Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This research explores how and why scholars from an oppressed group resist the structure of domination and subordination. This research focuses on Baha’i scholars who have lived in Iran after the Islamic Revolution to conceptualize the concepts of oppression, resistance, power, and freedom through the life experience of these scholars. It aims to be the voice of Baha’i scholars, in addition, to theorize how their resistance provides confirmatory evidence of their belief system. The significance of resistance and agency of intellectuals in deconstructing the social and political structures have been reflected in psychological and social studies. However, the importance of this study/research is to bring to attention the impact of the constructive and non-violence resistance of Baha’i intellectuals. To understand how they remodeled the system of domination not only for the sake of their personal and community life of Baha’is but also for the Iranian society. This research project engages existing debates on dismantling oppression and power to synthesize theories and extend approaches to freedom and resistance. To map this research and study, I move somewhere between an insider and an outsider. Insider, because I experienced being a Baha’i, lived in Iran after the Islamic revolution and faced discrimination and exclusions. This research also attempts to identify the strategies, attitudes, and capabilities that Baha’i scholars implement to address oppression and exclusion.