40 12 months in the past on 18 June 1983, Islamic Republic of Iran executed 10 Baha’i ladies

18 June marks the fortieth 12 months of the execution of 10 Baha’i ladies within the Islamic Republic of Iran. 40 years in the past on 18 June 1983, when the seeds of ‘Raliv, Galiv, Chaliv’ (convert, die or depart) have been being sown on the Kashmiri soil by jihadis, 10 Baha’i ladies in Iran have been executed for refusing to resign their religion. Their solely possibility was “Islam or execution.”

This day bears the spirit of Iran’s 10 Baha’i ladies who have been executed for his or her religion by the Shia-majority nation. Officially they have been charged with varied crimes together with espionage, however it’s well-known that it was only a facade, and their actual crime was refusal to transform to Islam.

The ladies have been arrested in October and November 1982. They have been tortured, denied the correct to a lawyer, and have been supplied the chance to save lots of their lives by changing to Islam. They have been requested to signal statements declaring that they aren’t Baha’i, however they refused to take action. As a outcome, they have been taken to Chowgan Square in Shiraz from the jail and have been hanged one after the other, which implies those that have been executed later have been pressured to witness the hanging of others.

Just two days earlier than, a number of males have been executed on the identical spot, and a few have been kin of the ladies.

These deaths proceed to horrify Baha’i folks but additionally encourage them of their continued struggle in opposition to discrimination even right now by the Islamic regime in Iran.

The fateful night time of 18 June 1983

As dusk started to sneak in, Mona Mahmudnizhad, alongside together with her 9 friends, was dragged from the Adilabad jail in Shiraz. They have been pushed out to a polo area, the place Mona’s father was executed merely days in the past. What transpired after that sends shivers down one’s backbone.

The driver of the minibus by which the prisoners have been taken recounts the horror that transpired earlier than his eyes.

The 10 ladies have been hanged one after the opposite. The Revolutionary Guards perpetrated the murders in descending order of their age.

The eldest, 57, was Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi who was hanged first. The youngest was 17-year-old Mona Mahmudnizhad who needed to witness 9 executions earlier than her flip got here. At final, this courageous younger woman grew to become a girl that night time as she embraced the gallows and eternally etched her title within the hearts of even her jihadi murderers. She smiled at her execution and sparked a revolution in Iran that continues to today.

Roya Eshraghi, 23, was executed alongside together with her mom, Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, 57. Her father was executed two days in the past on 16 June 1983. (Source: Iran Wire).
The ten Baha’i ladies executed in Shiraz on June 18, 1983, have been:
Mona Mahmudnezhad, 17;
Roya Eshraghi, 23, was executed alongside together with her mom;
Simin Saberi, 24;
Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25;
Akhtar Sabet, 25;
Mahshid Niroumand, 28;
Zarrin Moghimi-Abyaneh, 29;
Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavashi, 30. Her husband, Jamshid Siavashi, was executed two days earlier;
Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46. Her son, Bahram Yaldaie, was executed two days earlier;
Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, 57, alongside together with her daughter Roya, 23. Her husband, Enayatullah Eshraghi was executed two days earlier.

Mashid Niroumand, 28 (Source: Baha’i International Community).
Killed for his or her Baha’i religion

The 10 ladies have been arrested in 1982 on the fees of “spying for Israel,” “insulting Islam,” and “teaching Baha’i children’s classes”.

Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46. Her son was executed on 16 June 1983, merely two days earlier than her hanging. (Sources: Baha’i Chronicles).

“Baha’i nistam” (I’m not a Baha’i). These have been the phrases they needed to say in an effort to escape loss of life. They got 4 alternatives to say these two phrases.

Simin Saberi, 24 (Source: Baha’i International Community).

Little did the novel Iranian regime know that their religion was extra expensive to them than life itself; that life was a proper, not an choice to be lured into and that loss of life was worthy when embraced out of religion than concern.

Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25. (Source: Baha’i International Community).

They refused to utter the ugly lie that they have been lured into talking.

Akhtar Sabet, hanged at 25. (Source: Baha’i International Community).
Mona Mahmudnizhad & Her Essay

Months earlier than her execution, Mona Mahmudnizhad wrote a revolutionary essay that acquired the Iranian regime’s knickers in a twist. The matter of the essay assigned by her non secular research instructor was “The fruit of Islam is freedom of conscience and liberty.”

Mona, 17, was the youngest among the many 10 ladies and witnessed 9 executions one after the opposite solely to “kiss the gallows during her turn.”

Knowing very properly that she is anticipated to sing false praises for Islam, Mona caught to the reality and wrote the next golden phrases:

“Freedom is the most brilliant word, but there have always been powerful and unjust men who have resorted to “oppression and tyranny. Why in my country are those who are members of my religion abducted from their homes at night and taken to mosques in their nightgowns, and subjected to whipping? As we have recently witnessed in our own city, Shiraz, their homes are looted and set on fire. Hundreds of people leave their homes in fear. Why? Because of the gift of liberty that Islam has brought? Why am I not free to express my ideas in this society? Why do I not have freedom of speech so that I can write in the newspapers, and express my ideas on the radio and television? Why don’t you let me be free…to say who I am and what I want? Yes, liberty is a Divine gift, and this gift is for us (Baha’is) also, but you don’t let us have it…Why don’t you push aside that thick veil from your eyes?”

Mona Mahmudnizhad together with her father Yad’u’llah Mahmudnizhad, who was executed on 12 March 1983, nearly a month earlier than Mona’s hanging. Her father was hanged in the identical polo floor the place loss of life awaited her subsequent.

On the night of 23 October 1982, there was a loud thud at Mona’s doorstep. Ruhollah Khomeini’s Revolutionary Guards barged into her residence, ransacked her household house, grabbed her and her father, and took them away.

Mona’s mom pleaded, “She’s just a child.” The jihadis produced Mona’s essay and mentioned, “The person who wrote this isn’t a child.”

They have been proper. How may a girl of all however 17, combating a lethal battle for reality with simply her pen in opposition to a military led by a rancid mullah, be a baby?

She was a voice they feared deeply.

Mona, as is obvious from her essay, was undaunting and uncompromising within the pursuit of her religion.

According to U.S. govt information, in the course of the trial of the ten ladies, Judge Qazai questioned Mona, “You are just a child. How could you possibly know the real meaning of the world religion?”

To this, a daring Mona replied saying, “What more proof do you need than that I was dragged out of school and put in jail and now, for many months, have endured all these interrogations for the sake of my religion? What else but my faith could give me the strength and power to stand here in front of you and answer your questions?”

Death adopted eight lengthy months of torture

After her arrest, Mona was incarcerated in a dirty, stenchful jail cell and was subjected to torture. This survivor’s account narrates the ordeal confronted by the prisoners together with Mona.

Ruhi Jahanpour, one other Baha’i lady, who shared the jail with Mona, mentioned, “They blindfolded me and tied me to a kind of bed, and then they put my feet there…after a few lashes they would pause for a little bit because they knew our feet were getting numb and they wanted us to feel the pain. They would continuously say things like, ‘If you deny your faith, I’ll let you go.’”

Baha’i persecution by Islamists

The persecution and abuse of the Baha’i folks proceed within the Arab world to today. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, systematic persecution of non secular minorities and ladies started to rise. Crackdown on Baha’i establishments, group actions, holy locations, cemeteries, and properties grew to become rampant. Executions, financial deprivation, mysterious disappearances of Baha’i folks, detentions, and interrogations grew to become an on a regular basis routine constituting grave human rights violations.

More than 200 Baha’is have been executed or murdered. This is simply the reported quantity, unreported circumstances could possibly be a lot increased. Thousands have been arrested, detained, and interrogated, and tens of 1000’s extra have been disadvantaged of jobs, pensions, and alternatives for increased training.

August 1980: 9 Baha’i officers kidnapped

Nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly – a democratically elected nationwide council that kinds a part of the Baha’i administrative construction in all international locations – along with two people serving on different Baha’i establishments, have been kidnapped by a gaggle of armed males from their assembly in a personal house and brought to an unknown location. They disappeared with no hint, presumably the victims of extrajudicial killings. The Iranian authorities have by no means admitted to this crime.

29 August 1983: Baha’i administrative actions banned

The then-Iranian Attorney General introduced a authorized ban on all Baha’i administrative and group actions in Iran, making membership in Baha’i administrative establishments a felony offense.

11 December 2022: Baha’i ladies sentenced to second imprisonment

Regarded because the symbols of resilience in Iran, two Baha’i ladies, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, have been sentenced to a second time period of 10-year imprisonment after already having served 10 years.

They have been arrested on 31 July 2022 for a second time in a collection of contemporary crackdown on Baha’is.

25 May 2023: Houthi gunmen abduct 17 Baha’is

Heavily-armed Houthi terrorists in Yemen stormed a peaceable Baha’i annual basic assembly at a personal residence in Sanaa. The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists kidnapped 17 Baha’i members together with 5 ladies.

The video of the kidnapping was captured on Zoom.

BREAKING#Yemen: Armed #Houthi gunmen stormed a peaceable #Bahai annual basic assembly in Sanaa right now, after years of persecution, detaining at the least 17 together with 5 ladies. Other houses additionally raided.

Yemeni Baha’is on Zoom captured this video.
Details and our assertion to comply with. pic.twitter.com/CbMXsz3UY9

— Baha’i International Community (@BahaiBIC) May 25, 2023

On 2 June 2023, Mufti Shamseddin Sharafeddin, whereas delivering the Friday prayers, accused the kidnapped Baha’is of being traitors and mentioned that if they didn’t repent, they are going to be killed.

Who are the Baha’is?

The Baha’i religion originated in Iran. Baha’is are the followers of the messenger Baha’U’llah born in Tehran in 1817, who based the faith. Baha’U’llah attained non secular realization upon pursuing the Babi Movement. Teachings of Baha’U’llah aka Mirza Husayn-‘Ali’ type the premise of the Baha’i perception.

The premise of the Baha’i religion finds similarities with Hinduism. Baha’is consider in pursuing the reality, oneness, concord of science and faith amongst others, and being free from materialism. Albeit, even the messengers weren’t spared from the wrath of the tyrants. In 1850, the Bab was charged by Shi’i non secular officers with heresy and was gunned to loss of life.

Crackdown on his followers continued together with on Baha’U’llah who was confined to an underground jail in Tehran. He was exiled to Baghdad in 1853 the place he based the Baha’i faith.

Baha’is are thought of impure in Islam

While the Islamic nation recognises a number of different minority religions like Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism, Iran doesn’t recognise Baha’i religion. The nation additionally accuses Baha’i folks of being brokers of Israel.

Hatred for Baha’is in Islam stems primarily from the truth that the previous contemplate themselves a faith separate from Islam. Their (Baha’is) perception in Baha’U’llah negates the Islamist perception within the existence of Prophet Muhammad.

The teachings of the Baha’is faith are thought of as posing a direct problem to the doctrines of Islam. While Baha’is are proponents of sustaining a rational steadiness between science and faith, Islam nonetheless largely believes that the earth is flat, to say the least, as a result of their messenger Prophet Muhammad mentioned so.

Former Supreme chief of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini. (Source: Tablet Magazine)

When the ten Baha’i ladies have been in jail, survivor Ruhi Jahanpour defined that the jail guards have been instructed that torturing the ladies would hasten the return of the Hidden Twelfth Imam awaited by the Shia Muslims.

“We have to get rid of all of you to prepare the way for him to come. The only reason that he hasn’t come yet is because of you dirty people,” the guards mentioned.

Prison wardens, in an effort to keep away from any bodily contact with the “unclean,” and “impure” Baha’i prisoners, whereas guiding them to the interrogation room would give them one finish of a folded newspaper and maintain the opposite finish.

Baha’can also be consider that women and men are equal and need to be handled as such. This too immediately challenges the various Islamic practices and sermons in opposition to ladies.

Iranian ladies’s resistance continues

The persecution of the Baha’is, particularly ladies, serves as a reminder to the present-day Iranian lady to proceed the struggle for his or her rights. Women, together with these from minority communities, in Iran, are nonetheless combating for equal alternatives, for his or her proper to not put on the hijab, the correct to equal alternative in training and employment, and so forth.

Hijab is one such key subject that Iranian ladies are pushing in opposition to. Hijab, a scarf, is necessary clothes in Islam meant to cowl ladies’s hair.

This month alone, the Iranian police have remodeled 300 arrests in a bid to implement the confining gown code. Nearly 1,000,000 warnings have been issued over textual content too. Arrests, detentions, and public beatings of girls resisting this diktat are frequent information even right now.

Breaking News
New wave of systematic killing in Iran

Two younger college students have died in a suspicious method throughout protests in Abdanan, Iran.

Mansoreh Sagvand, 19, was a younger woman who was a former member of the police drive. But, she too joined the protests. She died yesterday… pic.twitter.com/VnWKsIr67G

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) June 6, 2023

Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad is a key voice working campaigns in opposition to the dogmatic Islamic Republic.

The Morality Police confiscated her automotive as a result of she was not carrying the necessary hijab . Her defiant response, “They cannot stop us by such appalling actions. We’re not afraid. They took my car away, Now I am walking, still without a hijab continuing our fight.”… pic.twitter.com/Q4RQitbIin

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) June 10, 2023

Campaigns like “White Wednesdays,” “My Camera Is My Weapon,” and “My Stealthy Freedom” have made the fascist Iranian regime foam on the mouth.

Tributes pour in for the ten Baha’i Bravehearts

The Baha’i International Community right now is marking the fortieth anniversary devoted to the ten courageous Baha’i ladies with the marketing campaign #OurStoryIsOne.

Comedian Omid Djalili @omid9 made a video mirroring the final days of Mona Mahmudnizhad within the present-day context.

True story. To commemorate fortieth anniversary of the horrific injustice accomplished to the ten Bahá’í ladies of Shiraz 18th of June 1983 @TinySpeck_ & I made this.
Pippa Walton mirrors the final days of the lifetime of Mona Mahmoudnizhad who was hanged aged 17. #OurStoryIsOne #GenderEquality pic.twitter.com/aQnFaxz5PI

— Omid Djalili (@omid9) June 15, 2023

In Stockholm, homage was paid to Mona and 9 different ladies on 14 June.

Beautiful occasion at #Stockholm City Hall right now in reminiscence of 10 #Bahai ladies executed in #Iran 40 years in the past for his or her beliefs. Special due to Deputy Mayor Anders Österberg for co-organizing, @MajaAaberg of @AmnestySverige, kin & many others for contributing. #OurStoryIsOne pic.twitter.com/Jhu0MMmiKc

— Nogol Rahbin (@NRahbin) June 13, 2023

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the then-President Ram Nath Kovind marked the 2 hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the messenger Baha’U’llah.

In his letter to the Baha’i group of India, PM Modi wrote, “Baha’i Faith gives the world a vision of universal brotherhood.”

“The arduous path to gender equality in Iran has been walked by countless women over the decades. That road has been marked by the sacrifices of those who chose to stand for their principles even over their lives,” mentioned Simin Fahandej, the Bahai International Community (BIC) consultant to the United Nations in Geneva.