 By the time of my childhood in the 1970s, the Baha'is were tolerated by the monarchy, but being the traditional scapegoats in Iran, we knew that any political turmoil would not end well for us. Like elsewhere in the Middle East, Iran was a highly complex ancient civilization with deeply rooted identities. My classmates were mostly Muslim, but they were also Armenian, Assyrian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian.