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.

Representatives of Coptic, Kurdish, Baha’i and Jewish communities discussed the plight of religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East, during a panel hosted by the New York City Bar Association on Nov. 8 at their Manhattan headquarters.

In some 40 years as a university professor, I have been privileged to teach students who went on to serve their people as senators, ambassadors, prominent scholars and even U.S. president. None of this would have been possible had I lived in my family’s homeland of Iran. As a member of the Bahai faith, I would have been barred from teaching freely—and I might even have been imprisoned, as seven Bahai educators now are.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has named Iran among eight “Countries of Particular Concern” in relation to its repression of religious minorities. At the launch of the State Department’s Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom, Secretary Clinton highlighted those countries whose governments engage in – or tolerate – “particularly [...]

“While Iran’s leaders hypocritally claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing.” — U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Victoria Nuland Read entire editorial here. Excerpt Earlier this month, Iranian authorities reportedly refused to allow a Baha’i family to bury a [...]

* This article has been updated to reflect new information on the number of arrests in connection with the BIHE raids. GENEVA — A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha’is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education program for young members who are [...]

Columnist Samuel G. Freedman‘s “On Religion” article in The New York Times on May 7 coincided with Mother’s Day weekend. So he decided to write about a woman’s courage in facing the severe hardships she endured for her daughter and her faith. HOUSTON — On a blustery night the week before Mother’s Day, a woman [...]

AngelsofIran.com‘s newest mini-documentary covers a Feb. 11 meeting in Washington with U.S. Representative from Florida Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and a group of family members of various Baha’is imprisoned in Iran. During the visit Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, assured the family members that their relatives are, “not alone.” “We hear them,” [...]

The count of Iranian Baha’is currently in prison because of their religion has climbed in recent weeks to 79, according to an update from the Baha’i World News Service released on March 20, up from 69 prisoners recorded in February. On the same day, U.S. President Barack Obama issued his annual Naw Ruz greeting to the people [...]

Three short films released today, featuring interviews with Iranian Baha’is whose families have been persecuted by the Iranian government, mark the launch of a series of mini-documentaries – titled “Angels of Iran” – that focus on the country’s human rights record. Executives chose the day celebrating the ancient Persian new year, Naw Ruz, as the [...]

Iranian authorities have arrested a number of Baha’is who provided education to children in a region devastated by an earthquake seven years ago. The Baha’i International Community has so far been able to confirm the arrest of four Baha’is this month in connection with the provision of kindergarten-level education in Iran’s Kerman Province, south-east of [...]

In a public statement marking International Women’s Day, Amnesty International urges Iranian authorities “to release immediately all women detained arbitrarily in Iran, including political activists, rights defenders and members of religious and ethnic minorities.” The statement decries the unjust imprisonment by the Iranian government of innocent women who simply “wish to see greater respect for [...]

Blogger Reza Aslan weighs in on how each individual can play a part in supporting the spread of human rights at this crucial time in a critical part of the world: As the Iranian regime continues to tighten the noose of oppression around the throats of all its citizens, one group of Iranians is being [...]

After meeting with a delegation of her Baha’i constituents, U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney from New York’s 14th District released a statement on March 1 expressing concern about the treatment of Baha’is in Iran. The delegation requested the meeting with Congresswoman Maloney to consult with her about the unjust sentencing of the former Baha’i leadership group [...]

Four members of Congress from Illinois, the state that is home to the Baha’i House of Worship for North America, are asking the U.S. government to call on the Iranian government to change its policies towards the Baha’is. The two U.S. Senators are Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin and the two U.S. Representatives are Robert Dold and Dan Lipinski. [...]

The Baha’i World News Service has reported that Iran’s seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders were transferred on Saturday, February 12, 2011 to more brutal sections of the notorious Gohardasht Prison complex, raising concerns, in the case of two Baha’i women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, that it may have been orchestrated as a means of creating [...]

On Tuesday, February 8, The Huffington Post published an opinion article about the persecution of Baha’is in Iran by Anthony Vance, Director of External Affairs for the Baha’is of the United States. It describes the recent burning of Baha’i-owned businesses, whose owners were accused of befriending Muslims in their community, as well as a series [...]

Photo courtesy of Baha’i World News Service Baha’i World News Service– A recent wave of arson attacks on Baha’i-owned businesses in Rafsanjan, Iran, appears to be part of a campaign to fracture relationships between Baha’is and Muslims in the city. After around a dozen attacks on shops – carried out since 25 October 2010 – [...]

Baha’i World News Service– In a vote today, the United Nations once again strongly condemned Iran for failing to live up to international human rights standards. By a vote of 78 to 45, with 59 abstentions, the UN General Assembly confirmed a resolution that expressed “deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations.” [...]