The Baha'is of Iran: Socio-Historical Studies

The Baha'is of Iran

Socio-Historical Studies

Edited by Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, Seena B. Fazel

Price: $150.00

ISBN: 978-0-415-35673-2
Binding: Hardback
Published by: Routledge
Publication Date: 21st August 2007
Pages: 304

About the Book

The Baha’i community of Iran is the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. This collection of essays presents a comprehensive study of the social and historical development of the Baha’i community, and its role in shaping modern Iran.

Central to this study is the pioneering character of the Baha’i community in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, with chapters examining the role of women in the Baha’i community; the impact of Baha’i-run schools on Iranian society, Baha’i contributions to public health initiatives; and the influence of Baha’i thought and the actions of individual Baha’is on the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911.

Conversion to the Baha’i Faith is another important theme, as contributors investigate the phenomenon of large scale conversion to the Baha’i Faith from the Jewish and Zoroastrian communities.

Finally, although persecution of the Baha’is has drawn the attention of the Western media, until now few scholars working in the field of Iranian studies have chosen to write on the history or details of this persecution. Here, five prominent figures in the field redress this balance and look at different aspects of this persecution, including its historical background, the attitude of secular Iranians, persecution before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and human rights perspectives.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Iranian studies, Middle Eastern studies and comparative religion, and with many chapters authored by leading academics in Iranian studies, The Baha’is of Iran addresses both a gap in academic literature on the Baha’i Faith, and in the study of modern Iran in general.

1. Foreword Dominic Parviz Brookshaw and Seena B. Fazel 2. Messianic Expectation and Evolving Identities: The Conversion of Iranian Jews to the Baha’i Faith Mehrdad Amanat 3. The Conversion of Zoroastrians to the Baha’i Faith Fereydun Vahman 4. Instructive Encouragement: The Tablets of Baha’ullah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha to Baha’i Women in Iran and India Dominic Parviz Brookshaw 5. Baha’i Schools in Iran Moojan Momen 6. Baha’i Health Initiatives in Iran: A Preliminary Survey Seena B. Fazel and Minou Foadi 7. Baha’i Discourses on the Constitutional Revolution Kavian Milani 8. The Comparative Dimension of the Baha’i Case and Prospects for Change in the Future Eliz Sanasarian 9. The Historical Roots of the Persecution of Babis and Baha’is in Iran Abbas Amanat 10. Anti-Baha’ism and Islamism in Iran Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi 11. Anatomy of Prejudice: Reflections on Secular Anti-Baha’ism in Iran H.E. Chehabi 12. The Discourse and Practice of Human Rights Violations of Iranian Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran Reza Afshari

About the Author(s)

Dominic Parviz Brookshaw is Lecturer in Persian Studies and Iranian Literature at the University of Manchester.

Dr Seena B Fazel is Clinical Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and an honorary Consultant Psychiatrist.