The Persecution Of Baha’is In Iran: Muslims Must Not Forget The Prophetic Principles!
By Ghulam Rasool
Dehlvi, New Age Islam
24 September 2022
The Prophet’s
Charter Of Human Rights Granted The Protection Of Minority Rights And Respect
For Other Faiths
Main Points:
1. So-called Islamic
countries like Iran and Pakistan have witnessed increasing incidents of
faith-based discrimination against non-Muslim citizens…….
2. Ever since the Islamic
Revolution of 1979 in Iran, religious minorities including Jews, Christians,
and particularly the Baha’i community have been regularly persecuted…..
3. It is high time that
Muslims around the world speak out against this case of religious persecution
in a supposedly Islamic country…..
4. Not a single
influential Islamic organisation or an established Islamic scholar has come
forward to call spade a spade…..
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A Christian delegation
from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), requesting his
protection. The Prophet granted them a Charter of Human Rights, which is
recorded in Islamic history as a written document for the protection of
minority rights and respect for other faiths.
Now contrast it with the minority situation in the so-called Islamic
countries like Iran where no Bahá’í practitioner remains untouched by religious
persecution, where the government strives to heighten a state of constant
insecurity against the Bahá’ís across every aspect of life.
The so-called Islamic
countries like Iran and Pakistan witness increasing incidents of faith-based
discrimination against non-Muslim citizens. It is symptomatic of not only a
humanitarian crisis but systematic religious persecution in these self-styled
Islamic nations. This is not only a clear violation of the international human
rights agreements and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also a
brazen violation of the true Prophetic principles of governance. In fact, the
Prophetic legacy of diversity, pluralism and coexistence that has shaped the
Misaq-e-Madina’s clauses has eroded almost every Muslim nation today.
It is quite
distressing to take note of the systematic persecution of the Baha’i minority
members in Iran. Besides the widespread phenomenon of sectarian prejudice meted
out to the Sunnis and Sufis in Shiite Iran, what is rather more deplorable is
the impunity with which human rights violations and grave injustice is being
perpetrated against religious minorities in the so-called Islamic Republic.
Ever since the Islamic Revolution 1979 catapulted Iran into a theocracy, the
religious minorities including Jews, Christians, and particularly the Baha’i
community have been regularly persecuted for just practising their faith. This
goes not only in complete contradiction to the United Nations Human Rights
Covenants of 1948 but also against the true Islamic principles of governance
and justice.
The UN Special
Representative on the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran
obtained a government memorandum in 1993 which provides a summary of the
Iranian government's stated position towards its Bahá'i citizens. This paper,
titled "The Bahá'i Question," was produced in 1991 by Iran's Supreme
Revolutionary Cultural Council and endorsed by the Supreme Leader, Ali
Khamenei. It lays forth detailed instructions for dealing with Bahá'is. The
government must "deal with [Bahá'is] in such a way that their progress and
development are hindered," it says. Deplorably enough, this memorandum
which remains in effect even today specifies a number of steps to limit Iranian
Bahá'is access to economic, cultural, and educational opportunities.
Notably, Iran has been
reviewed three times under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a review of the
human rights records of all UN Member States. Out of the 10 recommendations
that dealt specifically with the situation of the Bahá’ís, only two of them
were partially accepted by the government in Iran. However, the Bahá’í
International Community, in a recent analysis of the implementation of these
recommendations, accepted by Iran in 2010 and 2014, confirmed that, in fact,
not a single one has yet been implemented.
It is high time that
Muslims around the world speak out against this case of religious persecution
in a supposedly Islamic country. Several international organisations and human
rights bodies have raised voices of objection to the persecution against the
Bahá’ís in Iran, but not a single influential Islamic organisation or even an
established Islamic scholar has come forward to call spade a spade. More
regrettably, no Muslim organisation is coming to the fore to speak for the religious
peaceful coexistence in Iran on behalf of the global ‘Ummah’. If we Muslims
desire the full protection of the human rights for the world’s Muslim
minorities as an ‘Ummah’, we must ensure that the non-Muslim citizens living in
the Muslim majority countries are accorded the same rights and privileges that
we Muslims seek to achieve in the non-Muslim nations.
The Madina Charter of
human rights known as Misaq-e-Madina—the first ever written constitution of the
world formulated by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) reminds Muslims around the world of
the same collective duty. It affirmed the full bonding between Muslims and
non-Muslims based on justice and equity. This was based on the universal value
which is termed in the Islamic law as Karamat-e-Insani (human dignity), as
clearly stated in the Qur’an:
“We have honoured the children of Adam, and
have borne them on the land and the sea, given them for sustenance things which
are good and pure; and exalted them above many of Our creatures.” (Qur'an 17:70).
It is noteworthy that
the Madina Charter was compiled when the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions
migrated to Madina as an oppressed minority. It was the first social contract
to be written ever in the history of mankind. Muslims and the non-Muslims lived
under this covenant which organized the public affairs and governed the
relations between them and their neighbours, as Ibn-Ishaq reported:
“The Holy Prophet
(pbuh) wrote a document between the Emigrants [from Makkah] and the Ansar [the
natives of Madina], and in it he made a treaty and covenant with the Jews,
establishing them in their religion and possessions, and assigning to them
rights and duties.”
The Madina Charter
primarily focused on these three cornerstones for a nation or governance: (1)
peace and security (2) Justice and (3) organizing the judiciary, as outlined
below:
“In the name of Allah,
the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. This is a document from Muhammad, the Holy
Prophet, governing the relationship between the believers from among the
Qurayshites (i.e., emigrants from Makkah) and Yathribites (i.e., the residents
of Madina whose majority were non-Muslims). They form one and the same
community as against the rest of peoples. (Sunan Al-Bayhaqi, no. 16808 and see
the whole constitution in Ibn Katheer’s biography, part 2, page 321, and Ibn
Hisham’s, part 1, page 501.)
The concept of Ummah
or a “nation” through the terms of the Madina constitution clearly states that
the Muslims or non-Muslims whether from Makkah or Madina are one community. It
states clearly: “They form one and the same community as against the rest of
men!”Thus, the Islamic charter f human rights recognized the “nation” for the
first time in history as an indivisible unit, moving from the individual or the
tribal life to the life of the single nation which was not characterized by any
particular religion or race.
The Madina charter of
human rights ensured “equal rights and duties” between its parties and by this,
it ended racism and segregation in one go. It clearly states: “The Jews shall be responsible for their
expenses and the Believers for theirs… The Jews shall maintain their own
religion and the Muslims theirs. Loyalty is a protection against treachery… The
Jews of Banu Najjar, Banu al-Harith, Banu Sa’idah, Banu Jusham, Banu al-Aws, Banu
Tha’labah, Jafnah, and Banu al-Shutaybah enjoy the same rights and privileges
as the Jews of Banu Aws…”
It also states that
its terms apply to those who have signed it and those who shall follow them
later and fight with them (whether Muslims or non-Muslims) and by this, it is
the first treaty in history that acknowledges the principle of joining treaties
even after they are signed (Madina Treaty – Context and Significance” by Ahmad
Al-Shuweibi, issue 110 from the Al-Ummah Book issued by Al-Awqaf Ministry,
Qatar).
Not only Muslims but
even all non-Muslims living in Madina were also accorded full protection of
life, religious freedom and democratic rights. A clause in Misaq-e-Madina was
stipulated in these words of the Holy Prophet: “I shall dispute with any Muslim
who oppresses anyone from among the non-Muslims, or infringes on his right, or
puts a responsibility on him which is beyond his capacity or takes something
from him against his will." (Reported by Abu Dawood)
In the 10th year of
Hijrah, a delegation of 14 Christian chieftains and bishops from Najran came to
Medina to enter into a treaty with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The
Prophet (pbuh) not only welcomed them with open arms but also permitted them to
pray in his mosque, the Masjid-e Nabawi. The Christian delegation prayed in the
Holy Prophet’s mosque, turning towards the east, their Qibla or direction of
prayer. This glorious instance of the Holy Prophet’s religious tolerance cannot
be discarded by any Muslim sect, as it has been authenticated by numerous
erudite Islamic scholars of great repute, including Imam al-Qurtubi (in his
Tafseer Jame' Li Ahkamil Quran), Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jauziya (in his book
Zadul Ma'ad), and Imam Ibn Kathir (in his Tafseer Ibn-e Kathir).
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Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool
Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu writer. He has
graduated from a leading Islamic seminary in India, and acquired Diploma in
Qur'anic sciences and a Certificate in Uloom ul Hadith from Al-Azhar Institute
of Islamic Studies. Presently, he is pursuing his PhD in Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi.
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/persecution-bahais-iran-prophetic-principles/d/128024
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