Iran
(1999)
Section I. Freedom of Religion
The Government restricts freedom of religion. The
Constitution declares that the "official religion of Iran is Islam and
the doctrine followed is that of Ja'fari (Twelver) Shi'ism." It also
states that "other Islamic denominations are to be accorded full
respect," and designates Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians as the
only "recognized religious minorities," which, "within the
limits of the law", are permitted to perform their religious rites and
ceremonies and "to act according to their own canon in matters of
personal affairs and religious education." Although the Constitution
states that "the investigation of individuals' beliefs is
forbidden" and that "no one may be molested or taken to task
simply for holding a certain belief," the adherents of religions not
specifically protected under the Constitution do not enjoy freedom of
activity. This situation most directly affects the 300,000 to 350,000
followers of the Baha'i Faith in the country.
The central feature of the country's Islamic republican
system is rule by a "religious jurisconsult." Its senior
leadership, including the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, the President,
the head of the Judiciary, and the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative
Assembly (Parliament), is composed principally of Shi'a clergymen.
Religious activity is monitored closely by the Ministry
of Islamic Culture and Guidance and by the Ministry of Intelligence and
Security (MOIS). Adherents of recognized religious minorities are not
required to register individually with the Government, although their
community, religious, and cultural events and organizations, as well as
schools, are monitored closely. Baha'is are not recognized by the
Government as a legitimate religious group but are considered an outlawed
political organization. Registration of Baha'i adherents is a police
function. Evangelical Christian groups have been pressured by government
authorities to compile and hand over membership lists for their
congregations. Evangelicals have resisted this demand.
The population is approximately 99 percent Muslim, of
which 89 percent are Shi'a and 10 percent are Sunni (mostly Turkomen,
Arabs, Baluchs, and Kurds living in the southwest, southeast, and
northwest). Baha'i, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Jewish communities
constitute less than 1 percent of the population. Estimates on the size of
the Jewish community vary from 25,000 to 40,000. These figures represent a
substantial reduction from the estimated 75,000 to 80,000 Jews who resided
in the country prior to the 1979 Revolution. The Christian community is
estimated at approximately 117,000 persons according to government figures.
Of these the majority consists of ethnic Armenians and Assyro-Chaldeans.
Protestant denominations and evangelical churches also are active; although
non-ethnically based faith groups report a greater degree of restriction
imposed by authorities on their activities. Sufi Brotherhoods are popular,
but there are no reliable figures available to judge their true size.
The U.N. Special Representative for Human Rights in Iran
noted in his September 1998 report frequent assertions that religious
minorities are, by law and practice, barred from being elected to a
representative body (except to the seats in the Majles reserved for
minorities, as provided for in the Constitution) and from holding senior
government or military positions. Members of religious minorities are
allowed to vote, but they may not run for President. All religious
minorities suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination,
particularly in the areas of employment, education, and housing (see
Section II).
Members of religious minorities are generally barred
from becoming school principals. Applicants for public-sector employment
are screened for their adherence to Islam. The law stipulates penalties for
government workers who do not observe "Islam's principles and
rules." Religious minorities cannot serve in the army, the judiciary,
and the security services. The Constitution states that "the Army of
the Islamic Republic of Iran must be an Islamic army, i.e., committed to an
Islamic ideology and the people, and must recruit into its service
individuals who have faith in the objectives of the Islamic Revolution and
are devoted to the cause of achieving its goals." Baha'is are
prohibited from government employment.
University applicants are required to pass an
examination in Islamic theology. Although public-school students receive
instruction in Islam, this requirement limits the access of most religious
minorities to higher education. Applicants for public-sector employment
similarly are screened for their adherence to Islam.
The Government allows recognized religious minorities to
conduct religious education of their adherents. This includes separate and
privately funded Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian schools. The Ministry
of Education, which imposes certain curriculum requirements, supervises
these schools. With few exceptions, the directors of these private schools
must be Muslim. Attendance at these schools is not mandatory for recognized
religious minorities. All textbooks used in course work must be approved
for use by the Ministry of Education, including religious texts. Religious
texts in non-Persian languages require approval by the authorities for use.
This requirement imposes sometimes significant translation expenses on
minority communities.
Recognized religious minorities may provide religious
instruction in non-Persian languages but often come under pressure from the
authorities when conducting such instruction in Persian. In particular,
evangelical Christian and Jewish communities have suffered harassment and
arrest by authorities for the printing of materials or delivery of sermons
in Persian.
Recognized religious minorities are allowed by the
Government to establish community centers and certain cultural, social,
sports, or charitable associations that they finance themselves. This does
not apply to the Baha'i community, which since 1983 has been denied the
right to assemble officially or to maintain administrative institutions.
Because the Baha'i Faith has no clergy, the denial of the right to form
such institutions and elect officers has threatened its existence.
Religious minorities suffer discrimination in the legal
system, receiving lower awards in injury and death lawsuits and incurring
heavier punishments than Muslims. Muslim men are free to marry non-Muslim
women, but the opposite does not apply. Marriages between Muslim women and
non-Muslim men are not recognized.
There was no change in the status of respect for
religious freedom during the period covered by this report. The Government
continues to restrict religious freedom.
The Government is highly suspicious of any proselytizing
of Muslims by non-Muslims and can be harsh in meting out its response, in
particular against Baha'is and evangelical Christians. The Government
regards the Baha'i community, whose faith originally derives from a strand
of Islam, as a "misguided" or "wayward" sect. The
Government has fueled anti-Baha'i and anti-Jewish sentiment in the country
for political purposes.
The Government does not ensure the right of citizens to
change or renounce their religious faith. Apostasy, specifically conversion
from Islam, can be punishable by death.
Although Sunni Muslims are accorded full respect under
the terms of the Constitution, some groups claim discrimination on the part
of the Government. In particular, Sunnis cite the lack of a Sunni mosque in
Tehran and claim that authorities refuse to authorize construction of a
Sunni place of worship in the capital.
Human Rights Watch reported in 1998 the killing of Sunni
prayer leader Molavi Imam Bakhsh Narouie in the province of Sistan
va-Baluchistan in the southeast. This led to protests from the local
community, which believed that government authorities were involved in the
murder.
Majdhub Alishahi, an adherent of the Sufi tradition,
reportedly was executed on charges of adultery and homosexuality after a
coerced confession in 1996. Sufi organizations outside the country reported
an increasing level of repression by the authorities of Sufi religious
practices during the period covered by this report.
The Government figures reported by the United Nations in
1996 place the size of the Zoroastrian community in the country at
approximately 35,000 adherents. Zoroastrian groups cite a larger figure of
approximately 60,000, according to the same United Nations report.
Zoroastrians are mainly ethnic Persians concentrated in the cities of
Tehran, Kerman, and Yazd. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the
pre-Islamic Sassanid Empire and thus has played a central role in Iranian
history. There were no reports of government persecution of the Zoroastrian
religious community in the country.
The largest non-Muslim minority is the Baha'i Faith,
estimated at about 300,000 to 350,000 adherents throughout the country. The
Baha'i Faith originated in Iran during the 1840's as a reformist movement
within Shi'a Islam. Initially it attracted a wide following among Shi'a
clergy. The political and religious authorities of that time joined to
suppress the movement, and since then the hostility of the Shi'a clergy to
the Baha'i Faith has remained intense. Baha'is are considered apostates
because of their claim to a valid religious revelation subsequent to that
of Muhammad. The Baha'i Faith is defined by the Government as a political
sect historically linked to the Shah's regime and, hence, as
counterrevolutionary and characterized by its espionage activities for the
benefit of foreign entities, particularly Israel. Historically at risk in
the country, Baha'is often have suffered increased levels of persecution
during times of political ferment. The Baha'is also faced discrimination
under the Shah. Baha'i groups have alleged that prior to the 1979 Islamic
Revolution, previous governments occasionally used Baha'is as scapegoats
for various difficulties, allowing elements within the clerical
establishment to repress Baha'i activities.
Baha'is may not teach or practice their faith or
maintain links with coreligionists abroad. The fact that the Baha'i world
headquarters is situated in what is now the state of Israel (established by
the founder of the Baha'i Faith in the 19th century in what was then
Ottoman-controlled Palestine) exposes Baha'is to government charges of
"espionage on behalf of Zionism," in particular when caught
communicating with or addressing monetary contributions to the Baha'i Faith
headquarters.
Broad restrictions on Baha'is appear to be geared to
destroying them as a community. They repeatedly have been offered relief
from persecution if they were prepared to recant their faith. Baha'i
marriages are not recognized by the Government, leaving Baha'i women open
to charges of prostitution. Children of Baha'i marriages are not recognized
as legitimate and, therefore, are denied inheritance rights. Baha'i sacred
and historical properties have been confiscated systematically. Baha'is are
not allowed to bury and honor their dead in keeping with their religious
tradition, while historic Baha'i gravesites have been confiscated and in
many cases desecrated or destroyed. In October 1998, three Bahai's were
arrested in Damavand, a city north of Tehran, on the grounds that they had
buried their dead without government authorization.
Ruhollah Rowhani, a Baha'i, was executed in July 1998
after having served 9 months in solitary confinement on a charge of
apostasy stemming from allegedly having converted a Muslim woman to the
Baha'i Faith. The woman concerned asserted that her mother was a Baha'i and
that she herself had been raised a Baha'i. Rowhani was not accorded a
public trial or sentencing for his alleged crime, and no sentence was
announced prior to his execution.
The Government continued to imprison and detain persons
based on their religious beliefs.
Two other Baha'is, Sirus Zabihi-Moghaddam and Hadayat
Kashefi-Najafabadi, were tried alongside Rowhani and later sentenced to
death by a revolutionary court in Mashad for the exercise of their Baha'i
Faith. Unofficial reports received by Baha'is outside the country in March
1999 indicated that the death sentences against Zabihi-Moghaddam and
Kashefi-Najafabadi had been lifted. The two remain in prison and there is
no confirmation of a new sentence. Four Baha'is are currently on death
row--two for "Zionist Baha'i activities" and two for apostasy.
Baha'i group meetings and religious education, which
often take place in private homes and offices, are curtailed severely.
Public and private universities continue to deny admittance to Baha'i
students, a particularly demoralizing blow to a community that
traditionally has placed a high value on education. Denial of access to
higher education appears aimed at the eventual impoverishment of the Baha'i
community.
In September 1998, authorities launched a nationwide
operation to disrupt the activities of the Baha'i Institute of Higher
Learning, also known as the "Open University", established by the
Baha'i community shortly after the revolution to offer higher educational
opportunities to Baha'i students who had been denied access to the
country's high schools and universities. The Institute employed Baha'i
faculty and professors, many of whom had been dismissed from teaching
positions by the Government as a result of their faith, and conducted
classes in homes or offices owned or rented by Baha'is. In the assault,
which took place in at least 14 different cities, 36 faculty members were
arrested, and a variety of personal property, including books, papers, and
furniture, either were destroyed or confiscated. Government interrogators
sought to force the detained faculty members to sign statements
acknowledging the Open University was now defunct and pledging not to
collaborate with it in the future. Baha'is outside the country report that
none of the 36 detainees would sign the document. All but 4 of the 36
persons detained during the September 1998 raid on the Baha'i Institute
were released.
In March 1999, Dr. Sina Hakiman, Farzad Khajeh
Sharifabadi, Habibullah Ferdosian Najafabadi, and Ziaullah Mirzapanah--the
four remaining detainees from the September 1998 raid, were convicted under
Article 498 of the Penal Code and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3
to 10 years. In the court verdict, the four were accused of having
established a "secret organization" engaged in "attracting
youth, teaching against Islam, and teaching against the regime of the
Islamic Republic." According to Baha'i groups outside Iran, the four
taught general science and Persian literature courses. In July 1999,
Mirzapanah, who had been sentenced to 3 years in prison, became ill and was
hospitalized. Prison authorities allowed him to return home upon his
recovery on the understanding that they could find him whenever necessary.
The Government appears to adhere to a practice of
keeping a small number of Baha'is in arbitrary detention, some at risk of
execution, at any given time. There were 14 Baha'is reported to be under
arrest in Iran for practice of their faith as of June 1999, 4 under
sentence of death.
Baha'is regularly are denied compensation for injury or
criminal victimization. Government authorities claim that only Muslim
plaintiffs are eligible for compensation in these circumstances.
A 1993 law prohibits government workers from membership
in groups that deny the "divine religions", terminology that the
Government uses to label members of the Baha'i Faith. The law also
stipulates penalties for government workers who do not observe
"Islamic principles and rules."
In 1993 the U.N. Special Representative reported the
existence of a government policy directive on the Baha'is. According to the
directive, the Supreme Revolutionary Council instructed government agencies
to block the progress and development of the Baha'i community, expel Baha'i
students from universities, cut the Baha'is' links with groups outside
Iran, restrict the employment of Baha'is, and deny Baha'is "positions
of influence," including those in education. The Government claims
that the directive is a forgery. However, it appears to be an accurate
reflection of current government practice.
Property belonging to the Baha'i community as a whole,
such as places of worship, remains confiscated. Baha'i graveyards have been
confiscated and defiled. Other government restrictions have been eased;
Baha'is currently may obtain food ration booklets and send their children
to public schools. However, the prohibition against the admission of
Baha'is to universities remains. Thousands of Baha'is dismissed from
government jobs in the early 1980's receive no unemployment benefits and
have been required to repay the Government for salaries or pensions
received from the first day of employment. Those unable to do so face
prison sentences.
In his 1996 report to the U.N. Commission on Human
Rights, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Question of Religious
Intolerance recommended "that the ban on the Baha'i organization
should be lifted to enable it to organize itself freely through its
administrative institutions, which are vital in the absence of a clergy,
and so that it can engage fully in its religious activities." In
response to the Special Rapporteur's concerns with regard to the lack of
official recognition of the Baha'i Faith, government officials said that
the Baha'is "are not a religious minority, but a political
organization which was associated with the Shah's regime, is against the
Iranian Revolution and engages in espionage activities." According to
the Special Representative, government officials stated nonetheless that,
as individuals, all Baha'is were entitled to their beliefs and were
protected under other articles of the Constitution as citizens.
Authorities have become particularly vigilant in recent
years in curbing what is perceived as increasing proselytizing activities
by evangelical Christians, whose services are conducted in Persian.
Government officials have reacted to this perceived activity by closing
evangelical churches and arresting converts. Members of evangelical
congregations have been required to carry membership cards, photocopies of
which must be provided to the authorities. Worshipers are subject to
identity checks by authorities posted outside congregation centers.
Meetings for evangelical services have been restricted by the authorities
to Sundays and church officials have been ordered to inform the Ministry of
Information and Islamic Guidance before admitting new members to their
congregations.
Christian groups point to the closure by authorities of
the Iranian Bible Society in February 1990 and the confiscation of an
estimated 20,000 Bibles as evidence of official discrimination. The U.N.
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Religious Intolerance cited in his
1996 report that the alleged forced closure by the authorities of Christian
churches in Mashad (1988), Sari, (1988), Kermanshah and Ahwaz (1988),
Kerman (1992), and Gorgon (1992).
As conversion of a Muslim to a non-Muslim religion can
be considered apostasy under traditional Shari'a practices enforced in the
country, non-Muslims can not proselytize Muslims without putting their own
lives at risk. Evangelical church leaders are subject to pressure from
authorities to sign pledges that they would not evangelize Muslims or allow
Muslims to attend church services. Evangelical communities report a
heightened sense of fear from authorities in the period since the murders
of three prominent evangelical ministers in 1994, Reverends Tatavous
Michaelian, Mehdi Dibaj, and Haik Hovsepian Mehr. Three female members of
the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization were convicted for the murders of the
three ministers; however, many observers believe that authorities played a
role in the killings.
One U.S.-based organization reported 8 deaths of
evangelical Christians at the hands of authorities in the past 10 years and
between 15 and 23 disappearances in the year between November 1997 and
November 1998.
Oppression of evangelical Christians continued during
the period covered by this report. Christian groups reported instances of
government harassment of churchgoers in Tehran, in particular against
worshipers at the Assembly of God congregation in the capital. Instances of
harassment cited included conspicuous monitoring outside Christian premises
by Revolutionary Guards to discourage Muslims or converts from entering
church premises and demands for presentation of identity papers of
worshipers inside. Iranian Christians International (ICI) detailed the
cases of Alireza and Mahboobeh Mahmoudian, converts to Christianity and lay
leaders of the Saint Simon the Zealot Osgofi Church in Shiraz, who were
forced to leave the country permanently in June 1998 after continued
harassment by authorities. ICI reported that Alireza Mahmoudian had lost
his job on account of his conversion and had been beaten repeatedly by
Basiji and Ansar-e Hizbollah thugs on orders of government officials from
the Ministry of Islamic Guidance. His wife, Mahboobeh, also had been the
subject of intimidation, principally through frequent and aggressive
interrogation by government officials.
While Jews are a recognized religious minority,
allegations of official discrimination are frequent. The Government's
anti-Israel policies, coupled with a perception among radicalized Muslim
elements that Jewish citizens support Zionism and the State of Israel,
create a threatening atmosphere for the small Jewish community. Jewish
leaders are reportedly reluctant to draw attention to official mistreatment
of their community due to fear of government reprisal.
Some outside Jewish groups cite an increase in
anti-Semitic propaganda in the official and semi-official media as adding
to the pressure felt by the Jewish community. One example cited is the
periodic publication of the anti-Semitic and fictitious Protocols of the
Elders of Zion, both by the Government and by periodicals associated with
hard-line elements of the regime. In 1986 the Iranian Embassy in London was
reported to have published and distributed the Protocols in English. The
Protocols also were published in serial form in the country in 1994 and
again in January 1999. On the latter occasion they were published in Sobh,
a conservative monthly publication reportedly aligned with the security
services.
There appears to be little restriction or interference
with religious practice or education, but Jews were eased out of the
Government after 1979. Jews are permitted to obtain passports and to travel
outside the country but, with the exception of certain business travelers,
are required by the authorities to obtain clearance (and pay additional
fees) before each trip abroad. The Government appears concerned about the
emigration of Jews and permission generally is not granted for all members
of a Jewish family to travel outside the country at the same time.
In March 1999, 13 Jews were arrested in the cities of
Shiraz and Isfahan. Among the group were several prominent rabbis, teachers
of Hebrew, and their students, including a 16-year-old boy. As of June
1999, judicial authorities had not completed their investigation into the
case and an indictment had not been made. However, the investigation
centered around charges of espionage on behalf of Israel, an offense
punishable by death. Governments around the world criticized the arrests
and called for the safe treatment of the detainees, who have been allowed
only sporadic family visits and deliveries of kosher food. They were not
granted access to counsel.
Jewish groups outside Iran noted that the March arrest
of the 13 Jewish individuals coincided with an increase in anti-Semitic
propaganda in newspapers and journals associated with hard-line elements of
the Government.
Human Rights Watch reported the death in May 1998 of
Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh, who was hanged in prison
without a public charge or legal proceeding. Reports indicate that
Kakhodah-Zadeh may have been killed for assisting Jews to emigrate.
Specifically, as an accountant, Kakhoda-Zadeh provided power-of-attorney
services for Jews departing the country.
The Government restricts the movement of several senior
religious leaders, some of whom have been under house arrest for years, and
often charges members of religious minorities with crimes such as drug
offenses, "confronting the regime," and apostasy.
There were no reports of the forced religious conversion
of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the
United States, or of the Government's refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Section II. Societal Attitudes
The continuous activity of Iran's pre-Islamic,
non-Muslim communities, e.g., Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, has
accustomed the population to the presence of non-Muslims in society.
However, government actions have fueled anti-Baha'i and anti-Jewish
sentiment, creating a threatening atmosphere for both communities (see
Section I).
The Jewish community has been reduced to nearly one-half
its prerevolutionary size. Some of this emigration is connected with the
larger, general waves of departures following the establishment of the
Islamic Republic, but some also stems from perceived anti-Semitism on the
part of the Government and within society.
The Government's anti-Israel policies, coupled with the
perception among some of the country's radicalized elements that Iranian
Jews support Zionism and the Israeli state, create a threatening atmosphere
for the Jewish community (see Section I). Many Jews have sought to limit
their contact with or support for the State of Israel out of fear of
reprisal.
Non-Muslim owners of grocery shops are required to
indicate their religious affiliation on the front of their shops.
Sunni Muslims encounter religious discrimination at the
local level, and reports of discrimination against practitioners of the
Sufi tradition surfaced during the year.
Section III. U.S. Government Policy
The United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran
and thus cannot raise directly with the Government the restrictions it
places on religious freedom and other abuses that it commits against
adherents of minority religions. The U.S. Government makes its position
clear in public statements, support for relevant United Nations and
nongovernmental organization efforts, and in diplomatic contacts with other
countries.
The President has made a number of statements regarding
the treatment of religious minorities in Iran, including a statement
criticizing the execution of Ruhollah Rowhani, a member of the Baha'i
Faith, in June 1998, and a statement calling on the Government to release
13 members of Iran's Jewish community accused of espionage in June 1999.
The Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, in testimony before
Congress on Iran, has highlighted the plight of Iran's religious
minorities.
The U.S. Government has cosponsored each year since 1982
a resolution regarding the situation of human rights in Iran offered by the
European Union at the annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human
Rights. The United States has supported a similar resolution offered each
year during the United Nations General Assembly. The U.S. Government has
supported strongly the work of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
for Iran and called on the Iranian Government to grant him admission and
allow him to conduct his research (he has been denied entry visas since
1996).
The U.S. State Department spokesman on numerous
occasions has addressed the situation of the Baha'i and Jewish communities,
notably following the execution of Ruhollah Rowhani in June 1998, following
the Government's actions against the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education
in September 1998, and following the arrest of 13 members of the Iranian
Jewish community in March 1999. The U.S. Government has encouraged other
governments to make similar statements and has pressed those governments to
raise the issue of religious freedom in discussions with the Iranian
Government.
*This report draws heavily on non-U.S.
Government sources.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |