f 1979, the Iranian government began a systematic policy of repression and genocide, aimed at the Baha'is. The stated purpose of this policy was to purify the country of religious strains felt to pose a threat to the Islamic religion: "the humanistic Baha'i faith combines the taint of alleged heresy with liberal values that are also anathema to Moslem fundamentalists" (Bordewich 26).
The radical Iranian Shiites are seeking to resurrect the principles of early Islam, and oppose the Baha'is based on a series of accusations. The Shiites believe that the Baha'i faith is a subversive and heretical sect which plans to establish its own regime: "The Baha'i faith's belief in free choice and in the importance of each individual's understanding God in his own way ran against much of Iranian Islam's stress on obedience to authority" (Bordewich 28). Because the Shah courted the support of religious minorities, the Shiites accused the Baha'is of being a political party and siding with the Shah. The Shiites further claimed that certain high-ranking members of t
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