
Right to employment in constitution: the case of Baha’is

Section 7/Minorities
611
In the Name of God, the Sublime
No.: 78-910
Date: 1388/5/26 (August 17, 1999)
Your Excellency Hojjat’u’l Islam Mr. Khatami
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Greetings:
As you are aware, Article 28 of the constitution provides that:” Everyone has the right to pursue the vocation of his choice providing it is not in conflict with Islam, the public interests and the rights of others. It is the government’s duty, based on the needs of the society, to provide for everyone equal opportunity for employment.”
As it was brought to your attention, this article refers to three important points regarding employment:
1- The principle of freedom of choice of employment for all, notably all Iranian citizens, regardless of their racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious affiliations.
2- The duty of the government to create equal conditions of employment for all individuals regardless of their racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious affiliations.
3- The permission to restrict the freedom of career choice, in exceptional cases, where the intended job in question is in conflict with public interest or rights of others.
The Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the Constitution is receiving grievances by certain individuals and groups, especially the unofficial (unrecognized) religious minorities, which suggest that Article 28 of the constitution has been violated. Two such cases which seem to indicate gross violations of the article of the constitution are, herewith, brought to your attention. The resolution, particularly of the first case as shown below, can be provided by your Excellency:

The Difficult task of Monitoring the implementation of the Constitution
612
1- A person by the name of Dr. Jamshid Farsi, a veterinarian, complained that the National Veterinary Organization has refused to issue him a work permit as a veterinarian because he is a Baha’i. After further investigation, it was established that the refusal of the Veterinary Organization is based on Article 12 of the Regulation 10 of the National Veterinary Organization Act approved by the Council of Ministers in 1372 (1995) which specified certain provisions for issuing a work permit for a veterinarian conditional on his adherence to one of the recognized (official) religions in the country (a copy of the said Article is attached.) As employment of an individual, who is not a member of one of the official religions of the country, in the field of veterinary medicine does not seem to be contrary to Islam, public interest or rights of others, this Article of the said regulation appears to be at odds with the constitution. If your Excellency shares this viewpoint, the simplest approach would be for you to issue instructions for amending this regulation by the President’s Legal Advisory Office to be subsequently approved by the cabinet, or by any other approach you deem advisable, please issue the necessary order so that appropriate action may be taken.
2- Another person by the name of Dianat Dehghani from Abadeh has complained that in the year of 59 (1981) he was expelled from the Ministry of Education due to being a Baha’i. He subsequently opened a welding shop to earn a living but, the trade union closed his shop and has refused to issue a permit for him to work. As there have been similar grievances, clarification was requested from the union officials in Abadeh. Eventually, the secretary of the Union’s Assembly informed the committee that a request for opinion was made by Friday prayers Imam to His Holiness Imam (Mercy of God be upon him) {Imam Khomeini} regarding the businesses of the “misguided sect” and the Imam (Mercy of God be upon him) {Imam Khomeini} replied:” Any association or business dealings with this misguided sect is prohibited.” Therefore, issuing them a business permit and the establishment of their business in the Muslim’s Bazar might cause association and business dealings with these people resulting in the officials who issued the business permit to be considered as partners in their prohibited dealings. It is for this reason that the issuance of Business permit is refused.
A copy of the question and the letter of the secretary of the Union’s Assembly is attached for your perusal

Section 7/Minorities
613
Further to the same response of His Holiness Imam (Mercy of God be upon Him) to the request for His opinion, it is concluded:” As for the provisions of the government, the government regulations must be observed.”
Some suspect that the first section of the response of His Holiness Imam (Mercy of God be upon him) pertaining to the prohibition of socializing, and business dealing is the personal duty of individuals, while what is specified in the area of granting and revoking business licences is a part of legal regulations of the government which is legislated and enforced taking into consideration the respect for the fundamental rights of citizens and Iranian nationals. In any case now that this issue has become subject to religious fatwa of His Holiness Imam, the committee considers it expedient to bring this matter to the attention of your Excellency so you may issue the necessary instructions with due regard to the religious guideline provided by the Supreme Leader.
Hossain Mehrpoor
Advisor to the president and the Chairman of the Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the Constitution
Section 7/Minorities
611
In the Name of God, the Sublime
No.: 78-910
Date: 1388/5/26 (August 17, 1999)
Your Excellency Hojjat’u’l Islam Mr. Khatami
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Greetings:
As you are aware, Article 28 of the constitution provides that:” Everyone has the right to pursue the vocation of his choice providing it is not in conflict with Islam, the public interests and the rights of others. It is the government’s duty, based on the needs of the society, to provide for everyone equal opportunity for employment.”
As it was brought to your attention, this article refers to three important points regarding employment:
1- The principle of freedom of choice of employment for all, notably all Iranian citizens, regardless of their racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious affiliations.
2- The duty of the government to create equal conditions of employment for all individuals regardless of their racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious affiliations.
3- The permission to restrict the freedom of career choice, in exceptional cases, where the intended job in question is in conflict with public interest or rights of others.
The Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the Constitution is receiving grievances by certain individuals and groups, especially the unofficial (unrecognized) religious minorities, which suggest that Article 28 of the constitution has been violated. Two such cases which seem to indicate gross violations of the article of the constitution are, herewith, brought to your attention. The resolution, particularly of the first case as shown below, can be provided by your Excellency: