Wilson, Filmmakers Screen Baha'i Doc at HGSE

Emmy Award–nominated actor Rainn Wilson, famous for his role on the hit television show The Office, visited Harvard Graduate School of Education last Monday to draw attention to the challenges the Baha´i people of Iran face in attaining an education.

Wilson screened the new 30-minute documentary, Education Under Fire, which shows the struggles of the Baha´i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – an underground university formed in 1987.  In Iran, many Baha’i have been arrested, tortured, and executed for not recanting their beliefs. Additionally, they are prohibited from going to college. BIHE was formed in response to the Iranian government’s aggressive efforts to stop members of the Baha’i faith from attaining higher education. Following a screening of the film, panelists including Wilson, documentary producer/director Jeffrey Kaufman, and Harvard Business School Professor Nava Ashraf discussed the issues facing the Baha’i.

As a member of the Baha’i faith, Wilson said he was compelled to speak about the film at universities after learning about BIHE and the United Nations charter that defines education as a basic human right.  “It opened my eyes to the idea that education is a human right. I’d never really thought of that before and never seen the United Nations charter before,” Wilson said. “If you want to get educated and want to read a text book and those text books are burned , that is a violation of your basic human rights. And that’s what is going on here.”

Ashraf was moved upon viewing images of executed Baha’i  — images that included some of her grandfather. This, along with the realization that perhaps, had she stayed in Iran, she wouldn’t be where she is today, prompted her to get involved with the cause. “There has got to be something we can do,” Ashraf said. “How do we as graduate students and faculty begin to help this process?”

Thanks to BIHE, Ashraf said, “[Iranian Baha’i students] studying under all odds can feel a sense of hope.” However, when these students who try to escape Iran, they face problems with transferring BIHE credits to American universities. Wilson’s college tour — which included stops at Boston University, M.I.T., and Wheelock College – was part of a broader effort to get U.S. colleges and universities to accept BIHE transfer credits.

To hear more about the documentary and education, please check out the HGSE Ed Cast with Wilson: http://wpdev.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2011/11/harvard-edcast-not-your-typical-rainn-wilson-college-tour/.