 The marginalization of the Iranian Bahá 'ís by current governments is rooted in historical efforts by Muslim clergy to persecute the religious minority. When the Báb started attracting a large following, the clergy hoped to stop the movement from spreading by stating that its followers were enemies of God. These clerical directives led to mob attacks and public executions. Starting in the twentieth century, in addition to repression that impacted individual Bahá'ís, centrally directed campaigns that targeted the entire Bahá 'í community and its institutions were initiated. In one case in Yazd in 1903 more than 100 Bahá'ís were killed. Bahá 'í schools, such as the Tarbiyat boys' and girls'schools in Tehran, were closed in the 1930s and 1940s, Bahá'í marriages were not recognized and Bahá 'í texts were censored.
