Zadesmaeil

MEMORANDUM

Mozaffar Zadesmaeil petitions for review from the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision denying his application for asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (a). Because the parties are familiar with the history of this ease, we need not recount it here. We grant the petition.

Zadesmaeil seeks asylum on the basis of (1) an imputed political opinion by virtue of his work as a photographer and photo laboratory supervisor and (2) his conversion to the Eckankar religion. We conclude that the record compels the conclusion that Zadesmaeil has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his conversion to the Eckankar religion if he returns to Iran. Therefore, we need not reach the question of whether substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion concerning his political asylum claim.

The undisputed record shows that Za-desmaeil was a former Muslim who converted to Eckankar. He testified about his conversion and offered third-party evidence of it, which the government accepted. He also submitted a considerable amount of documentary evidence as to his Eckankar beliefs, which the government did not contest. There is no controversy over his…