Persecution of Bahá'ís occurs in various countries, especially in Iran,[1] where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world. The origins of persecution stem from a variety of Bahá'í teachings inconsistent with traditional Islamic belief, including the finality of Muhammad's prophethood, and the placement of Bahá'ís outside the Islamic faith.[2][3] Thus Bahá'ís are seen as apostates from Islam, and, according to some Islamists, must choose between repentance and death.[3]

Bahá'ís as well as the United Nations, Amnesty International, the European Union, the United States and peer-reviewed academic literature have stated that the members of the Bahá'í community in Iran have been subjected to unwarranted arrests, false imprisonment, beatings, torture, unjustified executions, confiscation and destruction of property owned by individuals andwere no longer necessary for religious guidance. Humanity, he argued, had reached an age of maturity where it was incumbent upon every individual to search for God and truth independently. These principles did not only call into question the need for a priesthood, but also the entire Shí‘i ecclesiastical structure and the vast system of endowments, benefices and fees that sustained it. No surprise then that in the following decades until the overthrow of the Qájár dynasty in 1925, it was the mullas who instigated attacks against the Bahá’ís in cities or villages where the clerical establishment was particularly influential.

— [2]

In addition to this, the Bábí religion, the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith had a violent history in Iran. Friedrich W. Affolter writes:

Initially, the mullas hoped to stop