Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

For a group that prides itself on tolerance, Baha’is have drawn a lot of intolerance, especially in Iran, where the religion originated. Ever since Baha’i began, its followers have come under attack by fundamentalist Muslims. An early incarnation of Baha’is, the Babis, saw 20,000 of their members killed in the mid-19th century, and Baha’is founder, Baha’u’llah, spent most of his life either in prison or in exile.

Once, during Ramadan in the mid-1990s, Erfan Sabeti was on his way to an all-day genetics class at the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education in Tehran.

In an open letter addressed to Iran’s representative to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee, 48 medical school deans and senior vice-presidents, who “believe that education is an inherent human right,” called for the release of educators associated with the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), which was set up to provide university-level studies for young Baha’is denied their right to education.