“It’s raining pink today; Israel must be washing its laundry,” I remarked to a friend after reading the below tweet from Scott Piro, an Israeli-American publicist, and self-proclaimed “social media denizen”.

Most importantly, Piro is the publicist for Tel Aviv Gay Vibe, a campaign by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism that seeks to market the city as a haven and top-line tourist destination for gays. This is in line with Israel’s strategy of exploiting queer rights to promote itself as “a lone outpost of freedom and openness in the Middle East”, while it continues to occupy Palestinians (painted as uncivilized homophobes) with impunity.

It’s needless to say that Tel Aviv Gay Vibe has been the subject of criticism by pro-Palestine and queer activists.

My initial alarm was over the tweet heralding the start of an even more aggressive pinkwashing campaign, but it wasn’t long before I began to harbour even greater concerns

Transparency

I was first introduced to Scott Piro through his work as a reporter and anchor for GayMiddleEast.com. Yes, the website that has been billed as the premier news source for all things gay in the Middle East.

While many were quick to regard GayMiddleEast.com as a credible and authoritative voice for LGBT issues in the Middle East, few have questioned the history of the site’s founding, and why a white British man is acting as its Editor and spokesperson.

GayMiddleEast.com was founded in 2002 by the Israeli Assaf Shabi Gatenio, and was until recently listed under an Israeli address. Its (overwhelmingly positive) coverage of Israel remains the most comprehensive – culminating in its coverage of the 2010 Tel Aviv Pride Parade, which was described as a “beacon of tolerance and acceptance”. The language of pinkwash.

Dan Littauer, the Managing Editor of GayMiddleEast.com and the media’s go-to-source for information on LGBT Arabs, is reportedly a dual British-Israeli citizen.

In a region where non-conformance (sexual and otherwise) is often regarded as a Western implant, even the least tenuous connection to Israel could lead to charges of treason. And herein lies the problem with GayMiddleEast.com; its refusal to be transparent.

Questions for GayMiddleEast.com

On a personal level, I take many issues with GayMiddleEast.com: its contribution to the narrative of hapless gays in need of saving, its scaremongering about the current uprisings in Arab countries, its fetishizing and exoticising of the LGBT identity – to name a few – but I do believe that the most pressing concerns that need to be addressed by GayMiddleEast.com are:

1) Why are activists not fully informed of GayMiddleEast.com’s Israel connection, so as to make informed choices about whether or not to get involved with the organisation?

2) Or better yet, why is the information not made publicly available on the website?

3) While GayMiddleEast.com claims to oppose pinkwashing, why have the grassroots campaigns by Palestinian queer activists to counter Israel’s pinkwashing been neither highlighted, nor endorsed?

Shahriar’s newest artwork is from a  series called “The Truth behind the persecution.” This is an interview sound artwork about Human Rights violations against the Baha’is in Iran.

Shahriar’s most recently exhibited his artwork in an international show in Poznan, Poland in March 2009. The exhibition titled “STAND-UP Art about Human Rights”, focused on human rights through art. It reflected the growing need for acceptance of, and respect for diversity, dialogue and social engagement. The show comprised the work of 11 artists and activists from different countries, societies and cultures. More information about the STAND UP exhibition can be found at:
http://hrart.wordpress.com/category/stand-up-artists/

So what has happened since the launch?

To date, we’ve received well over 400 submissions from all corners of the globe: from Canada, El Salvador, Ghana, Bermuda, Australia, Germany, Ethiopia, Slovenia, Afghanistan and many others.

A large number of those who submitted postcards chose to send “Postcards of Concern” to the Iranian Head of the Judiciary or the permanent mission of Iran to the UN.

But even more chose to send “Postcards of Support” to prisoners in the notorious Evin prison. Detained bloggers, women’s activists and student activists received messages of support, reassuring them that the world is aware of their plight and wishing for their safety. But a majority of the postcards were sent to the 7 Baha’i leaders in Evin, who have been imprisoned for over a year now under preposterous charges.

Reactions to the campaign have been overwhelmingly positive (and inevitably, it was also accused of being a “Zionist plot” led by the “evil Shirin Ebadi), and three days after its launch, it was featured on the front page of the Jerusalem Post.

We’re all truly gladdened by the success the campaign has met with so far. Had we chosen to pursue the “traditional” route and launch an online petition or requested people to send letters of appeal, we’re fairly certain that fewer individuals would have chosen to participate.

In fact, we believe that the strength of the “Postcards for Iran” campaign derives from the fact that it draws the benefits of both online and offline activism.

Unfortunately, after sending out our 300th card, we had to temporarily suspend the mailing out process. We promised participants that we would ensure their cards are printed, stamped and mailed to their destination of choice, and so we have! But that process requires money.

The postcards campaign is extremely important to us, but so is paying our server fees, so are our commitments to bloggers and activists whose projects we promised to sponsor, and so is the maintenance of our current projects.

We wish to thank all those who have contributed to date, but they’ve covered only a fraction of the total amount.

We need your help in order to keep the campaign alive and running. Every $50 we receive helps us cover the cost of mailing out 25 postcards.

If unchecked, the Iranian government will continue with its wave of repression, and i’ts incumbent upon the international community to support the citizens of Iran in their struggle for freedom.

The Campaign
To stand in solidarity with our fellow citizens in Iran, and to call on the Iranian government to uphold its commitment to protecting the rights of its citizens, Mideast Youth is launching a new campaign – “Postcards for Iran“. As the name suggests, the “Postcards for Iran” campaign involves sending Iranian officials hundreds of postcards, urging them to bring an end to the violations occurring within Iran.

But it’s not only the Iranian authorities that we seek to address through the campaign, but imprisoned prisoners of conscience as well. We wish to send them a message that we are aware of their plight and supports them in their struggle.

Combined with pressure from governments and human rights bodies and unabated media attention, grassroots initiatives such as “Postcards for Iran” have proven to be effective in . Furthermore, former detainees have testified that prisoners receiving mail received better treatment, as authorities were aware that the world is monitoring their situation.

Get Involved
You can send a postcard in three easy steps:

And that’s it! We will take it from there and ensure that your postcard is printed, stamped and sent to your chosen destination.

Please take the time to send a Postcard for Iran and invite others to.

In order to confront these allegations, 18 year old Adib Masumian wrote a book titled, “Debunking the Myths” in which he analyzes and refutes the accusations made against the Baha’i Faith. Adib kindly consented to an interview on the claims made against Baha’is, and how he addresses them in his book.

What sparked you into writing “Debunking the Myths”?

I had been noticing an increasing number of Muslims on the Internet stating that the Bahá’í Faith was a creation of the Russians and, more than anything else, that we were Zionists. This was about a year ago and I hadn’t done research on this subject, but I still knew that these claims were totally false. I wanted to refute those errors with evidence because the idea that we were a secretly Israeli or Russian movement came across as absolutely ridiculous to me.

So the first thing I did was look for a paper on the subject by a Bahá’í scholar. I ended up finding a 6-page essay by Dr. Moojan Momen, a great scholar and historian, through a friend. It’s entitled Conspiracies and Forgeries: the attack upon the Baha’i community in Iran and it originally appeared in a journal known as Persian Heritage. It was very concise and did a great job analyzing the inconsistencies of the claims, but I really wanted something bigger than 6 pages so that I could educate myself further and then share whatever I glean from my studies with others. But to my surprise, I couldn’t find anything bigger than Dr. Momen’s paper.

That’s what inspired me to use elements of his paper as well as conduct some research on my own and create a Wikipedia article that eventually became my book, Debunking the Myths. I wanted there to be a work that assessed the historical nature of the most prevalent claims leveled against the Baha’is, and that’s basically why I wrote it.

When it comes to discourse against the Baha’i Faith within Muslim circles, much of the criticism is not directed towards its core tenets, but rather to its supposed ties to foreign powers. How effective has that argument been in causing fear and mistrust of Baha’is?

Well, not as effective as one would think given the degree of emphasis the Iranian government places on our alleged historical ties. A significant majority might have believed these supposed ties prior to the Iranian Revolution in 1979, but the advent of the Islamic republic led to over a couple million people fleeing Iran to this day. Those expatriates have generally discovered the truth for themselves since they no longer had the falsehoods of the influential mullahs on their backs. I am also sure that many people currently living in Iran don’t believe these theories either as a lot of Iranians have grown tired of and even angry with their government over the years and this has led to widespread mistrust between the government and the people they govern. But of course, there are always the uneducated ones who continue to believe the words of the mullahs, and they are generally poor and don’t have the means to receive news through any other source but the clerics.

In the West, however, I’m positive that this nonsense has more or less lost its value, but it is still held valid by some Iranians. I think that’s why Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike should know the full background behind their charges.

The accusations that Baha’is engage in espionage activities did not spring out of a vacuum. What factors led to their coming into being and being so widely believed?

Well we are a post-Islamic religion that was conceived in an Islamic society, so I would think that these accusations were one way to dehumanize us and eliminate a perceived “threat” to national security and stability. Just stating that we were infidels might not have been sufficient; influential clerics in Iran would need some more substance to their claims. As a result, I think this drove them to pursue something more tangible than theology, and that’s history. By fabricating their own history and using it against us in this light, the mullahs created claims that could appeal to those who weren’t even attached to a conservative Islamic ideology.

So now that this method had been devised, they began preaching these lies from their pulpits and newspapers to the masses all across Iran. One notable incident involves a cleric by the name of Falsafi. During Ramadan of 1955, Falsafi held “radio sermons” which were filled with slander against the Bahá’ís. Allegations of involvement with foreign powers also became a part of his sermons. I think these sermons became hammered into peoples’ heads and they were passed on for a couple of generations; but as I said earlier, I think this tactic is thankfully beginning to fade away due to an increase in independent investigation of truth. I’m hopeful that my book will also contribute to that process.

Baha’is are mainly accused of serving the interests of three groups: the Russians, the British and the Zionists. Let’s start with Russians. The accusations are built on a book titled “Memoirs of Prince Dolgorukov”. Tell us more about this book.

The Memoirs of Prince Dolgorukov are supposed to be the recollections of a certain Prince Dolgorukov, who served as the Russian ambassador to Persia from 1846 to 1854. But from the very beginning, it is painfully obvious that this was a poorly-crafted forgery done by mullahs. It is filled to the brim with historical inaccuracies. For example, it states that Dolgorukov first came to Persia in 1834 as a translator for the Russian embassy. Dr. Moojan Momen has proven that Dolgorukov did not arrive at Persia until 1846, and he did this by perusing the actual Russian archives and reading up on almanacs about him. Elsewhere, the memoirs state that Dolgorukov intimately knew the Báb – founder of the Bábi Faith, precursor to the Bahá’í Faith – and that Dolgorukov would write his texts for him and have the Báb sign them to make them look authentic. But this is impossible because even as late as 1847, three years after the Báb’s proclamation of prophethood, Dolgorukov had no idea what the Bábis were all about. He actually compared their mission to those of early European communists!

It also has other grave errors as well, like stating that certain people were doing certain things when the people in question were either young children or dead. The most eminent Iranian historians, such as Abbas Iqbal Ashtiani, have denounced the memoirs as an absolute forgery. Even one historian who was publicly opposed to the Faith, Ahmad Kasravi, admitted this.

If this book has been proven to be a work of forgery, why is it still touted as authentic?

Actually, I don’t hear very many people these days refer to the Dolgorukov memoirs unless they want to compare it to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in terms of historical accuracy. I’m not even sure if very many people living in Iran still take their contents seriously because they’re just so absurd. Like I said, credible historians have denounced the memoirs over the decades as totallhoy fake and that has substantially helped dissipate many rumors related to it. Of the three accusations you enumerated earlier – Russians, British, and Zionists – you will probably hear “Russians” the least of the three. The memoirs might have been hot almost 70 years ago when they were first forged, but as of now they’re really nothing more than a laughingstock. But nonetheless, I do analyze many of the claims put forth by the memoirs in my book individually and assess their veracity using Dr. Momen’s extensive research, and that should pretty much clear up anything in the air on the subject.

Another popular conspiracy theory is that the earliest disciples of the faith were British spies. On what grounds are these claims based?

The claims specifically about the earliest disciples being tied to the British are bogus. They’re not historically accurate in the least. That rumor largely comes from an alleged meeting between a follower of the Báb and a certain British general named Arthur Conolly. The objective of this meeting was apparently to forge a conspiracy to undermine Shi’a Islam. The evidence for all of this is supposed to be located in one of Conolly’s books, according to a Persian historian. However, someone discovered that no such event is to be found in that book as well as the fact that this meeting never actually took place. As a result, that rumor quickly lost credibility in academic circles.

But since we’re on the subject of Britain, it should be noted that people usually refer to the knighthood of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, second leader of the Bahá’í Faith, as “evidence” that we have political ties to the British. This knighthood took place in 1920 and was actually bestowed upon ‘Abdu’l-Bahá because he helped alleviate a famine around the then Palestinian cities of Haifa and Akká during World War I. He did this by teaching people in the area how to cultivate grain, and they would then distribute it across the region. However, your average Iranian who has been told of the knighthood story doesn’t know about this history, and that’s why the allegations of British ties are still rampant in their thinking when it comes to the Bahá’í Faith.

Of course, Russia and Britain are no longer the great big nemeses; that position is now held by Zionists. What evidence do they rely on in making such accusations?

You’re very right about that, and the answer can be summed up in three words: location, location, location.

I think the thought process here goes something like this: “The Bahá’í holy sites are in Israel, therefore they must be Zionists.” Well our holy sites are indeed in today’s Israel, but we are by no means Zionists. The truth of the matter is that the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u'llah, was exiled to successive regions of the Middle East by the Persian Shah and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire until he finally arrived at the Palestinian city of Akká, where he died in 1892. His passing at that location, as well as the fact that Baha’u'llah pitched a tent on Mount Carmel and even revealed a tablet to his followers there, explains why we chose today’s Israel as our religion’s center.

But what the uneducated Iranians don’t realize is that having our shrines there doesn’t necessarily make us Zionists, because that would in fact make Muslims Zionists as well since holy sites such as the Dome of the Rock are located there! In reality, when Baha’u'llah died in Akká in 1892, there was no Israel. That land was Palestine, and it remained as such until Israel was partitioned in 1947. Since there was no Israel when significant Bahá’í events took place in that area, that automatically renders all Israel-related issues, including Zionism, irrelevant.

Attacks against Baha’is are not limited to their supposed ties to foreign powers, but it’s also alleged that they held close ties with the regime of the former Shah, and that they actively collaborated with the Shah’s notorious secret police. How would you respond to such accusations?

People are beginning to allege that members of the Shah’s cabinet more and more nowadays, and because of that I’m really glad you raised this question. There are a few Iranian politicians that have always been rumored to be Bahá’ís who never actually declared themselves as such. One example is the late Prime Minister, Amir Abbas Hoveida. Hoveida’s grandfather was an early Bahá’í in the time of Baha’u'llah. Hoveida’s father was also a Bahá’í up until the early 1920s when he became detached from the Faith and instead became increasingly interested in politics. From that point onward he had nothing to do with the Bahá’í Faith, and since his son was an infant at the time, he never received any Bahá’í education. Hoveida’s brother even stated that he had not heard of the word “Bahá’í” until he was 14, and even then he learned of its meaning from a friend. In reality, Hoveida was actually a Freemason, never a Bahá’í. There are a few other individuals who worked in the Shah’s cabinet that were always rumored Bahá’ís during their terms, but almost all of them actually came from Bahá’í families and never declared themselves as Bahá’ís. Bahá’ís are not even allowed to accept political positions, and this makes these accusations look even more ridiculous.

There are also a few who say that Bahá’ís worked in the Shah’s secret police, known as SAVAK, but SAVAK was actually influenced by multiple anti-Bahá’í groups, one of them being the infamous Hojattiyeh. For this reason, SAVAK also targeted many Bahá’í individuals. When one reflects on that, the notion of Bahá’ís persecuting other Bahá’ís – an already harassed minority – becomes absolutely absurd.

What steps can be taken to counter these claims?

People can counter the claims by educating themselves about their historical nature and sharing this new knowledge with others. Everything has a history to it. I’ve given most of the answers to these common discrepancies here in this interview, but I go in further detail and extensively reference all of my research in Debunking the Myths. This is obviously a biased opinion, but I really think it’s a $10 well-spent. If Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís can properly arm themselves against these charges, then I strongly feel that they will be dissipated in due time. Who knows? Maybe Iranians will read the book and share it with their relatives in Iran. They could then spread it among themselves and the Iranians masses could became aware of the reality of these claims soon enough.

You can purchase “Debunking the Myths” online and for only $9.95!

Crossposted on BahaiRights.org

But the response to the persecution is also marked by the innovative use of creative media in outreach efforts. One such effort is the recently released song, “Persecution” by Elika Mahony. Elika, whose great uncle was executed after refusing to recant his faith, dedicates the song to all those who have suffered and continue to suffer because of their steadfastness in their beliefs.

You can download the song and share it with your friends and family, feature it on your blog and help spread the word out.

Crossposted on BahaiRights.org

The usual accusations Iranian officials have made against Baha’is (supporting Zionism and insulting religious sanctities) are ridiculous in themselves. But some of the accusations leveled against Baha’is cross over into the realm of bizarreness:

• One of the accusations made against the NSA members in 1981 was “Sending or receiving reports containing code words such as ‘Amoo jan’ [Dear Uncle] etc. in various languages to the House of Justice in Haifa”
• In 1982, Tuba Za’irpur was charged with “not being married”.
• In 1996, two men from Mashhad were arrested while conducting a children’s art exhibition, and charged with…”working against the country’s security by organizing a children’s art exhibit”

Recently, it came to our attention that Iranian media has been making claims that the arrested Baha’i leaders had “sophisticated communications devices” in their possession. Given the authority’s track record, we can only imagine what the real-case scenario was:

Iran’s Deputy Prosecutor has announced that the case against the Baha’i leaders has been prepared, and will likely appear in court in the upcoming days. The likelihood of their receiving a fair trial is negligible, yet it is not too late for us to take action.

The Baha’i International Community addressed an eloquent letter to Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi refuting the allegations made against Baha’is and extending a hand for communication. You can read it here (PDF)

For the past 30 years, followers of the Baha’i Faith in Iran have been lynched, falsely imprisoned, vilified and driven out of their homes. Baha’i children have been deprived of their right to an education, adults have been prevented from earning a livelihood and thousands of families had their properties illegally confiscated by the government.

But the Iranian regime would have us believe that it’s the innocent party in these circumstances. It continues to deny that it harbours any intentions to eradicate the Baha’i community, while employing all possible means to slander and denigrate the memories of its victims. And unfortunately, there are many who believe the Iranian government’s narrative and feel the persecution is justified. And just as alarming, there are many who fail to fully grasp the intensity of the injustices wrought against Baha’is.

In order to confront that, we felt that the best strategy would be to allow the actions of the Iranian government to speak for themselves. We made a resolve that the stories of those who have lost their lives and suffered will not be forgotten.

Several months ago, we began creating a timeline that documents violations that have been perpetrated against Baha’is in the past 30 years, from executions, to arrests, expulsions and desecration. Our aim is for the timeline to function as a living record of the atrocities that have been committed, and a reminder of the heavy toll of silence in the face of grave human rights abuses

To browse through the timeline more conveniently, we encourage you to view it in full screen mode. You can also view the timeline in the form of a list, a flipbook or a map.

Get Involved

Although we strove to be as thorough as possible, we are aware that our timeline is not comprehensive. Many incidents are not reported, or are insufficiently documented, and so we ask you to collaborate with us in completing the timeline. Whether you have a personal story that you wish to add, or wish to provide further details on a recorded incident, submit your account to us and we will be sure to update the timeline accordingly.

We were very meticulous in our research, and worked diligently to verify all accounts on the timeline. The following sources were used in our research:

• Reports by Human Rights Activists in Iran
• Omid: a memorial in defence of human rights
• The International Religious Freedom report
• Annual reprts by the Baha’i International Community
• Iran Press Watch

Azad Bash is a project by “By Free“, a non-profit whose stated mission is to actively involve youth in human rights causes, through grassroots, media-based campaigns.

There have been numerous examples of songs giving a voice to silenced individuals, of comics drawing the public’s attention to human rights violations and videos successfully mobilizing citizens into taking action.

I think it’s a very promising initiative, and one that should be kept on our radars.

I’m hoping to be able to get in touch with the campaign’s organizers to learn more of the initiative, and will be sure to update our readers as well. Until then, you can listen to the first track – “Mona and the Children“, subscribe for updates or join the Facebook group

The arrested 7 are in fact members of “the Friends”, an informal society that oversaw the needs of the Baha’i community in Iran. The group is described as informal because in 1983, after executing all members of two consecutive National Spiritual Assemblies, the Iranian government placed a ban on all Baha’i institutions and activities.

Accusations that Baha’is collaborate with foreign powers are not new and in fact have been circulating since the early years of the Faith’s inception. The Baha’i Faith was said to have been a Russian creation in order to undermine Iran, and its leaders were accused of being British spies who were involved in elaborate plots to establish a puppet regime. Today, the accusations of the past have been forgotten in favour of a more convenient narrative: that Baha’is are agents of Zionism.

The strongest “evidence” given to support the claim that Baha’is are Israeli spies is the presence of the Universal House of Justice  in Israel, ignoring the fact that it was occasioned by the expulsion of Baha’u'llah to Acre, which was then under Ottoman rule.

The fate that will befall the arrested 7 is unknown, but due to the serious nature of the charges brought against them, they face the threat of execution.

Last August, the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights released a short clip on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran, and concluded it with a message that,”If we do not speak up on behalf of the Baha’is and break the silence, the government will suffocate them, to their very last breath, and we will see horrors we do not wish to see. We cannot let this happen”

That message is even more urgent today.