Education under Fire

Since the belief of the people of Bahá'í inception around the teachings of Baha'u'llah, its followers have been subjected to persecution, including stoning to death, being sentenced to life in prison, and other forms of discrimination, not just in the Muslim world but also, on occasion, in the Christian world.

Probably the worst nightmares of Bahá'ís who were living in Iran occurred in Feb 1979, when the Islamic revolution succeeded. Besides all discrimination against Bahá'ís, the worst one was preventing them from higher education.

As some background few months following the revolution's success, all the universities in Iran were closed to clean the anti-form revolution, so-called "corrupted professors and students. "Two years after the opening of universities, a questionnaire was given to the students and professors to fill out upon opening of schools. One of the questions was about the candidate's religion, and if the answer was 'Baha'i,' they would receive a letter to this effect.

"Bahá'ís cannot pursue higher education."

How odd it is, therefore, that in the nation that gave birth to the Faith of the Bahá'í, young Bahá'ís are routinely denied the opportunity to pursue higher education due to a policy implemented at the very highest levels of government. In addition to being prevented from obtaining further education, there are many accounts of Bahá'í school pupils being mocked by their instructors throughout their time in elementary school; this is a truth that is difficult to comprehend in the year 2012, given the current state of affairs.

All Bahá'í professors were fired from their jobs, and Bahá'í students were not permitted to continue their higher education. So Bahá'ís decided to start their own higher education at volunteer homes. The professors were, Bahá'í Doctors, engineers, professors, attorneys, etc., who lost their job and were doing this voluntarily.

Classes were held in the kitchen, living room, and basements of volunteers, which they called "Bahá'í Institute under for Higher Education (BIHE)". However, once in a while, these houses were raided by the government of Iran to shut down their education and take their book and computers.

BIHE is the sole opportunity for Bahá'í youngsters to pursue education. However, in May of 2011, the authorities carried out a concerted assault on the BIHE, which included conducting house searches at dozens of locations, seizing laptops and other data, arresting eighteen faculty members and administrators. Their lone offense, which was teaching kids in their area, resulted in seven of those detained receiving sentences of between three and five years in jail.

During the current school year, a total of 130 students were not allowed to enroll in any university classes. In addition, Bahá'í students who had applied to several universities were informed that they would not be permitted to continue their studies at those institutions. In the same manner, as in previous years, Bahá'í candidates were not permitted to choose a major and were not granted admission to universities or any other higher education institutions. The reason their applications were rejected was that their academic files were not complete.

Once candidates for this academic year followed up on their failed applications, Bahá'í students learned that their applications were denied because of their religion. However, it would seem that the accusation that their files were incorrect or unsatisfactory has no foundation, given that the bulk of the Bahá'í students who were impacted had already completed the Concourse, which is Iran's national university admission test.

The Iranian government has created a frustrating bureaucracy for Bahá'í students by establishing a system in which they are permitted to pay for and take national exams and sometimes even register for courses, only to discover that they are blocked from continuing their studies once the semester has begun.

Officials employ this overly complicated strategy because, at first glance, it seems as though they recognize the right of Bahá'í citizens to receive an education; however, they ultimately deny these individuals this opportunity by arguing that their academic files do not satisfy the prerequisites for enrolling in university classes.

While a system of education inside the Bahá'í community began to take shape, the Iranian government, which was keeping a close watch on the Bahá'ís, took notice. In the early years, however, the Iranian government showed no opposition to this trend. It is conceivable that the adults and kids participating just assumed the whole affair would be a fun diversion with no real payoff. The existence of a college or university is rendered meaningless if the state does not recognize it. According to the myth, this assumption was disproved. Some BIHE grads were able to get into Ph.D. programs in North America despite the university's lack of official recognition in Iran.

The Master's degree programs at Carleton University in Canada were among the first in the world to welcome BIHE grads after they received their degrees. Soon after that, universities from other western regions began to do the same. It is possible that the acknowledgment of BIHE outside of Iran, and in particular by major colleges, was the reason why Bahá'í powers altered their approach towards the institution. The Iranian government did not want its citizens to have access to an education of a genuine and high-quality standard. Still, BIHE had shown that it could provide students with such an education.

Since September 29th to October 3rd, 1998, Iranian officials acting under the authority of the "Ministry of Information (MoI)," which is an intelligence agency of the Iranian Government, conducted raids on the homes of a large number of students and the primary lecturers at BIHE in Tehran and the surrounding provinces. These raids were carried out by Iranian officials in Tehran and the provinces surrounding Tehran. These assaults were meticulously planned and carried out in accordance with those plans. 40 members of the school's professors and staff were brought into jail after the incident. As part of the investigation into BIHE, over 200 residences were searched, and the authorities seized various items, including books, laptops, fax machines, and other educational materials.

The "Education Under Fire" campaign was created to oppose the detrimental consequences of such discriminatory laws and to call attention to the need to maintain this provision. Article 26 of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" provides access to education as a basic human right. This program aims to increase awareness about how important it is to protect Article 26 and decrease the effect these activities have. The campaign produced a documentary lasting thirty minutes, which Amnesty International assisted in promoting. This documentary recounts the exciting and tumultuous events at the BIHE and presents them to the audience. During the campaign's first year, participants traveled to more than 150 of the most prestigious educational institutions in North America. Numerous illustrious organizations, like Harvard and Stanford, as well as illustrious people, including laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize, have stepped out to voice their support for the cause.

Amnesty International is sponsoring this film, and the organization is encouraging its members, activists, and the general public to watch it and take action in order to urge the Bahá'í government to uphold its international legal obligations and end the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran, as well as to release all prisoners of conscience, and to stop denying Iranians the right to information on the basis of philosophical and religious beliefs.

Let everyone try to remember some of the phrases from the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)” as we take the lessons that may be learned from the BIHE and its students on cultivating a peaceful response to persecutory acts.

The right to education is a basic human right. Therefore, it should be geared toward the complete maturation of the personality of human beings as well as the enrichment of respect for human rights and basic freedoms. Furthermore, it must support the work of the United Countries for the preservation of peace and promote mutual understanding, tolerance, and goodwill among all racial, national, and religious groups.