سخنرانی دکتر موژان مومن را امروز از دست ندهيد که ایشان در زمينه بهايی شناسی کلی دانشمند است
"Conspiracies and Forgeries: The Image of the Baha'i Community in Iran"
In 1906-7, as the Iranian Constitution was being drafted, a goldenopportunity to make Iran a free and open society was lost when, underpressure from reactionary ulama, all members of religious minoritieswere made into second-class citizens and the Baha'i community, thelargest non-Muslim minority in Iran, was deprived of any politicalrights whatsoever. This left the Baha'i community vulnerable to attacksin newspapers and other media. With the constant repetition of theseaccusations in public and no opportunity being given to the Baha'is torefute in public, these accusations have become accepted by ordinaryIranians as incontrovertible facts. These accusations, being essentiallybaseless, have had to be backed up by forgeries, such as the concoctedPolitical Confessions of Prince Dolgorukov. As a result of all this, theBaha'is have become enmeshed in the conspiracy theories so prevalent inIran. Accusations abound that the Baha'is are agents of the Russians,the British, the American, the Jews or whatever.
Serious as the consequences of this have been for the Baha'icommunity, the consequences for Iranian society as a whole have beennone the less deleterious. These conspiracy theories have have resultedin a situation where Iranians (from the ordinary people to theintellectuals to the political leaders) see their own politics andhistory as a web of conspiracies by outside powerful forces. This isturn creates a culture of passivity and helplessness. If one isconvinced that one is the victim of unseen and overwhelming forces, thisparalyses the will to change one's circumstances. Constantly passingresponsibility for the condition of the country off onto foreign powersand their supposed internal agents creates conditions in which theproblems of the country cannot be correctly analysed nor is there thewill and capacity to respond effectively to them.
Dr. Moojan Momen was born in Iran, but was raised and educated inEngland, attending the University of Cambridge. He has a specialinterest in the study of the Baha'i Faith and Shi`i Islam, both from theviewpoint of their history and their doctrines. In recent years, hisinterests have extended to the study of the phenomenon of religion. Hisprincipal publications in this field include: Introduction to Shi`iIslam (Yale University Press, 1985); The Babi and Baha'i Faiths1844-1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts (George Ronald, Oxford,1982) and The Phenomenon of Religion (OneWorld, Oxford, 1999). He hascontributed articles to Encyclopedia Iranica and Encyclopedia of theModern Islamic World as well as papers to academic journals such asInternational Journal of Middle East Studies, Past and Present, Iran,Iranian Studies and Religion. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Time: Saturday, Feb 12th 2005, 4:30 PM.
Location: 252 Bloor West, OISE, room #4414.
