misunderstanding and fear that often occur when a new religion emerges from the matrix of a well-established orthodoxy. The pattern has been repeated through the ages; indeed, virtually all of the world’s great religions have faced intense persecution in their early history.

In 1979, with the establishment of an Islamic Republic, the persecutions took a new direction, becoming an official government policy and being pursued in a systematic way. Since that year, more than 200 Bahá’ís 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 Bahá’í administrative structures were banned by the government, and holy places, shrines, and cemeteries were confiscated, vandalized, or destroyed.

In the face of intense international pressure, the Iranian government gradually halted the executions and greatly reduced the number of Bahá’ís held in prison. Yet the wholesale persecution and oppression of Iranian Bahá’ís continues, though in a manner that seems designed to evade the scrutiny of international human rights monitors.

In recent years, Bahá’ís have been subject to revolving-door arrests and detentions calculated to sow terror among Iranian Bahá’ís. Some of the prisoners, for example, were held incommunicado, in unknown locations, while their families desperately searched for them. In addition, government agents conducted prolonged searches of many of their homes, confiscating documents, books, computers, copiers and other belongings.

The government has put in place measures to suffocate the Bahá’í community through extensive social and economic restrictions. It has destroyed Bahá’í holy sites, blocked Bahá’ís from obtaining business licenses and other means of livelihood, and harassed Bahá’í school children.

The 350,000-member Bahá’í community comprises the largest religious minority in that country, and Bahá’ís have been oppressed solely because of religious hatred. Islamic fundamentalists in Iran and elsewhere have long viewed the Bahá’í Faith as a threat to Islam, branding Bahá’ís as heretics and apostates. The progressive position of the Faith on women’s rights, independent investigation of truth, and education has particularly rankled Muslim clerics.

In June 1983, for example, the Iranian authorities arrested ten Bahá’í women and girls. The charge against them: teaching children’s classes on the Bahá’í Faith — the equivalent of Sunday school in the West.

The women were subjected to intense physical and mental abuse in an effort to coerce them to recant their Faith — an option that is always pressed on Bahá’í prisoners. Yet, like most Bahá’ís who were arrested in Iran, they refused to deny their beliefs. As a result, they were executed.

International protest against the persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran has been widespread. Thousands of newspaper articles about the persecution have appeared around the world. Prominent international organizations, including the European Parliament and several national legislatures, have passed resolutions condemning or expressing concern about the Bahá’ís of Iran. More important, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the UN General Assembly have passed numerous resolutions expressing concern over Iran’s human rights record. Virtually all of these resolutions have specifically mentioned the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran.