Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

Baha’i World News Service– According to the latest Iran Update, provided by the Baha’i World News Service wo of the three Iranian Baha’is, imprisoned for their participation in an education program for underprivileged children, have been freed after serving more than three years of their four-year jail terms. Haleh Rouhi and Sasan Taqva were released [...]

On Monday, April 12, the Miami Herald published an article about a Baha’i woman in Miami who experienced educational discrimination in Iran for her beliefs. Nadia Riazati, who arrived in the U.S. two years ago and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree at Florida International University, shared her story during a public event in Miami [...]

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.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S. has extended the deadline for the video contest about the denial of education to Baha’i students in Iran to March 21, 2009. This is a video contest to raise awareness about the plight of Baha’is in Iran trying to gain access to higher education. The [...]

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”.

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.

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.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty posted a story about the confidential letter from Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology to 81 universities instructing them to expel Baha’i students.

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.

NEW YORK April 5, 2007 Baha’i students in primary and secondary schools throughout Iran are increasingly being harassed, vilified, and held up to abuse, according to recent reports from inside the country.

A letter issued by a university in Iran shows that the expulsion of Baha’i students from Iranian universities is official government policy.