Bahá'í Persecution in Iran

[twistedlegato]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/17/wilson.faith/index.html

Just for a reference of the religion.

http://www.bahai.org/


I'm a Bahá'í and this completely sickens me. It's been going on for over a hundred years. I have family in Iran (i'm Iranian/Persian) and they are denied so many rights. My cousins can't even attend anything above secondary education.

I just want to get the word out about this very unknown issue, and to see how you guys think about it.

[ucfgrad93]

While I'm sorry to hear about this, I'm not terribly surprised. The Middle East is terribly intolerant of any religion other than Islam.

[Dont Hurt Me]

While I'm sorry to hear about this, I'm not terribly surprised. The Middle East is terribly intolerant of any religion other than Islam.There it is in a nutshell, get ready for the spin because its coming.. A society that is based on a military religion might as well be a police state. No difference,no liberty no freedom. Sharia law speaks for itself.

[Burnsey]

There it is in a nutshell, get ready for the spin because its coming.. A society that is based on a military religion might as well be a police state. No difference,no liberty no freedom. Sharia law speaks for itself.

The spin was already here. ANY society based on ANY religion will not have those things you mentioned. Religion is a prime divider of humanity, and your post is an example of it. Everyone from any religion, believes, at least secretly, that they are superior to others of some other religion. Everyone of any religion believes the other religions are flawed. Tolerance is not a strong point of any religion.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8326751378465566104&ei=82GcSaWcJZKwiAK87fWsBw&q=in+god%27s+name

People often say "we're fighting for god" or that "we're doing god's work" etc... If god is all powerful surely he doesn't need us to fight for him, or to do his work or even spread his word.

[chrmjenkins]

Everyone from any religion, believes, at least secretly, that they are superior to others of some other religion.

While SOME may believe this, this idea is not promoted in most religions I am aware of. For instance, in Christianity, all men are sinful. The fact that they are allowed to be Christians is by the grace of God, not because they are inherently better.

Everyone of any religion believes the other religions are flawed.

This is kind of implicit, no? Why would a particular religion exist if it did not believe in its own truth?

Tolerance is not a strong point of any religion.

Again, this is mainly the fault of the practitioners, not the belief. And that's the central issue with any theocracy. Because men are flawed, corruptible and lust for power, they will abuse the belief system and use it to their own ends.

As for the OP, I'm very sorry to hear about this. Rest assured, members of your faith are not alone, as anyone who dares to express some sort of separation from a set religion, sexuality and behavioral norms will most certainly feel the pain. Hopefully human rights can make some progress in the country by sheer will alone.

[TSE]

Any government or culture completely based around religion is going to have problems. A culture and government can have elements of religion, but if it is based around it, there is going to be some bad things happen. Religion isn't bad, if it is used right. That is not the case with the middle east.

[SmartIndianKid]

This is kind of implicit, no? Why would a particular religion exist if it did not believe in its own truth?


I'm going to have to step in and disagree that no, it is not implicit. There are religions that do not believe that that other religions are flawed. There are religions that believe theirs is just one of many, equally valid paths to god. So it's not really implicit, but varies by religion.

But to the OP, it pains me every time I see religious persecution, no matter the form. I was previously not aware of the discrimination against Bahá'í in Iran, but that news is quite depressing.

[chrmjenkins]

I'm going to have to step in and disagree that no, it is not implicit. There are religions that do not believe that that other religions are flawed. There are religions that believe theirs is just one of many, equally valid paths to god. So it's not really implicit, but varies by religion.

But to the OP, it pains me every time I see religious persecution, no matter the form. I was previously not aware of the discrimination against Bahá'í in Iran, but that news is quite depressing.

I use "kind of implicit" to indicate a general nature of things. A religion believing in its own truth does not necessarily make a statement about the truth of others. There are many cases where this is true, and that's why I think it has merit.

[SmartIndianKid]

I use "kind of implicit" to indicate a general nature of things. A religion believing in its own truth does not necessarily make a statement about the truth of others. There are many cases where this is true, and that's why I think it has merit.

Parts of your assessment have validity. It is true that a religion believing in its own truth does not necessarily make a statement about the truth of others, but that does not mean that a religion believing in its own truth is open to the idea of truthfulness in others.

Regardless, in the field of religion I believe that generalizing only leads to misunderstandings. Statements should be made as precisely as possible.

[chrmjenkins]

Parts of your assessment have validity. It is true that a religion believing in its own truth does not necessarily make a statement about the truth of others, but that does not mean that a religion believing in its own truth is open to the idea of truthfulness in others.

Regardless, in the field of religion I believe that generalizing only leads to misunderstandings. Statements should be made as precisely as possible.

Your but is the other part that I addressed ;)

As for preciseness, it and longevity usually give way to brevity and simplification on a forum unless more detail is asked.

[SmartIndianKid]

Your but is the other part that I addressed ;)

As for preciseness, it and longevity usually give way to brevity and simplification on a forum unless more detail is asked.


Fair enough.