another criticism claims that the baháʼís, during the time of the pahlavi dynasty, collaborated with the savak, the iranian secret police, and held positions of power in the government. even before the iranian revolution, the baháʼís, viewed as the "other" in iranian society, were held responsible by the rest of the iranians for the abusive suppression by savak and the shah's unpopular policies. after the revolution, the assertion that the baháʼís were agents of the shah perhaps partly originates because baháʼís did not help the revolutionary groups, since one of the tenets of the baháʼí faith is to obey the government of one's country.