Dr Musaddiq and the Bahais

Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq and the Baha’is By Bahram Choubine Table of Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Part 1: Dr. Musaddiq and the Baha’is Introduction: Iran and the Cold War Chapters 1. The Crime 2. Government Reaction 3. The American Baha’is 4. The Military Tribunal 5. The Trial and the Verdict Appendices 1. Sources for Studying Dr. Musaddiq 2. Primary Sources on the Abarqu Incident 3. British Support for Shi‘i Clerics 4. The Killing of Dr. Berjis 5. Defense of Dr. Musaddiq at the Tribunal 6. The Role of Ayatu’llah Burujirdi 7. Fada’iyan Islam 8. Appeals to the Shah and Clerics 9. Five Historical Documents 10. Eyewitness Accounts Part 2: Suppression of the Baha’is of Iran in 1955 About the Author Select Bibliography 2 Foreword This monograph consists of English translations of two research essays by Bahram Choubine.1 The first is Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq and the Baha’is , originally published in Persian by Sherkat Ketab in 2009. This learned article has been translated at the request of the author and the publisher and is presented below in an expanded form with additional annotations. The second translated essay by Bahram Choubine is entitled, “Suppression of the Baha’is of Iran in 1955.” Both articles have been translated and annotated by Ahang Rabbani and are briefly introduced below before their full translation is provided. 2 A Few Words about Dr. Musaddiq and the Baha’is The Baha’i community has had a presence in Yazd and its surrounding towns from the time of Baha’u’llah. By 1903, the Baha’i community of Iran had experienced nearly a half-century of relative peace. During this period the community had changed its character from a militant messianic Babi community, to a peace-loving, ethically bound, progressive-minded Baha’i community that had grown considerably in numerical strength and geographic spread. Throughout this interval, however, Baha’is continued to be periodically harassed and occasionally a few were killed by their opponents, often as an excuse for political ambitions, but no large-scale persecution took place. This pattern changed drastically in the summer of 1903, when a pogrom was unleashed against the community in Yazd and its surrounding regions, resulting in the murder of several hundreds of defenseless Baha’is. 3 Even though this incident was not spread across the nation, it may well be regarded as the first notable collusion of the local and state authorities with the ecclesiastical establishment in an attempt to bring about total eradication of the Baha’i community. After that incident, most of the Baha’is of this region moved to other regions—notably to the newly founded town of Ishqabad in Turkmenistan—while a few returned home to rebuild their lives and businesses. Gradually, the community gained strength and reestablished its activities, though always under the watchful eye of the fanatical Shi‘i clergy. In the nearby small town of Abarqu, however, there were no Baha’is until the summer of 1949, when a retired Baha’i by the name of ‘Abbas-‘Ali Purmihdi settled there. He had been an employee of the postal service and delivered mail and packages from Yazd to Abarqu; as such, he knew many of the inhabitants of this town. A few months later, on January 3, 1950, a 50-year-old Muslim woman by the name of Sughra and her five children were brutally murdered one night. What followed had profound implications for the Baha’is of that region, and indeed the entire country, and involved the 1 It should be noted that Bahram Choubine has never been a member of or affiliated with the Baha’i community. He has, however, on numerous occasions spoken strongly in support of the human rights of Baha’is in Iran and written extensively about the beleaguered religious minorities of that country. His collaborator, Ahang Rabbani, is a member of the Baha’i community and has authored numerous books and research articles on the history and teachings of the Baha’i faith. Some of his publications can be accessed at http://ahang.rabbani.googlepages.com/. 2 Choubine, Dr Mohammad Mossadegh & Bahaian . 3 In 1903, in an effort to engage Western countries in defense of the Baha’is of Iran, ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote a treatise about the tragic events of that summer, a translation of which is available at Rabbani, “‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Proclamation on the Persecution of Baha’is in 1903.” 3 administration of Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq (May 19, 1882–March 5, 1967), the nationalistic prime minister from April 28, 1951 to August 19, 1953 (except for a brief period July 17–20, 1952). Discussion of the history of this event and an analysis of documents pertaining to it are the subject of Dr. Choubine’s first essay appearing in this monograph. This essay was completed in March 2009 and published in Persian the summer of the same year. However, to aid the reader, it may be beneficial to outline the indisputable facts of this incident: • During the night of January 3, 1950, a Muslim woman named Sughra and her five children were brutally killed in Abarqu in their own home; • All evidence suggested that the murderers were three men who perpetrated this crime at the instigation of Isfandiyar Salari, an influential landlord of this town. Media outlets, including the nationwide Dad newspaper, stated the same; • Arrival of an inspector from Yazd by the name of Sadiqi changed the course of the investigation. He selected Sergeant Khakpur—a close friend and an associate of Salari—to investigate and prepare the police file; • Khakpur initially arrested several innocent men and tried to place the blame on them; • He then went to Yazd and upon returning claimed that Baha’is had had a hand in this murder; • Several Baha’is found in nearby villages were arrested; • The entire nine-member Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Yazd was arrested as well; • Widespread anti-Baha’ism engulfed the region, resulting in the pillage of many Baha’i homes and causing dozens of Baha’is to become homeless; • The involvement of influential ‘ulama in directing the events was evident; • Recognizing that the events were orchestrated by the Shi‘i clerical establishment to undermine his authority, Prime Minister Razmara ordered that the Baha’i complaints be disregarded, so that he would not be charged as a Baha’i sympathizer by the clerics; • At every stage of the investigation, the initial inspectors who had reported the charges against the Baha’is as baseless were dismissed and replaced with fanatical judgments; • The government changed, and Dr. Musaddiq assumed premiership; • When Dr. Musaddiq was in the United States, the American Baha’is appealed to him for the administration of justice and protection of religious minorities; despite his promise to do so, Dr. Musaddiq was unable to deliver; • The highest criminal court in Iran tried the case in 1952 and again in 1954, and twelve Baha’i and three Muslim defendants were sentenced to various terms of incarceration. An innocent Muslim, on the false charge of being involved with the murders and of being a Baha’i, was executed. This incident thus aptly demonstrates the nature of anti-Baha’ism in Iran when the state and the clerical establishment colluded against the Baha’i community and serves as a microcosm for understanding the dynamics of social relations concerning the Baha’is in that land. Throughout the entire twentieth-century, every opportunity has been seized upon by the fanatical clergy, at times with the alliance of the authorities, to falsely blame misfortunes and 4 crimes upon beleaguered Baha’is, who have remained completely defenseless in protecting themselves by any appeal to the law. In a number of instances, most notably in 1950s, and more recently during the Islamic Republic, the authorities have used this religious minority group as a means of distracting public opinion away from real problems confronting the nation. Suppression of the Baha’is of Iran in 1955 In introducing ‘Ali Dashti’s seminal work, 23 Sal [23 years], Bahram Choubine has penned an enlightening essay that places the events of twentieth-century Iran in their fuller perspective. This essay has been made available on the Internet. 4 More recently, the erudite author has considerably expanded this essay and included more analysis and documentation, offering it as a preface to Dashti’s 23 Sal, distributed by Alburz Publishing, in Frankfurt, Germany. A section of this expanded essay (pages 34–42), appearing under the heading, “ Sarkub Baha’iyan ” [The suppression of the Baha’is], is provided below in translation. Technical Details Footnotes by the author are marked (BC). Remaining footnotes are by the translator. Clarifying remarks in square brackets […] are by the translator. Subheadings have been added in the translation to provide clarity and assist the reader’s understanding. Most names and Persian terms have been transliterated in accordance with academic standards, except some commonly recognized names, such as Khomeini, which have been written in their popular rendering. 4 See for example: http://www.jamali.info/minorities/index.php?page=111206_A1; http://www.negah.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=382&Itemid=15; http://www.cyrusnews.com/news/fa/?mi=2&ni=17649. 5 Preface Aequum et bonum est lex legum. [What is good and equal, is the law of laws.] Events during the past three decades have drawn attention to the continued existence of an important Baha’i community in Iran—perhaps the largest minority group of that country and most likely the largest non-Muslim body of people in the Middle East—the plight of which under the Islamic Republic has provoked widespread comment in the world’s press, merited attention and action in the United Nations and its various international agencies, and drawn condemnation in a number of national parliaments.

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