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Living Martyrs

// June 29th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // bahai

Recently I attended a talk given by a woman whose husband was killed in Iran because he was member of the Baha’i Faith. She shared with the audience his story and the events that led up to his martyrdom. I was so moved by her story that I felt compelled to post on this topic.

In todays world the word martyr is often used in relation to “freedom fighters” and the casualties they suffer, unfortunately this word has been misused and has taken on negative connotations diminishing and belittling the act of martyrdom. Turning martyrdom into a mere pr tool.

The definition of martyr is: “a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs”. Originally the term martyr referred to a witness which I think is a beautiful way of looking at this concept of a martyr. As a person witnessing to their belief to a point that they are willing to offer up their life. Sacrificing ones life becoming the highest form of witnessing.

In the case of the Baha’is, which might apply to others as well but for this post I will focus on them, it is interesting to note that they do not recant their Faith, this is why they are killed. The government of Iran tortures arrested Baha’is continually in the hope that they will recant and become Muslims, if they recant they are given free passage and are set free. One might wonder why then do they not just recant, why they are willing to die? I think the concept of sacrificing your life as the highest act of witnessing /attesting to your faith comes into play in this situation. It should be kept in mind that Baha’is have a clear track record of not engaging in any violent acts, they abide to a code of peaceful conduct and do not believe in using force. They submit to the injustices and oppression placed upon them and bear them with dignity. Truly they are exemplary in this matter!

In her presentation she brought up the idea of living martyrs, for me this concept captures the every essence of the meaning of martyrdom, which is not only about that one moment when you are about to offer your life but rather the continual hardship that you are willing to bear, the daily sacrifice that you offer in the path of standing firm for your belief, attesting by your. While listening to her I wondered if the true martyrs are not those that are left behind having to bear the pain of having lost a loved one.

Today there are about 300,000 Baha’is in Iran who daily attest their faith by the continual hardship that is imposed upon them by the government. Daily they sacrifice the very things that seem so normal to us, daily they must bear injustices and humiliation because their beliefs differ from what the government wants people to believe in. These 300,000 are living martyrs. For a bystander their “actions” might appear as silent but when one take a closer look there resolve in the daily sacrifices they make is a resounding cry of steadfastness that is not willing to be broken no matter what the price might be. To them I humbly bow my head in admiration and humility and feel moved to speak out on their behalf with the limited resources available to me. God Bless them and award them the strength to continue upholding their standard of faith, may we all learn from their resolve.