Uncommon Ground Contributor Tara Abhasakun

Tara is a journalist and campaigner based in San Francisco, US

Articles by Tara Abhasakun:

Yemen’s Potential Baha’i Executions Mirror Revolutionary Iran

International pressure stopped Iran’s executions of Baha’is in the 1980s. Today, it can do the same thing for Baha’is in Yemen. The world must not let another teenage girl die. The date was June 18, 1983. A seventeen-year-old girl was publically hung in the middle of a polo field in Shiraz, Iran, during the night. […] Read more

The Growing Tide of Violent Rhetoric Against Baha’is in Houthi Yemen

Yemen’s Houthis incite violence against Baha’is on social media.   On March 23, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdel-Malek Al-Houthi made a speech in which he called the Baha’i faith a “satanic” movement that wished to “wage war” against Islam. On the same day of Al-Houthi’s speech, Houthi activist Ahmed Ayed published a tweet stating “we will […] Read more

Houthi Secretary-General Accuses Baha’is of Dividing Muslims

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis accuse Baha’is of seeking to divide Muslims, in an effort to incite hatred against the religious minority. In a statement last week, Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badreddin Al-Houthi, the Secretary-General of Yemen’s Shia political party Ansar Allah, accused Baha’is of seeking to create disunity among Muslims. An article in ParsToday said: “Explaining that the […] Read more

Families of Yemeni Baha’is Await Their Release After UN Resolution

The United Nations has passed a resolution demanding the release of Yemeni Baha’is imprisoned for their faith. But their families have yet to hear good news.  On September 29th, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed a resolution demanding that Yemen’s government release the seven Baha’is imprisoned for their faith. The resolution, titled “Human Rights, […] Read more