On Growing Up in Iran: A Baha'i High School Friend Is Remembered

www.tradeport.org/.../ images/iran/peoWoman.jpg

In her comments to a post last week the blogger of Paradox shared a bit of personal history and told of her "best high school friend" back in Iran, a Baha'i.

yeah, your guess is right, i have lived in iran for most of my life and have been over-exposed to a few twisted versions of islam back there; and maybe this is the reason why i am so sensitive about religion now.

however, i have seen many muslem iranians who just have become very indifferent after they had the chance to freely choose not to follow it openly. i mean, there is a difference b/w someone who becomes indifferent and someone who takes up a critical position... i was indifferent for some time... now, though, i try to challenge those who are either indifferent or still beleive (esp. those who blindly follow it_ esp. some rituals_ like out of a habit, or out of a hidden fear!)

wow, i remember my best high-school friend (with whom i was a close friend for even some years after high-school until she got married and left for another city and...got too busy with a kid and working full-time ...and got more distant!) was a Baha'i. i saw closely how they were under pressure, she couldn't go to university while openly preserving her faith, her brother had illegally left iran years back(during the iran-iraq war, i guess); but they were very nice people in fact; i remember when the first time i saw this photo of Baha'ollah in her room i asked who he is; when she said he is our prophet, i felt a lil' weird, becuz we had been over-repeatedly told and taught at school that Mohamd was the last prophet! then i thought how hard it should have been for her to keep silent all the time at schol when we had to read those islamic teachings...

she later said they had been taught their teachings in different classes, though. wow... how funny it sounds to me even remembering them...!

i wasn't more curious than that, becuz i (and i guess she as well) knew Baha'i was a big taboo in iran, and i was from this shi'i background; although my family weren't pushy, they were and still are sort of strong believers... !

even our mothers were friends(not close though), however, her family never wanted to try to even talk about their faith to us in an inviting way whatsoever!!

i just remember i used to ask my friend a lil' about their rituals, and she used to say (with a complaining tone) she had to also fast!!:D:D....

well, i don't want to talk of my memories, but good ol' days!! though we were always shut down about almost everything!

~~~~~~~~~

Country Facts - Iran
The People
Ethnic Composition
Persian 51%
Azeri 24%
Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%
Kurd 7%
Arab 3%
Lur 2%
Baloch 2%
Turkmen 2%

Other 1%

Religious Composition
Shi'a Muslim 89%
Sunni Muslim 10%
Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%