[bahai.us, 18 Aug 2011]
“While Iran’s leaders hypocritally claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing.” — U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Victoria Nuland
Read entire editorial here.
Excerpt
Earlier this month, Iranian authorities reportedly refused to allow a Baha’i family to bury a relative according to Baha’i tradition; instead, they insisted on performing a Muslim burial. That would be a new level of affront and disrespect, and it follows repeated desecration of Baha’i cemeteries over the years.
Baha’is are not the only religious group subjected to persecution in Iran. Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, – even dissident Shiite clerics who believe that the political and religious realms should be kept separate – suffer from egregious violations of their human rights.
State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland recently voiced concern over the persecution of religious minorities in Iran: “While Iran’s leaders hypocriticallyclaim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing,” said Ms. Nuland. “We join the international community in continuing to call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens and uphold its international commitments to protect them.”
—
Source: http://iran.bahai.us/2011/08/18/voa-editorial-more-religious-persecution-in-iran/
Leave a Reply