‘Izzat ‘Átifí
‘Izzat ‘Átifí (1927 - September 11, 1981) was a Persian Bahá’í who was martyred in Iran.
Biography[edit]
‘Átifí was born into a Bahá’í family in Afus, Isfahan Province, in 1927. In his professional life he worked on a farm in Afus,[1] and in his personal life he was an active member of the Afus Bahá’í community and was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly. He faced persecution due to his beliefs and when he married in 1955 the house his wedding ceremony was being held in was attacked by a mob who threw stones at the building and police had to guard the property in order for the ceremony to proceed.[2]
On June 26, 1981, it was announced at the Afus Mosque that a Judge had ruled that all Bahá’ís in the area were to be taken to the Mosque and ‘Átifí and his brother, Bahman, were taken to the Mosque from their home where they were asked to recant their Faith. They refused to do so and were arrested and taken to a prison in Daran where they were executed by firing squad on September 11, 1981.[2]
After their executions the ‘Átifí's bodies were returned to Afus where they were buried in the Bahá’í cemetery in the presence of their families however Revolutionary Guards oversaw the burial and forbade the use of coffins or the observance of Bahá’í burial laws.[2]
