by the government4 and authorities have reportedly been closing Sunni mosques or preventing
Sunnis from gathering for congregational prayers.5 Only 1% of religious temples in Iran are nonMuslim.6 In Tehran, there are about 15 churches for 43,987 Christians (one church every 2932
Christians). 7 The lack of official places of worship forces religious minorities to gather in
informal assemblies inside their own home, frequently termed “house churches”,8 or in
underground prayer halls (namaz khane)9 which often get dismantled by Iranian authorities.10
House churches are often being raided by the government on the basis that they do not hold
necessary permits from the authorities. Attendees are arrested and imprisoned on charges of
“acting against national security by organizing and conducting house-churches” or “propaganda
against the state and insulting the sacred Iranian establishment”.11 The end of 2018 and 2019 saw
an unprecedented wave of raids on private house gatherings related to religion or belief, leading
to a large number of arrests detention and imprisonment.12 Charges include “breaching national
security” or “propaganda against the holy regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.13 The Baha’i
faith, with members numbering an estimated 350,00014 in Iran, is not recognized under Iranian
law and does not have any official place of worship. Since August 2005, more than 1,253
Baha’ís have been arrested in Iran solely on the basis of their religious beliefs.15
The lack of places of worship and the regular dismantling of religious informal meetings
frustrate the rights of religious minorities to manifest a religion or belief. The threat of raids,
arrests, detention and imprisonment for those identified as belonging to certain religious
minorities disincentivizes community and public manifestation.
4
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in
Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation
Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020,
<https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf>
5
Rights Denied: Violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, https://minorityrights.org/wpcontent/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-and-religious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
6
Based on Province annual data reports, as of 2018.
7
Based on Province annual data reports, as of 2018.
8
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf
9
2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran, U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-oninternational-religious-freedom/iran/
10
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf
11
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf
12
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf
13
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
14
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July https://documentsdds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
15
Baha’i International Community, https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/the_bahais_of_iran__a_persecuted_community.pdf
2