Chronology: Chronology: Date 2005-12-15

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 2005-12-15, sorted by date, ascending

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2005 15 Dec
200-

The death of Mr. Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, 59, who had been held in a government prison in Yazd under harsh physical conditions at the time of his death.

First arrested in 1995, Mr. Mahrami served in the civil service but at the time of his arrest was making a living installing venetian blinds, having been summarily fired from his job like thousands of other Bahá'is in the years following the 1979 Iranian revolution. Although Iranian officials have asserted that Mr. Mahrami was guilty of spying for Israel, court records clearly indicate that he was tried and sentenced solely on charge of being an "apostate," a crime which is punishable by death under traditional Islamic law. While Mr. Mahrami had been a lifelong Baha'i, the apostasy charge apparently came about because a civil service colleague, in an effort to prevent Mr. Mahrami from losing his job, submitted an article to a newspaper stating that he had converted to Islam. When it later became clear to Iranian authorities that Mr. Mahrami remained a member of the Bahá'í community, they arrested him and charged him with apostasy for allegedly converting from Islam to the Bahá'í Faith. On 2 January 1996, he was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, a conviction that was later upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court.

The death sentence against Mr. Mahrami stirred an international outcry. The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution on human rights abuses in Iran, making reference to Mr. Mahrami's case. The governments of Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States also registered objections. [BWNS415; Message dated 20 December 2005 Mess01-22p117]

* Persecution; * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution, Deaths; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Court cases; Human rights; Iran; Yazd, Iran

2005 mid Dec
200-

Pierre-Yves Mocquais, Professor and former Dean of Humanities at the University of Calgary, received one of France's most prestigious awards. He was named Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes academiques (Knight in the Order of Academic Palms) The ceremony took place in Calgary and he was presented the award by Jean-Yves Defay, Consul General of France in Vancouver..

The recognition is in part for his extensive contribution to the study of French-Canadian literature and culture, particularly in the Prairies and Quebec.

His work examines the identity and culture of francophones as a minority group and, most recently, of French immigrants who settled in Saskatchewan early in the 20th century without having spent time in Quebec. He has edited three books on the subject.

Mr. Mocquais served on the Auxiliary Board member and on the Executive Board of the Association for Baha'i Studies as well as the editorial advisory board of the Association's academic journals. [BC Vol18 No 11 April 2006 p11]

Awards; Calgary, AB; Pierre-Yves Mocquais