The movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini has gained broad international attention, causing many in Canada’s Baha’i community to feel hopeful for change, yet wary of violence
When Mina Sanaee’s three children were growing up in Toronto, they’d sometimes ask her where her wedding pictures were. At first, answering was simple: she and her husband had married in Iran, left the country in a hurry and didn’t get to bring much with them. Once her children grew older, though, she divulged the full, painful truth.
So far, according to the UN, more than 300 protestors have been killed and 14,000 arrested in Iran since Sept. 16. Amid those grim figures, Ms. Sanaee said it’s been moving to see people in Iran – led by young women – fight for the same things Baha’is have been working toward around the world: freedom, unity and equality of genders.As far as world religions go, the Baha’i faith is a very young one, founded in 1844 in Iran, but has become the largest non-Muslim religion in the country.
In the years after the revolution, Iran’s authoritarian regime has persecuted Baha’is through passport seizures, destruction of Baha’i cemeteries and – most prominently – the denial of access to higher education. While it’s become clear that those who have taken to the streets in Iran are advancing the principles Baha’is have worked toward for generations, and many feel for the suffering of its citizens, there is an unease in the Baha’i community over how violent the uprising may get, says Geoffrey Cameron, who works for Canada’s Baha’i Office of Public Affairs.
At 17, he, his brother and sister-in-law escaped to Pakistan and settled as refugees in Winnipeg. Mr. Towfigh has always felt “a mysterious connection” to Iran, its history, its culture. Something about this movement has given him a newfound optimism that one day he might be able to take his Canadian-born children to Iran.
Her family was intact when they escaped Iran, but her parents’ friends lost their lives, and she knew of many who were arrested, whose properties were confiscated.
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