The Iranian authorities say this woman, “Haleh Rouhi Jahromi, [and her friends and co-workers] Raha Sabet Sarvestani and Sasan Taqva were each sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for ‘organizing illegal groups’ and to an additional one year’s imprisonment for ‘propaganda on behalf of groups that are opposed to the Islamic system’.”
From the site, OneCountry.Org, we have this:
“Accounts that have emerged from Iran tell a far different story. According to Diane Ala’i, a Bahá’í International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva, the three were in fact engaged in social service projects that most governments would praise.
“’Far from working against the government, the Bahá’ís who were arrested in May 2006 were engaged in humanitarian projects aimed at helping underprivileged young people in the city of Shiraz,’…”
They continue, “In fact, it was a Muslim friend of one member of the group who suggested that the program be instituted to help school children in Katsbas, a poverty-stricken suburb of Shiraz. The project aimed specifically at tutoring children to help them prepare for their end-of-term school examinations.” The group then “…decided to extend their services to include assisting the children to acquire social and moral skills so that they themselves could become the agents of advancement in their own lives and in the society.” The group decided to go even further and “…organized a weekly program offering art classes to young cancer patients at a hospital for children and youth in Shiraz.”
These activities were considered “organizing illegal groups” and “propaganda on behalf of groups that are opposed to the Islamic system”?
Why in the world…?
Because Haleh and Raha and Sasan are Bahá’ís and the current leadership of Iran hates Bahá’ís…
That’s Haleh again and she stands in front of a portrait of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. The quote below is from Him…
Spiritual Quote:
“I now wish you to examine certain facts and statements which are worthy of consideration. My purpose and intention is to remove from the hearts of men the religious enmity and hatred which have fettered them and to bring all religions into agreement and unity. Inasmuch as this hatred and enmity, this bigotry and intolerance are outcomes of misunderstandings, the reality of religious unity will appear when these misunderstandings are dispelled. For the foundation of the divine religions is one foundation. This is the oneness of revelation or teaching. But, alas, we have turned away from that foundation, holding tenaciously to various dogmatic forms and blind imitation of ancestral beliefs. This is the real cause of enmity, hatred and bloodshed in the world—the reason of alienation and estrangement among mankind. Therefore, I wish you to be very just and fair in your judgment…”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 407
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