The first open letter from El-Yasin Community to the leaders of Iran and the World

September, 2007
(Four months after Master Eliya’s first arrest and imprisonment)
 
Greetings to the injustice fighting people of Iran
Greetings to all the justice seeking people of the world
The world hails righteous governors and rulers

 
 After many years of pressure and intimidation, on May 27, 2007 Master Fattahi better known as Eliya M. was arrested by the obscure "Department Against Religions and Religious Minorities" (DARRM)[1] .  He was sent to security ward 209 of the infamous Evin prison. Afraid from his followers support, the security officials were at loss to decide on jailing him. According to DARRM statement, Eliya M. was finally arrested by decision of high ranking religious officials

[1] DARRM is an unknown organization rooted in many cultural organizations and government and non-government offices who counter against unconventional opinions. The recent measures by DARRM shows that they are some wage-earners to hide themselves under the cover of legal and legitimate department with accepted standards (all claiming to be defenders of Islam) and have generated inhumane atrocities
It started with a ferocious media attacks with a leading extremist newspaper[1] followed by mental pressures in the winter of 2006. A council consist of highest ranking religious and cleric powers of Iran decided that Eliya M. should be quietly arrested under charges of permuting the religion (Islam), proselytism, invitation to spiritual pluralism, conspiracy against the Islamic government, renewal of religion by linking Islam, Christianity and Judaism; spiritual liberalism and incitement to the so-called American Islam and many other routine accusations that are used in these cases such as: Offending sacred symbols of religion, conspiracy by creating underground secret society and cult (Eliya-ism).
But he had only one crime: he was against the Islam that calls for violence, against hard-line religion and cultural Al-Qaeda; the same Al-Qaeda that created Islam and Quran’s darkest faces for the world to see. Eliya was arrested for spiritual liberty, for a different interpretation of Quran which was against the cold stagnant understanding of religion.
While imprisoned, we heard much news of culture killers led by the DARRM. Eliya has been under intense pressure and mental torture to deny the truth and the great achievements of his past 15 years.
Following Master Eliya’s advice, his students kept silent and pondered in patience hoping that officials would end this cultural Al-Qaedaism and religious Talibanism, The same Taliban that initiated the "serial killings" and the savage beatings in student dormitories.
Months passed with no avail, since DARRM had prepared mountains of fake documents and false bulletins against the Master and his followers. These allegations were published in newsletters and digests and distributed among government officials.
Now we have decided to come out and act. It has been months since the inquisitors have butchered free thinking, spirituality and freedom and as a response, we will endeavor to shout the truth and bring it to the world's attention…[2]
Eliya M. started sharing the results of his observation, thoughts and researches with a selected few students when he was 16. His teachings were on different aspects of esoteric sciences within the Quran and Gods words, specifically a meaning-based interpretation of God's word focusing on its esoteric angles.
His theoretical and practical teachings were limited to his selected students. He started his first wave of public lectures in Tehran when he was 23. His lectures proved to be extremely popular for students and the youth of society attracting great attention and praise from the literary, cultural and thinking leaders of Iran.
The enthusiastic responses to Master Eliya’s lectures were up to such an extent that the main auditoriums of Tehran were not spacious enough for eager audience. Further sessions were carried out with audio or video playback.
In the following years, under serious pressure from the DARRM, the number of lectures was reduced. Not a week passed without direct or indirect attacks from cultural Al-Qaeda and religious Taliban in their bid to control the scene of culture and religion.
 During a lecture at the Shahid Shiroudi stadium in Tehran, a direct and physical attack was mounted in a bid to harm and capture Eliya. Fortunately he was not arrested as a result of participants’ robust defense.
Afterward, in a follow up maneuver, social and personal attacks increased in the indirect and direct media. According to Fars Press, four cultural and security bodies were given a mandate to deal with Eliya M, his followers and any other spiritual offspring's. A wave of misdirection and disinformation started on government controlled TV channels in roundtable discussions and debates in order to condemn and control any forms of new age spirituality.
Calumnious various accusations surfaced against Eliya, a few are listed below:
The new Messiah, Oshu and Krishna Murti's next ring, the prophet of non-believers and non religious, the preacher of spirituality without religion, US and western power's agent, preacher of negative resistance, 21st century wizard, Mahatma Eliya, the second Gandhi, The second Luther, corrupted, excommunicated, leader of American culture, preacher of spiritual innovation and pluralism, harbinger of so called Eliya-ism.
At the meantime, under the influence of DARRM, an extremist right-party newspaper started a very potent attack on Master Eliya calling all judicial and security related organization to act. In its last articles, the newspaper quoted sources that a special investigative unit was formed in the judiciary calling for all and any person who might want to bring civil or criminal charges against Master Eliya. Months later, no one had deposed any complaint so the case was closed.
Meanwhile, a lecture by Master Eliya at Azadi stadium of Tehran with 100 thousand people capacity was planned. Security bodies blocked the event and a new trend of baring entry to government offices was experienced by Eliya’s student and followers. Eliya’s followers were quite active in literary and cultural publications, most of these publications were banned and their licenses were revoked. Four magazine namely “Arts of living”, “The Motivators”, “Esoteric sciences”, and “Art of Sublime Living” were closed with the charge of having editorial members who were student and followers of Eliya. Other publications such as “Science of Success”[3], “Childish News” and “Sublime Thinking” faced with such abnormal obstacles that they had no choice but to stop their activities.

A book named “The process of Divine Guidance” that consists of the lectures of Master Eliya when he was 23 years old and other books written by his spouse (The Divine Gardener, The True Dream…) were banned and confiscated. Some bookstores stopped selling these books after receiving threats and menaces from anonymous agents.

Eliya’s followers ran many NGOs in varied fields such as culture, arts, charity, think tanks, research centres and environment. Their activities were impacted to the point of halting operations. The pressure increased on Eliya’s followers in the form of sudden arrests, interrogation and pressure to make false confessions. Many houses were raided of course to no avail. At the end DARRM came to the conclusion that the best way to deal with Eliya is to use unfair tactics, in the form of full-fledged personality attacks.

A dark wave of defamation was launched against Master Eliya to discredit him, an old tactic which is as old as history of mankind.

Calumny and slander about Oshu Rajneesh, Krishnamurti, Sai Baba, Dalai Lama and Ghandi started surfacing, interestingly enough the same accusation were aimed forcefully at Eliya. One day an article would claim that Martin Lutherking posed a great dilemma for Christianity or speculation on Ghandi’s dark past and his inner thoughts. Another day, Dalai Lama would be pictured as a US backed puppet against China and expansion of Chinese spirituality, then it would back to similar practices by a man named Eliya in Iran. Publication of such texts in web blogs and websites was just preparation for the next wave of accusations. They accused him of being anti religion, claiming to be god and preacher of non-violent resistance.

The whole shameful poisoning of public sentiment in addition to the absolutely fallacious propaganda sponsored by Religions Department (DARRM) prompted cultural slayers and Al-Qaeda-inspired commandos barbarically stormed the Master’s residence plundering all his written works seized and assaulted him while he was holding in his arms his two-years-old baby. He was then manacled and carried off to the knackers’ yard of ideas and abattoir of freedom.
From the very first day, the master communicated his message through 209, “Take no action! Analyze and ponder in silence” after a while some more students of the Master were seized on different pretexts. The initial titles of all these allegations involved, "blaspheme and desecration, propagation against the regime and actions to harm national security" and it was only the complementary part of the charges which were a bit different. News ran about on the Master going through a variety of tortures and torments. He was under unthinkably unbearable pressure to make taped confession of fabricated allegations to corroborate potential imprisonment or execution of the students. Excruciating sufferings of ear and nose bleeding, blooded urination and bloody vomiting were regularly reported out of prison. Myriad of slanders were attributed to the Master and the summoned students were urged to spread them throughout the society. They kept reminding that even if the master should be freed provisionally, he would positively not be allowed to make any public speech; he must not write or speak to the public; he is not entitled to meet his wards nor is he allowed to leave the country.
Propagation and inoculation sponsored by “Anti-religions Department”; the DARRM, were meant to introduce the Master as the most dangerous and most controversial social phenomenon; one who must be discredited at any cost whatsoever so that he would lose popularity with the youth.
During the frequent interrogation session (we will publish transcripts of these session in due time), psychological tools were used to destroy Eliya’s reputation, to turn away his followers and to create a false and tarnished image of a once loved Master.
In the meantime, a new movement was born within Eliya’s followers. The movement was based on a reactionary and mirroring philosophy. The message to DARRM was clear: we will do to you, what you did to us. “An eye for eye” against schemers and oppressors. This potent movement took on the mantle of defending Eliya. This letter is a step toward denouncing and clarifying the actions and presence of the so-called Al-Qaedaish Muslims who are oppressing the fields of spirituality, free thinking and culture in our country.
...
In September 2007, a video was leaked out of DARRM by one of its editors. In the film, Eliya can be seen as saying “I wanted to conquer the government and Islamic regime” and the scene abruptly cuts to another sentence. In the uncut version obtained by the El-Yasin Community, the complete scene is seen as “You want me to confess that I wanted to conquer the government and Islamic regime. My will …..” Obviously the “You want me to confess that” was cut out to turn the sentence. The original uncut version can be broadcasted on satellite TV if needed. [4]
To this day, 40 books that are mainly Eliya’s lectures have been confiscated. The only published version is his lectures of 11 years ago when he was 23, his other works will be published very soon, one way or the other. In parallel, more than 200 research projects that were directly or indirectly led by Eliya M have been frozen by the butchers of spirituality.
Writers, lecturers and researchers who had been directly or indirectly trained by the Master are not allowed to neither speak nor write, just because they are indirectly linked to Eliya.
It has been long since the DARRM clearly stated that the freedom of Eliya is conditioned to the silence of his followers and the halt of any justice seeking activity and correspondence with officials and legal bodies.
 
Today, we, the El-Yasin community, the biggest cultural and spiritual NGO of Iran ask the officials and the authorities to address the injustice, lies, oppression and inquisition that we have been through and we request for our beloved teacher to be freed.
 
Some of Master Eliya’s students and admirers
 

 

[1] Keyhan Newspaper
[2]  A Part of the open  letter of “ Master Eliya M’s students and followers to the leader of Iran – Ayatollah Khamenei“ which published and distributed widely in Iran an all over the world.
[3] Five months after publishing this letter the “science of success” magazine was also closed by DARRM’s agents.
[4] The fabricated and also uncut version of this film are published through you-tube on February 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjgRSQX94Gc)