As reported previously on this site (http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/04/arrested-kss/), on Saturday, April 25, 2009, Mr. Vahdat Dana has been arrested. Iran Press Watch has learned through sources close to the situation that Mr. Dana is suffering from a significant heart ailment, and prison conditions could deal a severe blow to his health. The family has approached the judge presiding over Mr. Dana’s case, but so far no information has been given to them about his whereabouts or his condition.
The friends of Mr. Dana have requested prayers from people of good will everywhere, so that the Almighty may continue to watch over all those who are incarcerated in Iran because of their religious beliefs.
Mr. Dana is an uncle of Sina Dana, whose expulsion from Tabriz University was reported by Iran Press Watch some time ago.
As more details become available, they will be immediately reported in these pages.
April 29, 2009 12:56 am
I will immediately recite the Tablet of Ahmad for Mr. Dana and all prisoners of conscience in Iran.
How terribly, terribly sad.
April 29, 2009 3:00 am
جانم ملول گشت زفرعون و ظلم او
آن نور روی موسی عمرانم آرزوست
April 29, 2009 11:01 am
Tonight at our regular weekly community devotions we will say prayers for Mr. Dana and his family, invoking Divine assistance for all prisoners of conscience in Iran. We will also add prayers for the minds and hearts of the jailers to be opened up in this season of Ridvan:
“Give me to drink of the river that is life indeed, whose waters have streamed forth from the Paradise (Ridván) in which the throne of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, was established, that mine eyes may be opened, and my face be illumined, and my heart be assured, and my soul be enlightened, and my steps be made firm.”
– Baha’u’llah
April 29, 2009 11:40 am
It would be nice if you keep the prison guards and their families in your prayers too. These poor people from rural areas mostly with poor education and living standards are recruited by mollahs as jail guards and they suffer too. As a matter of fact, it would be a nice gesture in line with Iranian traditions to take some flowers and sweets to them at the jail. Another good thing to do would be for the registered Baha’is in Iran to line-up by the ministry of information in their towns every month or so to report in and see if they need to be arrested. These poor agents too are in need of love. They are obeying the government as you Baha’is do. So everyone is in one boat so to speak and give them flowers…
April 29, 2009 12:19 pm
I have come to understand that the imprisoned Baha’is of Iran strive to respect their jailers and consequently, at surprising moments, have been shown many spontaneous acts of kindness by their jailers.
April 29, 2009 2:29 pm
SB and Ali, yes, of course, I’ll add those jailers to my prayers, as well as anyone else involved, as all are children of God, even those who are the responsible parties ordering the jailers to do what they do.
It is good to know that acts of kindness can even occur amid such conditions.
The history of the faith in Persia, now Iran, all the way to what is now Iraq and then to Akka, has been one in which kindness was shown to jailers and others.
April 29, 2009 4:47 pm
This may be off-topic (sorry!) but I think it would be eye-opening (to the people of the West, especially), if the magnanimous demeanor of the imprisoned Iranian Baha’is was explained more widely. Such behavior is closely detailed in “Olya’s Story,” a book by about the persecutions and imprisonment of Shirazi Baha’is in the immediate years after the Revolution.
Allow me to observe that reading this well-written account by a Baha’i woman who was imprisoned with some well-known martyrs from Shiraz (and others equally unforgettable) is a devastating description of the standards of these prisoners. It is hard for Westerners to comprehend the magnanimity of the Baha’i prisoners toward their jailers. Their behavior can only be described as . . .loving.
The Baha’i prisoners in Iran do not take advantage of the injustices done them, never reflect outrage or anger but always address their harrasing interrogators as “Your Excellency” showing them the highest respect while accepting insults and mistreatment, working to comply with the government’s decrees, however outrageous. This exemplary story ought to be told.
April 30, 2009 12:14 am
For four to five months I have been reciting (nine times) the Tablet of Ahmad nearly every night, walking with flashlight in hand, at midnight (or thereafter) for the seven imprisoned souls at Evin prison. After reciting four or five times I would stop, mention their names again, and proceed until nine recitations have been completed. As I recite, my thoughts are unintentionally interspersed with loved ones, or those who have requested prayers for healing, or distressing circumstances. The power and efficacy, associated with this endeavor, have been quite remarkable and increasing number of individuals have asked me for prayers for their own particular circumstances. At night, even the weather clears, stars come out and some glorious sightings of the moon appear through the clouds. As of now I shall be including beloved Vahdat Dana (in Shiraz) with those seven precious souls
May 1, 2009 1:32 am
Glen,
I agree with you. Baha’u’llah has intended to creat a news world–one in which both the prisoner AND the guard are prayed for. Forgiveness and salvation is for all. We do not lose hope in the possibilty of the guidance of any soul, and we are never assured of our own spiritual end, we have to try to the last moment.
May 1, 2009 1:34 am
Don’t you think Vahdat would be kind of loving to those who are being unkind to him at this very moment? I am sure he would. This very change in attitude is what Vahdat and his like have been risking their lives for.
May 1, 2009 11:34 am
I exist. . .to live to the ethical of standard of Baha’u’llah. . .to love those who would harm me and by doing so, build a new world is ready to experience justice.
“Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time. ”
– 2 Peter 1:10