Iran to tighten repression of Bahais and Sufis in Mazandaran Province

HRANA, March 10, 2021. –

A leak of confidential documents has revealed that a meeting of representatives from nine of Iran’s security organisations, together with officials from government departments, held in Sari on September 3 last year, decided to tighten the repression of Bahais and Sufis in Mazandaran Province. The activities of Bahais in the bazaar (in the economy) and in private meetings are to be more tightly controlled. The Directors of primary and secondary schools in Sari County are tasked with identifying Bahai pupils and attracting them to Islam, while the heads of tertiary education in the County are required to ensure that the exclusion of Bahais from tertiary education is enforced. The head of the Ministry of Industry and Mining was tasked with controlling the activities of Bahais in the bazaar. Such a high-level meeting confirms anecdotal evidence that Bahai and Sufi communities are growing in Iran, to the extent that they are seen as a threat.