Opinion ID: 680023
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Enforcement of the Moral Codes Can Result in Persecution

Text: 52 on Account of Religion 53 The government contends that we should affirm the Board's decision even if we find that the Board erred in its analysis of persecution. The INS relies upon the Supreme Court's decision in Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992), to argue that [t]he petitioner['s] 'generalized' difference of opinion concerning the tenets of Islam does not constitute persecution on account of a protected characteristic. Respondent's Brief at 19. However, Elias-Zacarias reversed a Ninth Circuit holding that would have obviated any necessity of Fisher proving motive on the part of Iranian authorities, Canas-Segovia I, 902 F.2d 717. Because Elias-Zacarias was decided after the Board's decision in this case, Fisher has never had an opportunity to attempt to satisfy its requirements. 54 Applying established principles relevant to motive to this case, it is clear that Fisher may be able to demonstrate persecution on account of religion. 55 The mere fact that generally applicable law impacts a particular religious group more harshly than it impacts the general population will not, of course, establish the requisite motive. See Canas-Segovia II, 970 F.2d at 601 (generally applicable military conscription law does not reflect motive to persecute Jehovah's Witnesses); Cf. Abedini, 971 F.2d 188 (9th Cir.1992) (generally applicable law does not evince motive to persecute those who disagree with the law's substance). However, if the evidence establishes that one of the reasons for the existence and enforcement of a generally applicable law is to oppress those with minority religious views, the existence of the necessary motive is clear. See Bastanipour v. INS, 980 F.2d 1129 (7th Cir.1992) (apostasy laws, which punish those citizens who convert from Islam, reflect the required motive, as there can be no doubt that the laws are intended to punish religious dissenters); Acosta, 19 I & N Dec. at 222 (noting that generally applicable laws have been found persecutory when the punishment was imposed for invidious reasons); cf. Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, --- U.S. ----, ----, ---- - ----, 113 S.Ct. 2217, 2222, 2226-27, 124 L.Ed.2d 472 (1993), holding that a law that has the impermissible object of suppress[ing] religious belief[s] or practice[s] violates the free exercise clause. 56 In addition, Fisher may also be able to demonstrate the necessary motive and causation in a particular enforcement setting. See, e.g., Hartooni, 21 F.3d at 341; Abedini, 971 F.2d at 192. Thus, Fisher can demonstrate persecution on account of religion if she can show that the moral codes are likely to be enforced against her because of the authorities' intent to punish her for her actual or imputed beliefs. See Abedini, 971 F.2d at 192 n. 1. Of course, just as Fisher need not show that she purposely will fail to comply with the moral codes, see supra pp. 1381-82, it is not necessary for her to intend to make her views known to the Iranian regime. As the Fifth Circuit noted recently, to require martyrdom is to ignore reality in general and reasonable human behavior in particular. Rivas-Martinez, 997 F.2d at 1147. However, evidence that Fisher's religious objections (or objections that might be imputed to her) to the moral codes have or might become known to the authorities; along with evidence that the moral codes are selectively enforced, or enforced more harshly against religious dissenters than true believers, might support an inference that the authorities' enforcement of the moral codes would be merely a pretext to persecute [Fisher] for [her] beliefs. Abedini, 971 F.2d at 191. The inference would be reinforced by evidence that the authorities generally are intolerant of those who possess dissenting conceptions of Islam, or that the authorities are likely to enforce the moral codes against Fisher in spite of their knowledge of such beliefs. 57 Abundant evidence already exists that repeat violators of the moral codes are looked upon with suspicion by the regime, see, e.g., Neal, supra, at 219-21; 1986 Country Reports, supra, at 1160, and that those who do not share the regime's Shiite conception of Islam have been targeted for persecution, see, e.g., Bishop's Killing Puts Focus on Persecution in Iran, N.Y. Times, Feb. 6, 1994, Sec. 1, at 20 (reporting clashes between the authorities and Sunni Muslims in Meshed and Zahidan in Eastern Iran). We also note the extensive reports of the regime's general religious intolerance. See, e.g., Hartooni, 21 F.3d at 341 (discussing the persecution of Christians in Iran); Missing Bishop Killed in Iran, The Times, Jan. 31, 1994, at 1 (reporting that in recent months, in step with the increased power of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the official spiritual leader, at the expense of President Rafsanjanji, the harassment of most religious minorities has intensified); Martyred for his Faith, The Times, Feb. 15, 1994, at 1 (reporting on the persecution of Christians in Iran); Baha'is Calm in Centre of Storm, Toronto Star, Jan. 15, 1994, at L15 (discussing executions of adherents of the Baha'i faith by the Iranian regime). 58 We therefore remand for consideration of whether Fisher faces a well-founded fear of persecution on account of her religious beliefs. 59