Non-Muslims in Iran
suffer persecution at the hands of the government, including imprisonment, torture, and execution, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom.
The State Department published its annual report detailing the status of religious rights in every country this week.
Iran’s constitution openly offers rights to Muslims only and threatens religious minorities.
“The constitution defines the country as an Islamic republic and specifies Twelver Ja’afari Shia Islam as the official state religion,” the report stated. “It states all laws and regulations must be based on ‘Islamic criteria’ and an official interpretation of sharia.”
“The constitution states citizens shall enjoy human, political, economic, and other rights, ‘in conformity with Islamic criteria,’” the report detailed. “The penal code specifies the death sentence for proselytizing and attempts by non-Muslims to convert Muslims, as well as for
moharebeh (enmity against God) and
sabb al-nabi (insulting the Prophet).”
“The constitution states Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, excluding converts from Islam, are the only recognized religious minorities permitted to worship and form religious societies ‘within the limits of the law,’” the report read.
In reality, all religious minorities suffer persecution in Iran. “Enmity against God” is a crime punishable by death, used to target non-Muslims. Non-Shia Muslims, like Sunnis and Sufis, accused of non-religious crimes also face a disproportionately large number of executions, particularly Kurds, Baluchis, and Arabs.
Those not killed, human rights group warned, face “torture, beatings in custody, forced confessions, poor prison conditions, and denials of access to legal counsel.”
Among the religious minorities targeted for their faith overtly, those of the Baha’i faith are particularly targeted, according to the State Department report.
“According to multiple sources, non-Shia Muslims and those affiliated with a religion other than Islam, especially members of the Baha’i community, continued to face societal discrimination and harassment, while employers experienced social pressures not to hire Baha’is or to dismiss them from their private-sector jobs,” the report noted. “Baha’is reported there was continued destruction and vandalism of their cemeteries.”
“The Baha’i International Community (BIC) reported Baha’is remained barred from government employment at the local, provincial, and national levels, not only in the civil service but also in such fields as education and law,” the report stated.
“The website IranWire reported that between March and October judiciary officials engaged in a wave of increased summons, detentions, and trials of Baha’is, and during this six-month period, at least 65 Baha’is stood trial in various cities across the country, “ the report stated.
“The law bars Baha’is from founding or operating their own educational institutions,” the report read. “A Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology order requires universities to exclude Baha’is from access to higher education or to expel them if their religious affiliation becomes known. Government regulation states Baha’is are only permitted to enroll in universities if they do not identify themselves as Baha’is.”…
