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Ethnic and religious groups in the islamic republic of iran


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, accessed November 2002

6 The first of these estimates is from the United Methodist Church, General Board of Global Ministries, with these statistics having been drawn from the World Guide 2001/2002, New Internationalist Publications Ltd, 55 Rectory Road, Oxford, OX4 1BW, U.K, (accessed November 2002) and the second is from the www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran, (accessed November 2002)

7 The first of these estimates is from United Methodist Church website and the second is from the www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran

8 The first of these estimates is from the www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran and the second is from the United Methodist Church website

9 The first of these estimates is from the www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran and the second is from United Methodist Church website

10 www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran

11 Ibid.

12 The first of these estimates is from United Methodist Church website and the second is from the www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran

13 www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran

14 Human Rights Watch, Iran, Religious and Ethnic Minorities: Discrimination in Law and Practice, 1997 report, found at , accessed November 2002

15 Nasib Nasibzade, The Azeri Question in Iran

16 Abbas Vali, The Kurds and Their ‘Others’: Fragmented Identity and Fragmented Politics, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, vol. XVIII, no. 2, 1998, p. 88

17 Nasib Nasibzade, The Azeri Question in Iran

18 Human Rights Watch, Iran, Religious and Ethnic Minorities

19 Abbas Vali, The Kurds and Their ‘Others’, p. 88

20 Human Rights Watch, Iran, Religious and Ethnic Minorities, quoting David McDowall, The Kurds, rev. ed., London: Minority Rights Groups International, December 1996, p. 22

21 Zalmay Khalilzad, The Politics of Ethnicity in Southwest Asia: Political Development or Political Decay?, Political Science Quarterly, vol. 99, issue 4, Winter 1984-1985, p. 677

22 See Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Victims of Iranian State Terrorism, , accessed November 2002

23 Human Rights Watch, Iran, Religious and Ethnic Minorities

24 The collective resignation was apparently later withdrawn

25 Human Rights Watch, Iran, Religious and Ethnic Minorities

26 Ibid.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid.

29 Uriah Furman, Minorities in Contemporary Islamist Discourse, Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 36, no. 4, October 2000, pp. 2-3

30 Abbas Vali, The Kurds and Their ‘Others’, p. 91

31 Zalmay Khalilzad, The Politics of Ethnicity in Southwest Asia, p. 676

32 Ibid., p. 674

33 Mehran Tamadonfar, Islam, Law, and Political Control in Contemporary Iran, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 40, no. 2, June 2001, p. 207

34 Ibid., p. 210

35 www.geographic.org website, 2000 index on Iran

36 This is referred to as ‘Elam’. See The Bible, Daniel, Chapters 8 and 9

37 See: Raphael Patai, Jadid Al-Islam: The Jewish 'New Muslims' of Meshhed, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998

38 The Báb, Founder of the Bábí Faith, was born in Shiraz, Iran, in October 1817. He declared his ‘mission’ in May 1844 and was executed in Tabriz in July 1850.

39 For a discussion of the level of suppression suffered by the Bábís and Bahá’ís see Martin J. Douglas, The Persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran 1844-1984, Canada: The Association of Bahá’í Studies, 1984

40 The Bahá’í Faith is closely associated with the Bábí Faith – with the two being referred to by Bahá’ís as ‘twin Revelations’. However, they are two independent religions.

41 There was surprise at this Governmentally condoned attack on the Bahá’ís, but lack of official recognition has always made them prone to such attacks. As Avery explained, “In 1955 observers were surprised when the Government suddenly instituted moves against the religious minority of the Baha’is; although there is religious toleration in Iran, action against the Baha’is was condoned on the grounds that their faith is not recognised as a separate religion.” Peter Avery, Modern Iran, London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1965, p. 469

42 Amir Taheri, The Spirit of Allah, Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution, London: Hutchinson, 1985, pp. 113-114

43 This plan was known as the ‘Halabi’ plan. See Amir Taheri, The Spirit of Allah, pp. 113-114. After the revolution, however, the Halabi group’s (called the ‘Hojjatiyyeh’) policy changed. “After the revolution, as the suppression of Baha’ism became the general clerical policy, the society turned to Marxism as the archenemy to be eradicated.” Said Amir Arjomand, The Turban for the Crown, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 157

44 This ‘Hojjatiyyeh’ organisation, however, rejected Ayatollah Khomeini’s Velayat-i-Faqih (basically, that of direct clerical leadership) concept, and was ordered to disband by Khomeini in 1983.

45 “Since 1979, 201 Baha'is had been assassinated and 15 others had been reported missing, presumed dead”. UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, Commission on Human Rights, 52nd session, 29 February 1996, para. 69

46 This linkage with espionage, especially Zionism, is alleged despite explicit Bahá’í teachings insisting on obedience to civil government and non-involvement in partisan political activity. It furthermore ignores the fact that the Holy Land is only of significance to the Bahá’ís as the place where their Founder passed away in 1892 due to having been exiled by the authorities from Iran in 1853. Nikki Keddie has pointed out the irony of the fact that far fewer Jewish leaders have been accused of Zionism in Iran since the revolution than Bahá’ís. See: Nikki R. Keddie, Islamic Revivalism Past and Present, with emphasis on Iran, in Barry M. Rosen (ed) Iran Since the Revolution, Internal Dynamics, Regional Conflict, and the Superpowers, New York: Columbia University Press, 1985, p. 152

47 See the following document for details: UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/NGO/13, Commission on Human Rights, 55th session, 29 January 1999, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Written statement submitted by the Bahá’í International Community, The Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education: a creative and peaceful response to religious persecution in Iran

48 UN Doc. E/CN.4/1993/41, Commission on Human Rights, 49th session, 28 January 1993, Final Report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, para. 310

49 Resolution 10 (XXXIII), adopted by the Sub-Commission on 10 September 1980 expressed ‘profound concern’ for the safety of the Bahá’ís, both individually and collectively. UN Doc. E/CN.4/1413, E/CN.4/Sub.2/459, p. 69, by 12 votes to none, with 6 abstentions, operative para. 1

50 These include Experts of the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

51 Richard Falk, Human Rights and State Sovereignty, New York & London: Holmes & Meier, 1981, p. 212

52 Reuters, Iran’s religious minorities warning despite own MPs. 16 February 2000, see , accessed November 2002

53 These figures were given for 1993, See: The Armenians, Iran Year Book 1993, which can be found at , accessed November 2002

54 Ozra Dozham, Discrimination, the Main Problem That Bothers Religious Minorities, Zaman, January 1999, no. 27, found at , accessed November 2002

55 Ibid.

56 This index focuses on the persecution of Christians and is dated July 1999. See the Open Doors’ Persecution Index at < http://www.jesus.org.uk/dawn/1999/dawn9932.html>, accessed November 2002

57 Human Rights Watch, Iran, Religious and Ethnic Minorities

58 Churches were closed in seven cities between 1988 and 1993

59 This was the case in the mid-late 1990s in all but three churches

60 The sale and publishing of Bibles in Iran has also been restricted since the closure of the Iranian Bible Society in 1990

61 UN Doc. E/CN.4/1991/SR.42, 5 March 1991, Commission on Human Rights, 47th session, para.14

62 Revolutionary Guards turned up in churches and arrested members of the congregation for questioning. See: J. Simpson & T. Shubart, Lifting the Veil: Life in Revolutionary Iran, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1995, pp. 233-234

63 Pastor of the closed Pentecostal Assyrian Church in Hamadan, Reverend Khosrow Khodadadi. A number of Bahá’ís have also been sentenced to death and killed on the charge of converting from Islam or encouraging others to do so. The sentences of Mr Dhabihullah Mahrami and Musa Talibi, and the execution of Mr Ruhollah Rawhani in July 1998, are cases in point.

64 President of the Council of Evangelical Ministers of Iran and Superintendent of the Church of the Assemblies of God.

65 Two years later Iranian government officials reported to the Special Rapporteur, during his visit to Iran, that, “conversion was not a crime and that no one had been punished for converting, as shown by the case of Pastor Dibaj, a converted Muslim who was sentenced to death for apostasy, but whose sentence was reviewed”. UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, para. 21.

66 “There were suggestions he might have been murdered by militants from the Ministry of Information. He certainly lost his life because of his stand for the freedom of religion which the Iranian authorities claimed to protect”. John Simpson & Tira Shubart, Lifting the Veil, p. 234.

67 Interim President of the Council of Protestant Ministers of Iran

68 UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2, Commission on Human Rights, 52nd session, 9 February 1996, report of Mr Abdelfattah Amor, p.19, para. 84

69 UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, para. 116

70 Laurence D. Loeb, Dhimmi Status and Jewish Roles in Iranian Society, in Shlomo Deshen and Walter P. Zenner (eds), Jews among Muslims, Communities in the Precolonial Middle East, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996, p. 249

71 Ibid., p. 253

72 Ibid., p. 255

73 Ibid., p. 257

74 See: Antisemitism and Xenophobia Today, , accessed November 2002

75 All recognised non-Muslim schools had to have Muslim heads (until the year 2000), and this led the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance to encourage the Government to allow minorities to direct their own schools. See: UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, para. 98

76 Reuters, Iran’s religious minorities warning despite own MPs

77 Eight Muslims were also charged.

78 Press Release I, Islamic Republic of Iran Permanent Mission to the UN, posted on the website of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran at URL , accessed November 2002

79 See: Antisemitism and Xenophobia Today

80 Reuters, Iran’s religious minorities warning despite own MPs

81 Ibid.

82 Whilst much economic hardship exists for the Iranian population at large, it is doubly difficult for minorities. This is because they have to face the general economic deprivations as well as deal with serious discrimination in competing for jobs or running businesses. They are not able to compete with an equal footing for either public or private positions or in running their own businesses, they are disadvantaged in terms of inheritance, and hence suffer greater economic hardship than the rest of the population.

83 Ozra Dozham, Zaman newspaper, Discrimination, the Main Problem That Bothers Religious Minorities

84 For more details see: UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, paras. 37, 39, 42 and 44

85 UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, para. 46

86 Uriah Furman, Minorities in Contemporary Islamist Discourse, p. 5

87 Abbas Vali, The Kurds and Their ‘Others’, p. 86

88 The Armenians.

89 Kevin Boyle and Juliet Sheen, (eds), Freedom of Religion and Belief, A World Report, London: Routledge, 1997, p. 423

90 Press Release I, Islamic Republic of Iran Permanent Mission to the UN

91 UN Doc. E/CN.4/2002/42, Commission on Human Rights, 58th session, 16 January 2002, para. 9

92 This, despite the fact that Iran’s multi-ethnic Protestant community does not have access to a shared language other than Persian to converse in!

93 For a discussion see Tom Hadden, The Rights of Minorities and Peoples in International Law, in Kirsten E. Schulze, Martin Stokes and Colm Campbell (eds), Nationalism, Minorities and Diasporas: Identities and Rights in the Middle East, London: I. B. Tauris, 1996, pp. 19-22

94 The Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life, Foundation on Inter-Ethnic Relations

95 See Article 115 of the Iranian Constitution.

96 The Iranian authorities had claimed to the Special Rapporteur that, “the privileges granted to the recognized minorities could not be extended to all ... lack of recognition did not mean an absence of rights or the existence of a prohibition or discrimination”. UN Doc. E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.29, para. 18

97 See: Center for Economic and Social Rights, Minorities and Islam: The Comparative Case of the Kurds under the Islamic Republic of Iran. , accessed November 2002

98 A. William Samii, The Nation and its Minorities: Ethnicity, Unity and State Policy in Iran, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, vol. XX, nos. 1 & 2, p. 129

99 Ibid., p. 128

100 Abbas Vali, The Kurds and Their ‘Others’, p. 91

Central Asia Seminar : WP2
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