Iranian Authorities Ban Newspaper For Baha’i Temple Picture

Iranian authorities have banned the country’s largest-circulation newspaper for publishing a photo of a Baha’i temple, state media reported Monday. Iran’s Shiite cleric-led regime views the Baha’i religion as heretical and has banned it since the 1979 revolution. The photo also gave Iran’s leaders an opportunity to silence the Hamshahri daily…Hamshahri was ordered closed by the Press Supervisory Board, a government agency run by hard-liners, for printing an advertisement containing a photo of a Baha’i temple that encourages tourists to visit the shrine, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Source: Associated Press

Baha’i Musician Imprisoned In Iran

I am concerned to learn that a Baha’i musician has been wrongfully imprisoned in Iran.

Behnam Rohani-Fard, a Bahai Musician and composer  who had resided in Tehran for some time traveled to the city of Yazd to participate in the mourning ceremony arranged for one of his family members.  In the morning hours of Monday, October 12, Mr. Rohani-Fard was detained by Intelligence agents while driving in his private car; he was taken to an undisclosed location.

In repeated follow-ups made by Mr. Rohani-Fard’s wife, she was told that her husband would be released in one week and his detention was related to his change of residence, as well as chanting religious Bahai songs. 

Readers are reminded that Mr. Rohani-Fard was a target of investigation by agents from the Intelligence Ministry in March 20 of this year.  During the investigation, Mr. Rohani-Fard’s computer and some of his personal effects were confiscated.  The agents carried a search warrant and an issued sentencing for a one-year suspended jail term, effective for the next four years.

Source:http://iranian.com/main/blog/faryarm/music-and-arrest-bahai-musician-behnam-rohani-fard

Minoo’s Recipe For ‘Khoresht-e-aloo va esfenaj’

‘Khoresht-e-aloo va esfenaj’ or Persian spinach and dried plum stew is another popular dish in the Beech household. This recipe should serve 4-5 people.

Ingredients

• 750 g lamb chopped into cubes
• 750 g fresh spinach
• 2 chopped large onions
• 12-15 dried plums
• Salt
• 1 ½ cups of split peas
• 3-4 cups of water

Instructions

1. Boil split peas separately until almost soft
2. Fry the lamb, onions and dried plums in a medium pan over a moderate heat until they turn golden-brown, adding salt to taste.
3. Add 3-4 cups of water, add split peas, put lid on pan and simmer for c. 25 minutes
4. Add spinach and simmer for a further 15 minutes
5. Serve with Persian-style white rice

Baha’i Abducted And Tortured In Shiraz

In a case of shocking brutality a member of Shiraz’s Baha’i community has been abducted and tortured.

According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mr. Rouh’u’llah Rezaie, a 45-year-old Baha’i in Shiraz, was stopped, kidnapped, and moved to an unknown place as he was returning home, to his wife and child, from a gas station early in the morning on 8/8/1388 [October 27,2009]. There, he was threatened, insulted, and subjected to a simulated hanging in a show-execution. He was left naked in extreme cold, and different parts of his hands, chest, and forehead were burnt by cigarettes. Finally, he was released on a road in the suburbs of Shiraz.

Source: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/5272