Persecution

Under siege in Iran, Bahá’ís demonstrate the courage of their convictions.

Throughout the history of the Faith, the Bahá’ís of Iran have been persecuted. In the mid-1800s, some 20,000 followers were killed by the authorities or by mobs, who viewed the infant movement has heretical to Islam.

In the twentieth century, periodic outbreaks of violence were directed against Bahá’ís in Iran, and the government often used Bahá’ís as a scapegoat. In 1933, for example, Bahá’í literature was banned, Bahá’í marriages were not recognized, and Bahá’ís in public service were demoted or fired. In 1955, the government oversaw the demolition of the Bahá’í national center in Tehran with pickaxes.

Bahá’ís understand this pattern of persecution as a manifestation of the misunderstanding and fear that often occur when a new religion emerges from the matrix of a well-established orthodoxy. The pattern has been repeated through the ages; indeed, virtually all of the world’s great religions have faced intense persecution in their early history.

In 1979, with the establishment of an Islamic Republic, the persecutions took a new direction, becoming an official government policy and being pursued in a systematic way. Since that year, more than 200 Bahá’ís have been executed or killed, hundreds more have been imprisoned, and tens of thousands have been deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational opportunities. All national Bahá’í administrative structures were banned by the government, and holy places, shrines, and cemeteries were confiscated, vandalized, or destroyed.

In the face of intense international pressure, the Iranian government gradually halted the executions and greatly reduced the number of Bahá’ís held in prison. Yet the wholesale persecution and oppression of Iranian Bahá’ís continues, though in a manner that seems designed to evade the scrutiny of international human rights monitors.

In recent years, Bahá’ís have been subject to revolving-door arrests and detentions calculated to sow terror among Iranian Bahá’ís. Some of the prisoners, for example, were held incommunicado, in unknown locations, while their families desperately searched for them. In addition, government agents conducted prolonged searches of many of their homes, confiscating documents, books, computers, copiers and other belongings.

The government has put in place measures to suffocate the Bahá’í community through extensive social and economic restrictions. It has destroyed Bahá’í holy sites, blocked Bahá’ís from obtaining business licenses and other means of livelihood, and harassed Bahá’í school children.

The 350,000-member Bahá’í community comprises the largest religious minority in that country, and Bahá’ís have been oppressed solely because of religious hatred. Islamic fundamentalists in Iran and elsewhere have long viewed the Bahá’í Faith as a threat to Islam, branding Bahá’ís as heretics and apostates. The progressive position of the Faith on women’s rights, independent investigation of truth, and education has particularly rankled Muslim clerics.

In June 1983, for example, the Iranian authorities arrested ten Bahá’í women and girls. The charge against them: teaching children’s classes on the Bahá’í Faith — the equivalent of Sunday school in the West.

The women were subjected to intense physical and mental abuse in an effort to coerce them to recant their Faith — an option that is always pressed on Bahá’í prisoners. Yet, like most Bahá’ís who were arrested in Iran, they refused to deny their beliefs. As a result, they were executed.

International protest against the persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran has been widespread. Thousands of newspaper articles about the persecution have appeared around the world. Prominent international organizations, including the European Parliament and several national legislatures, have passed resolutions condemning or expressing concern about the Bahá’ís of Iran. More important, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the UN General Assembly have passed numerous resolutions expressing concern over Iran’s human rights record. Virtually all of these resolutions have specifically mentioned the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran.

Despite this kind of pressure, evidence continues to emerge that the government has not  given up on its goal of destroying the Bahá’í community. A secret government memorandum came to light in 1993 aimed at establishing a coordinated policy regarding “the Bahá’í question.” Drafted by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and signed by Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the document states unequivocally that the “progress and development” of the Bahá’í community “shall be blocked.”

One example of this subtle campaign to block the development of the Bahá’í community can be seen in an effort to prevent Bahá’ís from educating their youth. Banned from colleges and universities since 1979, the government has in recent years pretended to open its doors to Bahá’í students. However, Bahá’ís have found that almost as soon as they enrolled, a reason was found to expel them.

For the academic year 2006-2007, for example, the majority of the roughly 200 Bahá’ís who managed to enroll in Iranian universities had been expelled by the end of the year. And for the academic year 2007-2008, almost 800 of the more than 1,000 Baha'is who sat for and properly completed the entrance exam in June 2007 have received word that their files are "incomplete" — thus preventing their enrollment.

Links

• Bahá'í Question Web site

  The Iranian government's long term strategy to destroy the Bahá'í community without bringing undue international attention was cruelly outlined in a secret 1991 memorandum that aimed at establishing policy regarding "the Bahá’í question." More >

• Denial of Education Website

  Since 1979, the government of Iran has systematically sought to deprive its largest religious minority of the right to a full education. Specifically, the Islamic Republic of Iran has for more than 25 years blocked the 300,000-member Bahá’í community from higher education, refusing young Bahá’ís entry into university and college. The government has also sought to close down Bahá’í efforts to establish their own institutions of higher learning. More >

• The Bahá'í Institute Of Higher Education: A Creative And Peaceful Response To Religious Persecution In Iran

  Since 1980, as part of a government-directed attempt to destroy the intellectual and cultural life of the 300,000-member Bahá'í community, young people who declare their Bahá'í identity have been systematically excluded from colleges and universities in Iran. More >

• Iran's Secret Blueprint for the Destruction of the Bahá'í Community

  The emergence in early 1993 of a heretofore secret Iranian Government memorandum aimed at establishing policy on "the Bahá'í question" has convincingly demonstrated that Iran's policies toward the Bahá'ís are in fact centrally orchestrated, as the worldwide Bahá'í community has claimed for many years. More >

• Annual Summaries 1993 - 2003

  Annual summaries of the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran. More >

• The Case of the Bahá'í Minority in Iran

  The experience of the Bahá'ís of Iran is a classic case of the violation of human rights, produced by religious intolerance. Prior to the Islamic revolution a deep-seated prejudice against the Bahá'ís and their religion characterized not only Iran's Islamic clergy and the illiterate masses, but also many among the country's educated elite and middle class. The prejudice was widespread and communicated itself to many Western observers. More >

• Situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran

  Throughout the past century, the Bahá'ís of Iran have been persecuted. With the triumph of the Islamic revolution in 1979, this persecution has been systematized. More than 200 Bahá'ís have been executed or killed, hundreds more have been imprisoned, and tens of thousands have been deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational opportunities. More >