A screening of the 2014 documentary, “To Light a Candle,” will be hosted by local Baha’is on Friday, Feb. 27 at the Cortez Journal meeting room, 123 Roger Smith Ave.
“To Light a Candle” chronicles the lives of Baha’is in Iran, who have triumphed against unbelievable hardships and persecution. The Baha’is are a religious minority that are systematically imprisoned, tortured and killed by the Iranian government.
The Islamic regime bans the Baha’is to study or teach in Iranian universities. Since 1987, the Baha’is started the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), an underground university with hundreds of students in Iran, and dozens of teachers in Iran and around the world.
Through powerful interviews, exclusive secret footage shot by citizen journalists, rare archival material and letters written by a Baha’i prisoner currently in jail in Iran, “To Light a Candle” shows how a small minority has defied the brutal systematic religious persecution through non-violent resistance and educating their youth.
The Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was established in 1987 to give young Baha’is a chance to pursue knowledge and receive a quality education The informal courses take place in people’s homes, via mail correspondence, and with online lectures. The Iranian government regularly raids BIHE classes and arrests its students and teachers. Hundreds of Baha’is have been jailed simply for teaching and studying at BIHE. Yet, many Muslim Iranians support the right of the Baha’is to education and fight for full enjoyment of civil and human rights by all Baha’is.
The public is invited at 5:30 p.m. for soup and sandwiches. The documentary starts at 6:30 p.m., followed by a discussion of the film at the Cortez Journal meeting room.
For more information call 970-565-8222.