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Search for tag "Persecution, Bans"

from the chronology

date event locations tags see also
1932 (In the year) The Iranian government introduced measures against the Bahá’ís throughout Iran. Restrictions were placed on the import of Bahá’í books and periodicals by post and on the publication of Bahá’í literature. Bahá’í marriages were not recognized. [BW18p388] Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
1932 10 Jun The American National Spiritual Assembly addresseed a petition to the Sháh of Iran requesting that the ban on Bahá’í literature be removed and asking that its representative, Mrs Keith Ransom-Kehler, be recognized to present in person the appeal. [BW5:390–1] United States; Iran National Spiritual Assembly; Petitions; Reza Shah Pahlavi; Shahs; Keith Ransom-Kehler; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
1932 15 Aug Keith Ransom-Kehler met the Iranian Court Minister Taymur Tash. [BW5:392]
  • She presented the American petition to him asking that the ban on Bahá’í literature in Iran be lifted and received assurances from him that this would be affected. [BW5:392; PH46]
  • She made seven successive petitions addressed to the Sháh of Persia. [GPB345]
  • For the history and unsuccessful outcome of this effort see BW5:391–8.
    		•  Iran; United States Keith Ransom-Kehler; National Spiritual Assembly; Petitions; Reza Shah Pahlavi; Shahs; Keith Ransom-Kehler; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1937 21 May All Bahá’í activities and institutions were banned in Germany by a special order of the Reichsführer SS and the Gestapo Chief of Staff Heinrich Himmler when he banned the Bahá'í Faith in Germany. He blamed it on the religion’s “international and pacifist tendencies.” The Nazi government increasingly targeted the Bahá'ís after Himmler’s edict, first by tearing down the public memorial to 'Abdu’l-Bahá in Bad Mergntheim and then, in 1939, making mass arrests of the former members of the National Spiritual Assembly. Bahá'ís went to jail, some for very long periods, without charges. In 1942, more mass arrests occurred. Many of the Bahá'ís from Germany and the surrounding countries disappeared in the Nazi concentration camp system. [BBRSM185; Bahá'í Teachings; German Bahá'í website archives; The German Baha'i Community under National Socialism p19]]
  • See talk by David Langness entitled Nazi Germany: The Untold Story of the Bahá'ís.
  • See Shoghi Effendi's letter of 11 February 1934 where he says in part:

      The wave of nationalism, so aggressive and so contagious in its effects, which has swept not only over Europe but over a large part of mankind is, indeed, the very negation of the gospel of peace and of brotherhood proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh. The actual trend in the political world is, indeed, far from being in the direction of the Bahá’í teachings. The world is drawing nearer and nearer to a universal catastrophe which will mark the end of a bankrupt and of a fundamentally defective civilization. [LDG1p55]
  • See letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi 10 November 1938 regarding the German community's efforts to have the government rescind the ban. [Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the Benelux countries pp38-40]
    		• Germany Persecution, Germany; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Bans; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Court cases; World War II
    1958 14 Sep A week before the fifth Intercontinental conference is due to convene in Djakarta, Indonesia, the government withdrew the permit to hold the conference. [BW13:331]
  • For the story of why the permit was revoked see DM83–5.
  • The cancellation of the conference in Djakarta began a period of severe repression of the Faith in Indonesia which eventually led to the Faith being banned in 1962. [DM85, 88]
    		•  Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade
    1969 Apr The Bahá’í Faith was banned in Algeria by official decree, all Bahá’í institutions were disbanded and the National Spiritual Assembly dissolved. [BW15:189; BW19:41]
  • Algeria has a long history of repression and persecution of religious minorities. Bahá'í activities have been banned by law in Algeria since this time. The government has made little progress on its 2014 commitment to reopen synagogues that had been converted to mosques or churches. In 2006, Algeria adopted Ordinance 06-03 requiring non-Muslim organizations to register with the National Commission governing worship by non-Muslim groups, housed under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This commission rarely meets and often fails to respond to registration requests by non-Muslim groups in the time required by the ordinance. [US Commission on International Freligious Freedom - Annual Report 2021 p57]
    		•  Algeria Persecution, Algeria; Persecution, Other; Persecution; NSA; Persecution, Bans; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1970 May In Iraq the Baathist Revolutionary Command Council issued Decree No. 105 to ban Bahá’í activities and disbanding all Bahá’í institutions. [BBRSM174; BW15:173; BW16:137] Iraq Persecution, Iraq; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1970 12 Nov Bahá’ís in the Central African Republic were arrested at a meeting to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh and Bahá’í activities were banned when a disaffected Bahá’í denounced the Faith as a political movement to the authorities. [BW15:207] Central African Republic Persecution, Central African Republic; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1971 (In the year) Following the prohibition of Bahá’í activity in Egypt in 1960, Egyptian Bahá’ís put forward a petition to the Supreme Constitutional Court seeking to overturn the presidential decree as unconstitutional. Egypt Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Petitions
    1971 13 Feb Following the ban imposed by the government of the Central African Republic on Bahá’í activities in November 1970 and subsequent representations made by the international Bahá’í lawyer Dr Aziz Navidi, the ban was lifted and the Bahá’í Faith officially recognized.
  • This was broadcast in every news bulletin on government radio for the next 24 hours, the first public proclamation of the Bahá’í Faith in the country.
  • See also A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p8].
    		•  Central African Republic Persecution, Central African Republic; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Firsts, Other; Recognition
    1971 13 Oct Following the banning of Bahá’í activities in Egypt in 1960, Egyptian Bahá’ís submitted a petition to the Supreme Constitutional Court asking for redress and for justice to be upheld. [BW15:173]
  • The opinion of one Mandatory of the government is that the 1960 decree was unconstitutional. [BW15:173]
    		•  Egypt Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Court cases
    1972 (In the year) In Indonesia the Attorney-General confirmed the 1962 ban on Bahá’í administrative institutions and added a further prohibition against organized Bahá’í teaching activities. [BW19:41] Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1972 19 Jun The government of Indonesia re-affirmed the ban on the Bahá’í Faith.
  • Following this a number of Bahá’ís lost their jobs.
    		•  Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1974 (In the year) As a result of an intervention by the Egyptian chargé d’affaires, Bahá’í activities in Burundi were banned. [BW16:137]
  • At the request of the Universal House of Justice and through the able intervention of Dr. ‘Aziz Navidi, several representations were made to the Government.
    		•  Burundi Persecution, Burundi; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Aziz Navidi
    1974 (In the year) Owing to the failure of the Indonesian Bahá’ís to obtain religious liberty, the Universal House of Justice instructed that the national convention not be held. Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Conventions, National
    1975 (In the year) Owing to the continuing ban on Bahá’í activities and institutions, the national spiritual assembly and all local spiritual assemblies were disbanded in Indonesia. Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1975 (In the year) The ban imposed on the Bahá’í Faith in Burundi in 1974 was lifted. [BW16:137]
  • Bahá’í activities continued to be restricted, particularly in provincial areas. [BW16:137]
    		•  Burundi Persecution, Burundi; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1975 (In the year) The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt decided that the 1960 decree of President Nasser banning all Bahá’í activities was constitutional and the application of the Bahá’ís for annulment of the decree was dismissed. [BW16:137]
  • Though nominally they have been guaranteed equal rights and religious freedoms under the 1971 Constitution, Bahá'ís, in practice, have retained a secondary legal status due to ongoing religious discrimination. Issues pertaining to personal status in Egypt were informed by religious rather than civil law and recognition pertained only to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Aspects of religious life such as marriage, divorce and family relationships were not recognized by the state.
    		• Egypt Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Human rights
    1975 (In the year) In Indonesia several Bahá’ís were arrested, given light sentences and released for violating the 1962 and 1972 bans on Bahá’í activity. [BW19:41]
  • A few months later four Bahá’ís were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment; they remained in prison for the full five years. [BW19:41]
    		• Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1975 25 Apr A revolution in Portugal removed the ban on Bahá’í meetings and teaching activities. Portugal Persecution, Portugal; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1976 (In the year) Following the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam, an anti-religion policy was implemented and the Bahá’í Faith, along with all other religions, were banned. Vietnam Persecution, Vietnam; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1976 (In the year) The government of Equatorial Guinea outlawed all religions and the national spiritual assembly was dissolved.
  • It was re-formed in 1984.
    		•  Equatorial Guinea Persecution, Equatorial Guinea; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1976 May Bahá’í activities in Mali were restricted by order of the government and the decree of recognition of the Faith suspended. [BW17:81] Mali Persecution, Mali; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1977 16 Sep In Uganda, 27 religious organizations were banned, including the Bahá’í Faith, and the Bahá’í House of Worship was closed. [BW17:81]
  • The national spiritual assembly and all 1,550 local assemblies were dissolved. [BW17:141]
  • The Assembly was able to re-form in 1981. [The Achievements of the Seven Year Plan p2]
    		•  Uganda Persecution, Uganda; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation; LSA; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Kampala; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship)
    1977 Oct The Bahá'í Faith, along with many other religious groups, were banned in Uganda. The National Assembly and 1,550 local assemblies were dissolved. The ban was lifted in April of 1979 and the community began the process to re-build. [BWNS135; BW17:141]
  • The National Spiritual Assembly was re-established in 1981. [BW18:553]
    		•  Uganda Persecution, Uganda; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; BWNS
    1978 (In the year) The Bahá’ís of Vietnam were prohibited by the government from meeting and practising their religion. [BW17:81; BW19:50]
  • Bahá’í centres throughout the country were closed or confiscated;
  • The national Hazíratu’l-Quds in Ho Chi Minh City was seized and made into an orphanage;
  • Two members of the national spiritual assembly were arrested and sent to ‘re-education’ camps.
  • One was released in 1982, owing to ill health.
    		• Vietnam Persecution, Vietnam; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Haziratul-Quds
    1978 Feb The government of the Congo banned the majority of smaller religious groups, including the Bahá’í Faith. [BW17:141]
  • The national Hazíratu’l-Quds was confiscated and the assemblies dissolved.
    		• Congo Persecution, Congo; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1978 Jul In Niger, an announcement was made on the national radio banning ‘the Baha’ist sect and the Nineteen Day Feast’ throughout the country; immediately, all Bahá’í administrative activities were suspended and the national spiritual assembly was dissolved. [BW17:147]
  • Mr Djoneidi was called into police-headquarters in Niger for questioning and was held for three days; then released unharmed. Other Bahá’ís were also called in.
    		•  Niger Persecution, Niger; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1979 Apr The ban against the Bahá’í Faith in Uganda was lifted and the House of Worship in Kampala was re-opened for worship. [BW17:141] Kampala; Uganda Mashriqul-Adhkar, Kampala; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Persecution, Uganda; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1983 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92; BW19:177–226]
  • Twenty–nine Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:232–3]
  • All Bahá'í elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government in this year; most of the members of the previous three national governing councils having successively been executed. The members of a third National Spiritual Assembly eventually all were arrested or "disappeared". In the absence of a national governing council (known as a “National Spiritual Assembly”), the ad hoc leadership group, called the “Friends in Iran,” (Yaran) was formed with the full knowledge of the government. The various governments in power in Iran since 1983 had always been aware of this group. In fact, over the years government officials have routinely had dealings with the members of the Yaran, albeit often informally. [BWNS694] iiiii
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46.
  • For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–6 and BW19:44–6.
  • For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:352–6, 424–5.
    		• Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights; Yaran; BWNS
    1983 Apr The Government of Morocco prohibited all Bahá’í meetings. [BW19:49] Morocco Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1983 23 Aug Seyyed Hussein Musavi Tabrizi, the Attorney General of Iran, declared all Bahá'í administrative activities illegal, thus requiring the dissolution of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, along with some 400 Local Assemblies which operated under its jurisdiction. [Iran Press Watch] Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1983 29 Aug In Iran the Bahá’í Faith was banned in Iran and membership of Bahá’í institutions made a criminal offence. This order required the dissolution of the third National Spiritual Assembly and roughly 400 local assemblies. [BW19:43]
  • The National Spiritual Assembly was dissolved as well all Bahá’í institutions throughout the country. [BW19:43]
  • Despite the dissolution, the authorities continued to harass and intimidate the former National Spiritual Assembly members, former members of Local Spiritual Assemblies and other administrative officials around the country, as well as every individual who had signed the open letter defending the Bahá’í community. Between late 1983 and early 1984 over 500 Bahá’ís – most of whom were former council members or related to former members – were arrested without charge.

    In time, seven former members of the third National Spiritual Assembly were arrested and eventually executed by the government.

    • Jahángír Hidáyatí, who had already attracted much hostile attention from the Islamic regime as a board member of the Bahá’í-run Nawnahálán Corporation, was arrested on June 30, 1983, and held in solitary confinement in Evin prison for eleven months, during which time he was repeatedly tortured in an effort to persuade him. to recant his faith on public television. He refused. Hidáyatí was executed on May 15, 1984. [BW19p205]
    • Shápúr (Húshang) Markazí was arrested in September 1983. During the course of his imprisonment, torturers broke his ribs and damaged one eye so badly that it seriously impaired his vision. Their goal was reportedly to force him to admit to false charges implicating the Bahá’í institutions as a network involved in espionage and himself as a spy. He was executed on September 23, 1984.
    • Ahmad Bashiri was arrested in July of 1983 for serving on several Local Spiritual Assemblies in different towns and eventually on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. He was severely tortured during his 15 months in prison and finally executed on November 1, 1984.
    • Dr. Farhád Asdaqí was called to Tehran and asked to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly after the arrest of the second National Assembly. He did this until the third National Assembly was disbanded in September 1983. Dr. Asdaqí went into hiding in 1983 but was finally arrested in June 1984. He was executed on November 19, 1984 – after four months of imprisonment and torture.
    • Farid Bihmardi was elected and served on the last National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. He was arrested in the streets of Tehran and was imprisoned a total of twenty-two months in Evin prison. During this period he was tortured and spent nearly 9 months in solitary confinement. He was never allowed visitors and was executed on June 10, 1986. It is believed that he was hung; however, since he was buried before his family was told of his execution, no proper examination was done to determine the cause of death. [BW20p385]
    • Ardishír Akhtarí was arrested by four Revolutionary Guards from Zarbat Group at Evin on September 11, 1984 at his home. He spent over three years in prison before he was finally executed on September 28, 1987.
    • Amír-Husayn Nádirí was also arrested on September 11, 1984. He was imprisoned at Evin and Gohardasht where he was tortured extensively. He was held in detention for over three years before being executed with Ardishír Akhtarí on September 28, 1987. [BW20p387 note 232; A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha’is of Iran]
    		•  Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1984 Oct In Tunisia, the activities of the Faith were curtailed and Bahá’ís were interrogated. [BW19:50] Tunisia Persecution, Tunisia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1985 23 Feb Forty–one Bahá’ís from various parts of Egypt were arrested, charged with offences against laws introduced in 1960 banning activities of Bahá’í institutions. [BW19:41, 283]
  • For an account of the event, its aftermath and the press campaign surrounding it see BW19:283–7.
    		•  Egypt Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    1985 7 May The court hearings open on the cases of the Bahá’ís arrested in Egypt in February on charges of disregarding the 1960 ban on Bahá’í activity. [BW,9:285]
  • The cases were adjourned until 7 October to allow time for the defence lawyer to study the files numbering about a thousand pages. [BW19:285]
    		•  Egypt Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Bans; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases
    2002 (In the year) The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa (edict) that banned Bahá'ís from burying their dead relatives in public cemeteries. Religious violence targeting the Indonesian Bahá'í community began during the Suharto regime that restricted the official religions to only five. Bans on the Faith had been issued earlier in the 1960s and the 1970s. [The Jakarta Post August 8, 2014] Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    2003 (In the year) A fatwa was issued against the Bahá'í Faith in Egypt by Al-Azhar, the prominent religious institution supporting the continued ban as apostates. Cairo; Egypt Fatwa; Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    2008. 20 - 21 Mar The re-formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Vietnam took place after a lapse of some 33 years. Joan Lincoln was the special emissary of the Universal House of Justice at their National Convention. A number of people attending the activities had joined the Bahá'í Faith in the 1950s and 1960s and had remained firm in the Faith despite the years of restrictions on certain activities.
  • A major step towards official recognition of the Faith had been taken a year previously when authorities issued a certificate recognizing Bahá'í activities.
  • The Bahá'í Faith had been established in Vietnam in 1954. In 1957 Bahá'ís there joined with a number of other countries in southeast Asia to form a Regional Spiritual Assembly, and in 1964 the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam had been formed. [BWNS617; BWNS647; One Country]
    		•  Vietnam Persecution, Vietnam; Persecution; Persecution, Bans; BWNS; National Spiritual Assembly, formation; National Convention
    2014 8 Aug The official ban on the Bahá'í Faith in Indonesia was lifted. [The Jakarta Post August 8, 2014] Jakarta; Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
    2017. 30 Nov Bahá'ís celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh in a ceremony in Baghdad attended by representatives from the Iraqi parliament, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, civil society as well as media activists.
  • This was considered the most prominent ceremony where Bahá'ís officially announced themselves for the first time in 47 years, as the Baathist Revolutionary Command Council issued Decree No. 105 in 1970 to ban Bahá'í activities. As a consequence, Bahá'í administrative institutions in Iraq were dissolved and any activity where Bahá'ís declared their religious identity was punishable by imprisonment.
  • During the proceedings they asked for support to rescind the law on prohibiting Bahá'í activity, which was still in effect despite the fact that the law contradicted the 2005 constitution, which guaranteed freedom of belief to all citizens.
  • Millions of Bahá'ís around the world celebrated the honorary bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh on Oct. 21-22. Bahá'ís in Baghdad celebrated after one month of postponements given the security difficulties and challenges surrounding the ceremony. [Al-Monitor.com]
    		•  Baghdad; Iraq Bahaullah, Birth of; Twin Holy days; Holy days; Centenaries; Websites; Persecution, Iraq; Persecution, Bans; Persecution
     
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