Clergy gather to protest Iran's persecution of the Bahai Faith

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Leaders of several faiths are gathering Saturday in Medford to protest the persecution of members of the Bahai Faith under the Iranian government and to show support for a resolution by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., calling for the release of prisoners being held in Iraq for their faith.

The gathering will begin at 7 p.m. in the Medford Branch Library, 205 S. Central Ave., and is open to the public.

Wyden's resolution calls on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to work with the international community in condemning the Iranian regime for its repeated human rights violations, including the jailing of seven Bahai leaders last year in Tehran.

"According to the State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Report, the regime continues to create 'a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shi'a religious groups, most notably for Bahais,' " Wyden said in Senate Resolution 71. "The government routinely seizes personal property from members of the Bahai community, denies access to education and employment opportunities, and detains Bahais based solely on their religious beliefs."

Dr. David Young of Medford, whose wife and mother-in-law are Bahais from Iran, said the public panel is important "because it's an expression by all the religious community here that if any one of us is oppressed and under threat, then we all are."

Bob Larson, a retired minister of Lutheran Ascension Church in Medford, said he plans to participate in Saturday's event.

"It's incredible that this type of thing is going on, even though they've been slaughtering each other for centuries," Larson said. "The international community should rise up. This is wrong, inhumane."

The trial of the seven on charges of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic," announced by Tehran's deputy prosecutor in February, has been postponed, Larson said, because of the congressional resolution and the voices of the international community against the trial.

"The government wants to get rid of the Bahais in Iran, even though they did absolutely nothing wrong," said Larson.

Newly ordained Rabbi Sue Morningstar of Havurah Shir Hadash in Ashland said Jews in Iran get the same treatment as Bahais.

"They don't have full equal rights as citizens," Morningstar said. "Their activities are much watched by the government, which is blatantly anti-Israel and has vowed to wipe Israel off the map. It inspires fear in the Jewish population."

Some Jews in Iran have been arrested as spies for Israel and some have been executed, she said. "They can't call or write to anyone in Israel because it's considered an enemy state."

Morningstar said Saturday's group is asking that all religions be accepted "as ways to God" and allowed to practice without restriction.

"We can only hope the pattern (or persecution) shifts all over the world," she said.

Young, who for years has worked for the cause of ending religious repression in Iran, said the philosophy is supported by the Declaration of Human Rights and even the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The local group is asking the U.S. government to carry its wishes to the United Nations for action.

"It's a wonderful spectacle," Young said, "that the religious community of the Rogue Valley appreciates the interests of persecuted religions in Iran and is supporting them with the same sentiment."

Wyden, who said he won't be able to attend the panel, wrote in a letter to Young, "It's an impressive statement in itself that you "¦ oppose religious persecution in any form. When "¦ many faiths stand together with one goal, to oppose intolerance, we all become stronger. If one faith can be singled out for persecution, it puts all faiths at risk."

Also supported the gathering is the Rev. Michael Walker of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Central Point.

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.

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