Faith Denied: The Martyrdom of Mona Mahmudnizhad
Today, I want to tell you a story about the Baha’i people of Iran, which is memorialized in the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center report, Community Under Siege. But it’s not a happy story.
This community has long faced persecution because of their faith. The largely Shi’a establishment in Iran condemns their faith as heretical — even though the rest of the world recognizes Baha’i as a distinct religious tradition. Why?
Bab and Baha’u’llah
The Baha’i faith teaches that all religions and people are essentially worthy. Founded in the 1800s, the religion centers around three figures: Bab, a martyred herald who taught that God would send a prophet much like God had sent Jesus and Mohammad; Baha’u’llah, who claimed to be a prophet and was exiled for most of his life; and Baha’u’llah’s son, Abdu’l-Baha, who taught the faith around the world.
According to these figures’ teachings, God is single and all-powerful, having revealed the religions of the world in an orderly and progressive way through his Manifestations — what others might call prophets — such as Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. These religions are united in purpose, but vary in social practices. In this way, Baha’i faith stresses the unity and intrinsic value of all people, rejecting forces that divide such as racism and nationalism and advocating for a unified world order. The Baha’i faith is governed by elected local, regional, and national Spiritual Assemblies, who report to the nine elected members of the Universal House of Justice in Israel.
Yet not everyone sees such an idyllic vision of the world as a peaceful practice of faith. In some Islamic countries, the Baha’i faith is not recognized and, as in Iran, its followers face severe persecution — even death. Their rights are also restricted. The justification is that Baha’i is an apostasy in Islam — that is, people practicing Baha’i abandon their true faith and engage in blasphemy or heresy. Classical Islamic law calls for the execution of those who are considered apostates, but such laws are strongly opposed by many Muslims. As of 2014, only twelve countries had laws that made apostasy punishable by death. Iran is one of them.
The 1983 Apostates
In 1983, many people in the Baha’i community were arrested in the city of Shiraz. Twenty-two of them were executed, the youngest of whom was 17-year-old Mona Mahmudnizhad. She was called a puppet of Satan and despite absolutely no proof, was executed on a charge of espionage — a crime she had not committed.
Religious persecution is, unfortunately, nothing new to history. Throughout time, groups of people have been singled out based on their faith and persecuted — from the Muslims of medieval Spain to the Jews of Nazi Germany to the Baha’i people of Iran. Such atrocities continue throughout the world, and yet we never seem to learn that a person’s faith is absolutely no reason to kill them.
Arrested
After the consolidation of clerical rule in Iran following the 1979 revolution, the Iranian government enacted a direct campaign to persecute the Baha’i people. Baha’i followers were portrayed as criminals engaging in espionage against the new government, but the truth could be seen when authorities allowed those who recanted the Baha’i faith to have their rights restored. Those who remained Baha’i were not only criminalized — they were, under Article 13 of the Islamic Republic constitution, denied any constitutional protections or human rights. This meant that Baha’i followers lost their rights to inherit, to obtain identity papers, to engage in education or employment, to assemble as a religious community, and even to worship openly or in private.
In October and November of 1982, this persecution resulted in a series of mass arrests in Shiraz, the center of Baha’i faith. Mona was arrested during this time, just after her seventeenth birthday, on October 23, 1982. Having practiced her faith and spoken out at school in defense of it, Mona had been targeted — along with her father, who was Secretary of the Shiraz LSA. As Mona’s mother later recalled:
“I had knocking at the door. I heard the neighbors across from us say: ‘They are not home, they have left.” I was really surprised to hear our neighbor lying as we were home…So, I said, ‘Who is it?’ Once I said that, they started banging on the door really fiercely and even kicking it. At that moment, I went and looked through the peephole and saw that there were five Revolutionary Guards behind the door… I opened the door and I saw how rudely they told our neighbor to go back inside and instructed her ‘You are not to come out of the house until 12 a.m.”
The guards then searched the family home, looking for anything to prove they were Baha’i. The search lasted several hours, with the family under guard the entire time. As Mona’s mother continued,
“They came and pointed at my daughter Mona and my husband…and said, “You and you, let’s go!” I got really upset. I said, “she’s just a child, where are you taking her, please don’t take her.” They said no and showed me some of Mona’s writings (about the Baha’i persecutions in Iran). They said, ‘the person who wrote these isn’t a child. With her writings, she can divert the world towards ignorance.”
After her arrest, Mona was taken to Sepah-i Shiraz, the headquarters and detention center controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. She arrived blindfolded. Considered unclean and untouchable by devout Muslims, Mona held onto rolled-up newspaper as she was led, blindly, around the prison. She was put into a cell with the other detainees. As Mona described,
“When I entered the cell, the first thing they did was give me two blankets and something to put under my head and told me to Go to sleep. So I looked and saw that there was a large hall and the lights were off. It was 11 p.m. and nothing much could be done. The first thing I did was put my forehead on the floor…All of a sudden, I raised my head and saw people standing around me. They asked me, ‘What is your crime, why have they brought you here?’ I said, ‘I have committed no crime and have done nothing. I am only a Baha’i.”
Initially, authorities denied that any arrests had taken place. Mona’s family had no idea where she or her father had been taken. But thanks to the Baha’i communities pressing, local authorities eventually acknowledged the arrests and stated that they were held in Sepah-i Shiraz. Thirty-nine people had been arrested.
On November 29, 1982, another round of arrests took place. All of the arrests followed the same pattern as Mona’s experience. Families of those arrested pled for their release, approaching senior officials to ask for help. One family, the parents of Dr. Bahram Afnan, kept a list of all those they contacted, ranging from the Iranian president and prime minister to attorneys, prosecutors, religious magistrates, and even written complaints to parliament.
Interrogated
Mona — like the other arrested individuals — went through two stages of pre-trial interrogations, followed by a brief court hearing. The first stage was the worst, conducted by masked interrogators at the prison. The interrogators hoped to get information on the community’s activities, members, and convince those arrested to recant their faith. These interrogations were long and individualized — so Mona underwent it entirely alone. It likely lasted fourteen hours or more. Another female inmate — Ruhi Jahanpour — recounted her experiences, detailing that many of the questions focused on the Baha’i faith, details on events held by the faith, donations to the faith’s fund, and — most often — names of other faithful Baha’i. They were also asked about supposed espionage activities, as if they had been spies for Israel or another country, even though none of the arrested had known ties to espionage. The interrogators also placed heavy emphasis on getting inmates to recant their faith and convert to Islam, threatening them with execution. Another inmate, Farkhundih Mahmudnizhad, recounted her experience, stating, The interrogator…
“spent seven or eight hours asking me the same questions and I was extremely tired. Throughout this whole time, I was not given permission to use the bathroom or to drink a glass of water…”
There were also group interrogations, when groups of inmates were brought together in one room in the hope that one person’s answers would contradict another’s and hence reveal criminal activity. The inmates were often blindfolded, resulting in disorientation, and repeatedly asked to name those who had converted to Baha’i from Islam — then considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death.
Notably, Mona was singled out as a teenage inmate. Authorities relied on reports from authorities at her school, who were under control of anti-Baha’i organizations. Mona had been outspoken of her faith at school, and was noted to be uncooperative during interrogations. Twice, Mona sat opposite her father as they were interrogated.
Tortured
In a case like Mona’s — being uncooperative — she may also have been subjected to physical torture or punishment. Another inmate described such punishment, stating, The prisoner was placed on the bed, wrists and ankles tied to the farm. The two big toes were tied together and the feet were lashed. The next day, the same wounded parts would be lashed again, through the bandages. The whips were not cleaned between prisoners, resulting in dirty wounds and serious side effects.
The second stage featured questioning from prosecutors. The prisoners were taken to Adelabad prison, the main prison in Shiraz. Interrogations took place at the Revolutionary Court building, often lasting an entire day or more and conducted by junior prosecutors. These interrogations were more official — files were reviewed, and were much more focused on recantation than gathering intelligence. During this, Mona was likely shown her file, which stated the official charge: “Baha’ism”. Other files — possibly Mona’s — had additional charges such as being an enemy of God or a spy for Israel. Mona may have been forced to write her interrogation answers into her file.
While these interrogations were ongoing, Mona lived in the women’s ward of Adelabad. Cells lined two sides of the ward, each measuring only one-and-a-half by two meters. Mona had two other cellmates, as was policy. Every cell had a concrete floor, one metal cot, one mattress, and one small window. Each prisoner was given two army blankets. Mona and the other women were guarded by female guards during the day, and male guards at night. She and the other Baha’i women were housed on the third floor — which was reserved specifically for those accused of the worst crims, such as murder, drug dealing, or being a Baha’i. From pirson records, we know that Mona shared her cell with 32-year-old Tahirih Siyavushi and her mother, Farkhundih, who had also been arrested by this time.
In between these events, Mona was held in prison. Seen as impure, she could not let her person or belongings come into contact with other prisoners, even her clothing. She was forbidden from saying prayers or openly practicing her faith in any way. Mona was likely held in one of the two main cells for Baha’i, segregated from other prisoners.
Convicted
In January, some of the prisoners were offered freedom in exchange for bail money — typically 700,000 Tomas, approximately $16,000 dollars in 1982 money (or around 44,000 dollars today). Those who could raise the money fast were freed — literally within only a few days, the offer was withdrawn. This was part of a scheme during a visit from the Revolutionary Court, and once the court had left, the guards went to the released prisoners’ homes and took them back into custody. However brief, three of the released prisoners had managed to flee Iran entirely. Mona and her family were not among them.
Finally, the court hearings arrived. At the hearing, inmates were given two options: convert to Islam, or face execution.
Mona’s mother, Farkhundih, went first. She later recalled,
“When I entered the room, I said, “Salaam,” and noticed that the typist typed the word. I therefore realized that whatever I said was going to be recorded in my file. It was clear that I had to sit on the chair that was placed before the judge… I put my hand on the chair and stood before the judge. He looked at me and instructed me to sit.
I said, “Ha?”, pretending that I had not heard him.
He became very happy and looked at the typist saying, “Do you know who she is? She is the wife of the man who spoke very eloquently and wanted to teach us [the Bahá’í Faith].” He laughed a sarcastic laugh and ordered me again to sit.
I sat down.
He looked through my file and asked, “You’re from a Zoroastrian background, right?’
I said, “Yes.”
He said, “Why did you leave such a good religion as the Faith of Zoroaster and convert to Bahá’ísm?”
I told him, “Because it was my heart’s desire to do that.”
He said, “This is not a matter for the heart! If, right now, you declare that you are a Zoroastrian, I will free you.”
I told him that I would not do that, and he said, “We respect the Zoroastrians. They participate in our demonstrations, and if you were to claim to be Zoroastrian right now, I would immediately issue your release papers.”
I responded, “Sir, I will not convert to the Zoroastrian religion.”
He asked, “Why?” and I said, “Because you want to take me back 2500 years. I wish you had asked me to convert to Islam. I would have liked it better.”
Then he said, “So convert to Islam” and I responded, “Now you want to take me back 1400 years; no sir, I will neither become a Zoroastrian nor a Muslim, so what is my sentence?”
He said with anger, “Death.”
As God is my witness, I became indescribably happy and said in a loud voice, “I am not worthy of martyrdom, but it would make me very happy if you were to execute me. As God is my witness, it will make me immeasurably happy.”
He said, “You will be happy?”
And I responded, “Yes.”
He then said, “We are not here to make you happy; do you know what your sentence is?”
I said “No.”
He said, “We will kill your husband, Yadu’llah Mahmudnizhad. We will kill your daughter, Mona Mahmudnizhad, and you can go home and mourn their loss.”
He shouted at me and ordered me to sit. He went through my file, wrote something in it, and then asked a guard to take me away.”
Mona and her father were sentenced to death, and Mona’s mother was later released.
Notice of the convictions and verdicts were sent to the local Shiraz newspaper, but the article did not list the names of those convicted to death. It was the first notice family members received of their loved ones’ fates. And while locally it was known that the verdicts were due to religion, nationally the authorities stated that the verdicts were due to espionage activities. The executions began in March.
Murdered
The world watched. Alerted by quick communication of the local newspaper articles, communities around the world lobbied for a reversal of sentences. On May 17, 1982, U.S. President Ronald Reagan made a plea for clemency, but the Iranian government announced shortly thereafter that the plea was simply evidence of the convicted Baha’i’s espionage. A few days after this announcement, Mona Mahmudnizhad was confronted by two masked interrogators who asked her: “Now that the President of the United States has risen to your defense and has thus proven that you are indeed spies, do you still claim that you are not?” She responded that due to the grave injustice committed against Bahá’ís, all the people of the world would come to their defense, not just the American President. By pleading their case, President Reagan had sealed their fate.
In early June, the condemned female Baha’i were separated from the other women, likely to prevent prisoners from relaying information to the outside world. On June 12, the women were offered four opportunities to recant and convert to Islam. These opportunities consisted of two-hour sets of silence, during which the women were to study Islam and make their decision. Showing their true faith, these sessions typically lasted only five minutes, with the women writing their refusal to convert. Once the fourth session was over, they were returned to their cells.
Yet, Mona was not summoned to these sessions. She and another prisoner, Nusrat Yalda’i, were never summoned. The reasons remain unclear.
The men were executed on June 15. The women followed. On June 18, the women were given a final visit from their families, lasting only fifteen minutes. While being escorted back, Mona was one of the women called to load into a minibus. She was driven away from the prison and — at some point that night or early the next morning — she was hanged in Chawgun Square. According to the driver of the minibus, the women were hanged one by one — and Mona, having watched her fellow nine inmates die, was the last to hang.
What happened to the bodies?
The bodies were taken to the morgue in Shiraz. The men’s bodies arrived first, but by the time family came to retrieve them, the men’s bodies had been given to a medical school to be used as cadavers — without family permission. Instead, the families found the bodies of the women — the first time they had been told of the women’s executions. Mona’s mother was among the families, and recalled that when she was next to Mona’s body, a morgue guard approached her:
I thought he was going to scold me for not staying in one place and roaming around. He said, “which one is your child?”
I showed him Mona. He started crying and said, “please forgive us. We are appointed and have no authority. We are always faced with such scenes but none were as moving as this one. Please forgive me. Please.”
My tongue was tied so I hugged him and kissed his cheeks. He had a long beard. He calmed down like a child.
So I told him again, “If you knew why our kids have fallen like this, you would worship the dust under their feet.”
He said nothing.
A few hours later, the women’s bodies were taken to the Baha’i cemetery and buried. Each was placed in an individual shallow grave, close to one another, that was covered in soil to disguise the exact locations.
Within a week, memorials were held for the victims. Mysteriously, flower bouquets arrived anonymously to the homes of all ten female victims. It was later revealed that they had been bought by the minibus driver.
Reflections and Remembrance — Baha’i deserves to be in our history
The executions were condemned around the world. Yet today, Mona’s story is largely unknown outside the Baha’i community. Born in the late 1980s, I was not alive when Mona was killed — but I also was never taught about Iran, the revolution, or the religious persecution suffered. It was not part of my history texts and yet, I think, it should be. In America, we focus a lot on the Nazi persecutions of Jews, but we rarely hear of other religious and ethnic-based persecutions. Until the past ten to twenty years, even race-based persecution was something I was taught was largely in the past.
As we enter a post-COVID world, I hope we tell more stories like Mona’s. She was seventeen, executed purely for defending her faith. She is not the first, nor the last, girl to do so — but her story is one of how persecution continues in the modern world. As we reckon with racism, Nazism, or political extremism, shouldn’t we also reckon with the legacies of religious persecution? How long will it take before girls like Mona feel safe to practice their religions and speak up for what they believe in?
Will the Baha’i people — who are still as vulnerable today as they were in 1982 — ever be free to be who they are?
It’s time we create the world we want — a world where Baha’i people, and their unique faith, are as respected and valued as everyone else. A world like what Mona imagined, where all people have, and are recognized for having, intrinsic equal value.
