https://insidesources.com/either-islam-or-leave-bahaʼis-are-forced-to-abandon-their-hometown/
Recently, the #Ivelistheirhome hashtag has been trending on Twitter. The story that lies behind this hashtag seems like something that happened in the Puritan era in America or the Middle Ages in Europe. But to experience the same severe religious discrimination in the 21st century seems unbelievable, especially to those in the West.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been torturing, mass killing, confiscating property, and ignoring the basic rights of Baháʼís as Iranian citizens from its very first days.
Ivel, a picturesque village in the heart of Mazandaran province in Iran, has been the home of the Baháʼís, a religious minority in Iran, for many years. Most of these villagers were farmers who owned their fields in addition to a few animals that were necessary for a farm lifestyle.
It was the theBaháʼís [sic] who established the first elementary school in Ivel. Most of the time, they lived in peace with their other Muslim fellow villagers. However sometimes, because of the enmity of the mullahs, Muslim clergymen, and their effect on Muslim villagers’ thoughts, they became victims of religious bias which led to their suffering, including neighbors throwing stones at their houses or calling them filthy names.
In 1979, after the Islamic Revolution, this “from time to time” enmity turned to “always” and became a rule. What did the regime want? They directly told the Baháʼís of Ivel to accept Islam and abandon the Baháʼí faith, or else leave their hometown. As the villagers put it, “Either Islam or Evacuate.”
Hojjat Naimi, an Iranian Baháʼí from Ivel, speaks of the constant threats that led to the confiscation of the Bahais’ houses and their banishment of Ivel.
As he says, “Since the beginning of the 1980s, the harassments have risen significantly to the point that sometimes our houses were stoned all night long. People were brainwashed by the mullahs and they insulted us in any way they could. The threats were increasing day by day. Some of the Muslim villagers who were our relatives told us of what has been said in the mosques by the clergymen and what were their plans for us. One day, through a pre-organized plan, they attacked all the Baháʼís’ houses and told them to either become Muslim or leave the village.”
When the Baháʼís referred to the governor of Mazandaran Province, he told them that this action was illegal. However, when they came back to their village, the attackers emptied a place where they usually took their religious rituals and located them there. They even took all the carpets away because they thought Baháʼís are filthy and anything they touch becomes filthy as well.
There was a stream of water in front of that place, but according to the same belief, they did not even let the Baháʼís drink that water.
Since the regime’s immoderate Islamic groups confronted the Baháʼís resistance, they confiscated thousands of hectares of their fields while they allowed working on the remained ones solely with the permission of the police.
“Ten years ago, in 2011, all their half-abandoned houses were set on fire and more than 50 residential houses were destroyed by bulldozers.”…
Recently, the #Ivelistheirhome hashtag has been trending on Twitter. The story that lies behind this hashtag seems like something that happened in the Puritan era in America or the Middle Ages in Europe. But to experience the same severe religious discrimination in the 21st century seems unbelievable, especially to those in the West.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been torturing, mass killing, confiscating property, and ignoring the basic rights of Baháʼís as Iranian citizens from its very first days.
Ivel, a picturesque village in the heart of Mazandaran province in Iran, has been the home of the Baháʼís, a religious minority in Iran, for many years. Most of these villagers were farmers who owned their fields in addition to a few animals that were necessary for a farm lifestyle.
It was the theBaháʼís [sic] who established the first elementary school in Ivel. Most of the time, they lived in peace with their other Muslim fellow villagers. However sometimes, because of the enmity of the mullahs, Muslim clergymen, and their effect on Muslim villagers’ thoughts, they became victims of religious bias which led to their suffering, including neighbors throwing stones at their houses or calling them filthy names.
In 1979, after the Islamic Revolution, this “from time to time” enmity turned to “always” and became a rule. What did the regime want? They directly told the Baháʼís of Ivel to accept Islam and abandon the Baháʼí faith, or else leave their hometown. As the villagers put it, “Either Islam or Evacuate.”
Hojjat Naimi, an Iranian Baháʼí from Ivel, speaks of the constant threats that led to the confiscation of the Bahais’ houses and their banishment of Ivel.
As he says, “Since the beginning of the 1980s, the harassments have risen significantly to the point that sometimes our houses were stoned all night long. People were brainwashed by the mullahs and they insulted us in any way they could. The threats were increasing day by day. Some of the Muslim villagers who were our relatives told us of what has been said in the mosques by the clergymen and what were their plans for us. One day, through a pre-organized plan, they attacked all the Baháʼís’ houses and told them to either become Muslim or leave the village.”
When the Baháʼís referred to the governor of Mazandaran Province, he told them that this action was illegal. However, when they came back to their village, the attackers emptied a place where they usually took their religious rituals and located them there. They even took all the carpets away because they thought Baháʼís are filthy and anything they touch becomes filthy as well.
There was a stream of water in front of that place, but according to the same belief, they did not even let the Baháʼís drink that water.
Since the regime’s immoderate Islamic groups confronted the Baháʼís resistance, they confiscated thousands of hectares of their fields while they allowed working on the remained ones solely with the permission of the police.
“Ten years ago, in 2011, all their half-abandoned houses were set on fire and more than 50 residential houses were destroyed by bulldozers.”…
