Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been ruled by an authoritarian regime
of Shi'ite Muslim clergy since the 1979 revolution, which ended the dynasty
founded by Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1925. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei,
supreme religious leader, chief of state and head of the armed forces, succeeded
Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. President Hojjat-ol Eslam Hashemi-Rafsanjani,
who was first elected by popular vote in 1989 and re-elected in 1993, will
stand down in 1997 after failing to win support for constitutional change
that would allow for a third term. In 1996 conservative forces led by Ayatollah
Khamenei consolidated political control. Iran attempted to reschedule mounting
external debts, and introduced sharp reductions in imported goods in order
to save foreign currency. As the inflation rate soared to 50 per cent and
food shortages increased, public dissatisfaction intensified.
Systematic violations of human rights continued throughout 1996 with a marked
increase in the number of summary executions. Government-backed agents continued
to target political opponents abroad, killing two opposition leaders in
Istanbul and a former official of the Shah in Paris. Iran has refused to
lift the religious edict of February 1989 calling for the death of the British
author Salman Rushdie.
Iran continued to seek closer economic ties with Europe but relations with
Germany were strained in 1996 following accusations by the German state
prosecutor in November that the Iranian government was responsible for the
murder of four Iranian Kurdish dissidents in Berlin. Iran continued to call
for the destruction of the state of Israel and to oppose the Middle East
peace process, providing financial and political support for Palestinian
rejectionist groups, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad (see Palestinian Authority),
as well as for the militant Islamic movement Hizbullah in South Lebanon.
Iran also remains on the US list of states sponsoring terrorism and in 1996
was suspected of involvement in the bombing of US targets in Saudi Arabia
(see Gulf States) and in the wave of suicide bombings in Israel.
Throughout their long history in the region, Iranian Jews have experienced
several periods of persecution and discrimination. Persecution was intensified
under the Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736), once Shi'ite Islam became the official
religion. Between 1613 and 1662, many Jews were forced to convert, property
was looted and those who resisted were murdered.
Hundreds were also murdered at the end of the eighteenth century in Tabriz
after a Jewish merchant was accused of killing a Muslim boy to use his blood
at Passover. In 1839, thirty Jews were killed in Mashhad following allegations
of blasphemy. The Jewish quarter of Tehran was besieged in 1897 and Jews
were forced to wear red patches on their clothes. In order to save the remainder
of the community, the Jews agreed to convert to Islam but continued to practise
their faith in secret.
The 1907 constitution granted civil and judicial rights to religious minorities,
including one representative of the Jews in the majlis (parliament). Following
the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925, freedom of worship was
granted. Institutionalized forms of religious discrimination were eased.
Antisemitism persisted at grassroots level, especially during the years
of close relations with Nazi Germany.
As co-operation between Iran and the state of Israel grew after 1956, during
the rule of Muhammad Reza Shah, the Jewish community became increasingly
identified with the Iranian regime. The 1979 revolution and the antisemitism
of Shi'ite leaders forced more than 50,000 Jews to flee from Iran.
The regime has emphasized its implacable enmity to the state of Israel and
Zionism. Community leaders are forced publicly to condemn Israel and Zionism
and to participate in anti-Israel rallies organized by the regime such as
on Jerusalem Day. At least ten Jewish citizens and communal leaders, including
Habib Elghanian (the head of the community council), have been executed
for allegedly having connections with Israel or Zionist organizations, for
associating with the Shah or for "corrupt business practices".
The regime has also confiscated Jewish property, including factories, hotels,
cinemas, houses and other assets, and has made it increasingly difficult
for Jews to obtain business licences.
The Sunni Muslim minority in Iran, which constitutes approximately 9
per cent of the population, was subjected to continuing repression. A number
of Sunni clerics were killed by security forces. As in previous years, Iran's
treatment of Christian, Kurd and Arab minorities was heavily criticized
by human rights agencies in 1996. Members of the Baha'i community, who number
up to 350,000, are prohibited from teaching or practising their faith or
maintaining links with Baha'is abroad. Baha'i students are not permitted
to attend universities.
Although the 1979 constitution grants some civil rights to three religious
minorities-Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians (primarily Armenians and Assyrians)-they
are not employed in government offices or in any organization run by the
regime. Permits for highly profitable businesses are granted only to Muslims,
especially those loyal to the regime.
Since 1994, premises belonging to non-Muslims, especially those serving
food, have been obliged to hang a sign at the entrance saying "run
by religious minority". This order, derived from the distinctive Shi'ite
Muslim notion of the ritual impurity of unbelievers, continued to cause
much concern within Jewish and Christian business circles for fear of violent
attacks.
Members of religious minorities, including Jews, are forbidden to join mainstream
sports clubs but are permitted to run their own associations.
Since religion and politics are more or less synonymous in Iran, political
statements are often expressed in religious terms. Likewise, the religious
and political leadership is inextricably linked.
Speeches by leading clerics (see RELIGION) frequently refer to antisemitic
themes, such as the notion that Jewish control of the media is responsible
for the misrepresentation of Iranian policies in the West and that "inter-national
Zionism" and American Jews manipulate US policy in the Middle East.
In February, Iranian leaders welcomed the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan
(see United States of America) during his tour of the Middle East, which
included Libya, Iraq and Sudan as well as Tehran.
Schoolbooks in Iran often include antisemitic remarks relating to Middle Eastern history or religion. Only one Jewish school remains open and its Muslim director is appointed by the ministry of education. The school is forced to hold classes on the sabbath and the teaching of Torah is permitted only with Farsi translations of the Bible.
As in previous years, most antisemitic expressions in the Iranian media
were made in the context of anti-Zionist or anti-Israeli remarks. Jews,
for example, were accused of manipulating American political leaders in
order to fulfil "Israeli and Zionist orders". The Iranian media
blamed "Jewish and Zionist" lobbyists for encouraging American
leaders to intensify the political and economic opposition to Iran. For
example, the daily newspaper Resalat claimed on 4 June that "most of
the news agencies are run by Zionist money. There is an interna-tional web
of Zionist influence over mass communication worldwide." (See HOLOCAUST
DENIAL and EFFECTS OF ANTI-ZIONISM.)
During the visit to Tehran of Louis Farrakhan (see MAINSTREAM POLITICS),
the Iranian media provided extensive coverage of his statements.
Many different translations of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were
widely distributed in Iran. The last edition was published in 1994 by Astan-e
Ghods-e Razavi publications, which belongs to the Islamic Foundation of
Emam-Reza Shrine in Mashhad. It was translated into Arabic by Ajjaj Nobahz
and into Farsi by Hamid-Reza Sheikhi. The fifth edition (published in 1995)
of the Farsi translation of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf continued to
circulate.
Religious leaders of minority groups, including Jews, are forced to sign
statements claiming that they enjoy full rights and safety in Iran.
Antisemitic themes frequently figured in sermons delivered by leading clerics
in mosques as well as in the political arena. In his bid for leadership
of the Islamic world, the Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Hosseini Khamenei, finds hatred of Jews and Zionism a useful propaganda
tool.
In a televised sermon on 20 April during Israel's "Grapes of Wrath"
campaign in Lebanon (see Lebanon), a senior cleric, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli,
cited Islamic sources in his condemnation of Jews as well as Israel: "The
Qur'an states that every time the ren-egade Jew lit the fire of war, God
himself put it out."
It is the traditional policy of Iranian authorities to deny the Holocaust
or to minimize its dimensions. Throughout 1996 the Iranian media frequently
published statements by or in support of the French Holocaust-denier Roger
Garaudy, who visited the Middle East (see Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria).
On 13 May the daily newspaper Keyhan printed an article claiming
that "only Zionist sources talk about 6 million Jews to make other
Jews afraid and to force them to take refuge in Palestine".
Iranian authorities consistently deny the legitimacy of the Jewish state,
referring to Israel as "the usurper Zionist regime" or as a "cancerous
growth within the Islamic body". On several occasions, the relationship
between Israel and the USA was condemned as an "unholy pact" and
"Zionist agents" were accused of plotting against Islam.
Iranian officials and clerics continued to condemn the Arab or Muslim states
seeking normalization of relations with Israel and maintained financial
and material support for Palestinian rejectionist groups, such as Hamas
and Islamic Jihad.
The signing of a military co-operation agreement between Turkey and Israel
in April was condemned in the Iranian press as evidence of "Zionist
infiltration". Khamenei spoke out against "Zionist crimes"
and demanded action against "this cancerous tumour threatening the
political and economic structure of the region".
A spate of articles by leading clergy that was published during Israel's
campaign in Lebanon in April often included antisemitic references. An editorial
in Resalat on 15 April, for example, suggested that "Jews of
Bani-Ghorieizah tried to avenge their military defeat in the war of Khaibar
1,400 years ago. Their criminal and vicious ways of fighting have not changed."
Jews in Iran are banned from having any connection with Zionist or non-Iranian
Jewish organizations abroad. (They are permitted, however, to receive financial
aid from an Iranian Jewish welfare organization in the UK.) Iranian Jews
are banned from travelling to Israel and there have been many cases of imprisonment
or fines for those suspected of visiting Israel in secret.
During the trial of five members of a group charged with "immoral,
illegal, subversive and intelligence activities", the Iranian media
drew attention to the fact that the leader, Hedaytolah Zendeh-Del, was a
Jew who had converted to Islam. He and one other member of the group were
sentenced to death and hanged in December.
Despite the continuing hostility between Iran and Israel, and the continuing
expressions of anti-Zionism, there were fewer manifestations of antisemitism
in political discourse and the media in 1996.
The treatment of Jews has been regarded by the current regime as an indication
of its fair policy towards religious minorities. Nonetheless, Jews continue
to be deprived of some basic rights and Judaism is attacked by officials
as a "deviant religious cult".
© JPR 1997