Surviving oppression in Iran, working toward degree at MCC
Joseph Starkloff
MCC student Faez Moradipour has seen the darker side of politics. He has received jail time for following his faith; a religion that stresses unity, justice, and devotion. He has been denied work opportunities by a government that views him as a threat.
Moradipour is a member of the Baha’i faith. It is a religion that has close to five million members spread throughout 236 countries. It is also a religion that is persecuted in Iran, his native home.
Moradipour currently attends MCC to study movie production.
“The main reason I came to the U.S.A. was education, but (there were) other reasons. I had a problem with my country. I couldn’t study, I couldn’t work (where I wanted),” he said.
Moradipour spoke about how industries in Iran are controlled by the government, and almost all citizens have trouble finding work. The only way to get a job is to know someone already in the business.
“(In Iran) nobody cares if you have a degree or experience, or you’re a hard worker. You have to have a connection. You should (also) be a very religious Muslim, or you should act it,” he said.
Finding work was not Moradipour’s only hardship in Iran. He also had to deal with the systematic oppression of the Baha’i faith.
“We cannot do anything with our religion . or they are going to put us in jail . and if they could they would kill us. This has happened (but is not currently),” he said.
Iran.bahai.us has reported the executions of more than 200 Baha’i followers between 1978 and 1998.
The Web site, which provides information on the maltreatment of the Baha’i faith in Iran, also stated that more than 2,000 followers have been imprisoned. Moradipour experienced this as well.
“A lot of my friends have been in jail, and are in jail. I’ve been to jail too (for being Baha’i). Nothing happened while I was in jail, but why should I go to jail?” he said.
The Iranian government has accused the Baha’i followers of spying on Iran for Israel.
“The government says (we) work for the Israel government, but this is not true. Baha’i faith has been their long before (the founding) of Israel. (The government) knows that the Baha’i don’t work for the Israel nation . but they need a reason,” he said.
Several of Moradipour’s friends in Iran were Muslim or Christian and had no qualms about his religion.
He stressed that the government creates these social problems, not the people, so that the citizens are not able to focus on anything by those overriding tribulations.
“If you have a problem, you’re not going to think about money or what your government is going to do, because you have a problem. This is politics,” he said.
Moradipour also said he is not a fan of politics because of this, and that the people of Iran can often be mischaracterized.
“Sometimes (Americans) think Iranian people are terrorists. The Iranian people are very nice people,” he said.
More information on the Baha’i faith can be found at www.bahai.org
