US condemns Iran’s persecution of Bahai community

The faith is not a recognised religion in Iran, where its practitioners are being oppressed

Members of the Bahai faith face persecution from the Houthi rebels, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Reuters

Iran's persecution of the Bahai community was condemned by the US Congress in a resolution this week that calls on the Iranian government to release all Bahai prisoners, end its campaign of state-sponsored persecution and reverse discriminatory policies against the community.

The resolution, first introduced by Congressman Ted Deutch, had strong support from 93 co-sponsors.

The Bahai faith originated in Iran 150 years ago but is not a recognised religion there, which is probably the main reason for its practitioners being oppressed.

Since 1979, Iranian authorities have killed or executed more than 200 Bahai leaders, and more than 10,000 were dismissed from government and university jobs.

Authorities in Tehran deny members of the group access to higher education and government jobs, among 25 professions in which they are barred from working. Iranian Bahais are also subject to arbitrary arrests and imprisonment.

Members of the Bahai group hailed the development in Congress.

"We are grateful to the House of Representatives for passing this important piece of legislation. Iranian Bahais, and Bahais everywhere, are peaceful, non-partisan, and charged to be concerned with the betterment of society," Anthony Vance, director of the US Bahai Office of Public Affairs, told The National.

The Iranian government's continued persecution of the Bahai community “is a stain on their conscience, and we join Congress's call for it to end now”, Mr Vance said.

The faith has nearly five million followers worldwide, including an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 in Iran, where it is considered heretical by the country’s religious leaders.

Bahais regard their faith’s 19th-century founder as the latest in a line of prophets that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed.

Human rights groups denounced what they say is unlawful incarceration of the Bahais in the region, especially in Iran and Yemen, and demanded that the minority group be allowed to practice its faith freely.