Memorials for Dhabihu’llah Mahrami
Written by ry on January 9th, 2006Both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune (registration required) are running stories about the memorial service for Dhabihu’llah Mahrami held at the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette. Mahrami’s death last month in an Iranian jail where he was being held on charges of apostasy (abandoning Islam) brought international attention to the ongoing persecution of Baha’is in Iran. From the Tribune:
For more than 10 years, prisoner Dhabihu’llah Mahrami was offered opportunities to live as a free man in Iran. All he had to do was disavow his Baha’i Faith. But every time his jailers asked him to recant, international Baha’i leaders say, the prisoner refused.
Mahrami died of unknown causes on Dec. 15, still behind bars in Yazd, Iran. Days later, Baha’i leadership pronounced him a martyr–a hallowed title bestowed by a religious movement that has endured persistent persecution since its birth in Iran 150 years ago.
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Mahrami’s death–condemned by the U.S. State Department–rekindles concerns that another wave of persecution is on the rise under Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Other communities around the US (and I’m sure around the world as well) are continuing to hold memorials, with one yesterday in Sioux City and another one coming up this friday in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Even if your community isn’t holding one, you might want to take a moment to remember Mr. Mahrami in your prayers. Especially if you’re somewhere where your religious beliefs aren’t going to land you in prison for the rest of your life.
For those of us who came into the Baha'i Faith through the ever popular 
