Bahá'ís of the United States respond to Iranian President
WASHINGTON, DC - Responding to an invitation to the American people by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami for dialogue on the subject of closer ties between the people of Iran and the people of the United States, the Bahá'í community of the United States issued a statement welcoming the overture but suggesting that Iran's Bahá'ís "be granted their full rights as law-abiding citizens."
In a message issued on 13 January 1998 and published in the New York Times and Washington Post, Robert Henderson, the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, said: "We are particularly encouraged by your assertion 'that religion and liberty are consistent and compatible.'"
"Your explicitly stated determination to fulfill the provisions of the Iranian Constitution and to establish the rule of law gives us hope that the freedom of the Bahá'í community in Iran openly to practice its religion will be guaranteed," Mr. Henderson said.
The statement suggested that the most recent UN General Assembly resolution, which calls for the emancipation of the Bahá'í community of Iran, should be implemented.
