Persecution of Baháʼís

[6] Eighty-nine percent of Iranians adhere to the Twelver branch of Shiʻa Islam, which holds as a core doctrine the expected advent of a messianic figure known as the Qa'im or as the Imam Mahdi.

In addition to making the 'heretic'[sic] claim of being a 'Manifestation of God,' he suggested that school curricula should include 'Western Sciences,' that the nation states (Muslim and non-Muslim) should establish a world federal government, and that men and women were equal.

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.

To this day, Baháʼís are a widely persecuted minority group in Iran and other predominantly Muslim countries, since they are seen as apostates from Islam, and supporters of the West and Israel.

[13] 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.

[12] 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 Baháʼís that dragged the country to the edge of disaster.

[12] Throughout the 1950s the clergy continued to initiate the repression of the Baháʼí community; however, their efforts were checked by government ministers who, while they were sympathetic to the anti-Baháʼí sentiment, feared that the violence would get out of control and cause international criticism.

[4] The Islamic Republic has often stated that arrested Baha'is are being detained for "security issues" and are members of "an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular,"[23] but according to Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, "the best proof" that Baháʼís are being persecuted for their faith, not for anti-Iranian activity "is the fact that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam ..."[23] During the Iranian revolution attacks against the Baháʼís increased.

[25] 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 Baháʼís, and when the army showed up they did not take action to prevent the fires from spreading.

[28] Referring to the recordings of the proceedings of the official transcripts of the constitution drafting process, Sanasarian states that anti-Baháʼí thought was obvious as there was haggling "over every word and expression of certain articles to assure the exclusion of the Baháʼís.

"[1] 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),[34] and the policy recommendations of the document are still in force.

[46] A summary of 2013 incidents of prison sentences, fines and punishments showed that these were more than twice as likely to apply to Baháʼís as any other religious minority in Iran and that the total rate of such cases had gone up by 36% over 2012.

Part of the group, 51 Baháʼís, 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.

[87] 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.

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 Baháʼí 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 Baháʼí community.

[92] Baháʼí 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.

"[97] Iranian columnist Iqbal Latif calls Iran's denial of access to university education for Baháʼís "[i]ntellectual cleansing of their ethnic brothers by the clergy-dominated regime.

[99] In the northern village of Rowshan Kuh, the Iranian authorities have seized and bulldozed properties on several occasions since 2016 on the pretext that they are encroaching on protected land, causing at least 18 farmers to lose their livelihoods as of August 2022.

The state-run and influential Kayhan[100] newspaper, whose managing editor is appointed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei,[101] ran nearly three dozen articles defaming the Baháʼí Faith.

[12][102] 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.

[104] In November 2009, the popular Iranian conservative newspaper Hamshahri, known to take a critical stand towards President Ahmadinejad, was closed down temporarily, only because it published in an advertisement for tourism travel to India a photograph of a temple of the Baha'i Faith.

[111]Ala'i also said that in March 2005, in Tehran, Iranian intelligence agents entered the homes of several Baháʼís and spent hours ransacking their houses before carting away their possessions and taking them into custody.

[111]The Baháʼí's New York spokesperson, Bani Dugal, clarified some of the involved in December 2005:[112] 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.

For example, in 1995 the commission wrote that "... the Baháʼís, whose existence as a viable religious community in the Islamic Republic of Iran is threatened ..."[119] and in November 2005 they wrote that "... the escalation and increased frequency of discrimination and other human rights violations against the Baháʼí [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 ...".

[133] Following a protracted legal process culminating in a court ruling favorable to the Baháʼís, the interior minister of Egypt released a decree on April 14, 2009, amending the law to allow Egyptians who are not Muslim, Christian, or Jewish to obtain identification documents that list a dash in place of one of the three recognized religions.

[142] The Baháʼís of Jaipur registered a complaint with police that their community burial ground had been attacked by a mob of about 40-50 people "led by a sarpanch", or head of the local gram panchayat, on Friday, October 31, 2015, about 11:30am in Shri Ram Ki Nangal village.

[143] The Hindu newspaper claimed the Sarpanch was Nathu Jangid, head of the village government, a member of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party based on a witness statement.

[148] In August 2014, the Indonesian government officially recognized the monotheistic faith as a religion, and the then Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin's made a statement that Baháʼí worshippers will be protected by the Constitution.

[162] Some of the restrictions include waiting as long as twelve years after petitioning before a religious community can start to apply for recognition and the requirement that a legally-recognized religion must have over 22,000 members.