Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

Since the Baha’i Faith originated in Shiraz, Iran, in 1844 (then part of the Persian Empire) the country continues to be cherished by some 5 million Baha’is living in over 200 nations and territories. Despite heavy persecution since their faith’s inception, the Baha’is of Iran have made historic contributions to the social, economic, and moral development of their nation.

Although Baha’is are committed to public service, refrain from partisan political involvement, and are obedient to government as matters of religious principle, the Baha’is in Iran are perceived as a threat to the country’s religious establishment. For this, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority (now numbering about 300,000 people) has faced systematic persecution; resulting in the loss of jobs, pensions, properties and inheritances; discrimination in education and employment; violence incited by state-sponsored propaganda; arbitrary arrests and unlawful trials; and thousands of individual Baha’is killed for their beliefs.

This persecution continues today. View latest Iran Update

Immediately following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian authorities renewed historic efforts to eradicate the country’s Baha’i community. Baha’is were excluded from the country’s new constitution, which meant they enjoyed no legal protection or recourse as attacks on them, their properties and their basic human rights increased. In August 1980, all nine members of the national Baha’i governing council, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran, were abducted and disappeared without a trace. In December of the following year, eight members of the newly-elected National Spiritual Assembly were also executed, along with dozens of other Baha’is nationwide.

Since 1978, a total of 221 Iranian Baha’is have been executed, “disappeared” or otherwise killed for their beliefs. Thousands more have been wrongfully imprisoned, fired from government posts, barred from pursuing higher education, or had personal property confiscated or destroyed. Read the full report: “The Baha’i Question”

In fact, almost all of the most basic human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have been, and continue to be, denied to the Baha’is in Iran.

In 1993, a secret government memorandum that was uncovered and published by the U.N. Human Rights Commission offered proof of a new strategy on the part of Iranian authorities to eliminate the Baha’is in Iran. Written by the Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council in 1991 and signed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, this document provides a blueprint and specific guidelines for dealing with the Baha’is so that “their progress and development are blocked.” Additional documents have also been uncovered and made public since that time.

Today, Baha’is are deeply concerned not only for their own well-being, but for all who are suffering from the widespread violations of human rights engulfing Iran. Like their compatriots and a growing number of international supporters, Baha’is long for the day when Iran will abide by the international human rights treaties to which it is a signatory.