Fragment From the heart of Iran (today 1,99$) Since 1955 when terrible events took place during the Pahlavi monarchy, at least outwardly, the situation for the Bahá’ís appeared to be calm with regard to physical attacks, which only occurred occasionally and usually in isolated places. However, in terms of prohibitions and pressures, the situation remained more or less the same. But during the last year of the Shah’s reign, the situation began to change. In mid-1978, in an attempt by the government to divert attention of the clergy from the serious incidents that were taking place in the country, the Savak police devised a strategy, namely to increase pressure on the Bahá’í community. Persecutions were instigated in Shiraz, but some of the clergy, not all, when they realized their purpose, at first abstained from participating in this first surge. In those actions more than three hundred homes were burned and a number of killings took place, adding to the already long list of martyrs. Here are the names of the first ten new martyrs at year’s end: 1. Ahmad Ismá’ílí, killed in Ahram. 2. Díyá’u’lláh Haqíqat, an 18 year-old Bahá’í from Khahrum, an oil company employee and a member of the local Bahá’í Assembly, repeatedly run over by a motorcycle on August 12. 3. Naw-Rúzí, burned alive in Shahmírzád August 27. 4. Akhaban-i-Kathrírí, burned alive in Shahmírzád on August 27. 5. Hatám Rúzbihí, lynched in Búyir-Ahmad in December. 6. Jan-Ali Rúzbihí, lynched in Búyir-Ahmad in December. 7. Shír-Muhammad Dastpísh, lynched in Búyir-Ahmad in December. 8. Mrs. ‘Avad-Gul Fahandizh, mother of 7 children lynched in Shiraz on December 14. 9. Sifatu’lláh Fahandizh, lynched in Shiraz on December 14. 10-11. Mir Parviz Afnáni and Khusraw Afanan, from Miyán-Duab. On December 22, the enemies of the Bahá’ís, at the instigation of priests, first set fire to their house then marched this father and son to the center of the village and hacked them to pieces with an ax. These are...
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 09:30:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015