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Baha'i
Economic pressure on Iran’s Baha’i community is acute, with both jobs and business licenses being denied to Baha’is. Government jobs are denied to Baha’is, and Muslims often are pressured to fire Baha’is in their employment.
Numerous cases have been reported of long-time shop owners being forced to surrender business licenses under threat of arrest. Baha’is have been forced out of their places of business, among them doctors evicted from their offices and clinics.
Bahá’í-owned businesses have also come under attack from vandals and arsonists. On 25 and 27 October, three household furniture repair shops owned by Baha’is in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, were subjected to arson attacks by unknown individuals. On 15 November, a household appliance repair shop owned by two Baha’is was also targeted by arsonists, creating damage exceeding tens of thousands of dollars. A local religious newsletter has stated that the attacks have been provoked by the fact that some trades have been “monopolized” by Baha’is. A Muslim-owned coffee shop was also set on fire, owing to the fact the shop was mistakenly identified as Baha’i-owned in the newsletter.
Optical shops owned by Baha’is have often been targeted for closure. Two such shops in Tehran recently received warning letters from the Opticians’ Trade Union to close down. Earlier, optical shops in Khomein and Rafsanjan were forced to close. In Nazarabad, the operator of one of five optical stores owned by Baha’is– shops that were closed by authorities well over a year ago – managed to get a court verdict allowing her to reopen, but the Ministry of Intelligence prevented her from doing so.
Authorities also use the tactic of arresting Baha’is and demanding huge sums of money, or the equivalent in property deeds for bail, as a method of impoverishing the Baha’is.
Numerous cases have been reported of long-time shop owners being forced to surrender business licenses under threat of arrest. Baha’is have been forced out of their places of business, among them doctors evicted from their offices and clinics.
Bahá’í-owned businesses have also come under attack from vandals and arsonists. On 25 and 27 October, three household furniture repair shops owned by Baha’is in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, were subjected to arson attacks by unknown individuals. On 15 November, a household appliance repair shop owned by two Baha’is was also targeted by arsonists, creating damage exceeding tens of thousands of dollars. A local religious newsletter has stated that the attacks have been provoked by the fact that some trades have been “monopolized” by Baha’is. A Muslim-owned coffee shop was also set on fire, owing to the fact the shop was mistakenly identified as Baha’i-owned in the newsletter.
Optical shops owned by Baha’is have often been targeted for closure. Two such shops in Tehran recently received warning letters from the Opticians’ Trade Union to close down. Earlier, optical shops in Khomein and Rafsanjan were forced to close. In Nazarabad, the operator of one of five optical stores owned by Baha’is– shops that were closed by authorities well over a year ago – managed to get a court verdict allowing her to reopen, but the Ministry of Intelligence prevented her from doing so.
Authorities also use the tactic of arresting Baha’is and demanding huge sums of money, or the equivalent in property deeds for bail, as a method of impoverishing the Baha’is.