In a telephone conversation I had with my mother about a year ago, she told me that not even Baha'i children are immune from persecution. Later, she wrote in a letter: " ...It is unbelievable that human beings could even think of pressuring innocent children of such tender age in the way the people in the schools of Iran are doing at this time.

children are facing such inhuman afflictions.

Thousands of Baha'i

Most of them are very studious,

are more knowledgeable than other children of their age. Many people, including their teachers look at them with awe. The enemies of the Baha'i Faith do not deny that the Baha'i children are generally much more advanced than their fellow classmates, but they are not pleased with this fact. Sometimes it happens that when government authorities complain about the Baha'is, they cite as examples the actions of our little ones and how they stand up to the insults from their Muslim teachers and fellow pupils."

What do these children do that make them deserve these pressures? Baha'i children know their Islamic religious lessons better than all their fellow students. They can read the Quran and interpret it better than their Muslim counterparts, sometimes even better than their teachers. highest marks in Islamic religious study are given to the Baha'i children. Their teachers are frequently surprised, but at the same time they are extremely resentful.

Most

The

Baha'i children with such intelligence, understanding and knowledge are not favored by the ideologue in the Ministry of Education. According to them, such children should be "guided to the right path." It is certain that this ministry has adopted a detailed and menacing plan to brainwash the Baha'i children. We have so much evidence of such a plan. It is

surprising to note that the authorities of the present regime are spending so much time, energy and money to prepare themselves on ways to confront our young children. It is not uncommon for two or three instructors of religious classes or trained ideologists of the Ministry of Education as well as a number of students, to join forces and suddenly attack a Baha'i child of ten or eleven years. With all their power they try to shatter the very foundations of his beliefs. They will argue with him for hours and even use unfair methods to "guide" him.

"The other day, I went to visit a Baha'i child, eleven years old, whom I had heard had developed severe headaches. I asked him to relate his experience. He told me that his teacher had begun a barrage of insults and calumnies against the Faith he did not passively accept these insults

the teacher became speechless

he gave impressive responses this delighted the other children, who applauded and cried "hurrah!" for him. The teacher became angrier and left the classroom and consulted with two other teachers, who came to rescue. They argued and threatened and abused him and took him to a room, gave him a booklet which was written against the Faith, and compelled him to write repeatedly from this booklet certain sentences which attacked the Faith in offensive language. This punishment became so great that he developed severe headaches which the doctor said were caused by nervous pressure.

teachers with the support and blessings of the people and the government and on the other side an eleven year old Baha'i youth!"

In another letter my mother wrote that in Yazd, over one hundred Baha'i children have been expelled from their schools because they are Baha'is and since they attain highest marks and are known for their exemplary conduct, the people of Yazd are asking: "Why should the best be expelled?"

These were only a few instances of the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran that have affected my life personally. Our one-hundred-and-thirty-eight

year history is filled with unspeakable cruelties and atrocities against the Baha'i community. But, there is a difference. This time, we have a well-planned case of genocide, whereas previously the Moslem clergy and the government authorities ordered the slaughter of the Baha'is and the pillage of their property with pride. They did not hide the fact that we were being persecuted because of our beliefs. Those who carried out these orders did so to "buy" themselves a "favor" in the sight of God and, for the most part, left the families and the properties of their victims alone. Today, they kill and persecute us for the same reason, but officially charge us with outrageously false misdeeds that even the non-Baha'is do not

believe.

Mr. BONKER. Thank you very much.

History and statistics really help to build a case, but the human element, which you have offered this subcommittee with eloquent testimony, really helps in our efforts in investigating more fully that situation and trying to bring Government policy to bear upon the tragic situation that exists in Iran today.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Mitchell.

I think the subcommittee record should note the presence of Congressman Leach, who is the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, and is supporting our efforts to conduct these hearings. STATEMENT OF GLENFORD MITCHELL, SECRETARY, NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA'IS OF THE UNITED STATES Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Glenford E. Mitchell. I am secretary and chief executive officer of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, the supreme administrative body of the Baha'is in this country. The U.S.-Baha'i community has been in existence for more than 80 years. Its beginnings date back to the Columbian Exposition of 1893, at which event in Chicago the name and essential teachings of Baha'u'llah the, prophet-founder of the Baha'i faith, were first brought to public notice in the United States. Although the Baha'i faith originated in Iran, this community was established through

the initiative of Americans and not through Iranian missionary activity.

The vast majority of the community's 100,000 members are native Americans drawn from every State of the Union, from every walk of life, and from a wide spectrum of ethnic backgrounds. For example, blacks constitute some 30 to 35 percent of the American Baha'i population, and more than 50 Indian tribes are represented in the community. Iranians make up no more than 8 percent of the membership, and the majority of those arrived here in the United States in the last 3 years as the persecution of the Baha'is intensified in their homeland.

The spiritual heart of the American Baha'i community is the world famous Baha'i House of Worship situated on the shores of Lake Michigan north of Chicago. This outstanding Illinois landmark was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Our community has always been dedicated to the principle of the unity of mankind, to international peace, to respect for all religions and for all peoples, to the corelative value of science and religion, and to the solution of human problems through consultation rather than through the use of force.

Those of us imbued with Baha'i principles of world unity are ever conscious of the Iranian origins of our religion. Baha'i scripture assigns to Americans a distinctive role toward the establishment of world peace. Because the U.S. Baha'i community is connected historically and spiritually with Iran, we have a grave concern for the fate of our long-suffering Iranian brothers and sisters who for 138 years have made incalculable sacrifices of comfort and of life itself for beliefs we hold dear. Over the last 3 years our national assembly has been under constant pressure from the members of the community who have urged the assembly to protest the horrible treatment meted out to their Iranian brethren.

It should be noted that the Iranian Baha'i community has not requested us to do anything on its behalf. It is in response to the letters, telegrams, telephone calls, and personal appeals of the American Baha'is and in response to its own sense of grief that the National Assembly has attempted to bring the heartbreaking story of the persecutions to the press and to our Government.

At times, Mr. Chairman, our Assembly has been so pressured by the acute distress of the American Baha'is that it has advised them to write to Congress.

Mr. BONKER. I got the message. [Laughter.]

Mr. MITCHELL. It is not our practice to demonstrate in public. Rather, we make appeals to the conscience of our fellow citizens and to those in authority. But the gruesome and unending lengths of the attacks on Iranian Baha'is push us to make a public issue of their suffering.

The takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Iran in 1979 reduced at that time our possibilities to act on behalf of the Iranian Baha'is. Not wishing to exacerbate the problems for our Government, we refrained from making public statements, yet it was precisely during the period of the hostage crisis that the persecution of the Iranian Baha'is entered a new and ominous stage. A move to eliminate the Baha'i leadership was launched and has continued unabated. Since the return of the American hostages we have redoubled our efforts

to inform the public and government concerning the worsening situation.

Mr. Chairman, we openly state that many helpful responses have come from the Members of Congress. We thank both Congressmen and Senators for their efforts to relieve the grief of the hardpressed Iranian Baha'is through their outspoken and recorded statements, their letters to the Iranian Government, their conferences with Iranian officials, and through their proposed resolutions. While we feel they could do more, the mass media have given significant publicity to the crisis facing the Baha'is in Iran. Nonetheless, a sense of helplessness frustrates our community. Nothing lifts the oppression of the Iranian Baha'is. The resolutions of national governments and international organizations go unheeded. Yet the Iranian leaders do pay attention to outside opinion. A recent New York Times editorial about the execution of 111 Baha'i leaders evoked an angry published response from a government spokesman in Tehran. Our frustrations notwithstanding, Americans cannot relent in exposing the horrors in Iran. The heart-rending situation in that country has produced direct concerns for the American Baha'i community, and I list six of them here, Mr. Chairman.

(1) The spread of anti-Baha'i propaganda in the United States by representatives of the Iranian Government and fanatical Islamic Iranians residing or studying here.

(2) The attempts by these fanatics to disrupt the activities of Baha'is on American soil.

(3) The sudden influx into the United States of thousands of Iranian Baha'is seeking refuge from persecution.

(4) The cutoff of funds to Iranian Baha'is studying in U.S. colleges and universities.

(5) The decision of the Iranian Government to instruct its consular officers worldwide not to renew the passports of Iranian Baha'is living abroad.

(6) The uncertain fate of Iranian Baha'is stranded in countries to which they have fled and having difficulty getting into the United States.

Mr. Chairman, we cite these concerns in the hope that the actions of our Government and of our fellow citizens will have the following outcome:

(1) Keep the Iranian Government and people constantly reminded through frequent public statements that the world is watching what they do to the Baha'is and will not tolerate it.

(2) Prevent Islamic Iranian fanatics in this country from curtailing the freedom which American Baha'is share with their fellow American citizens to meet in peace in the United States.

(3) Assist those Iranian Baha'is who seek refuge in the United States.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[Glenford Mitchell's prepared statement follows:]