Bahá'ís in iran are seen as dirty. Iranian muslims believe that if you touch a Bahá'í, you must go wash yourself off, much like the Untouchables in India (which still exist, by the way). The UCLA Bahá'ís hosted Roxana Saberi, an Iranian American journalist who was inprisoned in Iran's Evin prison on false charges of espionage, a few weeks ago to talk about the human rights atrocities going on in the country. The Bahá'í faith began in Iran but they are hated there and feel helpless, especially because five of them were put on trial for terrorism (one of the trials lasted 7 whole minutes) and hung for being Bahá'í. The fact that I can blog about being Bahá'í and can be Bahá'í in the first place, is truly a blessing. We live in a place that freedom of religion and speech is something that is often overlooked and taken for granted. The prisoners' families were not even forewarned about the hangings. Why do we try to SQUISH the independence of others and SUPPRESS everyone's individuality when differences should instead be celebrated?? I feel grateful for the fact that I have the privelage to practice whatever freaking religion I want. The ignorance and intolerance that I see in the media is infuriating. If I am intolerant of anything, it's intolerance.
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