Iran Ethnic and Religious Minorities - Foreign Press Center.pdfVIP

Order Code RL34021 Iran: Ethnic and Religious Minorities May 25, 2007 Hussein D. Hassan Information Research Specialist Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Consultancy Knowledge Services Group Iran: Ethnic and Religious Minorities Summary Iran is home to approximately 69 million people who are ethnically, religiously, and linguistically diverse. The central authority is dominated by Persians who constitute 51% of Iran’s population. Iranians speak diverse Indo-Iranian, Semitic, Armenian, and Turkic languages. The state religion is Shia, Islam. After installation by Ayatollah Khomeini of an Islamic regime in February 1979, treatment of ethnic and relgious minorities grew worse. By summer of 1979, initial violent conflicts erupted between the central authority and members of several tribal, regional, and ethnic minority groups. This initial conflict dashed the hope and expectation of these minorities who were hoping for greater cultural autonomy under the newly created Islamic State. According to the State Department’s Human Rights Report 2006, released on March 6, 2007, Iran’s already poor human rights record “worsened” during the past year. The State Department’s Religious Freedom Report 2006, released on September 15, 2006, also cited Iran for widespread human rights abuses (especially against the Baha’i faith), including summary executions, disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention, and discrimination against women. For further information and analysis on Iran, and U.S. options, see CRS Report RL32048, Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses , by Kenneth Katzman. This report will be updated as warranted. Contents Background . . . . . . .