In Iran, persecuted minorities can also turn into persecutors
For the past four decades, the Islamic Republic has systematically repressed religious minorities. However, within society, some oppressed minorities have mirrored this behavior and become oppressors themselves.
Systematic state repression and minority-on-minority discrimination
Originally published on Global Voices
Image courtesy of Kamran Ashtary, a Netherlands-based artist and human rights activist. Used with permission.
For the past four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically repressed and inflicted violence against religious minorities. However, some of the oppressed minorities and communities have also adopted similar behavior and become oppressors of other groups themselves by trampling the rights of other minorities, using a similar narrative of “us” versus “them” to reject them or even label them as “impure.”
Discrimination is mostly affecting religious communities including Baha'is, converted Christians, Zoroastrians, Madanians, Jews, Sunnis, Gonabadi dervishes, and followers of the Yarsan (Ahl-e Haqq) religion, and has been brought to the attention of international organizations including the United Nations. But double discrimination of minorities by other minorities is much less known and covered less.
State repression and societal discrimination
Besides Islam, the only recognized religions in Iran are Zoroastrianism, Christianity (but excluding converts), and Judaism. The Yarsan faith, not recognized in the Iranian constitution, faces severe discrimination. Like many other Iranian citizens, including Baha'is, Christian converts, and Mandaeans, the Yarsanis are not considered legitimate citizens but rather “ghosts” by the Iranian government. This community is estimated to number between one and three million, most of whom live in western, predominantly Kurdish provinces.
The Yarsanis’ discriminatory problems extend beyond government repression. They also face discrimination from other citizens, including Sunnite Kurds who themselves face systematic state discrimination and repression, based on religious and ethnic biases.
Behnaz Hosseini, a researcher and author of numerous books on minorities in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, told Global Voices via WhatsApp that both “Azeri Shiites and Sunni Kurdish fanatics label Yarasanis as ‘impure.’ This religious bigotry, deeply ingrained, has forced some Yarasanis to leave their hometowns.”
The Iranian state has fueled this situation to its advantage. Taimoor Aliassi, co-founder and executive director of the Switzerland-based Association of Human Rights in Kurdistan (KMMK-G), told Global Voices via WhatsApp that “The regime is planning a huge role in dividing these communities. For example, the regime endorses and supports radical Muslims against Kurdish Yarasani faith followers and attempts to divide the Kurds to weaken their ethnic identity inspirations and demands.”
As of 2020, Iran had between eight and 10 million Kurds, or roughly 10 percent of Iran’s 84 million people.
Psychological dynamics of oppression
Constatina Badea, a social psychology professor in Paris Nanterre University, interviewed via email, explains:
In societies where a particular religion is officially approved and dominant, individuals belonging to that religion may still feel superior to other religious groups, even if they become atheists or non-believers. This sense of religious superiority can persist after a change in religious identity. Similarly, persecuted religious minorities may carry feelings of repression and inferiority in a secular society.
Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence, Badea argues that “these dynamics are deeply rooted in all groups. Persecuted minorities may replicate the oppressive behavior they experienced, perpetuating cycles of repression and discrimination within their communities.” Symbolic violence refers to the fact that those who experience violence internalize it and perceive the existing social order as natural and inevitable.
Some minorities are so repressed that their cases are rarely mentioned. The Zikris, an underground religious community in Iran's Balochistan, exemplifies this situation. Zikris, considered part of a Sufi sect within Islam, are predominantly Balochi speakers living across the Pakistan–Iran borderland.
They faced conflict with Sunnis in the 1930s, leading many to leave their homeland in Iran. For both Shiite and Sunni, Zikris are considered heretical. Ironically, some Sunni Baloch, who have faced decades of intersectional discrimination in Iran for their ethnicity and religion, have become persecutors of Zikris for religious reasons. Nasser Boladai, spokesperson for Balochistan People's Party, told Global Voices, that the Iranian state appears to have used this conflict between Zikris and Sunnis to convert Zikris into Shiites.
An Iranian citizen named Murad recounted to Iranwire, a UK based media outlet covering Iran's politics and society, that Zikris were attacked by both Sunni Muslims and the central Shiite government, leading some, like his father, to convert to Islam.
Adoption of divisive rhetoric
Certain minorities adopt, not only in practice but also in discourse, some of the government's divisive rhetoric, categorizing citizens as insiders and outsiders. Some Christian convert pastors abroad “demonize” Islam or invite audiences to choose between “a God who loves Iranians,” meaning “God of the Bible” and “a God who does not,” implicitly meaning “God of Islam,” perpetuating an “us versus them” mentality and ignoring multicultural and religious diversity in the country.
Despite these divisive statements and declarations, many Iranian Christians in word and practice, inside the country and in the diaspora, support political prisoners, women's rights, and other persecuted minorities such as Baha'is within the “women, life, freedom” movement and beyond it.
It seems that the structure of religious discrimination extends beyond the government and has taken root in society, similar to how race issues are addressed in critical race theory. Badea further explains:
Critical race theory was originally developed by legal scholars and examines how racism and racial inequality are embedded in legal, political, and economic structures in the United States. According to this theory, racism is not just the product of individual prejudice; it is rooted in the functioning of society and its institutions. Furthermore, dominant historical and cultural narratives often ignore or downplay the contributions of racial minorities. The testimonies and experiences of people of color are considered essential to understanding and combating racism.
This theory suggests that laws and civil rights are not enough to eliminate racism, emphasizing that deeper reforms are needed. It is possible that in current Iranian society, members of religious minorities face systematic discrimination in access to employment, education and public services. Individuals in Iran may experience multiple layers of discrimination based not only on their religious affiliation, but also on their gender, social class, and political orientation. Listening to and valuing these voices would allow us to better understand systemic injustices and find appropriate solutions.
The behavior of some persecuted minorities, consciously or unconsciously imitating the state’s oppressive actions, is not limited to issues within minority communities. This behavior challenges the discourse of federalism and centralism proposed by political groups as a solution for minority rights can become another repressive system, creating new victims.
Election time: When minorities suddenly become important
During the last presidential election on June 28 and July 5, several candidates, especially Massoud Pezeshkhzad, the winner, spoke about the rights and “dignity” of the people of Iran in general, and women and minorities in particular. In the video below, Pezeshkhzad emphasized giving responsibility to Sunnis, who are a minority Muslim group, according to their merit and not depriving them of getting a post, urging the “equal distribution of responsibilities between ethnic groups and religions.”
The problem is that these candidates, who have been active within the political system for decades, do not explain how they plan to solve these discriminatory issues and change the laws. Talking about minorities like Baha'is or Christian converts remains taboo. Therefore, whatever words may have been spoken, until all Iranians — regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation — are afforded basic human rights, slogans such as “Iran for all Iranians” or terms like “Iranian nation and people,” “women,” “minorities,” and “ethnicities” remain mere propaganda tools. After 45 years of the Islamic Republic, neither the narrators nor the audience believe in these slogans anymore.
The majority of Iranians did not participate in voting, which demonstrates the widespread distrust in these promises.