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Source: http://www.elikamahony.com/

The Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing institution of the Baha’i Faith, has addressed the following message dated 23 June 2009 to the Baha’is of Iran in light of recent events in that country.

23 June 2009

To the Bahá’ís of Iran

Dearly loved Friends,

With hearts grieved by events unfolding in Iran, we address this letter to you, the steadfast followers of Bahá’u’lláh in that land. To the concern for your safety that has long weighed on us is now added mounting fear for the safety of millions of Iranian men and women, so many of them at the pinnacle of their youth, their vast potentialities yearning to be realized. How rapidly have veils been rent asunder! Cruelty meted out in calculated measures to you and others over the years has been unleashed in the streets of Iran for all humanity to see. No matter what the turn of events, we are confident you will adhere firmly to the fundamental principle of our Faith that strictly prohibits any involvement in partisan political activity by individual Bahá’ís or by Bahá’í institutions. Yet you cannot remain aloof and insensitive to the suffering of your people. Decades of hardship have prepared each of you to stand as a beacon of strength in the circle of your family and friends, your neighbours and acquaintances, radiating hope and compassion to all those in need. Keep alive in your hearts the feeling of confidence that the future of Iran holds bright promise, the certitude that the light of knowledge will inevitably dispel the clouds of ignorance, the conviction that concern for justice will protect the nation from falling prey to calumny, and the belief that love will ultimately conquer hatred and enmity. You have demonstrated in the example of your lives that the proper response to oppression is neither to succumb in resignation nor to take on the characteristics of the oppressor. The victim of oppression can transcend it through an inner strength that shields the soul from bitterness and hatred and which sustains consistent, principled action. May the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá resound: “Iran shall become a focal centre of divine splendours. Her darksome soil will become luminous and her land will shine resplendent.” You and your compatriots are in our continued prayers.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/720

Following the Islamic revolution in 1979, the Baha’is of Iran, who had long been the victims of periodic outbreaks of violence, the later rounds of which had been instigated by the notorious SAVAK, were subjected to a fresh wave of persecution.

In August 1980 all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran — a national council whose election and functioning are prescribed in the Baha’i teachings and which forms part of the Baha’i administrative structure in all countries — were abducted and disappeared without a trace.  Undoubtedly they were executed.

Members subsequently elected to this council, as well as scores of individuals with influence in the Baha’i community, including several members of Local Spiritual Assemblies — councils operating at the local level — were executed by the government in the years immediately after.

The following video is a remembrance of the 1980 National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran.

Download: NSA Iran 1980 (WMV)

Source: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/2562

Doug Cameron made a song called Mona With The Children about a Persian Bahá’í woman, Mona Mahmudnizhad, who, in 1983, together with nine other Bahá’í women, was sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran, because of her membership in the Bahá’í Faith. Cameron recreated Mahmudnizhad’s story in a music video, Mona with the Children, which made the the pop charts in Canada (#14 for the week of October 19, 1985).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Cameron_(musician)