Denial of Higher Education to Bahá’í Youth in Iran

17 June 2011 

To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith

Dearly loved friends,

We were deeply distressed to learn of the raid conducted by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on the homes of some of the believers associated with the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) and of the arrests of some of the same devoted friends. However, the reports attesting to your steadfast determination to forge ahead with your efforts in pursuit of knowledge and learning have filled our hearts with joy.

One of the outcomes of the 1979 revolution was the dismissal of Bahá’í professors and lecturers from universities and the debarring of Bahá’í youth from institutions of higher learning. Despite the fact that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran claims to uphold equal rights for all and the fact that the civil laws of the country provide no basis for such a deprivation, and although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Iran is a signatory, clearly stipulates access to higher education as an inalienable human right, the authorities, swayed by religious prejudice and acting in direct violation of the law and of international standards, have sanctioned this discrimination as official government policy and enforce it with determination.

As a result of the requirement to specify one’s religion on the application forms for the National University Entrance Examination, Bahá’í youth were unable to enter Iranian universities as their only alternative would have been to dissimulate their faith. When the efforts of Bahá’í lecturers and students to secure redress through representations to the judicial institutions of the land proved unavailing, the Bahá’í community arranged for the lecturers who had been dismissed to teach the youth who had been denied access to universities. Many members of the community lent their support to this effort. This educational initiative, this grassroots undertaking, was thus begun through the sacrificial exertions of individuals who sought to serve the cause of learning, despite the unfavourable conditions and without imposing the least burden or expense on the government. The institute gradually expanded, and in the early 1990s, it took the name of the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education. Over time a number of other distinguished lecturers in Iran and abroad, some of whom were not even members of the Bahá’í community, began to collaborate with the Institute.

Call for Pioneers

23 May 2011 

To the Baha’is of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Our message dated 28 December 2010 to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors briefly described the process of growth which begins to unfold in a cluster, frequently as the result of a single homefront pioneer entering into meaningful conversation with local residents. We also indicated that more advanced clusters, in which the pattern of action associated with an intensive programme of growth has been firmly established, will often serve as reservoirs of pioneers who can be dispatched to other clusters, especially on the home front—in some to initiate a systematic approach to sharing Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings and in others to strengthen the processes of expansion and consolidation that have already been established. There is no doubt that the movement of pioneers remains an indispensable feature of the spiritual enterprise in which the community of the Most Great Name is engaged.

During the Five Year Plan recently concluded, over 3,500 international pioneers entered the arena of service to reinforce the work of the Faith in myriad ways across the globe. At the same time, we were most pleased to see a surge in the movement of homefront pioneers, their numbers matching those who arose to serve in the international field and their sacrificial efforts making a distinctive contribution to the early attainment of the goal of the Plan. In the next five years, the successful prosecution of the Plan will require the services of several thousand consecrated souls who, spurred on by their love for the Blessed Beauty, will forsake their homes to settle in villages, towns and cities in order to raise to 5,000 the number of clusters with programmes of growth.

The third anniversary of the imprisonment of the former members of the Yárán

14 May 2011 

To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith 

Dearly loved friends

The third anniversary of the imprisonment of the former members of the Yárán serves as a reminder of the difficult conditions that continue to afflict the Bahá’í community of Iran. The perpetuation of so egregious a situation—its underlying foundations and its far-reaching implications for the future of a country once a standard-bearer of human rights—gives Iranians everywhere cause for reflection.

That the seven former members of the Yárán are, in truth, prisoners of conscience is today incontrovertible. Repeated reference to these seven in the world’s media stands as a mark of protest by so many nations against the wrongs being perpetrated upon the Bahá’ís of Iran, young and old, solely on the basis of their religious belief: the children who are constantly demeaned and disparaged in the classroom and who are left with no choice but, in all meekness, to defend their human dignity; the parents who, filled with sadness, must explain to them such inhumane treatment while preventing the seeds of resentment and hatred from taking root in their innocent hearts; the youth who are deprived of higher education and their parents who are themselves denied employment and professional opportunities and who must bear the further burden of being unable to meet the needs of their children; the scores of individuals who have committed no wrong yet, contrary to all legal norms, are arrested, harshly interrogated, incarcerated in the most vile jails and denied the most basic rights accorded to every prisoner; the families that, because of the severe threats made by security agents against those who associate with Bahá’ís, must circumscribe relationships with neighbours and friends; the rank and file of the Bahá’í community that must endure a life of perpetual uncertainty as a result of the widespread dissemination by the authorities of hateful and offensive propaganda against the Faith in the mass media; and the many believers who, in cities and villages throughout Iran, are made to witness the burning of their homes, farms, and places of work, and even the desecration of the graves of their loved ones. Yet all pleas for redress remain unheard.

Ridván Message 2011

Ridván 2011

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

At the opening of this glorious season our eyes are brightened as we behold the newly unveiled brilliance of the gilded dome that crowns the exalted Shrine of the Báb. Restored to the supernal lustre intended for it by Shoghi Effendi, that august edifice once again shines out to land, sea, and sky, by day and by night, attesting the majesty and holiness of Him Whose hallowed remains are embosomed within.

This moment of joy synchronizes with the close of an auspicious chapter in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan. Only a single decade remains of the first century of the Formative Age, the first hundred years to be spent beneath the benevolent shade of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Five Year Plan now ending is succeeded by another, the features of which have already been made the object of intense study across the Bahá’í world. Indeed, we could not be more gratified by the response to our message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and to the Ridván message of twelve months ago. Not satisfied with a fragmentary grasp of their contents, the friends are returning to these messages again and again, singly and in groups, at formal meetings and spontaneous gatherings. Their understanding is enriched through active and informed participation in the programmes of growth being nurtured in their clusters. Consequently, the Bahá’í community worldwide has consciously absorbed in a few months what it needs to propel it into a confident start to the coming decade.

Over the same period, cumulative instances of political upheaval and economic turmoil on various continents have shaken governments and peoples. Societies have been brought to the brink of revolution, and in notable cases over the edge. Leaders are finding that neither arms nor riches guarantee security. Where the aspirations of the people have gone unfulfilled, a store of indignation has accrued. We recall how pointedly Bahá’u’lláh admonished the rulers of the earth: “Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber.” A word of caution: No matter how captivating the spectacle of the people’s fervour for change, it must be remembered that there are interests which manipulate the course of events. And, so long as the remedy prescribed by the Divine Physician is not administered, the tribulations of this age will persist and deepen. An attentive observer of the times will readily recognize the accelerated disintegration, fitful but relentless, of a world order lamentably defective.

On the occasion of the Persian New Year, Naw-Rúz

21 March 2011 

To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith

Dearly loved Friends,

At the advent of the ancient and auspicious Persian festival of Naw-Rúz, the close of the blessed days of fasting and the commencement of a new year, we take this opportunity to convey our heartfelt greetings to every one of you, sincere servants of the All-Merciful, and, through you, to the entire Iranian nation. 

It is customary among the nations that a day of general rejoicing be appointed when people come together with joy and gladness and renew the bonds of affection. The day of Naw-Rúz is a reminder of the grandeur and glory of the ancient land of Iran and a symbol of the abiding greatness and distinction of its peoples. This time-honoured tradition is an occasion for all to celebrate and rejoice, to show forth love and kindness, to leave aside rancor and enmity, and to seek inward and outward renewal. From the earliest times, the people of Iran have revered and sanctified this splendid day. The Bahá’ís of the world, too, comprising peoples of every race and origin in over two hundred countries and territories, celebrate this glorious day under the same fair name of “Naw-Rúz” and strive, following the counsels of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to ensure that the outcome of the day not remain “limited to the fruits of mere pleasure”, but that it herald great undertakings aimed at furthering the common weal. 

The year just ended saw a continuation of the dire hardships, persecutions and injustices that have been heaped upon you. The chief perpetrators of this oppression are those whose hearts and souls have been possessed by the evil of ignorance and fanaticism, which has robbed them of benevolence and nobility. They have become instruments of violence and cruelty to their fellow human beings and have deprived their own souls of the grace of divine bestowals. Others among your compatriots recognize your innocence, and in their hearts sincerely wish to treat you with justice, but, in the prevailing militarized climate, are impelled to carry out the instructions of their superiors and thus become reluctant participants in this tyranny.