175 Years Of Persecution: A History Of The Babis And Baha'is Of Iran

The Baha'i faith is the youngest of the world religions and the second most widespread after Christianity. It is well known for its belief in the essential unity of all religions and its global outlook. Its core beliefs of peace, harmony
and tolerance, as well as its high regard for ethical conduct, make it a faith with a broad and potent appeal in the modern world.
For almost two centuries, followers of the Baha'i faith in Iran have been persecuted by the state. They have been made scapegoats for the nation's ills, branded enemies of Islam and denounced as foreign agents. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 they have been barred from entering the nation's universities, more than two hundred have been executed, and many hundreds more imprisoned and tortured.
Now, however, Iran is at a turning point. A new generation has begun to question how the Baha'is have been portrayed by the government and the clergy, and called for them to be given equal rights as fellow citizens. In documenting, for the first time, the plight of this religious community in Iran since its inception, Fereydun Vahman also reveals the greater plight of a nation aspiring to develop a modern identity built on respect for diversity rather than hatred and self-deception.