Approximately 89% of Iranians are Shia Muslims.[13] The rest, including Baha’i, Christian, Zoroastrian, Sunni Muslim, and Jewish communities, constitute around 11%. Despite their popularity in the country, the total membership of Sufi groups in the…
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Helping the hidden victims of persecution in Iran
By Michael Boren Simin Ziaie flips through the pages of 215 men, women and teenagers. Their faces represent multitudes of families and personalities. One is a 17-year-old girl who taught Sunday school, another an educator,…
Spain's recently passed Motion in Defense of Iran's Baha'is
On 21 March 2009 the Spanish House of Representatives passed a motion in defense of the Baha’is in Iran. The motion, presented by the People’s Party and adopted unanimously, calls for the release of the…
Iran Open Letter
Editor’s Note: The following Open Letter was published in August 3, 2009, issue of the New York Times, in a full-page. To Shirin Ebadi and to All the dissidents — the brave men and women…
Abdu’l-Baha on Baha’i Persecutions in 1903 (part 5)
In short, on that day, in course of this mighty cataclysm and the outbreak of this inferno of malice, gates and houses were burned, dwellings invaded, and they destroyed, beat, killed, and plundered all. The…
Abdu’l-Baha on Baha’i Persecutions in 1903 (part 4)
As a result, the third day after the arrival of that worthless [man], either through persuasion or force, a mob of ruffians and vagabonds was assembled. A great multitude, armed with swords and daggers, invaded…
Iran Commences Post Election Violence Trial
News concerning inclusion of Baha’is in upcoming trials of protesters continues to be vague and unconfirmed. The following reports hint at inclusion of Baha’is in these trials, but Iran Press Watch is not aware of further details.…
Harassment of Baha’is in Vilashahr
Editor’s Note: Committee of Human Rights Reporters has published a story based on undisclosed sources about the situation of a Baha’i family in Valishahr, near Isfahan. A translation of this report is provided below. By…
Baha'is on Trial?
In a report filed from Cairo on Wednesday, July 29, the Associated Press (AP) writer Lee Keath states: The state news agency IRNA said Wednesday that indictments had been issued against “around 20” detainees involved in “planning…
Fariba Kamalabadi
Mrs. Kamalabadi is one of the seven former Baha’i leaders who continues to languish in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on false and fabricated charges. She was arrested in May 2008. Several items of interest related…
Abdu’l-Baha on Baha’i Persecutions in 1903 (part 2)
Abdu’l-Baha’s Treatise A synopsis of the sorrowful events of the [Baha’i] martyrs in Yazd and Isfahan He is God! In this enlightened age, which is the century of the Almighty God, by the effulgence of…
Anti-Baha’i Training in Kazerun
Iranian Quran News Agency (IQNA) reports on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, in Persian: A representative of a religious seminary in the province of Fars states that the first round of critical studies of religions and…
Dr. Tavakoli’s Article in Translation
Recently, Iran Press Watch was pleased to post an abstract of Prof. Tavakoli-Targhi’s important essay, “Anti-Baha’ism and Islamism in Iran, 1941-1955”. Through the kindness of one of our readers, the site has received a scan…
Abdu’l-Baha on Baha’i Persecutions in 1903 (part 1)
Editor’s Note: The Baha’i community of Iran has had a long and sorrowful history of persecution, some of which has already been recounted in English language sources. To provide further scholarly access to this history,…
Anti-Baha’ism and Islamism in Iran, 1941-1955
Editor’s Note: Prof. Mohammad Tavakoli-Targhi’s seminal study was published in translation in The Baha’is of Iran: Socio-historical studies, 2008, New York, NY: Routledge. An abstract of this paper appears below with the link to the…
If “We are the world,” then “We are Iran”: Time to Join the Global Day of Action for Iran
Editor’s Note: In support of the Global Day of Action, Iran Press Watch is pleased to publish this invited editorial by Dr. Christopher Buck, a regular contributor to this site. This is a foundational essay…
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