Highlands Ranch author writes about Baha’i religious persecution in Iran

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Never leaving each other even when death felt near, three friends faced Mother Nature’s harsh elements, relied on the help of strangers and walked on foot through mountainous landscape to reach their dream of freedom.

Now, one of the three men, Dr. Mansur Nurdel, is sharing his story about fleeing Iran for America.

The local optometrist and new author Nurdel recently read excerpts from his book, “One More Mountain” in hopes of educating the public on the Baha’i Faith and the injustices that continue in Iran at the Highlands Ranch Library.

The Baha’i Faith, a religion practiced globally, was founded in Iran nearly 200 years ago. In Iran, Baha’i followers continue to be marginalized, abused, imprisoned and killed as it is considered a blasphemous religion by the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to Nurdel.

Mixed with fond childhood memories of playing soccer with his siblings and his mother’s unconditional love are the memories of having to face religious persecution and the imminent threat of death in his homeland.

Nurdel takes the readers through pivotal moments in his life leading up to his escape when he was 25-years-old.

“It was not possible to just jump to the escape and all those mountains that I crossed, so I decided to really give a background so it’s possible to understand why I escaped,” said Nurdel.

The first part of Nurdel’s book focuses on how Nurdel’s came into the Baha’i Faith, his childhood and when he realized he and his family were treated differently due to their faith. He vividly recalls the moments his heart raced from fear, the moments of sadness when he witnessed autopsies and the anger when seeing family members get bullied.

The book transitions to Nurdel’s teen and young adult years after his family were forced to move to another part of the country following an attack on his childhood home.

Tensions continued to escalate across the country as well as the unfair treatment of the Baha’i community.

“It’s not easy to leave your family behind, everything you know behind, not just family,” said Nurdel. “So I needed to build that understanding with the readers, the