Haifan Baha'is lied about the late Ayatollah Montazeri's (ra) 2008 fatwa

The late Grand Ayatollah Hossein-'Ali Montazeri (ra) (d. 2009)

In mid-2008 the world press was abuzz with a media campaign initiated by the Haifan Baha'is claiming that then dissident (and now deceased) Grand Ayatollah Hossein-'Ali Montazeri had issued a fatwa (legal jurisprudential ruling) arguing for full recognition, and tangentially full citizenship rights, to be granted the Haifan Baha'i creed under the Islamic Republic of Iran. On the basis of the Baha'i campaign, the following text was offered by the world media as proof of the claim:

The ruling and subsequent statements about it all came from Montazeri's website, here. The initial claim by the world press as prompted by the Haifan Baha'is was that Montazeri had argued for a full official recognition of Baha'ism in Iran, and not simply rights of citizenship to be respected irrespective of creed. On closer examination it appears that the initial unqualified ruling and explanation offered by the Baha'i media to the world press was not exactly what Montazeri had actually ruled or stated. Here I offer the full text of Montazeri's statement in the original (which can be found on the same page of the website linked above) together with an English translation. To wit,

Persian Text

بسمه تعالی
با سلام و تحیت
نظر این جانب در مورد فرقه ضاله بهائیه همان نظر سالهای قبل از انقلاب
است و تغییری نکرده است . ولی به طور کلی افرادی که تابع هیچ یک از ادیان
آسمانی نیستند نیز به حکم آیه شریفه : " لا ینهاکم الله عن الذین لم
یقاتلوکم فی الدین و لم یخرجوکم من دیارکم ان تبروهم و تقسطوا الیهم ان
الله یحب المقسطین ". (سوره ممتحنه ، آیه 8) و فرمایش امیرالمومنین علیه
السلام در نامه به مالک اشتر: "واشعر قلبک الرحمة للرعیة والمحبة لهم
واللطف بهم و لا تکونن علیهم سبعا ضاریا تغتنم اکلهم فانهم صنفان : اما
اخ لک فی الدین او نظیر لک فی الخلق " (نهج البلاغة، نامه 53) باید حقوق
انسانی آنان رعایت شود.
حقوق شهروندی نیز یک واژه کلی است و حدود آن باید بر اساس عرف و قانون
اساسی مورد پذیرش اکثریت مردم مشخص شود. البته اگر کسانی در صدد دشمنی با
مردم کشور برآیند و با دشمنان خارجی همکاری نمایند و همکاری آنان مطابق
قوانین کشور برای دادگاه صالح ثابت شود باید طبق قانون مجازات شوند. و
شهروندی آنان مانع از اجراء قانون نمی شود. و لازم است مراقبت شود جوانان
کشور گرفتار تبلیغات سوء آنان نشوند، و اگر معامله و معاشرت با آنان موجب
تقویت آنان شود لازم است از آن اجتناب گردد.
ان شاء الله موفق باشید.
1387/3/25

Translation

In His Name, the Most High!

With salutations and blessings. The opinion of this person (nazar-i-een jenab) regarding the misled cult of Bahaism (firqe-ye zale-ye baha’iye) is the same opinion as the one held during the years before the Revolution, and so has not changed. However [the case of] those who in most cases are not followers of any of the religions sent by heaven (adyan-i-asimani) [i.e. Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam] are referable to the ruling wisdom of the illustrious verse, “Allah forbideth thee from dealing unkindly and unjustly with those who do not fight against thee in the faith nor are ones driving thee out of thy homes, for Allah loveth those who are just” (Qur’an. 60:8); as well as per the letter of the Commander of the Faithful [‘Ali] to Malik Ashtar, “You must kindle in thy heart kindness, compassion and love for thy subjects. Do not behave towards them as if you are a voracious and ravenous beast and as if your success lies in devouring them… they are brothers to you, and those who have a religion [other than yours], they are human beings like you (The Peak of Eloquence/Nahju’l-Balagha, Letter 53). [As such] their human rights should be respected. [Now] citizenship rights are also in one particular respect universal and its limits should [therefore] be specified in that respect on the basis of the customary [‘or’ canon] law (‘urfi) and the Constitution [of the Islamic Republic] by the [will of the] majority of the people. However if certain persons are [determined in] pursuing [the path of] enmity against the people of the nation and are abetting foreign enemies, and if their association [with these foreign enemies] be established for the court(s) pursuant to the laws of the nation, they should be punished according to the law(s). Their citizenship [rights] (shahrvandi-i-anan) does not impede [or ‘obstruct’] the body of the law [to act] (mani’ az ajza’-i-qanun nemishavad]. [Yet] it is also necessary that precautions be taken (lazim ast morraqibat shavad) so that the youth of the nation (javanan-i-keshvar) do not become embroiled in their evil propaganda (tablighat-i-su’-i-anan); and if such dealings and association with them will only give cause to their [cultivation and] strength (mu’amileh va mu’asherat mujib-i-taghviyat-i-anan shavad), it is essential to disassociate from [‘or’ shun] them
(lazim ast az an ijtinab gardad).

God willing, may your success be assured!
1387/3/25