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Ruhi Hiebert imprisoned and tortured over her beliefsBy Jeff DickinsonThe Madison Globe

Going to church is a freedom thatmany people in the United States takefor granted. When you're a child, goingto church to see all of your little friendsis a great way to spend part of a week-end morning. But as we mature intoadults, putting our religion into practiceand attending church regularly oftenbecome more difficult.It's sometimes easy to justifY sleep-

ing in on the weekend and not gettingout of bed at 7 a.m. to get ready forchurch. After all, you worked hard allweek and deserve a day to sleep late,right? "Well, religion is something that Madi-

son resident Ruhi Hiebert doesn't takefor granted. Hiebert has seen her familytom apart because they refused to com-promise their beliefs in the Baha'i Faith.Hiebert is from Iran, a country in whichmany Baha'is are persecuted becausetheir beliefs are considered heretical tothe Muslims.Hiebert's great grandfather and grand-

father w~re shot in the legs and then

. hanged because of their belief in the feet with a wire cable. Guards told herBaha'i Faith. Hiebert's parents had their if she denounced the Baha'i Faith andcrops confiscated and their house told them the names of other Bahai's,burned for the same reason. Hiebert was they would discontinue the beatings.accused of being unclean by teachers She continued to pray and the guardswhile growing up in Iran and was even continued the beatings. Hiebert wasforced to sit in separate classrooms from beaten a total of74 times before she wasthe Muslim children. returned to her cell.But that was only'the beginning of After being transferred to another

tests which she would face because of prison and spending a week there,her unyielding beliefin the Baha'i Faith. Hiebert was mysteriously released.Hiebert was arrested on Feb. 6, 1982 However, eight months later she was

for the first time at the age of24. She arrested at her parents' home, along with,was stopped by Iranian police and pulled her friend. They were taken to Seppahfrom her automobile. After being blind- prison that night. Hiebert spent ninefolded, the police took Hiebert to a re- weeks at Seppah and Adelabad prisonsmote spot and stood her up against a , before being mysteriously releasedtree. Still blindfolded, Hiebert heard the again.trigger of the officer's revolver click. But just three days after being re-She thought her life was over. leased, the police came looking forThe police were simply trying to cause Hiebert again. This time she and her

Hiebert to deny her Baha'i Faith, but family managed to flee fromtheir homeall she did was continue to pray. After and elude the police. But they decidedthe police took Hiebert to Seppah that Hiebert, her sister and her motherprison, she was thrown into a 15-by-21- must somehow leave the oppression offoot cell which was occupied by 30 other Iran. The three women hiked for IIwomen. Then came her interrogation months to Pakistan.and beatings. "We had no food or supplies on' ourHiebert was beaten on the soles of her

trip," Mrs. Hiebert said. "We had tosle'ep out in the freezing cold and wedepended on help from others to sur-vive. But it wasn't as bad as the perse-cution we went through while we werein Iran."Hiebert, her sister and her mother fi-

nally made it to Canada, where she hadto go to the University of Guelph out-side of Toronto. The only problem wasthat Hiebert had already earned a de-gree while in Iran, but it wasn't recog-nized in Canada or the U.S. So she hadto go through four years of informationshe had already learned.But it still wasn't anything compared

to what she had been through while be-ing persecuted because of her belief inthe Baha'i Faith.And how did Hiebert hold true to the

Baha'i beliefs through all ofthe turmoilin Iran? How did she manage to keep agrasp on her faith when one word wouldhave ended all of the torture and perse-cution?"When you're faced with that kind of

situation, it means you would deny yourown existence if you denied your reli-

gion," Mrs. Hiebert explained. "Mybelief is not something that is separatedfrom my life; it is one and the same. Butnobody could answer how they wouldreact until the moment comes."Hiebert's maiden name is Ruhi

Jahanpour. She met Darren Hiebert at aBaha'i conference in Canada last year,and they married 14months ago. Darrenis a computer designer who embracedthe Baha'i Faith almost five years ago."I'd had an interest in religion for a

number of years," Darren explained,"but I'd never really found one that Ifelt was the true one. They were all rela-tively the same. But the essential prin-cipal ofthe Baha'i faith is unity of man-kind and religions."The Founder of the Baha'i Faith is

Bahau' Ilah,a Persian nobleman. Bahai'sbelieve that he was the latest in a line ofmessengers from God that includesAbraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha,Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammed. Themain theme of the Baha'i Faith is unity.Bahai's believe that there is only oneGod and that all humanity is one race,destined to live in peace and harmony.

Although Ruhi Hiebert, her sister andher mother escaped the oppression theBahai's suffer in Iran, her father wasn'tas fortunate. She said her father has beenon the run for almost 15 years and isstill trying to leave Iran and come to thiscountry. But he had been facing an up-hill battle."My father has had to run from place

to place, hiding from the authorities,"she explained. "I don't know ifhe willever get out of Iran. I get to talk to himevery once in a while, but I know mymother is lonely without him."Hiebert's mother and sister are still,

living in Canada.