The position of Baha'is in Iran before and after the Iranian Islamic Revolution

By: Dr. Shahriar Jahanian

According to the Constitution of Iran, which was approved in January 1906

The Baha'i religion was not considered one of the country's official religions. However, the late Shah of Iran (Mohamad Reza Pahlavi) was trying to maintain a good relationship with everyone. At the time, he felt with the emergence of Islam, he could fight communism, so he tried to keep the Muslim clergy at his side. The church was against Bahai's. So, Shah had to take both sides somehow or be in the middle. So, he would give the excellent position as much as possible to Bahai’s for example, Dr. Aiadi, his Physician, was Bahai, but he never made Bahai official religion. But being a Bahai or having a national or local spiritual Bahai assembly was not forbidden or considered a crime. After the revolution being a Bahai was a crime, or even forming a Bahai Spiritual body was considered a crime with death penalty punishment. The Islamic republic's goal now is to destroy the Bahai’s of Iran. However, most Bahai is trying to fight back and keep their faith without using any weapon or arm.

Baha’i faith arose from two social movements in nineteenth-century Persia—Shaikh'ism, and Babi faith, where the latter's proponents predicted the return of the hidden Imam—the Mahdi. The Ali Muhammad Shirazi (also known as Mirza Hussein Ali Nuri, or Baha'ullah) (1817–1892) was the messianic figure predicted by the Bab or "He Whom God Shall Make Manifest" in 1863, according to his close supporters. Bahai faith as a new religion quickly spread throughout the nation and surrounding countries when the statement was made public in 1867. The movement's fast development threatened the Ulema's monopolistic authority, and they joined forces with secular authorities to combat the new menace of "heresy." In addition, many lower-level clergy members were Baha'i supporters, allowing for some contact between Shiite and non-Shiite viewpoints. However, the Ulema's stance on Bahai faith was never treated as a new religion in the late 19th century, despite the rise of Baha'I Faith and changes in the views of the authorities.

The year 1950 turned out to be important as the Muslim Clergy witnessed the concern for the growing impact of the Bahai's community in the socio-political sphere of the country. With the emergence of the second ruler of the great Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, a momentous event occurred in which he brought about the rebirth of the Clergy of the Shi'i. The event turned out to be evident as the political scenario at the time of the Mohamad Reza Shah was not that clear. But this rebirth did not bring progress to the Ulema. No government post or any party membership was given to them. However, prominent Ulema in history has become the ideological leaders of the new political developments that occur in the country. With the rebirth of Bahai faith in the region of Persia in the form of the independent faith, numerous supporters of them were under attack by the other religious clergy with the perception that the growth of this faith could come as a threat to their autocratic position of them in society.

Soon after the revolution, education and the economy were one of the fields in which the Bahai's were making progress. And progress is the contribution factor that aids Persia in making modernizing. One of the most impactful and hateful views that history has seen is belonging to the Abrahamic faith with the origin of the Baha’s, the clergy of Islam starts to consider them as the apostates, and the most impactful thing that turns out when they think that they are the enemy to the Islam. Upon these beliefs, history has seen numerous attacks on the people that belong to the Bahai’s on the reason for the origin of the faith. Iran's onslaught on Bahai’s in pre-revolutionary times demonstrated the convergence of Ulema and monarchy. Still, the country saw the same intersection with establishing the new Islamic Republic in post-revolutionary times. The Discrimination against the persecution of Bahai’s has escalated dramatically in Iran since 1979, and the religious clergy's once-unanimous view of the Bahai's has begun to diverge. New and contrasting viewpoints on Iran's most significant unrecognized religious minority, the Bahai's, have emerged from the conservative reformist Ulema.

History has reflected that Backlash and non-recognition as an autonomous religion have plagued Bahai faith from its foundation. Up to date, Bahai's have been unable to openly profess their faith in public because of the increasing hostility and violence directed against them since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In the beginning, the ulema class considered Bahaullah’s rise in popularity a challenge to their prominence. Politics have changed, yet the condition of the Bahai's has worsened since 1979 despite these changes. When the Ulema took on the Bahai's, they also saw a shift in attitude from one of religious struggle to one of national security. As long as Bahai's are not recognized, oppressed, or theorized, there is little likelihood that this stance will alter in the foreseeable future. Since the public speeches of moderate/reformist Ulema in Iran have brought about healthy development in Reinterpreting the Qur'an, these dissident Ulema are expressing their opinions on the issues that the orthodox Ulema see as grounds for declaring Bahai's to be apostates, notably purity and citizenship. The Iranian Bahai's civil and human rights have been acknowledged by a part of the country's Ulema and some officials, such as Rafsanjani’s daughter, for the first time. Various perspectives were offered on the issue of "purity," in which this group of Ulema attempted to normalize Bahai's politeness to erase the "othering" label and any associated taboos. However, the Ulema's views on Bahai faith as a religion vary. The demand for equal rights and respect does not necessarily mean that Bahai faith is recognized as an autonomous faith. The theological perspective of moderate Ulema on the Bahai's is mainly ignored. Still, there seems to be an awareness of the imperative of treating the Bahai's humanely and recognizing them as equal Iranian citizens.