The Baha’i religion, unknown to most Americans, but considered one of the fastest growing religions in history, urges people to understand that every man was created equal. Staring in the 1900s, many Iranian people began to change their religious views from a Muslim prospective to a newer religion with much more freedom and logic. Baha’is peaceful beliefs, and new ideas that involve both science and religion, began gathering followers much more quickly than anyone had expected. The popularity of such a “rebellious” religion began to spur conflict with the Islamic State of Iran. The peace loving faith fell into a constant battle with the Muslim religion, a conflict that is still happening today. Through the use of discrimination, mass destruction, …show more content…
The more people joined, the larger the catastrophes. People began to feed off of each other’s behaviors ultimately creating a group effect. The group effect can be relevant in almost any political uprising according to Doris. The crowd terrorizing business and homeowners feel less responsible if they attack as a group, contributing to Doris’ idea. The larger the group the more people the destruction could be “divided” up in. Guards can be an example of the group effect exemplifying that regular ordinary people will often times react differently once placed in a group. In Iran, for example, guards tortured hundreds of prisoners without contemplating their actions, but once they were taken out of the situation they realized their evil actions. This explains how in certain situations people adapt to their surroundings. Situationism can best be described for the guard’s reactions towards the Baha’i people. A sense of regret that comes with their actions, which can be comparable to the Zimbardo experiment along with many of the Nazi doctors and guards. The guards for the Iranian prisons were asked to come back and describe their reactions towards their old self. Many would shake their head signifying their shameful actions and others would sit in silence. Although, these guards did monstrous things, it does not necessarily mean that they are monsters (Doris, 54). The best way to …show more content…
Three months of solitary confinement. 240 months of torture. Many things can be argued as an evil action or not, but the wrongful imprisonment of a person and torturous methods used on them justifies the guards actions as evil. There are seven leaders of the Baha’i faith, all of whom are still in an unknown imprisonment somewhere in Tehran, Iran. For the first three months of their imprisonment, they were forced underground in solitary confinement with little food, no sunlight, and the dirtiest conditions possible. Finally in 2010 they were given their sentences after already spending twenty months in prison without a legitimate cause. The leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran resemble the writings of Fromm, where he explains The Worship of Destructiveness. These extremists believe that the Baha’i religion is destructive to the Muslim religion. The idea that the government cannot control a group of people threatens the authority of the republic. In order for the state to feel in complete control they must instill fear upon the “threatening” force. Fromm explains that the goals of people, who are worshipers of destruction, are hungry for control. These people fear outsiders; they fear people who wander off the chosen path. “The sadistic character is afraid of everything that is not certain” (Fromm, 291). Each of these power hungry men had a sadistic character trait, one that was the constant need of being in