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Friday
April 13, 2001

Saved Persepolis, but not Bahais

Ms. Amini's letter, "Saving Persepolis", brings all patriotic Iranians a great sense of joy to know of the numerous countrymen who care so much about our heritage. The Iranian nation is most grateful to people who courageously stood up to akhoonds and leftists to save our symbol of greatness.

We must also remember Reza Shah the Great who restored our appreciation in that glorious yet forgotten part of our history.

After reading about Mr. Nosratollah Amini's act of courage I was so overwhelmed by pride. But that did not last very long. Once again, I was reminded how our National Front compatriots only reminisce the of part of history that they want us to remember.

As an Iranian with Bahai relatives, I was reminded that in the first year of the revolution, Khalkhali and his gang of uncultured criminals destroyed a sacred Bahai shrine in Shiraz. Shiraz is the birthplace of Bab, one of the Bahai prophets. The Bahais had preserved his birthplace and it had been a shrine visited by Bahais from all over the world. It is one of their most sacred sites.

During the fifty plus years of Pahlavi rule, people were allowed to freely visit the shrine. Within months after the victory of the 78-79 Revolution, when most important positions of the land were in the hands of National Front leaders, the House was demolished to the ground. In fact, Fars is the province where Bahais were the earliest victims of the religious pogroms of the revolutionaries.

Mr. Amini, a nationalist, did not care to protect the rights of other religions. National Front leaders never showed any courage to save the lives of people associated with the Shah or members of Bahai Faith. This is in sharp contrast to the record of Reza Khan. Reza Khan, later Reza Shah, built the foundation of a moden state and allowed many Qajar courtiers and religious minorities participate in serving our Iran.

My grandfather recalls the painful time growing up in Tehran, during Ashurah and other religious anniversaries, their house would be bombarded by stone throwers. They were constantly in fear of their life in Teheran. In the provinces the situation was much worse. In Sangsar, the Bahais were trapped in the city and fought against the genocidal mollas who were inciting hatred.

However, when Reza Khan gained power, he protected all Iranians against fundamentalist violence. He restored peace and dignity to all people.

I thank Mr. Amini and those who showed courage to save the precious historical sites at Persepolis. But their courage was only half-hearted or very selective. Reza Shah is a national hero who deserves to be commended for his uncompromising courage.

H. Michael Jalili

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