Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

On October 26, the U.S. Department of State released its 2009 International Religious Freedom Report on Iran, which includes several mentions of the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i minority. For example, Adherents of religious groups not recognized by the Constitution, such as the Baha’is, do not have freedom to practice their beliefs. The Government prohibits Baha’is [...]

On July 9, 2009, Robert A. Oden, Jr., president of Carleton College in Norfield, MN, sent a letter to Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, advocating for Baha’is’ right to higher education in Iran.

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, several Persian online journals carried this report about the expulsion of Miss Minoo Shahriari on the grounds that she was a Baha’i.

Iran Press Watch posted a compelling interview with an Iranian Baha’i student who has been denied access to university education in Iran.

The Bahá’í representative at Harvard Chaplains gave a short talk for the Morning Prayer Service in late October, in which she was also able to address the situation of Bahá’í students in Iran.

The University of Minnesota campus newspaper published a column titled “Baha’is face discrimination in Iran”.

26 Muslim students at Goldasht College in Kelardasht, Mazandaran, refused to take their first-term final examinations in protest of the expulsion of a fellow classmate because he is a Baha’i.

M.S. Hanaee Kashani, a professor of English literature at Shaheed Beheshti University, posted his account regarding the expulsion of his Baha’i students.  The account is posted at www.Fallosafah.org, a site dedicated to “the Journals of M.S. Hanaee Kashani”.  Click here to access his account in Farsi. An English translation is also available.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S.  just launched a video contest to raise awareness about the plight of Baha’is in Iran who are trying to gain access to higher education. The contest is open to everyone. Please visit:  http://www.youtube.com/group/bahaistudentsiran

The Ohlone, CA, community college newspaper published an opinion article titled “Education denied to the Baha’i minority in Iran”.

Virginia’s James Madison University’s The Breeze published an opinion article titled “Religious Persecution Persists in Iran“.

On Monday, 13 October 2008, Human Rights Activists of Iran published an account by Arash Shahsavandi, a Baha’i student, who was expelled from an Iranian university on account of his religion. Click here for the English translation.

On October 6, Human Rights Activists in Iran published a letter by a Baha’i student. Click here for an English translation.

NEW YORK, October 3, 2008 (BWNS) — As the new academic year got under way, young Baha’is in Iran again found the door to higher education closed.

The Ventura Country Star published an article titled “Barred from college in Iran, Moorpark resident excels at studies in the U.S.” about an Iranian Baha’i student who came to Moorpark, CA, 4 years ago.

The American Association of University Professors passed a resolution on June 15, 2008, urging the government of Iran to “remove barriers that deny access to higher education on religious or ethnic grounds.” In particular, the AAUP wants to ensure that Iran does not keep members of the Baha’i religious community “out of universities.”

A Baha’i World News Service article provides further developments of the Iranian government’s campaign to deny Baha’i students access to higher education. 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.

President Faust of Harvard University has sent a letter to the Permanent Representative of Iran at the United Nations expressing her concern regarding the systematic denial of access to higher education to members of the Bahá’í community in Iran.

The Daily Utah Chronicle published an article, “From Iran to Utah: The Passion for Study Burns”, about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, and the denial of education to Baha’i students.  They interviewed an Iranian Baha’i student who is now a sophomore at the University of Utah.

A copy of a 2006 confidential memo (with English translation) written by Iranian officials confirms that expulsion of Baha’i students from Iranian universities is official government policy, something Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied in recent years.