CIJA Statement on Iranian Anti-Baha’i Campaign

Friday, July 9th, 2021

CIJA stands shoulder to shoulder with the Bahá’í community against decades of demonization and persecution from the Iranian regime. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian government has waged a vicious anti-Bahá’í propaganda campaign online and in the media, as well as through educational seminars and exhibitions.  

Since 2017, more than 33,000 pieces of toxic anti-Bahá’í content have been published or broadcast. In recent years, hundreds of websites and dozens of social media accounts have systematically attacked the Bahá’í community, misrepresenting Bahá’í beliefs in a manner designed to cause maximum offence to Iran’s Muslim-majority population.

State-sponsored Iranian media describes Bahá’í as “misguided” or “deviant” “Satanists” whose main concern is to overthrow the government through perverse methods. These false allegations are part of Iran’s deliberate efforts to increase feelings of suspicion, distrust, and hatred for the Bahá’í people. 

 As Jews, we understand the deadly consequences of a relentless repetition of falsehoods and myths against an entire community. Left unchecked, the Iranian regime’s indoctrination will instill a belief that Bahá’ís are outsiders in their own land, who deserve to be discriminated against and even subjected to violence.

This must stop. Canada must play a role in holding Iran to account for the countless human rights violations it commits against the Bahá’ís with impunity.