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Court documents & government-related material

see White House press releases in the newspapers archive
  1. "bahaiwomen.com" domain name dispute a legal ruling finding, on behalf of the Baha'is, that use of the domain bahaiwomen.com for pornography is a trademark infringement. See also a Newsbytes report.

  2. "The Cases of Dhabihullah Mahrami and Musa Talibi": In June 1994 and January 1996, Musa Talibi and Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, resp., were arrested and later sentenced to death for the alleged crime of apostasy from Islam. These nine documents and articles about his case are by Baha'is, non-Baha'is, the UN, Amnesty International, and the US National Spiritual Assembly.
    1.     "The Mahrami Case: What it Is and Why it Matters"
    2.    Iranian death sentence of Mr. Dhabihu'llah Mahrami:
    3.    US Department of State condemns Iran's action
    4.    Alan Dershowitz compares Iran's action with agenda of Pat Buchanan:
    5.    US NSA reports Mr. Mahrami sentence commuted:
    6.    US NSA confirms commuting of Mr. Mahrami's sentence:
    7.    A.I. reports death sentence reinstated
    8.    The UN: "The Situation of the Baha'is in Iran"
    9.    A.I.: "Iran: Where Your Religious Beliefs Can Get You a Death Sentence"

  1. In "A Case on Conscientious Objection," 1972, a Baha'i—previously convicted of failing to submit to induction (the draft)—was acquitted on appeal.

    In the following false Baha'i immigration cases, Iranian immigrants have sought asylum by falsely claiming affiliation with the Baha'i Faith:
  2.     "Mostofi vs. Immigration and Naturalization Service,"1996
  3.     "Sarhangzadeh vs. Immigration and Naturalization Service," 1996
  4.     "Sobhani vs. Immigration and Naturalization Service," 1994

  5. In Green Acre Baha'i Institute v. Town of Eliot, 1954, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine ruled that the Institute was entitled to tax exemption as a charitable institution.

  6. In Green Acre Baha'i Institute v. Town of Eliot, 1963, the same court removed the tax exemption, based on a 1957 law limiting exemptions to institutions that primarily serve residents of Maine.

  7. Human Rights: A Synopsis of References to the Baha'i Faith in the US State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 1991-2001, compiled by Ralph D. Wagner, provides excerpts from the U.S. State Department's annual compilation of Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on discrimination against the Baha'i Faith and persecution of its adherents in twenty countries.

    The "Imbrie Affair"
     On July 18, 1924, American Vice Consul Robert Whitney Imbrie was beaten to death in Tehran. Initially the Baha'is were accused as the murderers, but follow-up reports showed the attack to have been the result of a mob uprising. Three documents related to the event have been scanned and submitted by Robert Stauffer, and one by Anthony Lee:
  8.     a) Two New York Times articles on the event, July 24, 1924
  9.     b) Secretary of State Legation W. Smith Murray's more detailed report to the U.S. Secretary of State, August 10, 1924
  10.     c) A follow-up 15 page report "A consideration of the Bahai religion, its tenets, the character of its followers, and the possibility of its spread in Persian and elsewhere," January 8, 1925, by W. Smith Murray.
  11.     d) Anthony Lee, general editor of Kalimat Press, conducted a personal interview with his father-in-law, an eyewitness to these events.

  12. In In re Petition for Naturalization of Parviz Meghnot, 1965, the court granted naturalization to a Baha'i applicant, overruling a decision by the Immigration and Naturalization Service that belief in world government compromised his loyalty to the United States.

  13. In 1941 the National Spiritual Assembly (unsuccesfully) sued Covenant Breaker Mirza Ahmad Sohrab for his use of the word "Baha'i." This is the court's conclusions.

  14. Documents from the 1966 suit by the US NSA versus the New Mexico covenant-breaker group "The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America Under the Hereditary Guardianship, Inc." for their use of Baha'i names and titles.

  15. This Petition from the Persian Reformers was sent by the Baha'is in Baghdad in 1867 to the US Consulate general, seeking assistance in getting Baha'u'llah released from imposed exile. With introduction by Robert Stauffer.

  16. In "Recognition of Baha'i Marriage and Holidays in American State Law," Ralph Wagner has compiled a list of sample legal statutes and proceedings from various states.

  17. Two State Papers Bearing on the Removal of the Babis from Baghdad to Turkey, which E.G. Browne notes "are of considerable historical interest," are from his Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion.

  18. The lengthy US Dept. of State report "United States Policies in Support of Religious Freedom: Focus on Christians" includes a few brief mentions of Baha'is in Iran; the more relevant passages are excerpted here.

One can search for trademark documents for "Baha'i" at http://tess.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=duvjq.1.1

Legal Documents
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