By Elliot Friedland -
Tayebeh Hosseini is the President of
the Boroujerdi Civil Rights Group. She has been associated with Boroujerdi
Civil Rights Group in the U.S. She was a teacher, and also involved with
Ayatollah Boroujerdi's Organization in Iran before she left her hometown in
2011.
In cooperation with Boroujerdi for
advocating separation of religion from state in Iran, she was arrested twice in
2006 and 2010. She faced tough medieval conditions in prisons in Iran.
Their website is found here. An open letter by Ayatollah
Boroujerdi from prison has been published by Clarion Project.
She graciously agreed to speak with
Clarion Project Research Fellow Elliot Friedland about the Iranian regime, it’s
human rights abuses and her organization’s vision of separation between
religion and state in Iran.
Clarion Project: Your organization
is based on the work of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, a senior Shiite cleric and
supporter of the separation between religion and state currently a prisoner of
conscience in Iran. In what ways do you continue his work?
Tayebeh Hosseini: The Boroujerdi
Civil Rights Group conducts a variety of activities which directly support its
central purpose of advocating, protecting, and supporting the basic civil
rights of religious freedom, freedom of conscience, and the rights of women
globally. We also oppose the religious tyranny and fundamentalism which
interferes with such rights.
Our goal is to create the
opportunity for discussions, cooperation and collaboration of civil rights
leaders, activists and all those interested in promoting the globally important
human rights values. We will also participate in and organize meetings,
conferences, ceremonies and veritable networks. My colleagues and I continue
his work through:
Translation and publishing of some
books and papers against political Islam
and religious violence which is written by Ayatollah Kazemeini Boroujerdi
inside the prison.
Promotion of methods on how to train
people to live in peace with those of different beliefs and tolerate them.
Communication with Human Rights
activists and organizations worldwide to report human rights violence in Iran,
especially the situation of prisoners and those tortured inside prisons as
reported by prisoners and their families.
Media interviews and communication
with journalists and reporters to inform the people about the latest situation
of prisoners of conscience and other victims of human rights violence in
Iran. We also promote Boroujerdi’s viewpoint regarding civil rights, women
rights and other political/social discussions.
Clarion: How did you personally
become involved with your organization? What motivated you to act?
Hosseini: Basically I was a teacher,
so I was in a relationship with many different people in Iran. While
investigating the source of problems and crisis in my country, such as religious
violence, religious dictatorship, extensive violence against women and human
rights, I found that the source of such problems is mixing religion and
politics.
I concluded that secularism is a
primary solution to save our society to achieve freedom, peace, justice and
democracy.
However, in a religious society with
traditionally minded people, secularism was equal to paganism and the people
were not interested in even listening to such concepts.
So I was always thinking if only
religious leaders themselves supported the separation of religion and politics
that would be great opportunity to affect public opinion. That was the reason I
have supported Ayatollah Kazemeini Boroujerdi who was advocating religion
without political approaches: an independent religion in which the people pray
to their God in peace and freedom without government interference.
He had a successful plan in Iranian
society and I was trying to support him as much as I can. So my aim is to
develop such peaceful plans globally and especially in American society where
we have many different people with different beliefs and religious interests.
He was very popular and well known
between followers of various religions, including Christians, Jews,
Zoroastrians, and even atheists, this was unique in Iran. He preached against
religious oppression and the corruption of the clerics in the employ of the
government. He had emphasized to us that “there is no compulsion in religion.”
Then, I learned about his campaign and efforts in exposing the regime’s human
rights violations. I started my activities in organizing seminars and holding
discussion groups and analyzing his sermon and teachings.
Now, as the president of our
organization, I follow up our activities in a formal manner. I also coordinate
his supporters’ activities outside and inside Iran. I directly communicate with
different organizations acting in same way and exchange our experiences and
information with them.
Clarion: What in your eyes is the
single greatest impediment to human rights in Iran?
Hosseini: From my point of view, the
single greatest impediment to human rights in Iran is the Regime: the laws of
the Islamic state which is based on mixing religion and government. This brings
about systematic violence of Human Rights and Civil Rights in Iran and stands
in contrast to freedom and democracy.
Thus the religious leaders have
established a religious dictatorship in which the people are being suppressed,
arrested, jailed, tortured and executed due to their different beliefs and
consciences.
For example, journalists were
detained, often on charges as nebulous as “propaganda against the system,” or
“spreading falsehoods with intent to agitate.” The regime is accuses all
of its opponents of being criminals on charges of “acting against national
security,” “waging against God,” “religious innovation.” Consistent with their
violent laws, they can even execute such innocent people. While these are the
consequences of opposition to the religious state for Muslims, it’s clear what
will happen to the members of religious minorities such as Christians, Jews,
and Baha’is if they want to protest this tyrannical government.
Clarion: What are your strategies to
bring about improvements in the human rights situation in Iran?
Hosseini: To improve the human
rights situation in Iran, we should support and defend secularism, democracy
and freedom of religion and expression. The Boroujerdi Civil Rights Group’s
plan is to train the people for such modern humanitarian values. We should
continue to inform that “the religion is never against human and civil rights.”
Especially for the women, we try to change their mind to convince them that
“since the Lord is kind and has created kindness and justice, so he never send
his messengers by discrimination and violent religious laws.”
We should pressure the Iranian
regime into meeting international standards. In addition, Iranian people need
public diplomacy. In this case, by providing technologies, they can be enabled
to speak freely, the more the Iranian public and the world will be able to hear
their messages, and the better they can assert their views.
While the Iranian regime is deeply
concerned about losing control over information technology and equally concerned
that such measures will provide an avenue for highlighting its arbitrary
practices.
These are what Ayatollah Boroujerdi
believes and acts on accordingly. So we worked out for many years that
religious laws should be updated according to modern human requirements based
on new sciences.
Clarion: Finally, how will the
nuclear deal affect human rights in Iran?
Hosseini: Although nuclear
negotiations with Iran could provide opportunities to utilize diplomacy for
improving Iran’s human rights situation, the subject of human rights was
eliminated from the agenda and negotiations. They just agreed on some
technological points and financial and economic sanctions. So the destiny of
countless prisoners of beliefs and jailed innocent people were not important for
the authorities and they just have considered their economic benefits and
interests.
With a quick glance at the reports
of human rights violations in Iran by international human rights organizations,
the repressive elements within the security and intelligence forces and
the judiciary, have retained wide powers and continued to be the main
perpetrators of rights abuses. Executions have continued. Security and
intelligence forces have arrested journalists, bloggers, and social media
activists, and revolutionary courts handed down heavy sentences against them.
Furthermore, Ayatollah Kazemeni Boroujerdi has faced new charges from the
Special Clerical Court due to publication of his new book since April 2015.
We sincerely believe that the
current deals and the final agreement are not proper to control the regime and
prevent its leaders’ ambitions. They have a theocratic regime and they want to
export their beliefs abroad. And they need superior power to do so.
We never believed in “Agreement OR
War.” We think that there are a lot of other solutions apart of the current
agreement far from violence. For example political sanctions are a simple way
instead of extensive economic ones. If all countries close the regime’s
embassies and consulates and declare that they never recognize them as the
legal government of Iran, will the current religious dictators halt their
military ambitions?
This can also be achieved by global
support for a secular and democratic movement in Iran such as the plan
suggested by Ayatollah Boroujerdi.
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