Iranian officials are persecuting followers of the Bahá’í faith, a leaked document shows. The document appears to be the minutes of a “top confidential” meeting between security officials. The minutes conclude with an agreement to “control the movements of the subversive Bahá’í sect and the Dervishes”. The minutes were published by the League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran in a press release on 9 March 2021. The leak comes amid an escalation in the persecution of Bahá’ís.
BAHÁ’ISM: AN IRANIAN RELIGION UNWELCOME IN IRAN
The Bahá’í faith was founded in Iran in the 19th Century. Bahá’ís believe in progressive revelation and the unity of world religions. God has revealed religious truth to humankind at various times and places through messengers like Buddha, Christ, and Mohammed. The religions they founded are stages in the history of the one true religion. The Bahá’í faith claims to be the latest (but not the last) stage in that history.
From its founding the Bahá’í faith came into conflict with Shia Islam, which dominates Iran. The doctrine of progressive revelation contradicts Islamic doctrine, which holds that Islam is the final revelation. Consequently, the early followers of Bahá’ísm were persecuted, imprisoned, or killed as “apostates” of Islam. While there were spells of tolerance under the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979), persecution became the norm after the 1979 Revolution when an Islamic theocracy was established in Iran. Bahá’ís were not granted recognition under article 13 of the 1979 constitution, unlike Judaism and Christianity. Therefore, they are not entitled to freedom of religion in Iran.
CURRENT PERSECUTION OF BAHÁ’IS
Persecution of Bahá’ís has been longest standing in education. For example, Bahá’ís are banned from attending university and "must be expelled… once it becomes known that they are Bahá’ís”. Unsurprisingly, the recently leaked document includes directives relating to education. The minutes record a decision to instruct education officials to “identify” Bahá’í students and to “undertake the necessary surveillance”.
More recently, Iranian courts have allowed the confiscation of Bahá’í property. On 4 November 2019, the Mazandaran Province Special Court ruled that “the deviant Bahá’í sect is condemned as being heresy and filth, that there is no legitimacy to their ownership of property”. The court ordered the sale of 10 hectares of farmland and 1.25 hectares of residential land belonging to Bahá’ís. The net proceeds are to be used to fund an Islamic centre. In November 2020, Iranian security forces raided Bahá’í homes and shops and seized personal documents including property deeds, according to local sources. This suggests that further land confiscations are coming.
Persecution of the Bahá’ís continues even after death. Bahá’ís have been denied burial (here, here, and here). Family members have been barred from attending funerals. Bahá’í graves are routinely desecrated along with other non-Muslim graves, often at the instigation of Shia clerics (here, here, here, and here).
INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning Iran’s treatment of the Bahá’í in December 2020. The United States has already imposed severe sanctions on the country over its nuclear programme. The European Union has similar sanctions in place. Beyond military intervention, legal action through the international courts may be the last card to play against the Iranian regime.
A 1991 memo prepared for the then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini set Iranian policy towards the Bahá’ís. The memo recorded that “the government’s dealings with them must be in such a way that their progress and development are blocked” and “a plan must be devised to confront and destroy their cultural roots outside the country”. Arguably, this and other documents prove an intention to “[d]eliberately inflict… on the [Bahá’ís] conditions of life calculated to bring about [their] physical destruction in whole or in part,” contrary to article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Bahá’ís have survived 170 years of persecution. How much longer they can survive is uncertain.
Samuel is a trainee solicitor and postgraduate at Cardiff University. He is active in several U.K.-based organisations campaigning on behalf of Hong Kong and BNOs. His research interests include transitional justice and the rule of law.