Although the history of Iranian migration and diaspora formation has been studied extensively in North America and Europe, the story of the Iranian diaspora in South America, and more specifically, of Bahais who found refuge in Brazil in the 1980s, remains largely untold. This article analyzes the trajectory of Iranian practitioners of the Bahai faith who were displaced from Iran due to religious persecution and resettled in Brazil in 1985 and 1986. It explores the mobilization of the Bahai community of Brazil together with such institutions as the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the federal police, and social organizations that worked together on behalf of these families. Drawing on conversations with twelve of these forced migrants, the study evaluates the outcomes of these resettlement and integration efforts some forty years later, foregrounding both economic factors and the role of religious and family networks in shaping relocation and integration.
A portion of this research originated in ethnographic fieldwork on the Iranian diaspora in Brazil between 2013 and 2014, which examined the differentiation of Iranian forced migrants by their religious identities (Muslims, Bahai, and secular). This numerically small community constitutes a diaspora community based not on national identity, but rather on religious identity. My early contacts revealed that most Iranians in Brazil were Bahais, leading to my long-term engagement with the Bahai community of Brazil and its transnational religious network. In our conversations, members of this community repeatedly recalled the stories of families who arrived in the 1980s through forced displacement.
The data presented here stem from participatory observation at Bahai events and ceremonies in the state of São Paulo, as well as interviews conducted with the families of Bahai pioneers and forced migrants who were eager to share their stories. Two interviews were conducted during 2013–14, with nine additional interviews held in 2022 by video call with individuals who now reside across Brazil, including the south, north, and northeast regions. For protection of their identities, pseudonyms are used, professions are occasionally altered, and specific cities of residence have not been disclosed. I also analyzed internal documents of the Bahai community of Brazil, which were provided to me by a member involved in organizing the settlement of Iranian migrant families in Brazil in the 1980s.
Despite the existence of records of their arrival, there is little scholarship on the history of Iranian Bahai forced migrants to Brazil. No studies to date detail either negotiations surrounding their acceptance by the Brazilian government or their integration. More broadly, there is a noteworthy gap in Brazilian scholarship on migrants from the Middle East and Iran, which this article attempts to address by examining the 1980s mobilization and negotiation by the Bahai community of Brazil on behalf of forcibly displaced Iranian Bahai migrants. It investigates the motivations that led to the selection of Brazil as a destination and the agreements that determined where these forced migrants would settle in Brazil.
Finally, I reflect on the integration of these forced migrants over the past four decades, comparing the experiences of successful and less successful settlement. Through their testimonies, I explore the relationship between economic prosperity, family networks, and engagement with the Bahai religious community and their differing levels of satisfaction with the lives they have built in Brazil.
Historical Background of the Bahais in Iran
The Bahai faith is a religion that emerged in Iran in the nineteenth century as a millenarian movement within Shiʿi Islam, the dominant religion in the country, and gradually developed into a distinct religious tradition that emphasizes universalism and peace. During the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties, its practitioners remained marginalized and periodically targeted by clerical and state authorities, resulting in alternating periods of conflict and relative calm.
In the Pahlavi era (1925–79), hostilities against Bahai practitioners did not entirely cease, but Bahai practitioners enjoyed a time of relative tranquility, because they were often recognized by Iranian Muslims as especially close to Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and members of his government. When the 1979 revolution resulted in the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the followers of the Bahai faith had no place in the country’s new national agenda. The new Islamic republic, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, rendered Twelver Shiʿi Islam central to Iranian religious and national identity, and to the new state. The position of some religious minorities, such as Bahai and Christian converts, has not been recognized in the new configuration of the country.Footnote 1
Scholars have long examined the entanglement of nationalism and religion. Peter Van der Veer has shown that religiosity is central to the formation of national identity, and Mahmood Mamdani has demonstrated how nation–states are built through the creation of a national majority and minorities, be they ethnic or religious.Footnote 2 Such minorities are often subjected to violence and exclusion, as they are constructed as incompatible with the dominant ideals of the national project. In the Iranian case, Shiʿi clergy became the driving force of both religious and national identity, and because Shiʿi doctrine holds that no religion may appear after Islam; the new constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran not only did not recognize the Bahai faith as a legitimate religious minority, it criminalized it as apostasy.Footnote 3
This situation gave rise to frequent discourse on religious persecution by the worldwide Bahai community, including testimonials about the conditions of displacement experienced by families who arrived in Brazil during the 1980s. Attentive to Saba Mahmood’s reminder of the importance of attending to the nuances of religious disputes in the Middle East without resorting to stereotypes that simply regard the region as a site of intolerance, in this article, I highlight the need to examine the complexities of religious relations in Iran, moving beyond the abstract norms of religious freedom to analyze specificities of experience and local context.Footnote 4
The Arrival of the First Bahai Pioneers in Brazil
Responding to a call for adherents to engage in “pioneerism” from the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Bahai faith, the first Iranian Bahais arrived in Brazil in the 1950s, spreading the faith to new regions to aid in its global expansion. Grounded in ideals of sacrifice and dedication to the Bahai faith, pioneerism sought to spread the religion throughout diverse regions of Brazil and establish local assemblies in as many places as possible.
During my 2013 field research, I was introduced to a number of men who had arrived in Brazil in the 1950s during this initial period of pioneerism. When we met, these pioneers were in their eighties and highly respected and revered by their communities, deemed to possess great knowledge and wisdom; they served as role models for younger individuals. Although these Iranians were not the first Bahais to arrive in Brazil, they had come to strengthen the work of non-Iranian pioneers from the United States who had initially brought the religion to Brazil.Footnote 5
In the 1950s, Brazil was undergoing a period of development and industrialization, with the construction of the planned city (and future state capital) of Brasília and the creation of state industries, such as the petroleum company Petrobrás. This period of industrialization attracted many Bahais who, along with seeking a distant country in which to serve their faith, also possessed an engineering background. They chose Brazil as it offered opportunities for professional advancement, and their prior experience in the petroleum refineries of Abadan in Iran facilitated their entry into the Brazilian petroleum sector.Footnote 6
Hooshang, a 90-year-old Iranian pioneer, invited me to the home he shared with his Brazilian wife, whom he had met shortly after arriving in Brazil. He explained that his choice to migrate stemmed from a sense of spiritual duty. As a single young man, he felt called to go somewhere distant, a challenge that would be more difficult for people who were married with children. He had initially opted to go to an island in the Pacific but ultimately redirected to South America because of employment opportunities in his field of petroleum engineering. Although his intended destination was Venezuela, and Brazil was meant to be just a short stop, he ended up securing a position as a petroleum engineer and decided to stay.
Like Hooshang, other Bahai Iranians of the same generation told me of the challenges they had faced building a life in Brazil, particularly at a time when the Bahai community was still too small to offer much support for families. Given the hardships they faced and the difficulties they encountered with the language and the culture, their resilience is now emphasized by other Bahais, especially by the young; they serve as examples of perseverance. Moreover, a good number of these pioneers eventually achieved financial prosperity and resided in large homes in upscale neighborhoods. They ultimately succeeded in solidifying the Bahai faith in Brazil, thereby elevating their own social status in the community. Many Bahai forced migrants of subsequent generations have followed transnational trajectories similar to that of Hooshang. Because the religion emphasizes spreading of the faith and the principle of the “oneness of humanity,” a vision of a utopian future without borders or nations, it is common for Bahais to travel through several countries before settling down, and for their children to attend schools with international curricula.Footnote 7
The work of the Bahai pioneers has been supported by the organizational structure of the religion, which fosters community through prayer gatherings held in a local Bahai faith center or, when there is no local center, in the private homes of community members. Although my interlocutors emphasized that the Bahai faith avoids ritual in the sense of the formalized practices found in other religions, anthropologically these regular meetings dedicated to sacred concerns may themselves be understood as ritual practice.Footnote 8 The Bahai faith also emphasizes the absence of clergy. Prayer meetings are conducted without formal religious authorities or rigid hierarchies. This simplicity facilitates their organization and replication. Any member of a local assembly, whether male or female, is permitted to host a prayer meeting, which greatly facilitates pioneer work and the establishment of new communities. Roles rotate among members and typically involve organizing the study of themes related to the Bahai religion or reading from the sacred writings of Bahaʾuʾllah. This decentralized structure of the Bahai religion, anchored by the Universal House of Justice, constitutes the apex of the global pyramid of assemblies and also facilitates expansion of the religion.
In the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the displacement of a substantial number of Bahais from Iran, the Universal House of Justice called for Bahai communities throughout the world to receive these migrants.Footnote 9 The Bahai community of Brazil responded accordingly by mobilizing itself to welcome Iranian Bahais, ultimately receiving 120 forced migrants during 1985 and 1986.Footnote 10
The Bahai Community and the Reception of Forced Migrants Arriving from Iran: 1985–1986
Religious communities often play a central role in welcoming migrants and refugees. As Hostmann and Jung note, religious spaces provide vital settings in which migrants can reorganize and resume their lives in a new country in a more tolerable and comfortable manner.Footnote 11 Participation in familiar religious rituals further provides a sense of continuity and belonging, easing the process of settlement. Beyond local communities, connections with international networks, such as those of the Bahai faith, can help migrants find meaning and engage with the communities that have received them. P. G. Pinto has emphasized that when Arab migrants to Brazil were received by their own religious communities, whether Christian or Muslim, they functioned as welcoming networks of reception and support for the recent arrivals.Footnote 12 When migration coincides with missionary work, the experience becomes even more meaningful, as the very act of migration is reinterpreted as a religious mission.Footnote 13 In this way, the Bahai community in Brazil mobilized around the arrival of fellow believers (and often fellow nationals), whose forced displacement itself was endowed with a sense of purpose by joining transnational communities and contributing to the spread of their faith in Brazil.
Stories of escape from Iran are widely known within the community, with accounts of desert crossings, journeys through Pakistan, and ultimately, the decision to migrate to Brazil. These narratives give forced migrants a position of status within the community: their suffering, their escape from Iran, and their experience of religious persecution are seen as noble acts of sacrifice and proof of deep devotion to the Bahai faith. To better understand the community’s mobilization during the arrival of these migrants, I reconnected with members who had lived through that process.
Farhad, a Brazilian-born son of Iranian Bahai pioneers, readily agreed to share how he led this initiative while serving in the National Bahai Assembly in the 1980s. He specifically described the bureaucratic saga he had faced during a time when Brazil still imposed geographical limitations on refugee status. Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which Brazil had signed, refugee protection applied only to individuals of European origin, and Brazil had not signed the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees that removed these temporal and geographical restrictions. During the 1980s, the country was navigating redemocratization amid a serious economic crisis and had not yet enacted the 1988 constitution that would extend basic rights to all residents, including migrants. In this context, Farhad, on behalf of the Bahai community, entered into negotiations with the Ministry of Justice, the federal court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the UNHCR to secure entry for the Iranian Bahais and fulfill the request made by the Universal House of Justice.Footnote 14 Although these individuals entered Brazil as political asylum seekers, the negotiations led by the Bahai community marked an important milestone in a country that would only lift this geographic restriction years later, in 1989.
Iranians in Turkey or Pakistan applying for asylum in Brazil were issued UN safe-conduct passes and applied for tourist visas through local Brazilian embassies under arrangements negotiated with Itamaraty, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Many of them had originally intended to resettle in Brazil, but because Brazil did not accept refugees from those regions at the time, alternative pathways had to be negotiated with government institutions. The UNHCR ultimately issued the necessary travel documents and flight tickets, and the Ministry of Justice then informed the federal police of the arrival of these individuals. According to Farhad, they did not resemble the typical tourist profile at the time. Upon arrival, they were granted entry and subsequently applied for political asylum with the help of a sworn Persian–Portuguese interpreter appointed by the community. Thanks to this coordinated effort, 123 Iranian Bahais were granted asylum in Brazil in the years 1985 and 1986. Nevertheless, some still express discomfort with their “political asylum” designation, which they felt did not accurately reflect their situation, because their displacement was due to religious rather than political persecution.
After their arrival, these Iranian Bahais were sent to Mogi Mirim, in the interior of São Paulo state, where the Soltanieh Educational Center, a Bahai property equipped to receive families, hosted them during their initial days in Brazil.Footnote 15 There, they received Portuguese lessons, cultural orientation, and assistance with official documentation. They typically stayed at the center for about a month before relocating to their final destinations. The agreement between the Bahai community of Brazil and the arriving families stipulated that they would not settle in major urban centers like São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Instead, they would be dispersed across the country, helping to strengthen smaller and more remote local assemblies as part of their pioneering mission. The newcomer families were relocated to Brazil’s north, northeast, south, and central west regions.
Notably, many of the forced migrants had opportunities to resettle in global North countries, where relatives could have received them. However, following guidance from the Universal House of Justice to strengthen distant Bahai communities, many chose Brazil as an expression of religious and missionary service, and others came simply because it was the most viable option available. According to Farhad, not all were initially happy about being required to settle in areas far from the Rio–São Paulo corridor, such as the north or northeast, but they ultimately accepted the decision. Those who remained in Brazil pursued naturalization and became Brazilian citizens.Footnote 16
In our interview, Farhad enthusiastically described how the migrants were doing today, noting that he had remained in contact with nearly all of them. He explained that the community had organized itself to ensure that anyone who wanted to pursue higher education received support for university entrance exams and help with bureaucratic processes. They also created a microloan and financing program for those interested in starting businesses. He proudly listed the accomplishments of many of these migrants: some had become successful entrepreneurs or high-ranking executives, but even those who had not become successful by conventional standards had ensured that their children received an education, strengthening the second generation. He then paused for a moment and reflected: “Now that we are discussing this, what does it even mean to be successful?”Footnote 17
The Trajectory of Integration of Bahai Iranian Forced Migrants: The “Successful” and the “Less Successful”
According to J. B. Moreira, “local integration” refers to the process through which migrants begin to establish themselves in the host country within a receiving community.Footnote 18 She emphasizes that integration must be analyzed and viewed through a multidimensional lens, encompassing social, cultural, ethnic, religious, economic, psychological, and spatial dimensions.Footnote 19 Building on this concept, I consider successful not only those migrants who achieved some level of economic prosperity, but also those who forged solidarities through religious communities, family networks, and affective ties. Although economic factors are central in transnational migration, especially because work and financial stability fundamentally shape migrants’ relationships with both home and host countries, the global restructuring of capital has further contributed to the deterioration of economic conditions for workers in host countries and for migrants, thereby increasing insecurity in transnational movements. Therefore, integration should be understood as a multidimensional process, encompassing not only access to labor markets and public services, but also the development of identities and practices that align with the new context. In this sense, fostering relationships that transcend mere survival is crucial.Footnote 20
The cases analyzed here serve as evidence that above and beyond questions of economic stability, participation in religious networks and the existence of family ties were decisive in shaping migrants’ assessments of their relationship with Brazil. Family and caregiving networks play a central role in migration, shaping experiences according to nationality, social class, and gender. In Middle Eastern migration, for instance, these networks influence how women navigate transnational mobility and social contexts.Footnote 21 The accounts related by my interlocutors revealed the importance of family and caregiving networks in the integration of Iranian Bahai forced migrants in Brazil, forming an essential component of successful integration. This integration, as derived directly from my dialogues with these migrants, includes not only economic and bureaucratic factors but also engagement with the Bahai community and the strength of their family ties. Informants conveyed varied levels of satisfaction with their lives in Brazil, and the analysis that follows considers both the difficulties they faced and the outcomes they have achieved in establishing stable lives over the course of several decades.
It is important to contextualize these experiences within the severe economic crisis Brazil faced in the 1980s, which meant that their immigration ran counter to typical migratory flows. The idealized vision of Brazil as a land of purpose and spiritual sacrifice was tempered by the harsh economic conditions they faced, coupled with the absence of an established Iranian community, unlike they would have found in Europe and North America. This contrast was especially felt when individuals had opportunities to migrate elsewhere.
For many, however, religious motivations remained paramount. Both forced migrants and the Bahai pioneers who preceded them had viewed Brazil as a distant and exotic land where they could fulfill their ideals of self-sacrifice and religious devotion. Donation, charity, and voluntary service are all core pillars of the Bahai faith, and many of the Iranians who came to Brazil became committed not only to prayer meetings and the formation of local assemblies, but also to the religion’s social projects. Across their accounts, perceptions of integration, whether deemed successful or less successful, emerged not only from economic outcomes but also from religious engagement and emotional attachments. Their narratives demonstrate that economic, religious, and familial dimensions shaped how individuals ultimately assessed their own integration.
The Successful
During my 2013 fieldwork, I interviewed Payman and his family. He and his wife, Tahereh, described their trajectory as prosperous and optimistic, despite serious difficulties in the early stages. The couple had first met in Pakistan, where they had been living as migrants in precarious conditions. In the Bahai community, narratives of escape, passing through deserts, enduring persecution, and crossing borders clandestinely are common narratives, and Payman and Tahereh’s story reflected those hardships.
Their journey to Brazil mirrored that of other Iranians, whether migrants or otherwise. Tahereh viewed the move as her “mission” and her way of repaying her religious community for the opportunity to leave Iran while many others were forced to remain there. To her, Brazil appeared exotic and unfamiliar, and choosing it was understood as an act of religious sacrifice. In the initial phases, the couple was assigned by the community to Brazil’s south, but they later moved and settled in the southeast, the most prosperous economic region in Brazil. Payman became a successful entrepreneur in the education sector and provided services to schools. Within the community, he is frequently cited as a model of success. Above and beyond financial stability, the couple expressed great enthusiasm and satisfaction with their decision to come to Brazil. They had not only successfully established themselves despite Brazil’s economic difficulties, but they also had found fulfillment through their engagement with the religious community and their contribution to the strengthening of the faith in Brazil.
Amin also expressed considerable satisfaction with his life in Brazil, although along a different trajectory. He and his brother had been living in Pakistan when they received a letter from the Universal House of Justice encouraging Bahai families to relocate in South America. They considered this opportunity as both a pathway for immigration and a way through which they could support emerging Bahai communities in the region. Although they had originally planned to migrate to Canada, Amin had been inspired by the letter, and they ultimately altered their plans. At the time, Amin was sixteen and his brother was twenty-three. Upon arrival at the Soltanieh Educational Center, families were assigned to a region, and the two brothers were sent to the south. At that point, they took the basic steps common to all forced migrants: arranging a place to live, finding a job, and learning the language. Later, Amin moved to the southeast to undertake volunteer religious service, where he found employment through another Bahai, met his wife, and began (but was unable to complete) a university degree. He eventually returned to the south, where he currently lives with his wife and daughter.
Amin stressed the importance of maintaining a connection with one’s country and culture, stating that it is a helpful component in an immigrant’s healing from “depression and emotional struggles.”Footnote 22 Although he did not stand out professionally or academically, Amin expressed sincere happiness in his active participation in Brazilian social life and in his family life, noting that the second generation of migrants would soon begin to have an impact on society.
Sara also built her life and raised her family in the south after an initial period in the central west, where she had struggled with the heat. Upon hearing that the south was cooler, the family moved there with her sister and brother-in-law. She and her husband began an import business, and she later completed a degree in physical therapy, which she still practices today. Their son, also a physical therapist, eventually relocated to Canada. Now a caregiver for her father and father-in-law, Sara spoke warmly about the pride and happiness that caring for them in their old age has given her. She expressed happiness regarding her son’s stability and growing family in Canada. Although she feels content and well-integrated in Brazil, she also shared concerns regarding Brazil’s current economic situation and what this implies for future generations, noting that it no longer represents the land of promise and opportunity it once did.
Khosrow and Mehrdad chose a very different path. Motivated by the opportunity to serve the Bahai faith in a region that had been prioritized by the community for educational and health purposes, they had relocated to the opposite end of the country, to the Amazon region. Khosrow, who had initially migrated to the south where he had a distant relative, had as a youth considered the Amazon a unique opportunity to “serve humanity,” as the Bahai faith frames it. Khosrow expressed discomfort with his status as a “political asylee,” which he felt inaccurately described his case because he had received no governmental support and had depended solely on the Bahai community—a support he described as being akin to what other governments, such as Canada or Australia, would have offered refugees. Nevertheless, Khosrow suggested that the instability of Brazil’s economy meant that a great deal depended upon individual effort, as evidenced by the fact that only a few of the Bahais who settled in the north in the 1980s remained there; a good number relocated to the southeast and central west, or left Brazil altogether. Khosrow had stayed and earned two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree. Today, he considers himself to be more Brazilian than Iranian and leads one of the community’s social projects. His fulfillment in his professional accomplishments and his social projects led to a feeling of successful integration.
Mehrdad’s path, although also in the Amazon, was more turbulent. Like other migrants, he had dreamed of using his medical training to “serve humanity.” Upon graduating from medical school in Indonesia in 1987, he had no legal means of remaining there, and as a Bahai he could not return to Iran. He was desperate to find a place where he could both live and practice medicine. Although now well established and grateful to Brazil for having opened doors to him, the doctor informed me in an animated manner of the ups and downs of his path. Through the local Bahai network and through a Canadian Bahai publication, he learned that the Brazilian community was seeking health professionals for a project in the Amazon region. He viewed this as a sign, an opportunity to fulfill his religious and moral mission, all while practicing medicine. Upon arrival in Brazil, however, he was confronted with the daunting task of having his medical diploma evaluated, which comprised six years of bureaucratic challenges and delays. During this period, he suffered from poverty, isolation, and language barriers, and he considered leaving Brazil on many occasions.
Although the Bahai community supported him as much as possible, Mehrdad emphasized that it was not like having family close to him: “I was hungry and faced complications. I needed to have my diploma reevaluated, without knowing the language,” he explained.Footnote 23 He also experienced profound loneliness. With support from patients and friends, and by practicing alternative therapies learned in Indonesia, he managed to survive until his license was recognized. Ultimately, his perseverance paid off, and he succeeded in receiving his revalidated degree. His life changed dramatically thereafter: he purchased a car and an apartment, he married an Iranian woman, and he now runs a clinic with her by his side. When I asked Mehrdad how he felt about his decision to come to Brazil, he answered: “I love Brazil. This is now my country.” Smiling, he concluded, “My story has a happy ending. If you’ve never tasted bitterness, how can you enjoy the honey?”Footnote 24 Economic success was of great importance to Mehrad’s sense of successful integration, even if this was not the case for all migrants of his cohort, many of whom had left. “I have tough skin,” he said.
These narratives reveal similar trajectories, marked by early adversity, gradual stabilization, and in some cases upward mobility. Although economic stability was a key measure in assessing the success of their integration, other factors played an equally important role: a stable place within the community, family and emotional bonds, and a deep sense of religious purpose. Above all, success was defined by the interviewees themselves, who consistently voiced satisfaction and deemed Brazil to be their home. The essential tone of these narratives was one of difficult beginnings countered by perseverance, resilience, and ultimately a hopeful and optimistic present.
The Less Successful
As early as 2013, when I undertook my initial fieldwork, I was struck by marked differences in the tone and perceptions of my interviewees’ accounts. Whereas some voiced optimism and satisfaction regarding their relocation, others were more dissatisfied, although they did not necessarily have outright regret. In many cases, dissatisfaction stemmed from economic hardship, but it also was tied to other more subjective factors, such as the absence of family networks, emotional support, or an established Iranian community.
Keyvan is among those who chose Brazil because he had no relatives or support networks in the global North. While in Pakistan, he met a Bahai couple who lived in Brazil and spoke very positively about the country. Looking back, they had failed, in his opinion, to mention any of the drawbacks, including the economic situation. He recalls that the Brazilian embassy in Islamabad offered videos, slides, and promotional materials that gave the impression of a “land of wonders.” Yet upon his arrival the reality was starkly different. Confronted with Portuguese for the first time at the airport, he recalls, “Everyone knows at least a little English. I didn’t even know what bom dia meant.”Footnote 25 Keyvan struggled with Portuguese, and the financial hardships were even more trying. Assigned to the northeast, he endured eighteen months of unemployment, and although some support was offered by the community he faced severe financial stress. In his town, locals asked him how he expected to find work when there were not enough jobs for Brazilians themselves. Despite repeated suggestions that he move to the southeast, he opted to remain.
Eventually, a Bahai friend who worked for a large multinational company visited and helped Keyvan secure a technical position. From that point forward, his life improved, and he was able to build a stable career through which he could support himself. Today, he has two sons, one who is an engineer in Brazil and another who lives in Europe. Despite his former financial struggles, Keyvan asserts that he does not regret coming to Brazil and recalls being received with considerable warmth and affection. He especially considers Brazilians from the northeast to be very welcoming, “possibly even more than Iranians,” and adds, “Brazil is my home. I’m no better than Brazilians. We’ve suffered in the same way.”Footnote 26 Even though he has not achieved notable economic success, Keyvan built his family in Brazil, which is his main source of happiness and sense of home.
Touraj, who settled in the southeast, is frequently described by other Bahais as intelligent and deeply critical, characteristics common to those Iranians who fled during the revolutionary years of the late 1970s and early 1980s. In our interview, he stressed that choosing Brazil over North America was a decision predicated upon his desire “not to live in a capitalist country.”Footnote 27 Decades later, he reflects with some uncertainty on this decision, thinking that he might have enjoyed better governmental support in places such as Australia. Having been supported by the Bahai community, Touraj now owns an import shop in the center of his city. Although he has achieved a level of economic stability, he admits that this has come with great effort, and his network within the Bahai faith has been essential to his establishment. Although proud of raising a family and now having two adult children, he frequently alludes to feelings of cultural dislocation. The dearth of a broader Iranian cultural community beyond the religious community leaves him with lingering dissatisfaction, despite his financial security.
This integration paradox is even more evident in the story of Sepideh. At the time of our 2022 meeting, she had already been living in Canada for almost twenty years, having left Brazil after two decades of living and working there. Her experience as a refugee who opted not to remain in Brazil helped clarify for me some of the difficult decisions migrants face in the integration process.
Like other migrants, Sepideh had left Iran shortly following the revolution, first going to Pakistan, and then, in 1986, arriving in Brazil with her sister with the intent of serving the religion. Initially, she settled in the south, where she worked in a textile factory before undertaking her university studies, which had always been her main goal. Like many others, she acknowledged the generosity of the Bahai community, which had included financial support. Nevertheless, she also described her discomfort with relying upon her fellow Bahais and their limited resources. This made financial independence an urgent goal for Sepideh. With support from established community members, she studied engineering which she balanced with voluntary service for the faith, a period she described as the best years of her life in Brazil. Upon graduation, she moved to São Paulo, which she describes as a “land of opportunity.”Footnote 28 Together with her family, she found abundant opportunities there and remained employed in her field until 2006, when she accepted a job offer from Canada, where she currently lives.
I had initially assumed that economic opportunity was the primary reason behind Sepideh’s relocation. However, as our conversation continued, other layers began to emerge. Her sister, who had come with her to Brazil, had already moved with her husband to the United States, and her other siblings reside in Canada. Soon after Sepideh arrived in Canada, she was also able to bring her parents from Iran to live nearby. Because she had been single while living in Brazil, she stressed that being reunited with her family was key to her feeling truly integrated in Canada. Although she was grateful for the support she had received from the Brazilian Bahai community, it was in Canada where she once again was surrounded by family and where she came to understand the importance of emotional networks in building a lasting sense of belonging.
Sepideh’s case illustrates that financial stability does not guarantee complete integration. Emotional and family ties were the decisive factors that contributed to her decision to leave Brazil. Mahnaz’s trajectory underscores the point: although she did not arrive from Iran in the 1980s, she married a refugee who did. She worked for many years on a Bahai social project, achieved financial stability, and raised two children. Yet Mahnaz explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic the loneliness she felt in Brazil became unbearable. She left her job and relocated to Europe, where her parents and siblings lived. Although she is currently unemployed, she does not regret that decision, stressing that proximity to family outweighs professional security.
Final Considerations
Brazilian Bahais mobilized to receive refugee families in South America, responding both to the needs of Iranian Bahais facing persecution in the 1980s and the goal of strengthening the Bahai community in Brazil. Following a directive from the Universal House of Justice, pioneer members of the Bahai community negotiated with state and international institutions to create avenues for the admission of Iranian forced migrants and a reception system for their settlement in Brazil, providing housing, Portuguese language classes, and even financial support to these newcomers.
An agreement made between most of the forced migrants and their religious community involved dispersing them across different regions of Brazil during a time of deep economic crisis. This arrangement contrasts with the more common migratory pattern of settling in economically developed metropolitan centers such as São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Instead, local Bahai communities were to welcome and support these migrants, who would in turn strengthen these communities.
The narratives of Iranian Bahais in Brazil presented here demonstrate the nuances of immigrant integration in Brazil. Although financial and economic stability was a significant factor in how these migrants assessed their success and satisfaction in choosing Brazil, it was not always sufficient on its own. The interviews revealed that successful integration was, to some extent, defined subjectively and independently of whether or not migrants felt they had managed to establish themselves economically, given the obstacles they had to overcome to reach their goals.
Moreover, the economic dimension alone did not suffice to define successful integration for many of my interlocutors. For many, ties with the religious community proved to be essential for personal fulfillment, whether through “serving humanity” or giving back to the religious community that had supported their settlement. Yet others indicated that religious ties alone were not enough; the absence of strong family and emotional bonds was a crucial factor in their assessment of successful integration. When these ties were established, individuals tended to remain for the long term in Brazil; when they were absent, individuals tended to relocate elsewhere, rendering Brazil a country of transit rather than a final destination.
This pattern echoes broader trends among migrant and refugee groups in Brazil. Among groups with higher migratory inflows to Brazil in recent years, the principal factor contributing to successful social integration continues to be the presence of community support networks, often organized around national or religious identities. For example, over the past decade, large inflows of Venezuelan, Haitian, Syrian, and Lebanese communities have been closely tied to such networks, which facilitate settlement and adaptation upon arrival, regardless of socioeconomic status.Footnote 29 In contrast, Afghan nationals admitted under humanitarian visas since 2021 have shown lower rates of permanence, with most moving onward to North America, largely due to the absence of consolidated Afghan networks in Brazil and weaker ties with Brazil’s Muslim communities.
In the case of Iranians, migration to Brazil has remained limited in scale. There is currently no evidence of recent arrivals of Iranian Bahais. Rather, Iranian groups established in Brazil today are connected to transnational trade networks and commercial relations between Brazil and Iran; graduate students enrolled in Brazilian federal universities through scholarship programs; and individuals who have migrated through personal relationships, such as friendship or marriage networks between Iranians and Brazilians.Footnote 30
