Persecution of the Bah faith in Iran

By Teresa Rivas Ugaz

"When freedom of conscience, liberty of thought and right of speech prevail

development and growth are inevitable."

- `Abdu'l-Bah, third leader of the Bah faith.

Paniz Fazl-Ali was a civil engineering student at Iran's University of Science and
Technology in Tehran. She had successfully finished her third year and had only
one left to graduate before she was banned from continuing her studies after it
emerged that she is a member of the Bah' community. Iran is a theocracy in
which Shia Islam is the official religion and Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians are
the only accepted religious minorities, whereas the Bah faith is considered by
the Shia clerical establishment a heretic sect of Islam, because the Bah do not
believe that the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, is the final and greatest
Manifestation of God, just one among many.
For the Bah, there is only one God and all religions are valid because they
constitute different ways of approaching and explaining the divine. It also
advocates for the spiritual unity of humanity, because all humans have been
created equal and diversity is considered worthy of appreciation. Furthermore,
Bah are against discrimination of any kind.
Ever since the Bah faith was founded by Bah'u'llh (born Mrz usayn-`Al
Nr) in the mid-nineteenth century Persia, its followers have faced many
hardships. Its rapid popularity, egalitarian message and the fact that it does not
have clerics, was seen by the Islamic authorities and the monarchy as a threat and

thus its followers were persecuted, tortured and massacred. Nowadays, they are
still not free to practice their religion, suffer from economic and social exclusion,
are constantly subjected by many state institutions to harassment, arbitrary arrests
and their property and holy sites are destroyed, and like Paniz Fazl-Ali, are banned
from higher education. Even the Supreme Leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, issued in 2013 a fatwa, or religious edict, in which he urged citizens to
identify Bah followers and to stop socialising with them. The Bah have also
been accused of supporting Zionism and spying for Israel since its governing
body, the Universal ouse of Justice, is located in aifa, one of Israels major
cities.
The current Iranian president, assan Rouhani, has been praised for releasing
political prisoners and for his openness to establish positive diplomatic relations
with Western countries. Nevertheless, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has
sharply criticised him for failing to improve Irans well-known poor human rights
record since taking office. The government still keeps a tight control over media
outlets, relies heavily on the death penalty in order to combat crime, considers
homosexuality illegal and has the worlds highest number of imprisoned journalists.
Women in Iran are also subjected to many restrictions regarding clothing,
education, and sports.
According to Amnesty International, 202 Bahs have been killed since the Islamic
Revolution took place in 1979. Seven Bah' community leaders were arrested in
2008 and are currently serving 20-year prison sentences in Iran. Last October, 79
Bah-owned shops were closed by the authorities. The Bah' International

Community claims that approximately 136 Bah are currently behind bars in Iran
because of their religious beliefs.
The UN General Assembly approved last December a resolution expressing
serious concern about Irans human rights violations and religious discrimination
against minorities, including the Bah faith. opefully, in the future, instead of
taking offense and tightening the grip on religious minorities, the Iranian
government will value the importance of ensuring equality and of treating every
citizen with respect. Iran has been an important centre of culture, art and religion
for thousands of years. It is time that its government recognises the diversity of
beliefs as a source of national pride, not as an excuse to generate more suffering
and violence.