Iran is preventing members of religious minorities from obtaining new identity cards by removing “other religions” option from the application process, The National reported on Wednesday.
The new rules regarding the ID cards prevent religious minorities including Bahais from declaring their religious beliefs, indirectly forcing them to convert to Islam on papers.
“The exclusion of the Iranian Bahai community from national identification cards is unconscionable, and we are disturbed to see how this action against the Bahais fits into a broader pattern of heightened persecution over the past few months,” Anthony Vance, director of the US Bahai office of public affairs, told The National.
Apart from Islam, which is the dominant religion of the country, only Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism are accepted under Iranian law as religious entities. Other religious minorities including Bahais and Yarsans are suffering from systematic discrimination.
ID cards are needed in Iran almost in all state-related areas including education, loans, and ownerships.
