Iranian Bahá'í community (state-persecuted, mainstream)
Iranian Bahá'í community is heavily state-persecuted since 1979 Islamic Revolution. Distinct from internal Bahá'í religious organisation (which is mainstream low-control).
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — Iranian Bahá'í community is heavily state-persecuted; not internally high-control.
Profile facts
In context
Iranian Bahá'í community faces ongoing state persecution including property confiscation, imprisonment, and denial of university education. The persecution is external, not internal-religious-control. Iran's ≈300,000 Bahá'ís are the largest national minority group targeted.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Legal cases & controversies
- Ongoing Iranian state persecution
Evidence by BITE axis
- External state persecution (not internal control)
- not internally high-control
Timeline
- 1979Iranian Revolution; persecution begins
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- UN Special Rapporteur reports on Iran search ↗
- The Bābī-Bahā’ī Revolution in Iran — Iranian Studies (2025) — https://doi.org/10.1017%2Firn.2024.66 open ↗
- A Note on Babi and Baha'i Numbers in Iran — Iranian Studies (1984) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00210868408701633 open ↗
- The Specter of Ideological Genocide: The Baháʼís of Iran — http://www.altoona.psu.edu/journals/war-crimes/articles/V1/v1n1a3.pdf open ↗
- Iran Closes 'University' Run Covertly By the Bahais — https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/29/world/iran-closes-university-run-covertly-by-the-bahais.html?scp=1&sq=%22an%20elaborate%20act%20of%20communal%20self-preservation%22&st=cse open ↗
- The Philosophy of Bahá'í Education — https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2007.10012391 open ↗
- The Philosophy of Bahá’í Education — Religion & Education (2007) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F15507394.2007.10012391 open ↗
- The Babi and Baha'i community of Iran: A case of "suspended genocide"? — https://doi.org/10.1080/14623520500127431 open ↗
- The Babi and Baha'i community of Iran: A case of “suspended genocide”? — Journal of Genocide Research (2005) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F14623520500127431 open ↗
- An Exploratory Study Examining the Factors Associated with the Survival of Underground Education in an Oppressive Environment — http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.633.1647&rep=rep1&type=pdf open ↗
- Constructive Resilience: The Bahá’í Response to Oppression — Peace & Change (2010) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1468-0130.2009.00627.x open ↗
- Higher Education under the Islamic Republic: the Case of the Baha'is — http://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1253&context=jec open ↗
- Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 — http://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=fs_research open ↗
- The B aha'i Faith: Distribution Statistics, 1925–1949 — Journal of Religious History (2014) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-9809.12207 open ↗
- Bahāʾī Faith — https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bahai-Faith open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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