ALL ARE WELCOME
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We’re writing you because seven of our dearly loved Baha’i brothers and sisters in Iran are in grave danger, and possibly face execution. They have been held in Tehran’s Evin prison for over a year with no access to their lawyer, Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi. Their crime: being Baha’is.
7 Baha'i Leaders imprisoned in Iran
The US State Department, the UK Foreign Office Minister, Amnesty International and others have roundly condemned the imprisonment and trial of the Baha’is: http://iran.bahai.us.
Support from our Congresspersons
On February 13th, 2009, a bill was introduced in Congress, H. Res. 175, “Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Bahá’í minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.” Our Congressman, Adam Schiff, supports it. S. Res. 71, a concurrent resolution to H. Res. 175 regarding the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, was introduced into the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2009, receiving support from our Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
Why should you care?
The Baha’i Faith is a peaceful religion that seeks to promote the unity of mankind. Our principles are in alignment with American values: http://www.bahai.org.
We may be small in number (about 6MM worldwide), but we are spread out across almost every country in the world and are trying to be of service to humanity. Baha’is have been in Pasadena since the early 20th century.
We need your help
You were probably unaware our situation until now, but we need advocates beyond the Baha’i Community:
- Please let your friends, neighbors, and coworkers know about our situation. Share this video with them: http://vimeo.com/5548864
- Come meet us on Wednesday, August 12th at the Western Justice Center (55 S. Grand Ave., Pasadena 91105). Attending and/or speaking will be US Congressman Adam Schiff, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Police Chief Bernard Melikian, and the Hon. Dorothy Nelson, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Your friends and neighbors,
The Baha’is of Pasadena, California
Pasadena Baha'i Community Blog 
One of the prisoners, Fariba Kamalabadi, has a brother that lives nearby. He will also be there to add a personal element to this story… I look forward to seeing you all on the 12th.
Hard to know what one can say, so incredible this situation is when we live in freedom. Please attend in show of support.
Wednesday evening Congressman Schiff mentioned a book he was reading. I called his office to find out more. The book is Guests of the Ayatollah : the first battle in America’s war with militant Islam / Mark Bowden.
It is available at the public library!
Wonderful evening; thank you to all who were part of its success.
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