To understand the uhj's playing to the NGO community, a further
instance of its subtle involvement in politics, see its use of Marxist
historian Eric
Hobsbawm cited in The Century of Light.
---- Original Message -----
Newsgroups: talk.religion.bahai,soc.culture.iranian
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 10:03 PM
Subject: NITV's baha'is
> This is a repost.
>
> Note:
>
> Sabet Imani (Vice President) is a Baha'i. HOW CAN A BAHA'I BE
> OPENLY INVOLVED IN POLITICS AS TO HAVE FINANCIAL SHARES IN A
> PRO-MONARCHIST TV STATION ? ? ? ! ! ! [ in Los
Angeles broadcasting to Iran ]
>
> Mojdeh Habibi (news anchorwoman) is a Baha'i
>
> Dr Leila Hashemi (Psychologist) is a Baha'i
>
> Parviz Nazerian is a Baha'i
>
> Mitra Rashidi is a Baha'i. Homa Mahmoudi has now left NITV.
No response has ever been given to this letter instead Patrick O'Holy
Kohli has offered misdirected obfuscation and non sequitors without
answering the key question _why_ baha'is have been involving
themselves in partisan politics that includes a stated platform to
overthrow the government and regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran
when they claim neutrality, while a baha'i like Abdulhamid Taheri in
Perth, WA is threatened, sanctioned and his life disrupted by the nsa
of Australia for merely reading Persian poetry on a local cable access
channel? Can Holy Kholi address this without making himself and his
cult look ridiculous? Probably not.
Note Homa Mahmoudi has since moved from NITV but has been replaced by
Mitra Rashidi. Also, all the current news broadcasters of NITV are all
Iranian baha'is. Zia Atabay (whose brother has been personal secretary
to the office of Farah Diba Pahlavi) is also related to baha'is.
--
I would like to draw the attention of my fellow compatriots as well as
average rank-and-file Baha'is to an issue which I believe beautifully
underscores the blatant public hypocrisy and power mongering of Baha'i
officials and those who are connected to them, and why especially
non-aligned Iranians should be ever heedful of wools being pulled over
their eyes by the PR machine of the Baha'i administration. To begin with, it
is a well known (or, rather, well claimed) principle of the Baha'i faith
that sectarian political involvement of any sort is to be shunned and is
therefore categorically prohibited to Baha'is. While this principle
has not always been meticulously adhered to either by officials or those
connected to them (i.e. Sabet, Yazdani, Ayadi, et al), nevertheless it is an
issue which has been used repeatedly to either sanction or strong-arm less
well connected (and average) Baha'is by the Baha'i leadership into
compliance with its dictates.
Recently Ms Homa Mahmudi has been a regular commentator on and
contributor to the satellite opposition Iranian Television
broadcasting station NITV. The station itself, its broadcasts or its specific slant
or political views are not an issue for me, as I sometimes watch it
myself as well as include myself firmly within the camp of opposition to the
illegitimate fascist totalitarian Islamist regime in Tehran which I hope will be
toppled in short order. However I am not a Baha'i, but Homa Mahmudi is! The
specific issue in question relates to --and one which in due time I will
disclose the full details relating thereunto to SCI, TRB and other Iranian
groups and boards on the internet -- the double standards regularly employed
by Baha'i officials to dupe a non-Baha'i public audience, on the one hand;
and the authoritarian bullying of average individual Baha'is internally who
sincerely engage in association and fellowship with other Iranians who
are non-aligned, locally and on a smaller scale, in no different terms
than what Ms Mahmoudi is doing herself in LA, on the other. Baha'i officials
regularly admonish rank-and-file Baha'is to keep far and away from their compatriots, but
then actively seek celebrity status in the name of the Baha'i faith to
advance some dubious agenda of their own within the larger Iranian community.
That said, it has been claimed for two decades now by Baha'i officials
that any overt acts of alignment or fellowship with various non-Baha'i groups
with stated political platforms will have adverse repercussions for the
Baha'is of Iran. To any unbiased observer, Homa Mahmudi's activities
in any capacity on the NITV network do just that -- it also gives the lie
away and a useful weapon to the IR itself to use against the Baha'is inside
Iran --and as such it is highly irresponsible of the Baha'i leadership
at this time to be foisting Ms Mahmudi on the NITV network and upon the
larger Iranian community, given the potential fallout such activities will
most definitely have for their co-religionists back home. Rank-and-file
Baha'is have been sanctioned and humiliated by the Baha'i leadership for far
less than what Ms Mahmudi is being led to do right now representing
the Baha'i leadership as she is on NITV.
Of course I am most delighted that this revelation about Baha'i AO
officiocratic involvement with the pro-monarchist NITV has now come
out into the full light of day. This places the Baha'i AO's cards firmly
on the table on where they actually stand regarding the future of my
homeland. So now let me ask them the following:
1) Who negotiated with NITV to have this program? Such programs do not
appear out of thin air. There are always legal/contractual processes
involved in the finalization of such things long before they are
aired.
2) Who decided that the monarchists should be given preferential
treatment over other opposition groups?
3) On what grounds did Zia Atabai grant them permission to air a
program on
the Baha'i faith on their station, and what are the trade offs?
4) Given this, is it not therefore possible to speculate (as it has
been by Islamists) that are ties between the Israeli government, Iranian Jews
in LA, Iranian Jewish producers in LA (who direct NITV) and the AO mob
obviously in charge of promoting this program?
Arguably the people who made this decision are the old time moneyed
Nouveau Riche Baha'i hacks of Pahlavi era yore who enjoyed unlimited
priviliges under the Pahlavi regime (namely Shapour Rassekh, Iraj Ayman, Farhang
Holaaku'i, and others). At this time from the numerous feeback I and
others have recieved privately over this there are clear signs of discomfort
and disenchantment amongst many Iranian Baha'is of an even conservative
bent over this program and its forum. This shows that the AO is not only
out on left field, as usual, but also completely out of touch with many among
its own core political constituents.
Clearly, at this point, it seems the dominant clique inside the Baha'i
religion who are pulling the strings are longing for a repeat of the
good old days under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi: actions which ultimately
cost the Baha'i community heavily and dearly under the Khomeinists and was the
basis upon which many innocent, average Baha'is suffered persecution by that
regime. At this time, there doesn't seem to be any guarantees that
should Reza Pahlavi be installed as monarch (constitutional or otherwise) the
Baha'i AO would not support another Hojabr Yazdani, Dr Ayadi or Habib
Sabet from cooperating with the Pahlavi mob. Their current behavior and
their relationship with NITV currently demonstrates otherwise. So I frankly
ask the Baha'i leadership the following (since they are obviously reading
this):
1) Do you believe in the democratic form of government?
2) Do you believe in the separation of religion and the state?
3) Do you believe in self-determination and independence for Iran?
4) What lessons have you learnt from the last Revolution?
5) What do you truly think of the activities of Habib Sabet, Hojabr
Yazdani and Dr Ayadi and co under the last Pahlavi regime before the
Revolution?
6) What is your attitude to an individual Baha'i having a program on,
let us say for the sake of argument, a network run by the Iranian Communist
Party, the National Front or even the MKO?
I look forward to the Baha'i administration's official response
regarding all (not some but ALL) of these questions.
--
Freethought110 - Nima Hazini
----- Original Message -----
Newsgroups: talk.religion.bahai,soc.culture.iranian
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 7:32 PM
Subject: baha'is backpeddle on NITV
Recently one baha'i internet agent said to another regarding NITV:
"Dear Paul,
I think if Nima had done his homework he would have found that
none
of the
Baha'is involved in this network are really active in the Baha'i
community in
any case. They are mostly Baha'is in name only.
warmest, Susan"
LOL
First they deny there is a program. Then they deny that there is
anything wrong with baha'is participating on NITV as well as denying
that Zia Atabay's station is political or until recently allied to the
cause of Reza Pahlavi. Now the story changes that those baha'is
participant on NITV aren't actually active or good baha'is at all.
Obviously the baha'i authorities have no coherent response to the
questions about their participation on NITV while having us believe at
the same time that it is not political. I guess following this train
of logic, NITV wasn't instrumental (among other forces) in leading the
recent student protests. The IRI hasn't complained about NITV and
Fidel Castro's Cuba hasn't actually blocked it's signals. No. These
are figments of our imagination, or so the baha'i authorities (via
their internet agents) would have us believe.
It would certainly be news to both Homa Mahmoudi and Mitra Rashidi -
who both have hosted overtly baha'i programs on NITV and as far as I
am aware are both still active baha'is - that somehow they are not
good baha'is or active anymore and baha'i in name only. Mitra Rashidi
activily promoted baha'ism on her show, and she invited baha'i guests
to promote the religion on this show, all the guests whom are noted
active Iranian baha'is living in the Los Angeles area and not just in
name only, such as the painter (Golestaneh?) who exhibited her
painting representing baha'i martyrs earlier in the year. No folks.
None of this really happened. Mitra Rashidi, Homa Mahmoudi, the baha'i
programs and those baha'i crew of NITV are figments of our
imagination. They are not *really* baha'is. They don't really exist.
They are computer generated animations. Technological fictions, no
less, albeit they walk among us in the real world and identify
themselves as baha'is in the *real world*. This, dear compatriots, is
the world of baha'i spin!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Freethought110" <freethought110@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: talk.religion.bahai,soc.culture.iranian
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2003 1:48 AM
Subject: NITV, baha'is & Australia
It has been brought to my attention that a certain Mr Jamshid
Fanayan
has been deputized by the national spiritual assembly of the baha'is
of Australia (nsa) to call the Iranian baha'is throughout the country
and discuss with them the thorny, embarrassing issue which the
opposition satellite station NITV has become for the fascist baha'i
administration. This issue had been a hot topic as recently as the
last baha'i national convention in April this year. It seems that many
baha'is both in Australia as well the United States have been
intensely questioning their baha'i representatives about the overtly
political nature of baha'i involvement on this - until recently -
overtly pro-monarchist statellite station. Mr Fanayan, as scripted by
the politiburo of the baha'is - its Stalinist AO based in and serving
the masters of Zionist occupied Palestine -, has been arguing that the
involvement of baha'is is not political due to the fact that news
anchoring and interviewing is harmless and does not ipso facto
constitute political involvement per se. This is overt obfuscation and
a case of unbelievable spin-doctoring and outright deception and goes
completely against the grain of what Dr Maniac - the most prominent
agent of the baha'i cult on the internet - argued until recently,
saying that those baha'is on NITV are really inactive and baha'is in
name only. It also goes against the established fact that Mr Sabet
Imani, a long time baha'i and a very active member of the Los Angeles
baha'i community, holds, I have been told on very reliable authority,
close to a 50% share in the ownership of NITV. He and Zia Atabai are
business partners in the NITV venture. Yet Mr Fanayan has been silent
about this fact in his telephone "goh khordan" conversations
with the
Iranian baha'is whom he has been calling around the clock recently.
In this conversation, as a face-saving measure for the corrupt AO and
its actions, Mr Fanayan point-blank admitted that 1) political
non-involvement was a specifically ad hoc measure introduced by Abbas
Effendi Abdul-Baha (d.1921) during the last stages of the 1905-09
Constitutional Revolution when the imperialist powers Britain and
Russia intruded in the process of Iran's politics, as well as due to
Azali and Islamist enmity towards baha'is, and so therefore Abbas
Effendi Abdul-Baha had urged baha'is to pull themselves out of Iran's
politics and remain neutral for that time only. It was indeed the
demented authoritarian grandson of Abbas Effendi Abdul-Baha, Shohgi
Effendi Rabbani, who apparently misunderstood the issue and made this
principle into an immutable baha'i teaching. Interesingly historian
Juan Cole has been arguing this same point, and establishing
documentary evidence to that effect, since the early 90s. Yet he was
targetted, bullied and blacklisted by the fascist baha'i
administration for saying it. This proves that when it suits these
hypocritical two-faced fascist Stalinists they will use the arguments
of their own enemies to extricate themselves out of any embarrassing
situation which they have put themselves in. 2) Unbelievably Mr
Fanayan has also point blank stated that baha'is were heavily involved
in politics during the Shah's regime, held high positions in the civil
service and - wait for it! - even ___held administrative posts in the
Shah's secret police, the SAVAK__. This is the same SAVAK that was
trained and established by the CIA and MOSSAD, and the same SAVAK
which exercised the, until then, the most brutal methods of torture
out of all the secret police agencies of any Mid East regime at the
time. Mr Fanayan mentioned this because he wished to emphasize the
fact that political non-involvement vis-a-vis baha'is is a moot point
and no longer relevant. But we already knew that, but no one has
bothered to tell that to Stephen Hall who disenrolled Abdulhamid
Taheri for reading the poetries of Rumi and Parvin Ete'sam on a local
cable program in Perth, WA. Nor has anyone bothered to mention this to
the uhj and various national baha'i assemblies who prohibit
rank-and-file baha'is from joining any human rights organization or
peace groups on the basis that they are political, let alone get
involved in outright political causes. Obviously, as always, Mr
Jamshid Fanayan is merely articulating the well established doctrine
of "two truths" and "two standards" which is the
preeminent doctrine
exercised by the baha'i administration.
Following from this, as of last month the Australian satelitte company
which has carried NITV from its inception, without explanation or
reason to any of its subscribers, cancelled its subscription to NITV,
and so as of August NITV is no longer carried by any satellite network
in Australia. The rumours which have circulated amongst Iranians of
all walks in Australia is that this was the work of the IRI. However,
I believe this is rubbish, absolutely not the case and that the IRI
would have more reason to come to an arrangement to have NITV
cancelled in the US, Canada or Europe rather than Australia. Rather,
given the frentic pace by which the baha'i authorities are trying to
allay the grilling questions directed at them about baha'i involvement
on NITV daily, it would make more sense and appear that the blame lays
squarely at the feet of baha'i administration itself who have possibly
come to an arrangement and thus paid off this company to cancel NITV
on this continent. This, because publicity about baha'i involvement in
NITV was exposed from Australia by myself and not in the US, Canada,
Europe, or the Mid East, but Australia. Obviously the ao is
increasingly becoming more and more desperate as more and more of its
dirty laundary is being exposed, and more and more it is revealed just
what kind of organization the haifan baha'i cult is running,
especially given the exposure of baha'i Mai Pederson and her career as
a spook for Uncle Sam.
So, given all this, I would ask my fellow compatriots in Australia who
are pissed off that their satellite company cancelled NITV without
explanation, to more appropriately direct their questions from now on
to the baha'i authorities in this country, for it would seem they (not
the IRI) has more stake and reason to see this program be cancelled
and not covered in Australia.
Kosh peesh!
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