to see this, but maybe this is a way for the truth to come out.”

The Bahais have long served as the proverbial canaries in the coal mine of Iran’s theocracy. Their persecution, as documented over nearly 30 years in numerous human rights reports, has contradicted all the näively hopeful predictions that the hard-line surface of Iran obscures a deeper wellspring of moderation and tolerance.

In 1983, the Iranian government banned all official Bahai activity. Deeming the faith an apostasy, Iran’s fundamentalist Shiite government has denied Bahais higher education, confiscated Bahai property, desecrated Bahai cemeteries and refused to recognize Bahai marriages.

During the recent upheaval, which is essentially a struggle among Shiites over the dubious re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bahais have again served as scapegoats. Supporters of President Ahmadinejad have recycled the canard that Bahais are American spies and secret Zionists, and have added a new one, claiming the British Broadcasting Corporation stands for the Bahai Broadcasting Company.

The rhetorical attacks have coincided with the government’s decision to put seven Bahai leaders on trial on July 11 in a so-called Revolutionary Court. The leaders, arrested in early 2008, face charges of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” according to official Iranian press reports. Espionage is punishable by death.


Read more at

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/27religion.html

FriendDevin

Neopets typically is a difficulty. Numerous individuals look at out each day to accomplish their own neopets targets jointly with small achievements. Several people invest just about all day time taking element in video games, restocking, and also auction sniping and also come out alongside with rather little neopoints, sometimes even not just one!
I get recognized persons specifically who expended hrs upon several hours wanting to generate a handful of one , 000 neopoints whilst there are a lot of professionals who can make millions every day. Is this trustworthy? No. It really is also tough to commence off by means of almost nothing at all on neopets. The biggest problem is that normally there
are very numerous demonstrated, ample neopians approximately who dominate the neopoints market. They are them so that you can in which absolutely new neopians could not triumph, and they in addition exploit these folks simply just by offering factors to them pertaining to as well big associated with price ranges. Just after observing this form of, I comprehended which
I professional in purchase to support. I necessary in purchase to be this one to help new neopians can get on their ft and get commenced so they weren't needed to fight or be designed good use with the a good deal more experienced sport enthusiasts. So what could I basically do? What can i accomplish actually? Which was the imagined practice, planning to assist and not understanding how.
I fought applying this for decades proper up until eventually I finally manufactured a choice to meet up with some other seasoned neopians who I realized expert exactly the exact. We in the beginning made a decision numerous of us can very easily just lurk the unique neopets boards and also locate rookies which important support as very well as concept these, nonetheless this would not actually function out. Plenty of people today will not search at the neopets talk
boards among other people really don't feel cozy conversing to strangers. A lot of of us determined then we could start out our very own neopets support web page to enable these types of fresh new neopians. Which was every time it all started out. We made the decision on the particular name along with our goal must be to offer support with neopets about the brand name-new and also expert neopian alike. Probably all those who have competed neopets for years can certainly nonetheless learn, and as experienced neopets people our self we hope that many of us could support every person. Most persons in addition necessary more participants to put their particular insight in addition to discuss their extremely unique ordeals.
We does not know how this can have very first, on the other hand many of us designed the strategy wherever people can make their individual guidelines and also comment on our own present variations. When you have one thing to create or are doubtful with regards to one thing, just consult! Our own objective could be to deliver you neopets assist and make guaranteed you are in a position to be unique neopian you might be. Cease costing you time, check out out buy neopoints.
and
understand how to engage in these types of as a grasp, in the pros! We aim to surely be a nearby neighborhood of which can be visited by way of countless numbers of neopians for each day and ignite chats of which can assist you discover. We have fairly a handful of neopets guidelines by now superior are definitely much more in to the future. We also have your set of scripts (which is totally approved!) that may perhaps get you over 65 clickable avatars by only just touring to the specific web page, as properly as on the vast majority of cable connections it is accomplished inside of just
30 just a very few seconds. Examine people out and about, if you appreciate that which you have to give you and then be, arrive to be an energetic fellow member, and above all inform your buddies. In buy to you can expand remaining a community is by word of mouth advertising and marketing a human being informing some others that there is a site that provides remarkable neopets assistance that these men and women should arrive seem with. What are an person looking forward to? Go to Buy Neopoints Right now!