[PROVISIONAL TRANSLATION FROM Persian]

[Translator’s notes appear in square brackets.]

[Personal information has been redacted.]

[The excerpt below is from the section of the article that pertains to the Baha’i Faith]

[Newspaper:]  Jomhouri-e Eslami

[Date:] Thursday 6 Shahrivar 1359, 17 Shawwal 1400 [28 August 1980]

[Issue No:] 359

[Page:] 4

Hojjatol-Islam Khamenei, at the opening ceremony of the Islamic Cooperative Society of Teachers of Sistan in Zabol, [stated]:

Any actions that cause disunity between Shia and Sunni are considered treason to [the foundation of] religion.

Hojjatol-Islam Khamenei continued, “Today, our country is in need of knowledge and religion and preference should be given to education in the Islamic religion.  Teachers must take it very seriously; very often it has been heard that the teachers of religious study in some schools have been [either a] Baha’i, a Communist, negligent person or an atheist.…