THE news of the murder of Ataullah Rezvani has brought us profound grief. This heinous act fills every heart with sadness and revulsion, and the perpetrators of this outrageous crime and those who ordered it stand condemned by all human standards.
Those who, in the name of religion and for personal gain and ambition, seek to sow the seeds of hatred and division and who, with words and actions aimed at incitement, make such a crime possible also bear responsibility and carry a heavy burden for this dreadful deed. Ataullah Rezvani’s highest desire was to serve his native land and the world of humanity. His life was dedicated to love and friendship towards all, and in his daily interactions he strove to reflect every human virtue. The murder of a well-known Baha’i should be treated as a hate crime and must be investigated immediately, says the Baha’i International Community.
“There is little doubt that the killing of Mr Ataullah Rezvani was motivated by religious prejudice,” says Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “Therefore, it is essential that the government at the highest levels investigate this without delay under its international obligations. In recent years, clerics and the authorities in Iran have sought to create an atmosphere of anti-Baha’i hatred, using the pulpit and state-sponsored media. The newly instituted government of President Hassan Rouhani now has a clear choice. It can continue as his predecessors have, allowing such incidents to take place with impunity, indicating to the world that nothing has changed. Or it can show the world that it is committed to upholding justice and human rights for all Iranians.”
Reports from Iran indicate that Mr Rezvani was shot in the back of the head, by assailants who apparently forced him to drive to a isolated location near the railway station on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas. His body was discovered after he failed to return home. Mr Rezvani was well known as a Baha’i and was loved and respected by the people of Bandar Abbas, Iran, for his honesty and helpfulness. As a young man, he was expelled from his engineering studies at university because he was a Baha’i. He was regarded as an expert in water purification, and his work took him to other cities. Recently, owing to pressure and threats from agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, he was dismissed from his work and had to resort to selling water purification equipment.
He was murdered on 27 August 2013 due to the fact that he was a Baha’i. It is hard to believe that in the 21st century, individuals are still persecuted only because of their religious beliefs. This is what is happening to the Baha’is in Iran, a persecution that has intensified since the 1979 Islamic revolution in the country.
Iranian Baha’is until today are discriminated against, are not allowed to attend tertiary education, are not eligible for pension, cannot work for government, their shops and businesses are vandalized, the children are mocked by teachers and students in schools and are even murdered without any sympathy or protection from the government.
It is totally against the principle of human rights protection that we as Namibians have enshrined in our constitution, which we dearly cherish. We therefore condemn this kind of action in Iran or any other country in the world where people are not allowed to practise their religion in peace and without any threats. This kind of unfair discrimination reminds us of Namibia’s own apartheid past where people were discriminated against and treated wrongly due to their race. Humanity must move on from these kinds of prejudices and treat each other with dignity and respect, no matter what one’s religion, gender, race or social status happens to be, and live in harmony.
The Baha’i faith is an independent religion that originated from Iran, and is now spread all around the world. Its main principles are the oneness of God, the oneness of all the religions and the oneness of all humankind.
• Issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Namibia