Persecution of Baha'is in Iran

The Baha'i Faith is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion founded in Persia in the 19^th century which claims to share the same values and origins of its predecessors. Its founder, Baha'u'llah, is regarded by Baha'is as "the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Mohammed." The current estimates for the total number of Baha'is around the world ranges from 5 million^[1][2] to 7.9 million.^[3]

Since the religion's inception, the Bahá'ís of Iran have been persecuted. While the Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian minorities are also persecuted, they have certain limited rights, whereas Baha'is have none.^[4] Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, this persecution has become systematized. Unofficial figures have put the number of Baha'i deaths into the thousands, but officially, more than 200 have been executed or killed, hundreds more have been imprisoned, and tens of thousands have been deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational opportunities. All national and local Bahá'í administrative institutions have been banned by the Government, and Bahá'í holy places, cemeteries, and community properties have been confiscated, vandalized, or destroyed.^[5]

This treatment of Baha'is is justified by Shari'ah through apostasy laws, because traditional Islamic law mandates that anyone who leaves Islam be killed. According to many scholars, since the Baha'i faith is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, Baha'is are apostates and can therefore be justifiably killed. Many Baha'is continue to conceal their religion and often call themselves Muslims.

Over time, the international community has become more aware of Baha'i persecution due to advocacy which has brought the United Nations, Amnesty International, the European Union, and the United States into discussions with representatives of the faith.

Post-Islamic monotheistic religions such as the Ahmadiyya and Bahá'í faiths pose unique challenges to Islamic authorities. It is difficult to dismiss the followers of such religions as "benighted heathens," like the polytheists of Asia and the animists of Africa, or as "outdated precursors," like Jews and Christians. Moreover, their existence presents a challenge to the Islamic doctrine of the perfection and finality of Muhammad's revelation.

The following is a directive from the Iranian Interior Ministry sent to all provincial governments to collect detailed information about Baha’i activities and individuals:

Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, has also criticized Iran's claim that seven leaders of the community who were imprisoned in Iran were held for security reasons and not because of their faith, calling the assertion "utterly baseless." He argued that Iran's practice of connecting the group to Zionism, the underlying political philosophy of Israel, was a "distortion" and an attempt to "stir animosity" among the Iranian public.^[6]