04/02/2025
Please join our colleagues in the Center for the Study of the Middle East at their upcoming event:
For the next Women Scholars Talk series event, the Center for the Study of the Middle East welcomes Dr. Raha Sabet Sarvestany on Monday, April 7 @ 12:00 pm, noon (7:00 pm Helsinki time). Her talk is entitled “Othering and Hate: The Bahá’í Community’s Agency and Discourse in Iran's Transformative Era.” To register for this Zoom only event, https://iu.zoom.us/meeting/register/cCR0fkHkRMChNPhY5FAF_Q #/registration
This talk explores the resilience and agency of the Bahá’í community in Iran, challenging narratives that portray them solely as passive victims of persecution. Despite systematic exclusion and state-imposed repression, the Bahá’ís have actively contributed to Iran’s intellectual, social, and cultural transformation. Through an analysis of Bahá’í thought, collective action, and engagement in public discourse, this study examines how the community has navigated systemic marginalization while fostering social progress. By reframing religion as an epistemic agent of change, the article situates the Bahá’í experience within broader debates on faith, governance, and identity construction in religiously governed political systems. It ultimately highlights how the Bahá’í community’s commitment to justice, education, and social cohesion continues to challenge hegemonic structures of exclusion and redefine the role of religious minorities in contemporary Iran.
We hope to see you there!
