Religious and Ethnic Minorities in Iran: An Introduction

Abstract

The Islamic Republic of Iran has its political and ideological foundation in the teachings of Islam; thus, Islam is valid for all people and the related legal system. Therefore, strictly speaking, discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, gender, or religion is not justifiable. The foundations of such an understanding can be laid down on two perspectives: Surah 2:256f. of the Qur’an emphasizes that forced conversion of people of different faiths is prohibited because God will only pass judgment on non-Muslims in the Last Judgment. And Surah 109:6 acknowledges the fact that there are several religions, so that followers of non-Islamic religions are allowed a limited practice of cult (cf. Surah 9:29). This acceptance of early Islam applies to the so-called people of the book (ahl-e ketāb)—Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians. In the course of history, Islamic religious scholars have always opened up a range of possibilities for exclusivist and graduated pluralistic interpretations of how to deal with religions, which was also the case in Iran and led to a connection between religious freedom, Islamic law, and human rights until contemporary times.