Ethnic and Religious Minorities in Iran: Baha'is - Coursework Example

ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAN: BAHA’IS due: Introduction Drafting a constitution is one thing and adhering to it is another. This is the case with Iran. They have a constitution having provisions on the protection of all people. The protection should not be based on religion. Unfortunately, some governments have gone ahead to mistreat the citizens in the same name of the constitution. Atrocities and killings have been witnessed, especially of the Baha’is. People of minority religious groups like the Kurds have not been spared either. The religious intolerance and persecution of the Baha’is in Iran has become a matter of concern to many nations and bodies like the United Nations. The UN has various Treaty-based bodies that include Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This body monitors the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms, relating to racial discrimination. The other one is HRC, full for Human Rights Committee. Another body is (CESR), meaning Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The Committee on the Rights of the Child monitors the implementation initiation of the convention on the rights of the children and its optional protocols. The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is tasked with visiting places of detention so as to prevent torture and degrading treatment or such forms of punishment. The Baha’is have been denied their fundamental human rights. More than 300,000 followers of the Baha’i faith continue living in fear. The number of Baha’is living in Iran is projected to be more than three hundred thousand. The Baha’is are not however allowed to exercise their religious obligations like their counterparts in the other parts of the world. The Baha’is faith has been linked to political sect by the government of Iran. The faith has been linked to Pahlavi monarchy, which the government terms a threat, and, for this reason, a counterrevolutionary. In 1979, the Iranian government confiscated all the properties of the Baha’is. Their places of worship and graveyards went into the hands of the government, leaving them hopeless and defenseless. In addition to this, the government also denied them access to education and employment, leading to continued erosion of the economic base of the Baha’i community (Hassan, 2007). Islamic law and international law on human rights There exists a relationship between the Islamic law and the international human rights. The two laws are expected to be in line with the lives of the people and offer a fair form of ruling to all, without any form of discrimination on religion backgrounds. Many Muslim states have tried to observe their laws to be in accordance with the national law. Many of the Islamic laws are grounded on the Sharia. By so doing, they have remained within the framework of the Sharia law (Abiad, 2008). The Sharia plays an important role in the implementation of international human rights treaties and their domestic implementation, through use of the main international human rights instruments. The Sharia has provided ratified international human rights treaties through various legislative amendments and court jurisprudence. The Sharia has however been used by some Islamic states to justify their violations of the international laws on human rights. The same Sharia law has as well been used for the improvement and implementation of the human rights standards in the Muslim world. Some undemocratic rulers have sometimes used Islam as their excuse to oppress the non-Muslims. In countries like Iran, Sharia is interwoven with the constitutional and legal system. In countries like Iran, the situation of religious segregation may be much-emphasized tan in any other part of the world. This is because, in Iran, the religious leader has the ultimate authority since Iran is a Shia Islamic state. In Iran, Sharia is the only source of legislation. The legislation authority rests squarely on the religious clerics. The constitution of Iran places Islamic principles at the top of the normative hierarchy of the legal document. Article 4 paragraph 1 of the Constitution dictates that the civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative and all other regulations shall be based on the Islamic standards. This means the Islamic principles prevail over all the other laws and regulations in Iran, as it can be seen that the Sharia embodies the Constitution itself. All laws comply with the Islamic criteria (Abiad, 2008). The interrelationship between Islamic law and human rights concept is dependent on two main factors. The first factor is on the Sharia law itself, and the other one is the status of the Sharia within a domestic legal system of a given Muslim State. The two factors determine the influence of the Islamic doctrine on the effectiveness of human rights norms in each State. The implementation of human rights treaties is significantly influenced by the impact of the two factors. It is stipulated in the second paragraph of the Constitution that all the laws comply with the Islamic criteria, which applies to all the articles of the constitution and other laws and regulations. The Guardian Council preserves the authority of keeping the custody of the Sharia law. The Guardian Council is solely responsible for reviewing the decisions of the Iranian Parliament. The Council reserves the power to make decisions in reviewing the laws (Abiad, 2008). The human rights treaty bodies are enshrined in the UN conventions and are usually composed of independent experts. The bodies are supposed to ensure sanity in governance systems of the Member States. Iranian constitutional law Article 13, of the Iranian constitution, deals with the Sunni and other religious minorities. The Article states that only the Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian Iranians who have rights to perform their religious duties. The three groups are the only ones allowed to perform their religious rites within their privacy and Canon matters like religious education. The Baha’is were not involved in the drafting of the constitution. The other three religious minority groups were, however, present. The team drafting the constitution comprised of fifty-five members of the clergy and more than fifty-five members of the Islamic Republican Party. The Islamic clergy were, for this reason very influential in the drafting, and included many provisions in favor of the Shi’i, which is the official religion of Iran. Religious minorities and the women have inferior legal status and were excluded from the leadership positions. The Baha’is were completely left out and, leaving them without any legal standing (Price, 2005). The exclusion of the Baha’is from the constitutional was not strange since even in the previous constitution, they had experienced the same treatment. The adoption of the Islamic Shari’a made an important change with respect to the religious minorities. Unlike the previous secular civil and criminal codes, the new Islamic codes made sharp distinctions between Muslims and non-Muslims, with the male Muslims enjoying most of the privileges offered by the constitution. The other citizens were regarded as second-class citizens. In 1981, the Islamic penal code was presented to the parliament amid protests from many. In 1982, the penal code was effected, marking the beginning of sufferings for many especially the women and the religious minorities. Leadership positions were reserved for the Shi’i Iranians, practically barring the others from contesting for any positions of power. Changes in the education system resulted in the segregation, subordination and exclusion of the religious minorities (Price, 2005). In Article 14 of the Iranian constitution, the Iranian government, and all Muslims are obliged to treat all non-Muslims equally and fairly. Their human rights should be adhered to, according to the ethical norms and principles of Islamic justice. This, however, applies to those who are in agreement with the Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran (Price, 2005). Comparing with the two Articles of the Iranian constitution with that of Pakistan, some similarities can be drawn. In the Pakistan law, the minorities are also not allowed to enjoy some privileges stipulated by the constitution. The ethnic minorities and the indigenous persons suffer equally. The minorities and the indigenous have frequently faced rejection, reducing them to unacceptable states. The Pukhtuns are the main ethnic group of the North-West Frontier Province. The Kalash community, on the other hand, has remained economically depressed for many years. These minorities lack legal recognition and protection. This is despite the 1973 constitution of Pakistan, which has provision for protection of all citizens regardless of their belief, faith, worship, and association. In Pakistan, however, the situation is a bit better since the minorities are given representatives in the national parliament. Article 51 (2A) of the constitution grants ten additional seats for representatives of the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi and the Quadiani, religious communities (Ali & Rehman, 2001). Baha’is The Iranian Baha’i community emerged in the 1860s and 1870s. They were the remnants of the Babi movement. They continued to increase significantly from the nineteenth century to the 1920s. The Baha’i community grew steadily and by the 1920s, they had embarked upon various health initiatives, which reflected their confidence and optimism for future expansion. In the 1880s, the Baha’is represented 1-2 percent of the Iranian population. However, in the twentieth century, the Baha’is population started declining as a result of reduced birth rates, attributed to persecutions. It was at this time that some of them started migrating to the West. It is estimated that approximately 300,000 Baha’is remain in Iran today, representing only 0.5 percent of the Iranian total population. The Baha’is contributed a lot to the growth and development of Iran. They, for instance, founded a large number of schools both in urban and rural centers in Iran from around 1890 to 1930 (Brookshaw & Fazel, 2008). The Baha’is constitutes the largest religious minority in Iran. The Baha’is representatives regularly meet with Ministers and officials to raise concerns about how the Baha’is are treated in Iran. Other Governments such as the UK has also raised questions as to why the Baha’is continues to be mistreated up to the present day. Unlike in Iran, the Baha’is in the UK rate treated with dignity making them support the move by the UK’s Government to advocate for the freedom of the Baha’is in Iran. The UN is much disappointed by the reluctance of the Iranian Government to stop the harassment of the Baha’is despite the continued calls by the UN General Assembly. The Baha’is community believes and hopes that a new mechanism should be mandated to provide the international community with a report covering all human rights concerns in Iran. Despite it being Iran’s largest community, the Baha’is are not recognized by the Iranian Constitution. Anyone who harms the Baha’is is not liable to any form of prosecution in Iran. Their faith is not one of the four recognized by the constitution of Iran. This means the Baha’is have no rights under the Iranian law. In fact, the Baha’is are referred to as the unprotected fidels. For many years, the Baha’is have continually been arbitrarily arrested, their private homes raided and imprisoned without any fair trials (Brookshaw & Fazel, 2008). Over the past 50 years, the political discourse of Iran has misrepresented the Baha’i as a foreign entity. The Iranian Baha’is were misrepresented as outsiders. Since 2005, the number of Baha’is arrested have been recorded to be more than 700 while those imprisoned have risen from five to more than 100. They have also been persecuted in terms of economic and educational discrimination. In addition, they have been denied the rights of worship and assembly (Brookshaw & Fazel, 2008). Culture, religious and rights of Baha’i The Baha’is faith draws history from 1844, when the Sayyid Ali Muhammad announced the coming of a new prophet. His many followers called him the Bab, meaning “gateway” in Arab since he believed his role was to make the way for a new prophet. The Muslim leaders however considered the Bab a false prophet and was arrested and killed with many of his followers. In 1863, another one of Bab’s followers announced he was the great prophet who had been prophesied by Bab. His name was Mizra Husayn-Ali, and his followers became the Baha’is. The Baha’is believe that all people belong to one family and should work together in ensuring there is world peace. Many of the 300,000 Baha’is in Iran today hide their faith since they are denied university education and employment opportunities in the government. Their faith may have Persian origins though not in teachings, practices, and consistency. Their Faith is global and embraces the principle of unity and diversity of the humankind (Richter, 2005). The Baha’is belief in a range of noble principles like the equality of sexes, the unity of mankind, opposition to racism and all other forms of prejudice. Though they are engaged in good works, they are prohibited from nation building activities like employment. They recognize Muhammad as a God’s prophet and the word of God as the Quran. This portrays them as a sect of the Islam. Though they have roots in a sect of Shi’ism, they consider their religion to be a world religion. They recognize Muhammad but do not believe that he was the last prophet, unlike the Muslims. It is out of this difference that the Muslims consider them a threat. The Muslims fear that in case many Muslims convert to Baha’ism, Islam would be diminished and eventually die out. This is a change that the Tehran cannot contemplate. The Baha’is were both well educated, innovative, bold, and westernized fuelling their condemnation by the Muslims (Richter, 2005). Baha’ism is a large and liberal religion. The liberalization has become the constant threat to the Islam today. They are tolerant of other faiths like Hinduism and Buddhism. Most of their women led the movement for emancipation while others have served as physicians, lawyers, teachers and architects. About their culture, the Baha’is are known for the development in addition to the promotion of their Persian culture. They appreciate the wonderfully diverse and rich ethnic and cultural backgrounds of other people such as the Muslims of Iran. Their faith also provides space for people to celebrate their traditions and cultures through minimization of rituals (Richter, 2005). UN Human rights and the Iran Iran, despite having signed the UN treaty on human rights, it has not lived to the promise. Atrocities have been witnessed now and then. This is more so with the Baha’is who are treated as outcasts in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The UN has been challenged by the situation in Iran. As observed within the United Nation’s human rights system, the political, social and cultural situation in Iran is in need of a complete change. The UN human rights system is in the process of trying to prevent the worsening of the situation of human rights in Iran. The Baha’is up to the present day, have not been accorded neither political nor legal recognition in Iran. The Baha’is do not enjoy any political status and are instead viewed by the orthodox as a dangerous rebellion of the Islam. The Iranian government has on several occasions been blamed for incitement of mob violence against the Baha’is. Iran has been labeled the most serious of all human rights violators, due to its continued discrimination against the minorities, the Baha’is. The Baha’is constitutes the largest religious minority in Iran. In spite of the atrocities against them, the Baha’is have never used violence in their demand for human rights. They have shown obedience and have always held the government as one of their religious tenets (Afshari, 2001). In 1981, the Attorney-General of Iran in his statement described the Baha’is as pagans, quoting from the Quran. He went further to point out that pagans must be eliminated from the Iranian land. This sparked a lot of protests from human rights groups, including the UN. However, the intervention by the UN encountered a challenge when the UN officials were denied access to Iran to assess the situation. In 1984, the UN expressed its concern at the human rights violation of the innocent Baha’is. In 1985, there was a report showing 37 cases of disappearances linked to the Iranian government. In March the same year, a Special Rapporteur of the UN had unsuccessfully intervened on the behalf of 32 Baha’is prisoners. Eight of the thirty-two Baha’is were executed, and six others sentenced to death without public announcement (Afshari, 2001). Dr.Shaheed’s report The universal principles of human rights were set forth more than six decades ago. They include the freedom and equality of all before the law. All citizens should be fairly treated right from the time of arrest to detainment. All persons are also protected by these laws in terms of torture or any other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments. Despite the clear cut laws on human rights, Iran has continually ignored the calls by international bodies to stop the cruelty on Baha’is. The situation in Iran remains disturbing. In their peaceful practice of their rights, the Baha’is fall victims to political prisoners. Human rights defenders and some journalists have also found themselves in the prisons (Afshari, 2001). However, the Iranian government continues to defend itself on matters of human rights violations. In response to a report by the Special Rapporteur of the UN on human rights, the Iranian government dismissed his claims as groundless. The government insisted that their citizens are treated equally regardless of their gender, religion, race or ethnicity. Reluctance to resolve the issue of human rights has greatly contributed to a culture of impunity, which has badly damaged the image of Iran in the face of international governments. In the Special Rapporteur’s report of March 2012, the government of Iran commented that although the Baha’i faith is not officially recognized, the members have equal rights in the social, legal and economic perspective. The Government however described the Baha’i community as a cult, out to cause havoc. The response by the Government was not satisfactory in explaining how the Baha’i community violated conditions built int article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article is concerned with maintenance of public order, national security, morals and public health (Afshari, 2001). At the time of writing the report, 105 members of the Baha’i community were in detention, and that was an increase from 97 in the same year. According to the Special Rapporteur, the members of the Baha’i community continued to face intimidation simply because of their religion. The new law called the penal code of Iran discriminates against the non-Muslim Iranians, the Baha’i community, in particular. According to the Special Rapporteur, the religions not recognized by the Iranian Constitution, in the revised Islamic Penal Code, are totally discriminated. The law does not, however, apply equally to those unrecognized by the constitution. Article 311 further states that when a non-Muslim is murdered, qisas shall not be delivered. This means total discrimination against the Baha’is who are the target of victimization (Report, 2012). Human rights abuses are still deeply rooted in Iran’s laws and policies, posing a big challenge for the much-needed rights reforms to be effected. Dr.Ahmed Shaheed on October 2014 commented that the human rights of the non-Muslims of Iran will continue to be violated even with the new rule of President Hassan Rouhani, who had promised to eliminate the problem. There are still violations of the rights to life and freedom from torture. In addition, there is denial of the rights to education, health, and fair trial, freedom of expression, association, assembly, religion and belief and to some extent limits on the press. As if to conceal the atrocities, Iran has continually denied visits by UN officials. Civil societies efforts to promotion and protection of human rights have been met with resistance by the authorities. It is unfortunate to learn that at least 600 people have been executed since the beginning of 2014. Majority of the people have met their deaths out of exercising their basic rights to freedom, expression, association, and assembly. The death sentences are rendered without adherence to the internationally prescribed safeguards. The High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights could not stop the execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari on 25th October 2014. The execution had failed to meet the international fair standards of trial. This is an expression of Iran’s ignorance of human rights instruments, something calling for a complete reversal of the situation. The executions are carried out without any substantive reasons. For instance, majority of the executions are as a result of drug-related offenses. Making it even worse, the executions are done in public, a practice that is against the standards and obligations of the UN. The Secretary-General of UN has tried to halt the practice in vain. Recommendations to the Iranian government To resolve the problem of human rights violation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the officials of the government need to implement the following steps. In the first step, the government, led by Islamic officials need to accommodate the Baha’is in the running of the country. They need to be allowed entry into universities and provided with skills and knowledge so that they can feel like part of the citizens. The Iranian government should follow the example of Pakistan and give the religious minority some representations in the government (Report, 2012). Secondly, it can be noted that the violations of human rights witnessed I Iran are as a result of legal incongruities, which are not sufficient to the rule of law, leading to widespread impunity. The situation has undermined the Government’s ability to adhere to the required international commitments. There is the need for specific attention to be paid to the legislation. This will make the legislation more compliant with the standards of respecting human rights, in accordance with the guidelines set by international treaties (Report, 2012). Thirdly, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes the dire need to have a well-defined set of actions constituting the crimes against national security. This will alleviate the misunderstanding on what is allowed or not allowed within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Government should also be less rigid and allow criticisms raised by the human rights’ groups and also allow advocacy through peaceful activities by the citizens as stipulated by the constitution. Additionally, there is a dire need for the Government to accommodate the opinions of the international community and make necessary amendments to the constitution. He urges the Government to ensure that restrictions based on freedom of expression and the right to information is relaxed, to allow the citizens full practice of their human rights. For the fourth step, it is also important that the Iranian Government perpetuates a culture of tolerance. This will prevent discrimination against women and girls, and the religious minorities like the Baha’is, in all the spheres of public life and services. All citizens should be treated equally. For the women, the minimum age for marriage should be in comply with the international standards, thus preventing the early forced marriages (Report, 2012). In step five, the Government needs to investigate allegations of physical and psychological torture that has culminated in the denial of due process rights. The Special Rapporteur has on this issue challenged the Government to set free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. He requests the Government to treat the prisoners in a way that meets the international and national standards. The prisoners should also be granted adequate access to medical care, according to the international standards and Iranian law. For step six, emphasis should also be put on the need to strengthen the effective safeguards against abuses of human rights. An effective national human rights mechanism should be established. The mechanism should comply with the Paris Principles, so as to ensure thorough investigations of human rights violations and provide sufficient remedies (Report, 2012). Finally, Iran should needs to cooperate with the international community on matters relating to observing human rights. Iran should not take the call as a punitive measure but should instead consider it as an opportunity to engage in a non-politicized, transparent and constructive forum with the international community (Report, 2012). Conclusion Since the submission of his firs interim report to the UN, the Special Rapporteur has evidenced various forms of human rights violations on the Baha’is by the Iranian government. The situation has continually undermined the ability of the government to stick to its commitments at the international level. There is an urgent need for redress of the worrying situation of violation of human rights in Iran. Attention should be given to the Iranian government, for compliance with the international law on human rights. Iran is a party to the international instruments on human rights. Accountability should be facilitated in order to address impunity. For an effective promotion of respect for human rights in the country, human rights violations have to be redressed (Report, 2012). Despite the coming into power of the new ruler, a lot still needs to be done on the issue of respecting human rights. Following the reports by the Special Rapporteur, Iran remains non-adherent to the human rights, painting a troubling picture of the country. There are many concerns of the systemic nature. This calls for an urgent reconsideration of the legislation process to accommodate all citizens, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. All the other aspects of the country’s legal framework infringing on human rights should be reviewed and reversed, so as to be in line with the international human rights treaties. Impunity is another issue that needs to be addressed so as to facilitate accountability and provide a redress for human rights violations this strengthening the rule of law. This is required to effectively promote the respect for human rights in the country (Report, 2012). References Abiad, N. (2008). Sharia, Muslim states and international human rights treaty obligations: A comparative study. London: British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Afshari, R. (2001). Human rights in Iran: The abuse of cultural relativism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Ali, S. S., & Rehman, J. (2001). Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities of Pakistan: constitutional and legal perspectives (Vol. 84). Psychology Press. Brookshaw, D. P., & Fazel, S. (Eds.). (2008). The Bahais of Iran: socio-historical studies (Vol. 12). Psychology Press. Hassan, H. D. (2007, May). Iran: Ethnic and Religious Minorities. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE. Price, M. (2005). Irans diverse peoples: A reference sourcebook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC- CLIO. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran - 13 September 2012. (2012, January 1). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/human-rights-documents/united-nations-reports/un-reports/1000000196-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-13-september-2012.html#.UImhIGUrzk9 Richter, J. (2005). Iran, the culture. New York: Crabtree Pub. Co. Read More