The Baha’i religion emerged in the mid-1800s as an offspring of Shi’i Islam in Iran.
Baha’is base their religion on the scriptures of two successive founding prophets after
Muhammed, and both Muslims and Baha’is agree that the Baha’i religion is not part of
Islam. Baha’i later spread all over the world, primarily through conversion among the
majority populations, and most of the about six million Baha’is worldwide have a nonMuslim background. In general, Baha’is blend into the majority society with few or no
tensions. However, in many Muslim countries, primarily in Iran, Baha’is are met with
suspicion and hostility, and the legal position of Baha’is is precarious and makes life
difficult for them. In Iran, Baha’is have repeatedly suffered from bloody persecutions. A
general scheme of minority-majority attitudes and behaviour is proposed, and it can also
be used to view the Baha’is’ minority situation. The second and more important of the
Baha’i prophets, Baha’u’llah (1817–1892), was exiled to the Haifa area, and the world
headquarters of the Baha’i religion were established in Haifa many years before the
founding of the state of Israel. Baha’is have a special minority position in Israel.