SAVAK
SAVAK, known in English as the Organization of National Security and Information, was the organization that served as the secret police and intelligence service to Sháh Mohammad Reza Pahlavi prior to the Iranian Revolution in 1979.[1] During its operation, SAVAK gathered information about the religious affiliation of Iranian citizens which was used to attack Bahá'ís, and organized several waves of persecution against the Iranian Bahá’í community. Fanatical religious organizations opposing the Bahá’ís, such as the Hojjatieh society and the Tablighat-i-Islami, actively persecuted Bahá'ís through SAVAK's cooperation; SAVAK was linked to the operations of the latter through a 1972 memorandum made public in 1980.[2][3][4][5][6]
SAVAK notably organized several programs against the Bahá’ís of Iran. One of the most notable was a wave of persecution which occurred in 1955, centering around the preaching of the Islamic clergyman Shaykh Muḥammad Taqí Falsafí who whipped up anti-Bahá’í hatred in his sermons during the Islamic fasting month of Ramaḍán. The wave of persecution that ensued involved looting of Bahá’í homes and businesses, desecration of cemeteries, as well as the rape and murder of Bahá’ís. Further to this, a mob partially destroyed the House of the Báb in Shíráz and the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Tehran was occupied by members of the police, army and clergy, some of whom destroyed its dome. Another such wave of persecution took place in 1963, during a series of anti-government protests.[6] SAVAK later supported the systematic looting, burning and destruction of Bahá’í homes in Iran, in an attempt to discredit and suppress the supporters of the Islamic Revolution; this fact was attested to by members of the Iranian clergy, who worked to dissuade the mobs from participating in SAVAK's plan.[5]
During the Iranian Revolution, the incoming government made official statements which claimed that Iranian Bahá’ís had engaged in political actions, and that they had been favoured by the Pahlavi regime, with several Bahá’ís being prominent members of SAVAK; a senior officer of SAVAK, Parviz Sabeti, was specifically mentioned. The Universal House of Justice highlighted these claims in its guidance to National Spiritual Assemblies, noting the fact that although Sabeti's parents were Bahá’ís and registered him as a Bahá’í child, Sabeti himself never registered himself as a Bahá’í when he came of age and never joined the Bahá’í community.[5] As of 1981, Iranian authorities maintained an "arrest list" containing the names of at least 20,000 Bahá’ís, compiled from SAVAK's documents.[7]
Despite SAVAK's support for their persecution, Bahá’ís continued to be accused of with working for SAVAK following the Revolution, among many other spurious charges.[8] Ironically, the Tablighat-i-Islami (Society for the Propagation of Islam), which continued to exist after the revolution, advanced these accusations against Bahá’ís despite having itself sought the collaboration of SAVAK in its anti-Bahá’í activities in the 1970s.[3][9]
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Pringle, Robert W.; Ransom, Harry H. "Intelligence - Iran". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ↑ Bahá’í International Community (1982). Rebuttal of accusations made against the Baha'i faith by the Permanent Mission of Iran. November 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bahá’í International Community (1972). https://iranbahaipersecution.bic.org/archive/anjoman-e-tablighat-e-islami-society-promoting-islamic-has-asked-savak-help-its-anti-bahai 'Anjoman-e Tablighat-e Islami" (Society for promoting Islamic) has asked SAVAK to help in its anti Baha'i activities]. 18 November 1972.
- ↑ Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (2007). "A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran" (PDF). Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Geoffry W. Marks, comp. (1996). Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age. United States: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United States. 1996. pp. 427-429. ISBN 0877432392.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rouleau, Eric (29 August 1980). "The Bahá'ís: An Accursed Community". Le Monde.. Published in Geoffry W. Marks, comp. (1996). Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age. United States: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United States. 1996. pp. 458-460. ISBN 0877432392.
- ↑ Geoffry W. Marks, comp. (1996). Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age. United States: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United States. 1996. p. 507. ISBN 0877432392.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 603, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1982). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 621, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
Bibliography[edit]
- Bahá’í International Community (1982). Rebuttal of accusations made against the Baha'i faith by the Permanent Mission of Iran. November 1982.
