#Iran's hatred of Baha'is has now reached #Pakistan.

By Tara Abhasakun

Pakistan is the latest country to be burnt by the scourge of Iran’s anti-Baha’i hatred in the ayatollahs’ global effort to eliminate the Baha’i Faith.

Last week, Pakistani Shia Cleric Allama Iqbal Bahishti told members of the press that Baha’is and Ahmadis were a danger to Pakistan. Journalist Ehsan Rehan said that Bahishti “urged the government to be watchful of the ‘heretic’ Baha’is and Ahmadis.” Bahishti is the provincial secretary-general of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, Pakistan’s largest Shia organization. Rehan said that MWM “follows the Ayatollah, the supreme leader of Shias based in Iran.” As a post-Islamic religion, the Baha’i Faith is viewed as heretical by much of Iran’s Shia clergy. Baha’is have been persecuted and killed since the faith’s founding in 1844.

In order to galvanise anti-Baha’i hatred, Iran’s Shia clergy members have spread false accusations of Baha’is being agents of Western powers including the US, Israel, and the UK. These accusations have, and continue to lead to murders and mob attacks against Baha’is. As the United Nations has increased pressure on Iran to give Baha’is basic human rights, Iran’s government has sought to spread anti-Baha’i policies and propaganda to other countries.

Pakistan is the latest in a series of countries in which Iran’s influence has spread anti-Baha’i hatred.

Yemen 

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi party Ansar Allah has arrested Baha’is since it rose to power in 2014. One Yemeni Baha’i has even been sentenced to death.

In October, Houthi forces opened fire on a small group of Baha’is celebrating a religious holy day. A June report issued by the Baha’i International Community said that Rojeh Zayed, a member of Yemen’s Prosecution Office, as well as high-ranking members of the Political Security Office and National Security Office, were “repeatedly reported” have received instructions from Iran to persecute Baha’is.

Tajikistan

In 1999, a Tajiki Baha’i was shot in his home. According to a report by the US Department of State, militant Islamists aligned with Iran are considered “likely perpetrators.”

https://medium.com/@taraabhasakun/irans-ayatollahs-spread-anti-baha-i-hatred-across-the-world-8cdb51797955