Kirk Attends Bahá'í Welcome Center Grand Opening, Reaffirms Commitment to Bahá'í Community

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today celebrated the grand opening of the Welcome Center at the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette and reaffirmed his commitment to the Bahá'í community in Illinois and worldwide.

"The Iranian regime continues to arrest its own citizens simply for being Bahá'í," Senator Kirk said. "As we approach seven years since the seven top Bahá'í leaders in Iran were imprisoned because of their faith, I join Bahá'í worshippers in Illinois in standing against persecution around the world."

The temple in Wilmette is one of only seven Bahá'í temples in the world. The Bahá'í Faith was originally formed in 19th century Persia and is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world, with more than five million followers worldwide.

Despite the millions of people who follow the Bahá'í Faith, the Iranian constitution fails to recognize them as being part of a legitimate religion. This leaves the Bahá'í community in Iran vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. Over 700 worshippers have been arrested or jailed in the past 10 years based solely on their faith. May 14th marks the seventh year that the top Bahá'í leaders, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mahvash Sabet and Vahid Tizfahm, have been behind bars in Iran due to their faith.

Senator Kirk, and Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) last week introduced a resolution, S.Res.148, that condemns the Iranian regime's state-sponsored persecution of the Bahá'í community and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.

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