Figure 1.-- These 10 women were hanged by the Iranian government for teaching Sunday school, because they were of the Bahai faith. |
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The Iranian Government imposes serious constraints on religious freedom. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic declares the "official religion of Iran is Islam and the doctrine followed is that of Ja'fari (Twelver) Shi'ism." All laws and regulations enforced by the state must be consistent with Islamic law (Shari'a). The Constitution provides that other Islamic denominations are to be accorded full respect, and recognizes Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians as religious minorities. The Constitution guarantees the right of these recognized minorities to religious practice in personal affairs and religious education. The Constitution forbids harassment of individuals according to their beliefs; however, the adherents of religions not specifically protected under the Constitution do not enjoy the right to practice their faith. Despite the Consttutinal guarantees, the Government has supressed the now small Jewish community. State imposed restrictions have also been directed at the Baha'i Faith, which the Government regards as a misguided or wayward Islamic sect. Te Government has also concluded that the Baha'i has a political orientation hostile to the Iranian revolution. Baha'is see themselves as an independent religion with origins in the Shi'ite Islamic tradition. Some Government officials reportedly have stated that, as individuals, all Baha'is are entitled to their beliefs and are protected under other articles of the Constitution as citizens, but the state has taken a range of actions against the Baha'i. Baha'i
Women have been hanged for teaching Sunday school, Baha'i houses of worshop have been destroyed. Iranian authorities destroyed the the most sacred site for one of Iran’s largest religious minorities, the Baha’is. It was located in Shiraz. The house belonged to the Bab, the first of the two Baha’i prophets. The Iranian Islamist revolutionary government destroyed this holy shrine. The remains of the Bab are buried in the golden shrine in Israel. The Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance ("Ershad") and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) monitor all religious activity in Iran. Adherents of recognized religious minorities are not required to register individually with the Government. The Government does, however, monitor their community, religious, and cultural events and organizations, including schools.
The police have undertaken the registratin of Baha'is. The Government has pressured evangelical Christian groups to submit membership lists, but the churches have resisted. Non-Muslim owners of grocery shops are required to post their religious affiliation at the front of their shops. Apostasy, specifically conversion from Islam, can be punishable by death on the basis of a Koranic prohibition.
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