Request for Cosponsorship of H. Res 134 / S. Res 80 on the Baha'is of Iran

June 25, 2011

Letter to Congresswoman McCollum, and Senators Franken and Klobuchar:

The recent harrowing arrest of faculty and administrators of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education in Iran has once again highlighted the subtle and extreme actions in which the current Iranian government is willing to engage in order to suppress the free expression of worship by the Baha'is of Iran.

This world is sadly riven with manifest injustice, often in the form of a government's abuse of its own people. Our most potent weapon against injustice is truth, in speech and deed. In a free land, who can deny that the treatment of the Iranian Baha'is -- unable to administer their affairs, to attend the official schools, to gather in communal worship of that same God to whom most of the world's peoples turn in prayer -- is unjust and unworthy of any nation?

The documentation is evident, widespread, and objective. There is a plain agenda, at the highest levels of government, to eradicate the supposed heresy of "Bahaism" in its homeland. The United States government has been a friend to the Baha'is in the past, offering the stern judgment of a nation wishing to see peace in the world. With the renewed and intensified persecution of the past few years, it is time for the U.S. Congress to join Secretary of State Clinton in remembering the Baha'i community in Iran, by raising its voice in truth, raising its voice in condemnation of the Iranian government's actions against the Baha'is and other religious minorities.

Please, join with forty-five of your colleagues in co-sponsoring House Resolution 134, and in urging that it be brought for a floor vote soon.

1 Comment

Yesterday, I received a very positive letter from Rep. McCollum expressing support for H. Res. 134