Bojnourd
| بجنورد Bojnourd | ||
|---|---|---|
| City in Iran | ||
| Location of Bojnourd
|
||
| History: Firsts |
||
| - | Local Assembly | 1924 |
 Related media
|
||
Bojnourd is the capital city of Iran's North Khorasan Province.
History[edit]
A notable early Bahá’í of Bojnourd was Ihtisham ud-Dawlih who worked as the Foreign Office agent of the city and became a Bahá’í in 1917.[1] The Local Spiritual Assembly of Bojnourd was established in 1924 representing the culmination of years of teaching efforts,[2][3] however it disbanded at some point and had to be re-established in 1938.[4]
In 1944 violence against the Bahá’í community broke out in Bojnourd with rocks Bahá’ís being physically attacked and having rocks thrown at them, three Bahá’ís were beaten to the point of paralyzation in the cities Bazaar, and Bahá’ís had to temporarily close down their businesses as a result of the violence.[5] The situation was reported to the police and local government authorities however no action was taken, prompting the Bahá’ís of the city to write to the Prime Minister,[6] resulting in the local authorities being ordered to restore peace,[7] and the Prime Minister directing the Governor to give the matter his full attention.[8] As a result an individual identified as instigating the religiously motivated violence in Bojnourd was exiled from the city.[9]
In 1966 Dr. Ghodratollah Vosough, a Bahá’í serving as the head of Health Services for the Department of Education in Bojnourd, and Ahmad Shams who was working as an elementery school teacher in the city were dismissed from their positions because they were Bahá’ís.[10][11]
The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran saw a wide scale intensification of persecution of the Bahá’í community. In February 1979 the Bahá’ís of Bojnourd submitted a joint letter to the Revolutionary authorities of the city expressing their obedience to the government,[12] and in September the community conveyed a letter to the Prime Minister expressing dismay that the House of the Báb in Shiraz had been destroyed requesting that the government cease its oppression of the Bahá’ís.[13]
In 1982 a Bahá’í in Bojnourd was dismissed from their job due to their religion,[14] and on September 25, 1983, Manúchihr Rúhí, a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly, was arrested and imprisoned and seven other members of the Assembly were arrested in the following two days. Rúhí was executed by firing squad on August 16, 1984 and his body was returned to his family, but Revolutionary Guards attended the funeral to ensure he was not buried in a coffin and that Bahá’í burial law could not be observed.[15]
Persecution has continued to the present with Shayan Sanaie a Bahá’í student studying at University in Bojnourd being expelled in 2010 due to his religion,[16] and Shayan, his mother, and his brother being arrested in July 2022.[17] The Sanaei's religious literature, some of their belongings, their laptops and their phones were confiscated, and another Bahá’ís home was also searched with religious literature being seized from it.[18] The Sanaie's relatives were not informed of their whereabouts for a week after their arrest however they were released on bail in August, 2022.[19]
References[edit]
- ↑ Moojan Momen, The Baha'i Communities of Iran 1851-1921, Volume 1, George Ronald: Oxford, 2015, p 173
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol. 15, p 142
- ↑ Moojan Momen, The Baha'i Communities of Iran 1851-1921, Volume 1, George Ronald: Oxford, 2015, p 137
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1939). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 7 (1936-1938), Pg(s) 144. View as PDF.
- ↑ Complaint to Prime Minister about attacks on Baha'is in Bojnourd at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Bahai's of Bojnourd appeal to Prime Minister to stop attacks on Bahai's in the city at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Sharing views on tackling religious unrest at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Harassing Baha'is in Bojnourd at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Hosein Naghash has been exiled from Bojnourd at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Instruction to dismiss Dr Ghodratollah Vosough, Head of Health Services for Education Institutes of Bojnord at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Letter from Habibollah Hasani to Khorasan court about expulsion of Baha’is at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Letter from the Baha’i community of Bojnourd to the Revolutionary Committee at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Letter from the Baha’i community of Bojnourd to Prime Minister: Stop destruction of the House of the Bab at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Ghasem Pourghasemi dismissed from work at Ministry of Oil in Bojnourd at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Manouchehr Ruhi at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Shayan Sanaei expelled from university at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ Three Baha'is arrested in Bojnourd at iranbahaiperrsecution.bic.org
- ↑ BIC: Persecution of Baha’is in Iran intensifies for second month in a row at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
- ↑ HRANA: Three Baha’i citizens released on bail in Bojnourd at iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
