Persecution of Bahá'ís 3384707 224722100 2008-07-10T03:20:11Z Sardanaphalus 427947 updating link using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Bahá'í}} The '''persecution of Bahá'ís''' is the [[religious persecution]] of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in [[Iran]]<ref name="fdih1">{{cite web |date=2003-08-01 |title=Discrimination against religious minorities in Iran |author=International Federation for Human Rights |publisher=fdih.org |accessdate=2006-10-20 |url=http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ir0108a.pdf}}</ref>, where the [[Bahá'í Faith]] originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world. The origins of persecution stem from a variety of Bahá'í teachings which challenge traditional [[Islam]]ic belief, including the finality of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] prophethood, and places Bahá'ís outside the Islamic faith;<ref name="affolter">{{cite journal |first=Friedrich W. |last=Affolter |title=The Specter of Ideological Genocide: The Bahá'ís of Iran | journal = War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity | volume = 1 | issue = 1 |pages=59– 89 |year=2005|url=http://www.aa.psu.edu/journals/war-crimes/articles/V1/v1n1a3.pdf}}</ref><ref>Mottahedeh, Roy, ''The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran'', One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000, p.238</ref> thus Bahá'ís are seen as [[Apostasy in Islam|apostates from Islam]] and must choose between repentance or death.<ref>Mottahedeh, Roy, ''The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran'', One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000, p.238</ref> Bahá'ís as well as the [[United Nations]], [[Amnesty International]], the [[European Union]], the [[United States]] and peer-reviewed academic literature have stated that the members of the Bahá'í community in [[Iran]] have been subjected to unwarranted arrests, false imprisonment, beatings, [[torture]], unjustified executions, confiscation and destruction of property owned by individuals and the Bahá'í community, denial of employment, denial of government benefits, denial of civil rights and liberties, and denial of access to higher education.<ref name="fdih1" /> ==Historical context==<!-- This section is linked from [[End times]] --> The Bahá'í Faith grew out of [[Bábism]], which was established in [[1844]] by the [[Báb]] in Iran.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1988 |title=The Bahá'í Faith | encyclopedia = Britannica Book of the Year |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |location=Chicago |id=ISBN 0852294867}}</ref> 89% of Iranians adhere to the [[Twelvers|Twelver]] school of the sect of [[Shi'a Islam]], which holds as a core doctrine the expected advent of a messianic figure known as the [[Qa'im]] or as the [[Muhammad al-Mahdi|Imam Mahdi]].<ref name="amanat">{{cite book |last=Amanat |first=Abbas |year=1989 |title=Resurrection and renewal: The making of the Bábí movement in Iran, 1844-1850 |location=Ithaca, NY |publisher=Cornell University Press |id=ISBN 0801420989}}</ref> The Báb claimed he was the Imam Mahdi and thus he had equal status to the Prophet [[Muhammad]] with the power, which he exercised, to abrogate the final provisions of [[Islamic law]].<ref name="amanat1">{{cite journal |title=The Resurgence of Apocalyptic in Modern Islam | first= Abbas |last=Amanat |editor= Stephen J. Stein, ed. | journal = The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism | volume = vol. III |location = New York |publisher= Continuum |year=2000 |pages=pp. 230–254 |url=http://bahai-library.org/excerpts/apocalyptic.amanat.html}}</ref> [[Bahá'u'lláh]], a Bábí who claimed to be the one foretold by the [[Báb]], claimed a similar station for himself in 1863 as a [[Manifestation of God]] and as the promised figure foretold in the sacred scriptures of the major religious traditions of the past and founded what later came to be known as the Bahá'í Faith.<ref name="eor">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Hutter |first=Manfred |editor=Ed. Lindsay Jones | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Religion |title=Bahā'īs | edition = 2nd ed. |year=2005 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA | volume = 2 |location=Detroit |id=ISBN 0028657330 |pages=p737-740}}</ref> {{Religious persecution}} Concerning the historical context of the persecutions, Friedrich W. Affolter in "War Crimes, Genocide, & Crimes against Humanity" writes: {{cquote|Bahá’u’lláh’s writings deal with a variety of themes that challenge long-cherished doctrines of Shí‘i‐Islam. In addition to making the ‘heretic’[sic] claim of being a ‘Manifestation of God,’ he suggested that school curricula should include ‘[[Western world|Western]] Sciences,’ that the nation states (Muslim and non-Muslim) should establish a world federal government, and that men and women were equal. Bahá’u’lláh also wrote that in this time and age, priests were no longer necessary for religious guidance. Humanity, he argued, had reached an age of maturity where it was incumbent upon every individual to search for God and truth independently. These principles did not only call into question the need for a priesthood, but also the entire Shí‘i ecclesiastical structure and the vast system of endowments, benefices and fees that sustained it. No surprise then that in the following decades until the overthrow of the [[Qajar dynasty|Qájár dynasty]] in [[1925]], it was the mullas who instigated attacks against the Bahá’ís in cities or villages where the clerical establishment was particularly influential.<ref name="affolter"/>}} In addition to this the [[Bábís|Bábí religion]], the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith had a violent history in Iran. Friedrich W. Affolter writes: {{cquote|Initially, the mullas hoped to stop the Bábí movement from spreading by denouncing its followers as [[apostates]] and enemies of God. These denouncements resulted in mob attacks, public executions and torture of early Bábís. When the Bábís (in accordance with Koranic principles) organized to defend themselves, the government sent troops into a series of engagements that resulted in heavy losses on both sides. The Báb himself was imprisoned from 1846 until 1850 and eventually publicly executed. In August 1852, two deranged Bábís attempted to kill the Shah in revenge for the execution of the Báb. This resulted in an extensive pogrom during which more than 20,000 Bábís – among them 400 Shí‘i mullas who had embraced the Bábí teachings – lost their lives.<ref name="affolter" />}} Others have stated that the Bábís originally armed themselves and prepared for a holy war that became defensive when they encountered state troops in several locations and that two to three thousand Bábís were killed. Bahá’u’lláh took a more conciliatory position, forbidding the use of [[Religious war|holy war]] to spread his faith. Instead, he attempted to engage various governments in dialog; however, the radical nature of his claim to prophethood did little to change the perception of the people of Iran. To this day, Bahá'ís are a widely persecuted [[Religious minorities in Iran|minority group in Iran]] and other predominantly Muslim countries, since they are seen as apostates from Islam, and supporters of the [[Western World|West]] and [[Israel]].<ref name="sanasarian">{{cite book |first=Eliz |last=Sanasarian |title=Religious Minorities in Iran |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |pages=pp. 52-53 |id=ISBN 0521770734}}</ref> ==Iran== ===Legal context=== The Iranian constitution that was drafted during the [[Iranian Constitutional Revolution]] in 1906 set the groundwork for the institutionalized persecution of Bahá'ís.<ref name="ihrdc">{{cite web | author= Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |publisher=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center | title= A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran | date= 2007 |accessdate=2008-04-27|url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_report.pdf}}</ref> While the constitution was modelled on [[Belgium|Belgium's]] 1831 constitution, the provisions guaranteeing freedom of worship were omitted.<ref name="clmic">{{cite journal |first=Janet |last=Afary |title=Civil Liberties and the Making of Iran's Constitution, Retrospectives on the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1905-1909 | journal = Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East |publisher=Duke University Press | volume = 25 | issue = 2 |year=2005 |pages=pp. 341–359}}</ref> Subsequent legislation provided some recognition to Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians as equal citizens under state law, but it did not guarantee freedom of religion and "gave unprecedented institutional powers to the clerical establishment."<ref name="clmic" /> The Islamic Republic of Iran, that was established after the [[Iranian revolution]], recognizes four religions, whose status is formally protected: [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]].<ref name="fdih1" /> Members of the first three minority religions receive special treatment under Iranian law. For example, their members are allowed to drink alcohol, and representatives of several minority communities are guaranteed seats in [[Majlis of Iran|parliament]].<ref name="fdih1" /> However, religious freedom in Iran is far from absolute, to say the least. Conversion away from Islam ([[apostasy]]) is forbidden, with both converts and missionaries risking prison.<ref name="fdih1" /> Those seeking to start a new religious group (whether Muslim or not) face severe restrictions. In contrast to a country like the [[United States]]--whose inhabitants are essentially free to establish whatever new [[mosques]], [[churches]], denominations, and religions they please--none of these things is allowed in Iran. The Bahá'í Faith faces an additional, technical hurdle. Iranian law recognizes all those who accept the existence of God and the prophethood of Muhammad as Muslims. Bahá'ís accept both of these precepts, however Bahá'ís recognize the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh as additional messengers that have appeared after Muhammad.<ref name="eor" /> Muslims, on the other hand, assert the finality of Muhammad's revelation. Iranian law therefore treats Bahá'ís as "heretics" rather than members of an independent religion, as they describe themselves.<ref name="affolter" /> Other unrecognized Iranian religious minorities include the [[Yarsan|Ahl-e Haqq]], the [[Mandaeism|Mandaeans]], [[Azalis]] and [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] Christians. Non-Muslims comprise less than 1% of Iran's population. See [[religious minorities in Iran]]. ===Political context=== At least one scholar has described Bahá'ís in Iran prior to the Islamic Republic as "a political pawn". Government toleration of Bahá'ís being in accord with secular Western ideas of [[Freedom of religion|freedom of worship]] was "a way of showing [[mullah]]s who was boss." Correspondingly, since the Bahá'ís were a relatively small minority and most Iranians followed traditional beliefs of [[Apostasy in Islam]], when the government was politically weak and in need of clerical support, withdrawal of government protection to "allow active persecution of the Bahá'ís," was a "low cost pawn that could be sacrificed to the [[mullah]]s". Thus during the heyday of secular ruler [[Reza Shah]] Bahá'ís were protected; while in 1955, when Reza Shah's son Muhammad needed clerical support for the [[Baghdad Pact]] and with the [[1953 Iranian coup d'état]] only two years past, Bahá'ís were attacked. <ref>Mottahedeh, Roy, ''The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran'', One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000, p.231 </ref> ===Early 20th century and the Pahlavi Dynasty=== Starting in the twentieth century, in addition to repression that impacted individual Bahá'ís, centrally-directed campaigns that targeted the entire Bahá'í community and institutions were initiated.<ref name="ihrdc" /> Some of these persecutions were recorded by missionaries who were in the areas at the time of the massacres.<ref name="affolter" /> In one case in [[Yazd]] in 1903 more than 100 Bahá'ís were killed.<ref name="nash">{{cite book | title = Iran's secret pogrom : The conspiracy to wipe out the Bahaʼis |first=Geoffrey |last=Nash | publisher= Neville Spearman Limited |location=Sudbury, Suffolk |year=1982 |id=ISBN 0854350055}}</ref> Later on Bahá'í schools, such as the Tarbiyat boys' and girl's schools in Tehran, were closed in the 1930s and '40s, Bahá'í marriages were not recognized and [[Bahá'í literature]] was censored.<ref name="sanasarian" /><ref name="ihrdc" /> During the reign of [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], due to the growing nationalism and the economic difficulties in the country, the Shah gave up control over certain religious affairs to the clergy of the country.<ref name="akhavi">{{cite book |title= Religion and Politics in Contemporary Iran: clergy-state relations in the Pahlavi period |first= Shahrough |last=Akhavi |year=1980 |publisher=SUNY Press |location=Albany, New York |id=ISBN 0873954084}}</ref> Among other things, the power sharing resulted in a campaign of persecution against the Bahá'ís.<ref name="akhavi" /> Akhavi has suggested it is likely the government had hoped that by orchestrating a movement against the Bahá'ís it could serve to obscure the fact that revenues obtained by the distribution of oil from western oil companies was going to be too low for the growing nationalistic sentiment; it would also serve to gain the support of the clergy for their foreign policy.<ref name="akhavi" /> They approved and coordinated the anti-Bahá'í campaign to incite public passion against the Bahá'ís started in 1955 and included the spreading of anti-Bahá'í propaganda in national radio stations and official newspapers.<ref name="ihrdc" /> During the the month of [[Ramadan]] in 1955, [[Sheikh Mohammad Taqi Falsafi]], a populist preacher, started one of the highest-profile anti-Bahá'í propaganda schemes.<ref name="ihrdc" /> After receiving permission from the Shah to state anti-Bahá'í rhetoric in his [[sermons]], he encouraged other clergy to discuss the Bahá'í issue in their sermons.<ref name="falsafi">Khatirat va Mubarizat-i Hojjatolislam Mohammad Taqi Falsafi [THE MEMORIES AND CAMPAIGNS OF HOJJATOL-ISLAM MOHAMMAD TAQI FALSAFI] (Ali Davani, ed., The Center for Islamic Revolution Documents, 2003) translated in {{cite web | author= Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |publisher=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center | title= A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran | date= 2007 |accessdate=2007-03-03|url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_report.pdf}}</ref> These sermons caused [[mob violence]] against Bahá'ís; Bahá'í properties were destroyed, [[Haziratu'l-Quds|Bahá'í centres]] were looted, Bahá'í cemeteries desecrated, Bahá'ís were killed, some hacked to pieces, Bahá'í women were abducted and forced to marry Muslims, and Bahá'ís were expelled and dismissed from schools and employment.<ref name="affolter" /><ref name="ihrdc" /> During the third week of the sermons the National Bahá'í Centre in [[Tehran]] was occupied by the military and its dome later destroyed.<ref name="ihrdc" /> The Minister of the Interior, Amir Asadollah Alam, wrote in his memoirs: :"Falsafi managed to fool both the Shah and the military authorities and start a campaign against the Bahá’ís that dragged the country to the edge of disaster. It was Ramadan. [Falsafi’s] noon sermons were broadcast throughout the nation via radio and caused violence and terror in many locations. People killed a few Bahá’ís here and there. Falsafi justified these acts by saying that they increased the Shah’s prestige. I had no choice but to order him, in my own rash way, to refrain from giving further speeches until order was reestablished."<ref name="alam">{{cite book |title=Guftugu Ha-i Man ba Shah, Khatirat-i Mahramaniyyih Asadollah 'Alam [My Conversations with the Shah, the Secret Memoirs of Asadollah 'Alam] |author= Abdulreza Hushang Mahdavi |location=Tehran |publisher=Tarh-i Naw Publications | edition= 3d ed. |year=1992 |pages=pp. 66-67}} translated in {{cite web | author= Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |publisher=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center | title= A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran | date= 2007 |accessdate=2007-03-03|url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_report.pdf}}</ref> While the government tried to stop the sermons, Falsafi did not stop his sermons until the end of Ramadan.<ref name="ihrdc" /> Throughout the 1950s the clergy continued to initiate the repression of the Bahá'í community; however, their efforts were checked by government ministers who, while they were sympathetic to the anti-Bahá'í sentiment, feared that the violence would get out of control and cause international criticism.<ref name="akhavi" /> Also during the 1950s, the fundamentalist Islamic organization named [[Hojjatiyeh]], whose central aim was to combat the Bahá'í Faith, was founded.<ref name="sanasarian2">{{cite book |first=Eliz |last=Sanasarian |title=Religious Minorities in Iran |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |pages=pp. 116-123 |id=ISBN 0521770734}}</ref> Members of the group entered Bahá'í communities, and many of the Bahá'í arrests, imprisonments and executions are often attributed to Hojjatiyeh members having access to Bahá'í registration books.<ref name="sanasarian2" /> Also during the Pahlevi era, the Hojjatiyeh seem to have cooperated with [[SAVAK]], the Iranian government's intelligence agency who had gathered information about the religious affiliation of Iranian citizens, to attack the Bahá'ís.<ref name="ihrdc" /> Eliz Sanasarian states that while many Iranians blamed the Bahá'í persecution on Hojjatiyeh, who was the most visible anti-Bahá'í force, that the silent Iranian majority "cannot avoid personal and communal responsibility for the persecutions of the Bahá'í in this extreme manner. To provide tacit support, to remain silent, ... do not excuse the majority for the actions based on prejudice and hate against an Iranian religious minority group."<ref name="sanasarian2" /> In the late 1970s the Shah's regime, due to criticism that he was pro-Western, consistently lost legitimacy. As the anti-Shah movement gained ground and support, revolutionary propaganda was spread that some of the Shah's advisors were Bahá'ís.<ref>{{cite book |title=Iran Between Two Revolutions |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |id=ISBN 0691101345 |publisher=Princeton Book Company Publishers |year=1982 |pages=pp. 432}}</ref> Bahá'ís were portrayed as economic threats, supporters of Israel and the West and popular hatred for the Bahá'ís increased.<ref name="ihrdc" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Lifting the Veil |first=John |last=Simpson | coauthors = Shubart, Tira |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton General Division |location= London year = 1995 |id=ISBN 0340628146 |pages=pg. 223}}</ref> ===Iranian revolution=== During the [[Iranian revolution]] attacks against the Bahá'ís increased. In 1979 Hojjatiyeh members took over the Bahá'í National Centre in Tehran and other cities and expelled staff and seized personnel files and membership lists.<ref name="martin">{{cite journal |first=Douglas |last=Martin |title=The Persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran 1844-1984 | journal = Bahá'í Studies | volume = 12/13 |year=1984}}</ref> These files were later used by Hojjatiyeh including sending flyers in the mail warning Bahá'ís of the consequences of continuing to believe in the Bahá'í beliefs.<ref name="martin" /> Also, once again, there were reports of mob attacks, arson, and deaths and murders against the Bahá'ís across Iran; twenty-two Bahá'í cemeteries as well as hundreds of Bahá'í homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.<ref name="ihrdc" /> During December of 1978 in [[Sarvestan]], a city south of [[Shiraz]], it was reported that several hundred Bahá'í houses were set on fire, and more than 1,000 Bahá'ís were left homeless.<ref>{{cite book |first=Olya |last=Roohizadegan |year=1994 |title=Olya's story. A survivor's dramatic account of the persecution of Bahá'ís in revolutionary Iran |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Oneworld Publications |id=ISBN 1-85168-073-X}}</ref> Reports of the attacks suggest that they were not spontaneous, but that they were initiated by the military government appointed by the Shah, that SAVAK provided the addresses for Bahá'ís, and when the army showed up they did not take action to prevent the fires from spreading.<ref name="ihrdc" /> Further attacks happened throughout the country including Bahá'ís who would not recant being fired at and having their homes destroyed; the violence continued even after the Shah fled Iran.<ref name="ihrdc" /> ===Islamic Republic=== <!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Imam Khomeini.jpg|thumb|[[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]] increased persecution of the Bahá'í community after the 1979 Iranian revolution.]] --> After the Shah left Iran on [[January 16]], [[1979]], [[Ayatollah Khomeini]] returned on [[February 1]], [[1979]] and started the process of creating a new government. During an interview before returning to Iran with Professor James Cockroft, Khomeini stated that Bahá'ís would not have religious freedom: :''Cockroft'': Will there be either religious or political freedom for the Bahá'ís under the Islamic government? :''Khomeini'': They are a political faction; they are harmful. They will not be accepted. :''Cockroft'': How about their freedom of religion{{ndash}} religious practice? :''Khomeini'': No.<ref>{{cite journal |first=James |last=Cockroft |date=1979-02-23 | journal = Seven Days}}</ref> The new government's spokesman in the [[United States]] told that while religious minorities would retain their religious rights emphasized that the Bahá'ís would not receive the same treatment, since they believed that the Bahá'ís were a political rather than religious movement.<ref>{{cite news |date=1979-02-13 |title=U.S. Jews Hold Talks With Khomeini Aide on Outlook for Rights |work=[[New York Times|The New York Times]]}}</ref> Bazargan, the provisional prime-minister, while being emphatic that all Iranians would enjoy the same rights, insisted that the Bahá'ís were a political movement and would not be tolerated.<ref name="ihrdc" /> During the drafting of the new constitution the wording intentionally excluded the Bahá'ís from protection as a religious community.<ref name="afshari">{{cite book |title=Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism |first=Reza |last=Afshari |year=2001 |id=ISBN 978-0-8122-3605-7 |location=Philadelphia, PA |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |pages=pp. 132}}</ref> Referring to the recordings of the proceedings of the official transcripts of the constitution drafting process, Sanasarian states that anti-Bahá'í thought was obvious as there was haggling "over every word and expression of certain articles to assure the exclusion of the Bahá'ís."<ref name="sanasarian3">{{cite book |first=Eliz |last=Sanasarian |title=Religious Minorities in Iran |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |pages=pp. 64 |id=ISBN 0521770734}}</ref> The final version of the constitution explicitly withholding recognition from the Bahá'ís by stating in Article 13 that the "Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian Iranians are the only recognized religious minorities..."<ref name="ihrdc" /> Responding to international criticism due to the exclusion of the Bahá'ís, spokesmen for the government stated, as before, that the Bahá'ís were a "misguided group... whose affiliation and assocaition with world Zionism is a clear fact"<ref> Statement of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Buenos Aires, September 26, 1979, cited in {{cite web | author= Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |publisher=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center | title= A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran | date= 2007 |accessdate=2007-03-03|url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_report.pdf}}</ref> and that "Bahá'ísm is not a religion, but a political doctrine."<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite book |title=Irano nox |first=Marc |last=Kravetz |publisher=Grasset |year=1982 |id=ISBN 2246248515 |location=Paris | pages=pp. 237}}</ref> Starting in late 1979 the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran systematically targeted the leadership of the Bahá'í community by focusing on the Bahá'í [[Spiritual Assembly#National Spiritual Assemblies|National Spiritual Assembly]] (NSA) and [[Spiritual Assembly#Local Spiritual Assemblies|Local Spiritual Assemblies]] (LSA). In November 1979, [[Ali Murad Davudi]], the secretary of the NSA, was kidnapped and never seen again.<ref name="doostdar">{{cite journal | journal = Bahá'í Studies Review | volume = 9 |year=1999/2000 | issue = 1 |first=Novin |last=Doostdar |url=http://bahai-library.org/bsr/bsr09/9G1_obituaries.htm |title=Obituaries}}</ref> In August 1980 all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly were arrested while meeting at a private home.<ref name="ihrdc" /> In a statement on [[September 10]], [[1980]], then speaker of the House [[Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]], stated that an order for the arrests of the Bahá'ís had been issued, but by [[October 9]], [[1980]] Rafsanjani changed his statement and said that no members of the NSA were arrested.<ref name="ihrdc" /> There has been no further news regarding the nine NSA members since their arrest in 1980, and their fate remains unknown, although there are reports that they were at some point held in [[Evin prison]]; they are now presumed dead.<ref name="ihrdc" /> After the disappearance of the NSA members, the Iranian Bahá'í elected a new NSA. On [[December 13]], [[1981]] eight of the nine new NSA members were arrested by the Iranian authorities, and were executed on [[December 27]], [[1981]] without trial.<ref name="ihrdc" /> In addition to the execution of the members of two National Spiritual Assemblies, the members of Local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the country were also killed. Between April 1979 and December 1980 at least eight prominent [[Tehran]] Bahá'ís were killed. In September 1980 in [[Yazd]], fifteen Bahá'ís were arrested, and after a graphic trial that was partially televised, seven of the Bahá'ís were executed; the remaining eight were released after four months.<ref name="ihrdc" /> In [[Tabriz]] in 1979 two prominent Bahá'ís were executed and then in 1981 all nine members of the Tabriz LSA were executed. In [[Hamadan]] seven members of the LSA of Hamaden were executed by firing squad, and while the bodies were being prepared for the funeral it was found that six of the men were physically tortured before their death.<ref name="ihrdc" /> In [[Shiraz]] between 1978 and 1981, the [[Bahá'í pilgrimage#House of the Báb, Shiraz|House of the Báb]], a Bahá'í holy place, was destroyed, five prominent Bahá'ís were executed, and more than 85 Bahá'ís were arrested for interrogations; then in 1983 sixteen more Bahá'ís were executed.<ref name="ihrdc" /> On [[August 29]], [[1983]] the government announced a legal ban on all administrative and community activities of the Bahá'í community, which required the dissolution of the third National Spiritual Assembly and about 400 Local Spiritual Assemblies.<ref name="ihrdc" /> The Bahá'í community complied with the ban, but the former members of the LSAs were routinely harassed, and seven members of the third NSA were eventually arrested and executed.<ref name="ihrdc" /> ====Secret memorandum==== In February 1991, a confidential circular<ref name="galindo">UN Doc. E/CN.4/1993/41, Commission on Human Rights, 49th session, 28 January 1993, Final report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, paragraph 310.</ref> issued by the [[Supreme Cultural Revolution Council]] on "the Bahá'í question" and signed by [[Ali Khamenei|Supreme Leader Khamenei]] himself, signalled an increase in efforts to suffocate the Iranian Bahá'í community through a more "silent" means.<ref name="affolter" /><ref name="fdih1" /><ref name="buck" /> The document organized the methods of oppression used to persecute the Bahá’ís, and contained specific recommendations on how to block the progress of the Bahá'í communities both inside and outside Iran.<ref name="affolter" /> The document stated that the most excessive types of persecutions should be avoided and instead, among other things recommended, that Bahá'ís be expelled from universities, "once it becomes known that they are Bahá'ís," to "deny them employment if they identify themselves as Bahá'ís" and to "deny them any position of influence."<ref name="fdih1" /> The existence of this so called Golpaygani Memorandum was brought to the attention of the public in a report by the then UN Human Rights Commissioner Mr Galindo Pohl (E/CM4/1993/41, 28 January 1993)<ref name="galindo" />, and the policy recommendations of the document are still in force.<ref name="affolter" /><ref name="buck" /> ===Current situation=== The 1979 Islamic Revolution has refocused the persecutions against the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'í sources estimate that more than 200 Bahá’ís have been executed since that time, with many more imprisoned, expelled from schools and workplaces, denied various benefits or denied registration for their marriages.<ref name="affolter" /> Additionally, several Bahá’í holy sites were destroyed in the revolution's aftermath, including the house of the Báb in Shiraz, the house of Bahá'u'lláh at Takur (in [[Mazandaran]]), and the house of Muhammad-Ali Barfurushi ([[Quddús]]) in [[Tehran]].<ref name="affolter" /> According to a US panel, attacks on Bahá'ís in Iran have increased since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president.<ref name="cnn2008-05">{{cite news |title=Iran's arrest of Baha'is condemned |publisher=CNN |date=2008-05-16 |accessdate=2008-05-17 |author=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/16/iran.bahais/}}</ref> Currently more than 20 Baha’is are imprisoned in Iran, some deprived of any communication with others, and most without formal charges.<ref>{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=Iran Update |url=http://www.news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2008-06-19 |accessdate=2008-06-19}}</ref> ====Arrest of Bahá'í leaders==== On [[May 14]], [[2008]], members of an informal body known as the Friends that oversaw the needs of the Bahá'í community in Iran were arrested and taken to [[Evin prison]].<ref name="cnn2008-05" /><ref>{{cite news |title=IRAN: Bahais rounded up |publisher=Los Angeles times |date=2008-05-15|first=Borzou |last=Daragahi |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/05/iran-bahais-rou.html |accessdate=2008-05-17}}</ref> Officers from the [[Iranian Ministry of Intelligence|Ministy of Intelligence]] in Tehran searched and raided the homes of the six people in the early hours of May 14.<ref name="ihrdc2008">{{cite web |title=IHRDC Condemns the Arrest of Leading Bahá’ís |url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/httpdocs/english/pdfs/PressReleases/Press-05-15-08.pdf |publisher=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |author=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |date=2008-05-14 | accessdate= 2008-05-17}}</ref> The arrest of the six follow the detention of another Bahá'í leader in March,<ref name="cnn2008-05" /> who was originally taken to answer questions relating to the burial of a Bahá'i in the Bahá'í cemetery in [[Mashad]].<ref name="ihrdc2008" /> The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center has stated that they are concerned for the safety of the Bahá'ís, and that the recent events are similar to the disappearance of 25 Bahá'í leaders in the early 1980s.<ref name="ihrdc2008" /> The [[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]] has stated that it fears that the "development signals a return to the darkest days of repression in Iran in the 1980s when Baha'is were routinely arrested, imprisoned, and executed."<ref name="cnn2008-05" /> ====Arrest of 54 young people in Shiraz==== On [[May 19]], [[2006]] Iranian officials arrested 54 Bahá'ís, mostly young people, in [[Shiraz]], according to representatives of the International Bahá'í Community.<ref name="hrw1">{{cite web |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/06/05/iran13515.htm |accessdate=2006-10-20 |title=Iran: Scores Arrested in Anti-Baha’i Campaign |publisher=Human Rights News |author=Human Rights Watch |date=2006-06-06}}</ref> Apparently the group was arrested during its participation in a community-service project teaching classes to underprivileged children, initiated by a local non-governmental organization.<ref name="hrw1" /> The group is reported to have had in its possession a letter of permission from the Islamic Council of Shiraz to undertake this service project at the time of its arrest. The nature of the charges against the Bahá'ís is unknown at present as are the conditions under which the detainees are being held.<ref name="ihrdc"/><ref name="bwns5">{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=54 Baha'is arrested in Iran |url=http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=450 |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2006-05-24 |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> On the very same day, one of the 54 Bahá'ís who had been arrested earlier but who was under the age of 15 was released without having to post bail. Several other young people who had been arrested along with the Bahá'ís but who were not themselves Bahá'í were also released without posting bail.<ref name="hrw1" /> "The arrests coincided with raids on six Bahá'í homes during which notebooks, computers, books, and other documents were confiscated," according to an article by the Bahá'í World News Service. The article further reports that since January, other than the aforementioned 54 detainees, "seven Bahá'ís have been arrested and held for periods of up to one month in [[Kermanshah]], [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]], and [[Tehran]].<ref name="hrw1" /><ref name="bwns5" /> On [[May 24]], fourteen of the Bahá'ís were released, each having been required to provide deeds of property to the value of ten million tumans (approximately US$11,000).<ref name="hrw1" /><ref name="bwns4">{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=Update on arrests in Iran |url=http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=451 |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2006-05-26 |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> On the following day 36 Bahá'ís were released on the strength of either personal guarantees or the deposit of work licenses with the court as surety that they will appear when summoned to court. <ref name="bwns4" /> The last three of the group of 54 Bahá'ís were released on 14 June. Although the judge originally demanded a bond equivalent to $54,000, they were released without bail on the promise that they would return for a later court appearance. No formal charges have been made against them. However, in most cases, some form of bail, such as deeds of property, were demanded before release.<ref name="bwns6">{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=Pattern of arrest and release continues in Iran |url=http://news.bahai.org/story/457 |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2006-06-27 |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> Currently, two Bahá'ís, arrested in Tehran and Sanandaj, remain in prison.<ref name="bwns6" /> On [[January 29]], [[2007]] Iran's judiciary sentenced the 54 Bahá'í for four years in prison for propaganda against the regime. Part of the group, 51 Bahá'ís, were given suspended one-year jail sentences conditional on their attendance of courses held by the Islamic Propaganda Organisation, which is organized by the government.<ref name="yahoo">{{cite news |author=AFP |publisher=Yahoo! News |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080129/wl_afp/iranjusticereligionbahai_080129141019 |accessdate=2008-02-01 |date=2008-01-29 |title= Iran sentences Bahai religious followers for 'anti-regime propaganda'}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] has called for the release of the Bahá'ís stating that they are "detained solely because of their religious beliefs, or their peaceful activities teaching underprivileged children."<ref name="amnesty2008">{{cite web | title =Amnesty International calls for release of Bahai prisoners in Iran |author=Amnesty International |publisher=Pavand news|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/08/jan/1285.html |accessdate=2008-02-01 |date=2008-01-30}}</ref> ====Monitoring of activities==== A confidential letter sent on [[October 29]] [[2005]] by the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Iran states that the Supreme Leader of Iran, [[Ali Khamenei|Ayatollah Khamenei]] has instructed the Command Headquarters to identify people who adhere to the Bahá'í Faith and to monitor their activities and gather any and all information about the members of the Bahá'í Faith.<ref name="Esfandiari">{{cite web |publisher=globalsecurity.com |title=Iran: UN, U.S. Concerned Over Situation Of Baha'is |first=Golnaz |last=Esfandiari |date=2006-03-30 |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2006/iran-060330-rferl03.htm |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref><ref name="UN-2006-03-20">{{cite web |title=Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief concerned about treatment of followers of Bahá'í Faith in Iran |date=2006-03-20 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |first = Asma |last=Jahangir |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/5E72D6B7B624AABBC125713700572D09?opendocument}} </ref> The letter was addressed to the [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Ministry of Information]], the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps|Revolutionary Guard]] and the Police Force.<ref name="UN-2006-03-20" /> The letter was brought to the attention of the international community by Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief, in a [[March 20]], [[2006]] press release.<ref name="UN-2006-03-20" /> In the press release the Special Rapporteur states that she "is highly concerned by information she has received concerning the treatment of members of the Bahá'í community in Iran."<ref name="UN-2006-03-20" /> The UN's press release summarizing Ms. Jahangir's report states: {{cquote|The Special Rapporteur is apprehensive about the initiative to monitor the activities of individuals merely because they adhere to a religion that differs from the state religion. She considers that such monitoring constitutes an impermissible and unacceptable interference with the rights of members of religious minorities. She also expresses concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Bahá'í Faith, in violation of international standards. The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has closely monitored the treatment of religious minorities in Iran, and has long been concerned by the systematic discrimination against members of the Bahá'í community. Since taking up the mandate in July 2004, the Special Rapporteur has intervened with the Government on a number of occasions regarding the treatment of the Bahá'í community. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating.|20px|20px|United Nations Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief|[[March 20]], [[2006]]<ref name="UN-2006-03-20" />}} The monitoring of Bahá'ís has also been seen in other official government documents; in a letter dated [[2 May]], [[2006]] from the ''Trades, Production, and Technical Services Society of Kermanshah '' to the ''Iranian Union of Battery Manufacturers,'' it was asked of the Union to provide a list of members of "the Baha'i sect” in their membership.<ref name="stepup">{{cite web |title=Iran steps up secret monitoring of Baha'is |url=http://www.bahai.org/persecution/newsreleases/02-11-06 |accessdate=2006-12-16 |date=2006-11-02 |author=Bahá'í International Community |publisher=Bahá'í International Community}}</ref> Furthermore, in a letter dated [[19 August]], [[2006]], ''Iran's Ministry of the Interior'' to the ''Department of Politics and Security in Offices of the Governors’ General'' throughout Iran ordered officials to step up the surveillance of Iranian Bahá'ís throughout the country.<ref name="stepup" /><ref name="stepup2">{{cite web |title=19 August 2006 Letter from the Iranian Ministry of the Interior |url=http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran/19-08-06 |accessdate=2006-12-16 |date=2006-08-19 |author=Ministry of the Interior |publisher=Bahá'í International Community}}</ref> Among the information requested in a detailed questionnaire about the activities of local Bahá'ís is their financial status and social interactions.<ref name="stepup" /> The [[Anti-Defamation League]] has stated that the government's effort to identify and monitor Bahá'ís is similar to the what the Jews faced in the beginning of the Nazi era:<ref name="adl">{{cite web |title=ADL Says Iranian Attempt to Monitor Bahais Sets 'Dangerous Precedent' |accessdate=2006-12-15 |date=2006-04-03 |author=Anti-Defamation League |url=http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/6D76431B-A665-4CE0-9AF7-4CF07D733D31.htm |publisher=adl.org}}</ref> they wrote the orders issued were “reminiscent of the steps taken against Jews in Europe and a dangerous step toward the institution of Nuremberg-type laws.”<ref name="adl" /> ====Deaths==== [[Image:Mona Mahmudnizhad.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Mona Mahmudnizhad]], executed at the age of 16 in Shiraz in 1983, along with 9 other Bahá’í women.]] [[Amnesty International]] and others report that 202 Bahá’ís have been killed since the Islamic Revolution (see below).<ref name="amnesty1">{{cite web |title=Dhabihullah Mahrami: Prisoner of Conscience |author=Amnesty International |date=1996-10 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |url= http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/MDE130341996?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES%5CIRAN |publisher=AI INDEX: MDE 13/34/96}}</ref> The most recent death of a Bahá’í in the custody of the Iranian government occurred on Dec, 15, 2005, in the city of [[Yazd]]. [[Dhabihu'llah Mahrami|Zabihullah Mahrami]] had been [[Capital punishment|sentenced to death]] in 1995, but in 1999 this was commuted to [[Life imprisonment|life in prison]].<ref name="mahrami_us">{{cite web |title=U.S. Condemns Iran's Persecution of Bahai Religious Prisoner |date=2005-12-23 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |author=US Department of State |url=http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/Archive/2005/Dec/27-622911.html |publisher=state.gov}}</ref> His arrest was for the crime of apostasy against Islam, but he was convicted of spying for Israel. He was approximately 59 years old.<ref name="mahrami_us" /> He died in his prison cell of unknown causes. The United States condemned the imprisonment and alleged persecution of Zabihullah Mahrami, and State Department Deputy Spokesman, Adam Ereli, said that Mr. Mahrami had received death threats in prison and been forced to perform arduous physical labour.<ref name="mahrami_us" /> The most recent Bahá’í execution apparently occurred in 1998, when the Iranian government hanged Ruhollah Rohani in [[Mashad]] on the charge of converting a woman to the faith though she herself stated that she had been a lifelong Bahá’í.<ref name="fdih1" /> Newspaper accounts describe this as the first Bahá’í execution in six years. Death sentences had also been passed against Sirus Zabhi-Moghaddam and Hedayat Kashefi-Najabadi, which have apparently not yet been carried out and Ataollah Hamid Nazrizadeh has received a ten-year prison sentence for related offences arising from the same situation.<ref name="india">{{cite news |title= Plea against execution |date=1998-10-04|accessdate=2006-10-20 |publisher=Indian Express Newspapers |author=Indian Express Newspapers |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/ie/daily/19981004/27750664.html}}</ref> ====Barriers to higher education==== Bahá’í youth are not permitted to attend institutions of higher education in Iran unless prospective students identify themselves as followers of one of the four religions recognized by the state on university entrance exams.<ref name="fdih1" /> The Iranian government has said that if Bahá’ís identify themselves as Muslims on the exams they would be allowed to enroll but Bahá’ís, as a matter of religious principle, refuse to dissimulate their beliefs.<ref name="affolter" /><ref name="log">{{cite book |first=Shoghi |last=Effendi |authorlink= Shoghi Effendi |coauthors= The Universal House of Justice |editor= Hornby, Helen (Ed.) |year= 1983 |title= Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File |publisher= Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India |id= ISBN 8185091463 |url= http://bahai-library.com/?file=hornby_lights_guidance.html&chapter=1#n215}}</ref> In an effort which the ''[[New York Times]]'' called "an elaborate act of communal self-preservation,"<ref name="NYT">New York Times, October 29, 1998.</ref> the Bahá'í community in 1987 established its own program of higher education to meet the educational needs of its young people, which evolved to become known as the [[Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education]] (BIHE), whose classes were held in private homes and had an enrollment of approximately 900 students.<ref name="affolter" /><ref name="buck">{{cite journal |first=Christopher |last=Buck |title=Islam and Minorities: The Case of the Bahá'ís | journal = Studies in Contemporary Islam | volume = 5 | issue = 1 |pages=83–106 | year =2003}}</ref> In 1998 ([[29 September]] - [[2 October]]), Iranian authorities broke up the underground institution invading more than 500 Bahai homes and office buildings in at least 14 cities around Iran.<ref>Sciolino, Elain, ''Persian Mirrors'', Touchstone, (2000), p.228</ref> Hundreds were arrested. In addition to books and computer equipment confiscated,<ref name="fdih1" /><ref name="buck" /> personal possessions such as silverware and refrigerators were taken in what was described as "thieve[ry] in the name of Islam."<ref>Sciolino, Elain, ''Persian Mirrors'', Touchstone, (2000), p.229</ref> Iranian columnist Iqbal Latif calls Iran's denial of access to university education for Bahá'ís "[i]ntellectual cleansing of their ethnic brothers by the clergy-dominated regime."<ref name="latif1">{{cite web |first=Iqbal |last=Latif |title=Medieval Ignorance: The Silence of Iranian Polity Towards Bahá’í Persecution |publisher=The Iranian |date=2002-08-05 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |url=http://www.iranian.com/IqbalLatif/2002/August/Bahai/}}</ref> ====Destruction of holy sites==== [[Image:House-bab.jpg|thumb|right|250px|House of the Báb, Shiraz, Iran, before being demolished and replaced with an Islamic religious center]] In April 2004, Iranian authorities demolished the shrine and grave site of Muhammad-Ali Barfurushi ([[Quddús]]), a Bábí leader.<ref name="affolter" /> The following June, the Tehran house of [[Mírzá `Abbás Núrí|Mírzá `Abbás-i-Núrí]] (aka Mírzá Buzurg), Bahá'u'lláh's father, was destroyed. The previous such incident occurred in 1993 when a Bahá'í cemetery in Tehran was bulldozed in order to build a municipal centre.<ref name="fdih1" /> ====Media attacks==== In the later months of 2005, an intensive anti-Bahá'í campaign was conducted by Iranian newspapers and radio stations. The state-run and influential [[Kayhan]]<ref name="kayhan">{{cite web |title=Iran Means What It Says |first=Michael |last=Rubin |publisher=AEI Online |date=2006-01-25 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |url=http://www.meforum.org/article/892}}</ref> newspaper, whose managing editor is appointed by Iran's supreme leader, [[Ali Khamenei|Ayatollah Khamenei]],<ref name="press">{{cite news |date=2005-08-16 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |title=The press in Iran |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4308203.stm |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |author=BBC News}}</ref> ran nearly three dozen articles defaming the Bahá'í Faith.<ref name="ihrdc"/><ref name="hrw1" /> The articles, which make use of fake historical documents, engage in a distortion of history to falsely describe Bahá'í moral principles in a manner that would be offensive to Muslims, thus inducing feelings of suspicion, distrust and hatred to members of the Bahá'í community in Iran.<ref name="ihrdc"/><ref name="bwns3">{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=UN Religious Freedom Official expresses fears for Baha'is in Iran |url=http://news.bahai.org/story/432 |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2006-03-20 |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> The articles claim, in the face of all historical data, that the religion was invented and implanted by colonialist powers to subvert Islam and to subjugate the Muslim peoples of Iran. They use fake historical documents such as the memoirs of Prince Dolgorouki, a mid-nineteenth century Russian minister in Tehran, to substantiate their claims; the memoirs were however manufactured in Iran in 1937 and have long since been exposed as forgeries.<ref name="bwns3" /> The articles also state that the [[Báb]], one of the Bahá'í Faith's central figures, was taught simultaneously by the Jews and the Tsarist government of Russia, even though the Tsarist government was well-known to have been unfavourable towards the Jews. The Bahá'í World Centre claims that the linking of Bahá'ís with Zionism serves to provoke suspicion and hatred towards the Bahá'ís.<ref name="bwns3" /> A summary of the Kayhan articles can be found [http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran/mediaattacks here]. ====Other events==== [[Image:Cemetery of yazd.jpg|thumb|220px|The Bahá’í cemetery in Yazd]] In April 2005, Diane Ala'i, Bahá’í spokesperson to the [[United Nations]] in Geneva, described other forms of persecution to the UN Commission on Human Rights: {{cquote|The most serious outbreak occurred in Yazd, where several Bahá’ís were assaulted in their homes and beaten, a Bahá’ís shop was set on fire and burned, and others were harassed and threatened, following a series of arrests and short-term detentions. The Bahá’í cemetery in Yazd was wantonly destroyed, with cars driven over the graves, tombstones smashed and the remains of the interred left exposed.<ref name="bwns1">{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=Dismay at lack of human rights resolution on Iran as persecution worsens |url=http://news.bahai.org/story/367 |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2005-04-15 |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref>}} Ms. Ala'i also said that in March 2005, in Tehran, Iranian intelligence agents entered the homes of several Bahá’ís and spent hours ransacking their houses before carting away their possessions and taking them into custody.<ref name="bwns1" /> {{cquote|Five Bahá’ís have been imprisoned just this past month. Two were finally released on bail, but family and community members have not been able to locate those in detention. Two others, who had previously been briefly detained for nothing more than distributing copies of a courteous letter to President Khatami, have now received the maximum sentence for this so-called offence.<ref name="bwns1" />}} {{cquote|Six more Bahá’í families recently had their homes and land confiscated, depriving them of their only means of livelihood.<ref name="bwns1" />}} The Bahá’í's New York spokesperson, Bani Dugal, clarified some of the involved in December 2005:<ref name="bwns2">{{cite news |author=Bahá'í World News Service |title=UN calls on Iran to stop persecution of Baha'is |url=http://news.bahai.org/story/413 |publisher=news.bahai.org |date=2005-12-17 |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> {{cquote|At least 59 Baha'is have been subject to various forms of arbitrary arrests, detention and imprisonment, and Baha'i young people have once again been denied the chance to attend college and university.<ref name="bwns2" />}} Ms. Dugal said that although the majority of those Bahá’ís who have been arrested were released, nine remained in prison as of late October [2005].<ref name="bwns2" /> In May 2008 Albert Lincoln, secretary-general of the Bahá'í International Community, stated that in recent months there have been cases of arson, threats, kidnappings and beatings: {{cquote|"People's houses and shops are being burned or bulldozed down, they are being kidnapped and beaten. Baha'i cemeteries are being plowed up, and members of the Baha'i community who have worked for the state of Iran for decades and are now retired are being asked to pay back the pensions they have received..."<ref>{{cite news |author=Jerusalem Post|title=Baha'is worried about Iranian community |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1211288129676 |publisher=www.jpost.com|date=2008-05-20 |accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref>}} ===Statements=== {{main|Statements about the persecution of Bahá'ís}} [[Image:Flag of the United Nations.svg|thumb|250px|United Nations]] Since the later part of the 20th century many third party organizations such as the [[United Nations]], [[Amnesty International]], the [[European Union]], and the [[United States]] have made statements regarding the persecution of Bahá'ís asking that human rights be maintained. The [[United Nations]] and the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] has published reports on the persecution of the Bahá'ís since the Iranian Revolution in 1979; in every year since 1984, except for 2002, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has passed a resolution expressing concern about human rights violations against the Bahá'ís in Iran.<ref name="affolter" /> The Special Representative on Iran, Professor Galindo Pohl, Canadian Jurist and UBC Law Professor, Maurice Copithorne, and the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Professor Abdu’l Fatah Amor, have all reported on the persecutions that the Bahá'ís have faced in Iran. For example, in 1995 the commission wrote that "... the Bahá'ís, whose existence as a viable religious community in the Islamic Republic of Iran is threatened ..." <ref name="UN1">United Nations Commission on Human Rights. [http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/48b7fa42bc13db5c802566db005e75f0?Opendocument Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran]. E/CN.4/RES/1995/68, 1995.</ref> and in November 2005 they wrote that "... the escalation and increased frequency of discrimination and other human rights violations against the Bahá’í[sic], including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of freedom of religion or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational and community-related activities and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, adequate housing and other benefits ...".<ref name="UN11">United Nations (2005-11-02) [http://info.bahai.org/pdf/GA05_Iran_resolution60.pdf Human rights questions: human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives] General Assembly, Sixtieth session, Third Committee. A/C.3/60/L.45</ref> [[Amnesty International]] has also documented the persecution of the Bahá'í community in Iran. For example in 1998 it gave statements regarding the execution of a Bahá'í prisoner: "Amnesty International unreservedly condemns the execution of Ruhullah Rouhani and fears that he was executed for the non violent expression of his beliefs. Amnesty International currently knows of seven cases of Bahá'í prisoners under the sentence of death and is calling for commutation of these and all other death sentences without delay" <ref name="amnesty3">{{cite web |title=Amnesty International condemns execution of Baha’i |accessdate=2006-10-20 |date=1998-07-24 |url=http://web.amnesty.org/aidoc/aidoc_pdf.nsf/index/MDE130121998ENGLISH/$File/MDE1301298.pdf |author=Amnesty International |publisher=AI INDEX: MDE 13/12/98}}</ref> [[Image:Flag of Europe.svg|thumb|right|250px|European Union]] The [[European Union]] in the [[2004]] EU Annual Report on Human Rights wrote: {{cquote|There has not been discernible progress in the key areas of concern. Concern was also reiterated at the destruction of the Bahá'í holy site at Babol and the refusal of the authorities to allow the dignified re-interment of the remains it contains.<ref name="eurhr">{{cite book |url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/librairie/PDF/ENHR2004.pdf |title=EU Annual Report on Human Rights |date=2004-09-13 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |publisher=European Communities |location=Belgium | ISBN 92-824-3078-2}}</ref>}} Then in a speech given at the European Parliament in October of [[2005]] on behalf of the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism, Jan Figel said: {{cquote|Regarding the actual situation of human rights in Iran, there is a growing cause for concern. There are other serious issues of concern which have emerged recently: ... the arrest of members of the Bahá'í Faith.<ref name="eu_talk">{{cite web |first=Jan |last=Figel |date=2005-10-12 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |title=Speech given at the European Parliament | url = http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/05/601&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en}}</ref>}} The [[United States]] [[Department of State]] Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor stated in the [[2004]] Report on International Religious Freedom that "The Government harasses the Bahá'í community by arresting Bahá'ís arbitrarily,"<ref name="us_dos">{{cite web |title=Iran, International Religious Freedom Report |date=2004-09-15 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |author=United States Department of State |publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35497.htm}}</ref> that "the property rights of Bahá'ís are generally disregarded, ... the Government has confiscated large numbers of private and business properties belonging to Bahá'ís," <ref name="us_dos" /> and that "Public and private universities continue to deny admittance to Bahá'í students" <ref name="us_dos" /> The Iranian government responds to these statements by saying that Bahá'ís are enemies of the state, were supporters of the former [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah]]'s government and spies employed by imperialist governments of the West.<ref name="affolter" /> The [[Ayatollah Khomeini]], even before his return to Iran said in an interview that he believed that Bahá'ís were traitors — Zionists — and enemies of Islam.<ref name="abrahamian">{{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |title=Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |year= 1993 |id=ISBN 0520085035}}</ref> The Iranian representative to the United Nations tried several times, albeit unsuccessfully, between 1982 and 1984 to convince the United Nations diplomatic community that the Bahá'í Faith is a politicized organization with a record of criminal activism against the Iranian government<ref name="affolter" /> and not a legitimate religion like Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism which are protected under Iranian law;<ref name="buck" /> Iran has not acknowledged that the Bahá'í Faith is a religion.<ref name="buck" /> The United Nations responded to the Iranian government's accusations by stating that there has been no evidence of Iran's claims and that the Bahá'í community in Iran professes its allegiance to the state. The United Nations pointed to the Bahá'í teaching of obedience to the government of one's country and stated that any involvement in any subversive acts against the government would be antithetical to precepts of the Bahá'í religion.<ref name="amnesty1" /> The United Nations also stated that if the Iranian government did acknowledge that the Bahá'í Faith is a religion, it would be an admission that freedom of religion does not apply to all in Iran and that it is not abiding by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights to which it is a signatory.<ref name="buck" /> {{Discrimination (sidebar)}} There are many Iranians who have published how and why Iranians think of Bahá'ís as outsiders. Dr. Mohammad Tavakoli, a Muslim-Iranian, who is a Professor of [[Middle Eastern Studies]] at the [[University of Toronto]] presents in ''Iran-Nameh'', a [[Persian language]] academic journal, a study that examines the processes that led to the ghettoization and eventual "othering" of the Bahá'ís in Iran by the political and religious forces within Iranian society.<ref name="tavakoli">{{cite journal |first=Mohamed |last=Tavakoli-Targhi |title=Anti-Bahá'ísm and Islamism in Iran, 1941-1955 | journal = Iran-Nameh | volume = 19 | number =1 | pages=79–124 |year=2001}}</ref> ==Egypt== {{main|Egyptian identification card controversy}} In 1925, [[Egypt]] became the first Islamic state to legally recognize the Bahá'í Faith as an independent religion apart from Islam. Despite a historically active Egyptian Bahá'í community during the early twentieth century, Bahá'í institutions and community activities are currently banned by Law 263. This law came into being in 1960, seven years after the founding of the Arab Republic of Egypt, at the decree of then-President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]. All Bahá'í community properties, including Bahá'í centers, libraries, and cemeteries, were confiscated by the government. The current Egyptian Bahá'í community, estimated to number between several hundred and two thousand, has also had [[fatwa]]s issued against it by [[Al-Azhar]]'s Islamic Research Center, which charges Bahá'ís with apostasy. <ref name="us_dos_egypt">{{cite web |title=Egypt: International Religious Freedom Report |date=2004-09-15 |author=U.S. Department of State |publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor | url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35496.htm |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> In January 2001, 18 people, mostly Bahá'ís, were arrested in the city of [[Sohag]] under the pretence of having violated Article 98(F) of the Penal Code ("insulting a heavenly religion") and other possible charges, 10 of whom were held in detention for over 10 months without being formally charged. <ref name="us_dos_egypt_2001">{{cite web |title=Egypt: International Religious Freedom Report |date=2001-10-26 |author=U.S. Department of State |publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor | url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5636.htm |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> Similar to Iran, the Egyptian government requires that its citizens identify as either Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, leaving others to either misrepresent their faith or forego valid identity documents, passports, birth and death certificates, and marriage licenses. A May 2004 incident indicated that the Ministry of Interior has instructed officials to confiscate any identity cards belonging to Bahá'ís (see [[Egyptian identification card controversy]].) The seriousness of such a matter is compounded by the essential nature of the identity card; it is linked to the ability to own property, attend university and have a business. On 6 April 2006, human rights activists "welcomed a landmark ruling by the Administrative Court recognising the right of Egyptian Bahais to have their religion acknowledged on official documents."<ref name="IRIN">{{cite web |title=Rights activists welcome ruling recognising Bahai rights |author=Integrated Regional Information Networks |date=2006-04-06 |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52652&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=EGYPT News |publisher=IRINNews.org |accessdate=2006-10-20}}</ref> However, on 3 May 2006 it was reported that "[t]he Egyptian government will appeal against a court ruling in favour of the rights of the country’s small Baha’i minority..." <ref name="egypt_appeal">{{cite web |title=State to appeal ruling that favours Egypt’s Baha’is |author=Reuters |publisher=Khaleej Times |date=2006-05-03 |accessdate=2006-10-20 |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/May/middleeast_May69.xml&section=middleeast&col=}}</ref> Notable quotations from ministers in the Egyptian government taken from the article, include: {{cquote|Religious Endowments Minister Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk told parliament the government would base its appeal on the opinion of the country’s leading Muslim cleric, the Sheikh of al-Azhar, that Baha’ism [sic] is not a “revealed religion” recognised by Muslims. One member of parliament, Gamal Akl of the opposition [[Muslim Brotherhood]], said the Baha’is were infidels who should be killed on the grounds that they had changed their religion. “The problem with the Baha’is is they are moved by Israeli fingers. We wish the Ministry of the Interior would not yield to the cheap blackmail of this deviant group,” added another Muslim Brotherhood member, Mustafa Awadallah. “there is an interest in them being known rather than unknown so that they do not succeed in infiltrating the ranks of society and spreading their extremist and deviant ideology.”}} According to Reuter's Alertnet, the judgement of [[6 April]] was suspended on [[15 May]]: {{cquote|Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court decided on 15 May to suspend the implementation of an earlier lower court ruling that allowed Bahais to have their religion recognised on official documents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=26887 |title= EGYPT: Court suspends ruling recognising Bahai rights |date=2006-05-16 |publisher=Reuters |author=IRIN |accessdate=2008-03-28}}</ref>}} On [[November 28]], [[2006]] the Supreme Administrative Court held a hearing on the situation of the Bahá'ís.<ref name="eipr1">{{cite web |title= Supreme Admin Court Decision on Official Documents for Baha'is to be announced on 16 December |date=2006-11-29 |accessdate=2006-12-16 |author=Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights |publisher=eipr.org |url=http://www.eipr.org/en/press/06/0312.htm}}</ref> The Bahá'ís were represented by the [[Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights]] (EIPR) who submitted a brief which outlined the legal obligations of the government under the Egyptian constitution and international human rights law to protect the rights of freedom of belief and non-discrimination.<ref name="eipr1" /> The brief also responded to the government's claims that a recognition of the Bahá'ís would contravene [[Islamic Shari'a]] which only permitted Muslim coexistence of Christians and Jews and that Bahá'ís should be treated as [[Apostates from Islam]].<ref name="eipr1" /> Finally, the brief also responded to the government's claim that by allowing the Bahá'í Faith to be listed on official documents that public order would be violated; the brief noted that Bahá'ís had, for decades, been able to list their religious affiliation in their identification documents until the Egyptian Interior Ministry removed their choice in recent years and not accepted to insert the word 'others.'<ref name="eipr1" /> On [[December 16]], [[2006]], only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt [[Egyptian Identification Card Controversy|ruled against the Bahá'ís]] and stated that the government may not recognize the Bahá'í Faith in official identification numbers.<ref name="eipr2">{{cite web |title= Government Must Find Solution for Baha'i Egyptians |date=2006-12-16 |accessdate=2006-12-16 |author=Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights |publisher=eipr.org |url=http://www.eipr.org/en/press/06/1612.htm}}</ref> The ruling leaves Bahá'ís unable to obtain the necessary government documents to have rights in their country; they cannot obtain ID cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, passports; they also cannot be employed, educated, treated in hospitals or vote among other things.<ref name="eipr2" /> The EIPR stated that the press release issued by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court did not respond to any of the evidence and legal arguments presented by the EIPR in the case, and that instead the press release only discussed the tenets and beliefs of the Bahá'í Faith, which should have had no effect on the decision of the court.<ref name="eipr2" /> The [[Universal House of Justice]], the highest governing body of the [[Bahá'í Faith]], made its [http://news.bahai.org/story/499 first public comment] on the case in a letter dated [[21 December]] [[2006]]. ==Other countries== While the most significant persecution has happened in Iran and Egypt during this century and the last, other countries have restricted or persecuted Bahá'ís. In several countries with majority Muslim populations, they have done so on the same basis as Iran and Egypt&mdash;that since Islam does not recognize the Bahá'í Faith, neither should the government, and thus all manner of social services and identity are circumscribed. Banning orders have been made against Bahá'í activities in [[Algeria]] (1969), [[Iraq]] (1970) and [[Indonesia]] (1962-2000<ref name="indonesia1">{{cite web |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5686.htm |title=Indonesia: International Religious Freedom Report |author=United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |publisher=U.S. State Department |accessdate=2007-03-03 |date=2001-10-26}}</ref>). During the late 1970s, the Bahá'í Faith was also banned in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa ([[Burundi]], 1974; [[Mali]] 1976; [[Bahá'í Faith in Uganda|Uganda]] 1977; [[Republic of the Congo|Congo]], 1978; and [[Bahá'í Faith in Niger|Niger]], 1978).<ref name ="smith">{{cite journal |url=http://bahai-library.org/articles/smith.momen.html |title=The Bahá'í Faith 1957-1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments |first=Peter |last=Smith | coauthors=Momen, Moojan | journal = Religion |year=1989 | volume =19 | pages =pp. 63–91 | doi = 10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8}}</ref> ===Afghanistan=== Baha'is were persecuted and imprisoned in the country during the Taliban. Post-Taliban one Baha'i was arrested and the court has ruled that Baha'i Faith is not a recognized religion and therefore have no rights under the Islamic Law. [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90225.htm US report] ===Azerbaijan=== In [[Azerbaijan]], a region that has some of the earliest connections with the Bahá'í Faith, there have been several news stories covering severe social, bureaucratic and legal limits on religious communities, including the Bahá'ís, since the fall of the [[Soviet Union]]. Bahá'ís are trying to recover properties that were confiscated in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=694 |title=AZERBAIJAN: Baha'is and Baptists want confiscated property back |first=Felix |last=Corley |publisher=Forum 18 News Service |date=2005-11-23 |accessdate=2007-03-03}}</ref> In 2004, Tavachur Aliev, a Bahá'í, claimed to have been arrested for mentioning his religion and was released when he promised not to mention his religion again.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=475 |title=AZERBAIJAN: Jailed for sharing faith, "non-constructive teaching" and "creating tensions between family members" |first=Felix |last=Corley |publisher=Forum 18 News Service |date=2004-12-13 |accessdate=2007-03-03}}</ref> Furthermore in 2006, laws are being considered that will curtail the rights and privileges of Bahá'ís and others religious minorities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=827 |title=AZERBAIJAN: Why and how will Religion Law be amended? |first=Felix |last=Corley |publisher=Forum 18 News Service |accessdate=2007-03-03 |date=2006-08-14}}</ref> ===Indonesia=== In [[Indonesia]], while the government gave Bahá'ís the freedom to organize in 2000,<ref name="indonesia1" /> the national registration system continues to restrict religious freedom of persons who do not belong to the five officially recognized faiths; thus Bahá'ís cannot register their marriages or children's births.<ref name="indonesia2">{{cite web |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51512.htm |title=Indonesia: International Religious Freedom Report 2005 |author=United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |publisher=U.S. State Department |accessdate=2007-03-03 |date=2005-11-08}}</ref> Couples prevented from registering their marriage or the birth of their child in accordance with their faiths must either convert to one of the five recognized faiths or misrepresent themselves. Those who choose not to register their marriages or births risk future difficulties; for example, many children without a birth certificate cannot enroll in school or may not qualify for scholarships and individuals without birth certificates cannot qualify for government jobs.<ref name="indonesia2" /> Muslims who converted to the Bahá'í Faith in [[Sulawesi]] were intimidated by their neighbors and the local by government in 2007. Of seven households who converted, two returned to Islam, four refused to change, and the other ignored requests to convert again.<ref>[http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1465/bahai/ Indonesia Matters aggregating reports from Antara]</ref> ===Morocco=== In [[Morocco]] there were episodes of religious persecution in 1962-1963, when 15 Bahá'ís were arrested for their religious convictions; three were given death sentences and several others years of prison term at hard labour.<ref name="custodians">{{cite book |author=Rabbani, R. (Ed.) |authorlink = Rúhíyyih Khanum |year = 1992 |title=The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963 |publisher=Bahá'í World Centre |id = ISBN 085398350X |url=http://bahai-library.com/?file=uhj_ministry_custodians.html&chapter=6#397}}</ref> There were months of diplomatic efforts; US Senator [[Kenneth B. Keating]] stated in the [[U.S. Senate]] on [[February 18]], [[1963]], "How far religious freedom under the Moroccan Constitution really applies, will be revealed in the coming weeks when the appeal before the Supreme Court [of Morocco] is heard."<ref name="hands">{{cite book |author=Rabbani, R. (Ed.) |authorlink = Rúhíyyih Khanum |year = 1992 |title=The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963 |publisher=Bahá'í World Centre |id = ISBN 085398350X |url=http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=uhj_ministry_custodians.html&chapter=7 |pages=pp. 414-419}}</ref> On March 31st, 1963 during a visit to the United States and the United Nations, King Hasan of Morocco was interviewed on television and addressed the audience saying that though the Bahá'í Faith was "against good order and also morals" that he would pardon the death sentences.<ref name="hands" /> Persecutions occurred again in 1984 whose response was to seek diplomatic redress emphasizing the non-partisan and obedience to government principles of the religion.<ref name ="smith" /> Bahá'ís have more recently been denied passports and can practice their religion only in private.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/22916182b5219ed6c1256b58004f363e?Opendocument |title= Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination : Morocco |publisher=Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |date=1994-04-03 |accessdate=2007-03-03 |author=Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination}} see paragraphs 215 and 220.</ref> ===Romania=== [[Romania]] has had a Bahá'í community since 1926, including [[Marie of Edinburgh]], Queen of Romania at that time.<ref name="oct2005forum">{{cite web |url=http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=669 |title=ROMANIA: Too much power for the state and recognized communities? |first=Felix |last=Corley |publisher=Forum 18 News Service, published |date=2005-10-07 accessdate=2007-03-04}}</ref> After the fall of the [[Soviet Union]] and communism in Romania, which generally had outlawed religion, the Romanian Bahá'í community organized to form its first [[National Spiritual Assembly]] in 1991.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=uhj_ridvan_1991&language=All |author=Universal House of Justice |title=Ridván Message 1991 |year=1991 |accessdate=2007-03-04}}</ref> In 2005 the Romanian Bahá'í community numbered some 7000,<ref name="oct2005forum" /> but in January 2007 a law was passed that had restrictive requirements for religious communities to be recognized, which Bahá'ís and other religions could not meet.<ref name="oct2005forum" /> Some of the restrictions include waiting twelve years from petitioning for recognition and to have over 22,000 members.<ref name="oct2005forum" /> ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==References== <div class="references-small"> *B. Frelick. Iranian Bahá'í and genocide early warning. Social Science Record, 24(2):35–37, 1987. *Friedrich W. Affolter. The Specter of Ideological Genocide: The Bahá'ís of Iran. War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, 1(1):59– 89, 2005. *Christopher Buck. Islam and Minorities: The Case of the Bahá'ís. Studies in Contemporary Islam, 5(1):83–106, 2003. *Handal, Boris. “From Moorish Cordova to the Bahá'ís of Iran: Islamic tolerance and intolerance”. [http://ideajournal.com/articles.php?id=45 IDEA journal of social issues, 12(1), 2007.] *Nazila Ghanea. Human Rights, the UN & the Bahá'ís in Iran. Kluwer Law International, The Hague/London/New York, 2002. *R. Cooper. The Bahá'ís of Iran. The Minority Rights Group Report 51. The Minority Rights Group LTD, London, UK, 1985. </div> ==External links== *[http://www.bahai.org/iranthreat The Bahá'ís: The Growing Threat to Iran's Bahá'ís] *[http://question.bahai.org/ The Bahá’í Question - Cultural Cleansing in Iran] *[http://www.minorityrights.org/admin/Download/pdf/MRGIraqReport.pdf Assimilation, Exodus, Eradication: Iraq’s minority communities since 2003], Report by [[Minority Rights Group International]] *[http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/community_report.pdf Community Under Siege: The Ordeal of the Baha’is of Shiraz], by [[Iran Human Rights Documentation Center]] [[Category:Persecution of Bahá'ís| ]] [[Category:Religion in Iran]] [[Category:Religion in Egypt]] [[Category:Human rights in Egypt]] [[Category:Human rights in Iran]] [[de:Verfolgung der Bahai]] [[es:Persecución de los bahá'ís]] [[eo:Persekutado de Bahaanoj]] [[fa:بهائی‌ستیزی]] [[ja:バハーイー教徒に対する宗教的迫害]]