[World News Australia, 20 Oct. 2011] Students in Wollongong have joined a campaign protesting against educational discrimination in Iran. [Click here or on the image to see the video]

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[Huffington Post, 9 Sep. 2011, Dr. Kishan Manocha]

“A fresh measure of tribulation has befallen the Bahá’ís” in Iran. The warning, issued last week by the Bahá’í International Community, is given in an open letter to the Honourable Kamran Daneshjoo, Minister for Science, Research and Technology in the Islamic Republic. His ministry is responsible for implementing a longstanding state policy - denying Bahá’ís access to higher education. Read Full Story

The report – titled "Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is" – documents and analyzes more than 400 press and media items between late 2009 and early 2011, which clearly expose Iran's state-sponsored effort to vilify its largest non-Muslim religious minority.

[BWNS, 21 Oct. 2011] NEW YORK — In a wide-ranging media campaign that has gone largely unnoticed outside of Iran, hatred and discrimination are being systematically stirred up against the country’s 300,000-member Baha’i minority.

In a report released today, the Baha’i International Community documents and analyzes more than 400 press and media items over a 16-month period, that typify an insidious state-sponsored effort to demonize and vilify Baha’is, using false accusations, inflammatory terminology, and repugnant imagery.

Read the full report here (PDF) [click here for the PDF from Iran Press Watch repository]

“This anti-Baha’i propaganda is shocking in its volume and vehemence, its scope and sophistication,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. Read Full Story

[The Australian, 10 Oct. 2011, JILL ROWBOTHAM] ACADEMICS in Australia are to protest to the Iranian ambassador about educational discrimination against Baha’is in their homeland.

Fazel Naghdy has gathered signatures from 73 academics, including University of Ballarat vice-chancellor David Battersby, objecting to the longstanding ban on Baha’is attending university, and the arrest earlier this year of 16 Baha’i academics. Read Full Story

[Green Heritage News, 10 Oct. 2011] NEW YORK, Carol Forsloff – Iran’s persecution of Baha’is continues in a country where those of minority religious views not only have their spiritual life restricted but their education as well.

Recently more than 40 distinguished philosophers and theologians from 16 countries condemned Iran for restricting young Baha’is and others from seeking higher education. Read Full Story

A Special Section at the Baha’i World News site brings all the relevant content regarding Iran’s systematic campaign to deny higher education to the Baha’is in Iran –its largest religious minority. I invite you to view these compelling evidences at http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education.

Editor

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“Everyone has the right to education.”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Since 1979, the government of Iran has systematically sought to deprive young members of the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority – the 300,000-strong Baha’i community – from higher education. Thousands of other students have also been barred from universities for being active in student unions, campus publications, or social and political issues including women’s rights, academic freedom, human rights and the rights of prisoners.

The 16 Baha'is detained after Iranian authorities raided homes associated with staff and faculty of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education. One of them, Mr. Amir-Houshang Amirtabar – pictured bottom left – has now been released.

Authorities have also sought to close down Baha’i efforts to establish their own educational initiatives, including the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education. Such acts on the part of the Iranian government are, without doubt, part of a coordinated effort to eradicate the Baha’i community as a viable group within Iranian society.

This special section includes articles and background information concerning Iran’s campaign to deny higher education to Baha’is and in particular, its recent efforts to shut down the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education. Baha’I World News Service articles are listed below. A digest of recent developments is available under Current Summary. Read Full Story

A member of the Baha'i religion in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach asking Iranian authorities to release seven Baha'i prisoners accused of spying for Israel

[The Telegraph, 10 Oct. 2011] By Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent.

The move comes after authorities in Tehran stepped up measures to prevent members of the faith receiving a university education.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, 43 prominent professors and lecturers in the fields of theology and religious studies demanded the reversal of a ban imposed on Iran’s Baha’i institute for Higher Education and the release of 11 of its members of staff from prison. Read Full Story

The seven Baha'i educators sentenced to prison are (top row, left to right): Mahmoud Badavam, Ramin Zibaie, Riaz Sobhani, Farhad Sedghi; (bottom row, left to right) Noushin Khadem, Kamran Mortezaie, and Vahid Mahmoudi.

[BWNS, 18 Oct. 2011] NEW YORK — Seven Baha’i educators in Iran have each received four- or five-year prison sentences, according to reports received by the Baha’i International Community.

Verdicts against the seven were reportedly handed down by a judge at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

The educators have been detained for almost five months in connection with their involvement in an informal community initiative – known as the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – in which Baha’i professors, debarred by the Iranian government from practicing their professions, offer their services to teach young community members who are banned from university. Read Full Story

The seven Baha'i educators sentenced to prison are (top row, left to right): Mahmoud Badavam, Ramin Zibaie, Riaz Sobhani, Farhad Sedghi; (bottom row, left to right) Noushin Khadem, Kamran Mortezaie, and Vahid Mahmoudi.

[HRA, 17 Oct. 2011] HRANA News Agency – Seven professors and officials involved in Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) have been sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison. BIHE is a provisional online university established for Baha’i citizens who have been denied the opportunity to study at Iran’s higher education institutes.
According to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, during the last couple of days, Judge Moqayaseh presiding over the 28^th branch of the Revolutionary Court has sentenced seven Baha’i citizens to a total of 30 years in prison. The defendants were present in the courtroom when the verdicts were read. Defense attorneys objected to the rulings and filed appeals on behalf of their clients. The verdicts are as follows:

• Kamran Mortezahi – 5 years imprisonment
• Vahid Mahmodi – 5 years imprisonment
• Riaz Sobhani – 4 years imprisonment
• Mahmoud Badavam – 4 years imprisonment
• Ramin Zibaie – 4 years imprisonment
• Farhad Sedghi – 4 years imprisonment
• Noshin Khadam – 4 years imprisonment

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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. In his fourth annual report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Ban said he was "deeply troubled" at recent developments in Iran and registered "serious concern" at the restrictions on unrecognized religious minorities, particularly the Baha'i community. UN Photo/Mark Garten.

[BWNS, 13 Oct. 2011] UNITED NATIONS — For the fourth consecutive year, the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has strongly criticized Iran’s record on human rights, saying violations have “continued and intensified” over the last 12 months.

Iran has stepped up its crackdown on human rights defenders, women’s rights activists and journalists, Mr. Ban said in a report released yesterday.

Read the Secretary General’s report [click here for PDF from IPW site]

The Secretary General said he was “deeply troubled” by recent developments, which included a “notable increase” in the country’s use of the death penalty, along with a rise in unfair trials, amputations, and the use of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention. Read Full Story

43 distinguished philosophers and theologians have signed an open letter protesting against Iran's persecution of Baha'i educators and students. Among them are such prominent figures as: (top row, left to right) Cornel West, Princeton, U.S.A.; Graham Ward, Oxford, U.K.; Charles Taylor, McGill, Canada; Leonardo Boff, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (bottom row, left to right) Ebrahim Moosa, Duke, U.S.A.; Hilary Putnam, Harvard, U.S.A.; Stanley Hauerwas, Duke, U.S.A.; and Tahir Mahmood, former member, Law Commission, India.

[BWNS, 10 Oct. 2011] NEW YORK — More than 40 distinguished philosophers and theologians from 16 countries have joined the condemnation of Iran’s policy to bar young Baha’is and others from higher education.

In an unprecedented global initiative, the 43 prominent academics – of Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim backgrounds – have signed an open letter, published today in The Daily Telegraph (UK), and reported in the Folha de Sao Paulo (Brazil).

The letter condemns in particular recent attacks by the Iranian authorities on an informal educational initiative of the Baha’i community – known as the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – in which Baha’i professors, debarred by the Iranian government from practicing their professions, voluntarily offer their services to teach young community members who are banned from higher education. Read Full Story

[greenprophet.com, 28 Sep 2011, by Tinamarie Bernard]

Members of the often persecuted Bahai faith are inherently green.

The terrace of the Baha’i Shrine and Gardens in Haifa is the most stunning destination in Israel’s third largest city. From the eastern side of the city, along the popular route 4, you first catch glimpse of it rising up towards the sky on your left. An expansive swath of green lawn manicured in layers and flanked by date trees span the height of the northern end of the Carmel mountainside. Year round and from a distance, the vision quite literally draws your gaze towards the impressive site, “a geometric cascade of hanging gardens and terraces down to Ben Gurion Boulevard -a gift of visual pleasure to the city that gave the Baha’i religion its home and headquarters.” [see http://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/ for pictures of the Terraces] Read Full Story

Senator Segal of Canada tables the situation of the Baha’is of Iran in direct and plain words in the Canadian Senate on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011. Read full Senate transcript here, and the except about Iran is reproduced below.

Editor

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Debates of the Senate (Hansard)

1st Session, 41st Parliament,
Volume 148, Issue 17

Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker

(1530)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Jaffer calling the attention of the Senate to the deteriorating human rights situation of the Baha’i people in Iran.

Hon. Hugh Segal: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the inquiry placed on the Order Paper by the Honourable Senator Jaffer with respect to the circumstances faced by Baha’i citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The lessons of history are not prisons that shape our choices. However, if and when those lessons are ignored, we give the worst of history, its most horrific and criminal excesses the best chance to repeat themselves at the expense of all humanity. It is in this precise context that we must look at the Islamic Republic of Iran and its treatment of its Baha’i citizens with a frank and cold eye. We must do so with the highest regard for Iran’s history, civilization and culture and with nothing but the greatest respect and regard for its people, who have the same right to freedom, economic opportunity and happiness as we have. We must also look carefully and with clarity at events within Iran, the way that government acts, its designs on genuine democrats at home and its explicit oppression of minorities within its own borders. Read Full Story

BAHÁ’Í Freedom walk — The Baha’i Faith is recognised globally as a peaceful religion with teachings that promote the betterment and advancement of humanity, spiritually, socially and economically.

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Click on the image to view the video at vimeo.com on Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) Read Full Story

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, left, pictured with his wife, Fatemah, and their two young sons. Photo credit: Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

[BWNS 4-Oct-2011] GENEVA — The Baha’i International Community has joined the call for the release of Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor from Rasht, Iran.

Pastor Nadarkhani, who is the father of two young children, leads a network of house churches. He was found guilty of apostasy – “turning his back on Islam” – and “converting Muslims to Christianity,” and sentenced to death in September 2010. Read Full Story

[bahai.us 29 Sep 2011] Hollywood star Rainn Wilson and actress/activist Shiva Rose hosted an audience of 1,300 at the Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks, CA, in mid-September for an evening dedicated to human rights in Iran. Read Full Story

[1 Oct 2011] HRANA News Agency – On Thursday, September 29, 2011, twenty one Baha’i citizens were arrested in Esfahan and taken to an unknown location.  Amongst the detainees, there was a 9 year old child.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Thursday, Iranian security agents arrested the following Baha’i citizens in Esfahan:

1. Anisa Daneshgar
2. Arman Rahimi
3. Ataullah Daneshgar
4. Darab Yazdani
5. Dariush Dastpiesh
6. Dina Safarpour (9 years old)
7. Fardoas Niki
8. Farid Eshtiagh
9. Farzad Rohani
10. Fazel Behnam
11. Heshmatullah Niki
12. Laleh Namjoian
13. Lava Daneshgar
14. Parisa Rahmani
15. Roheia Hakimon
16. Saha Behnam
17. Samira Ghaneh
18. Shahla Sanaei
19. Sohela Davardan
20. Sohela Vahedian
21. Taj Almalok Janamian

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[RAHANA, 1-Oct-2011] Education rights activist Bashir Ehsani has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.

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[BICUNoffice's Channel, 26 Sep. 2011] The Bahà”i International Community made a statement on the situation of the Baha’is in Iran at the 18th session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva.

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[Justice4BahaiYouth, 23 Sep 2011] The Baha’i’s in Iran, the country’s largest religious minority, have been persecuted since the 1979 revolution. Thousands were arrested and hundreds executed. Today, over 100 Baha’i’s are unjustly imprisoned including seven former community leaders and a number of educationalists. Iranian Baha’i’s are barred from university and even prevented from holding their own higher educational classes.

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[FreedomHouseDC, YoutTube, 26 Sep. 2011] Freedom House and the Baha’i External Affairs Office in Washington hosted a media briefing : “Education discrimination in Iran leads to creative use of technology by Bahai online university.”

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[Desmons Tutu] [José Ramos-Horta] The forward progress of humankind in the last centuries has been fueled, more than any other factor, by increasing access to information, more rapid exchange of ideas, and in most parts of the world, universal education.

Freedom of education and freedom of information are integral to freedom of thought. Few advances have been made for humankind which were not preceded by new ways of looking at our world and new schools of thought. Read Full Story

[BWNS 28 Sep. 2011] GENEVA — Like many young people the world over, Shohreh Rowhani grew up with high hopes of a good university education.

But now she has run up against a system which – while promising opportunity on the surface – is cruelly designed to block her and other young Iranians from ever getting a degree.

Ms. Rowhani is a Baha’i, and her experience is made all the more unjust by the fact that she is among Iran’s most gifted students; she ranked 151 in the country after passing the national university exam in her chosen field of languages. In other words, her result put her among the top 1% of candidates who took the exam. Read Full Story