The Stoning of Soraya M. – Part Two

“At its heart, this movie is a human drama filled with tension, peril and hope – but it is also a true story that I felt strongly had to be told, a story the whole world needs to know.”– Director Cyrus Nowrasteh

There could be no better time than this Friday for this film’s release. At this moment, the women of Iran are at the forefront of the revolt against Iran’s unjust elections. And The Stoning of Soraya M. illustrates clearly what the people of Iran have been terrorized with and how powerful is the bravery of just one person telling the truth.

According to the film’s producers, the film’s subject “is incendiary: the thousands of women who are hounded, conspired against and murdered in cold blood around the world for so-called and often trumped-up ’crimes of dishonor,’ such as adultery or premarital sex. But the film’s treatment is universal, wrapped in a classic, gripping drama of one woman’s danger-fraught quest to bring the conniving evildoers in her remote village, who think they are acting with impunity, to global disgrace.”

The production notes continue: “From the beginning, Cyrus and Betsy made the decision to focus the tale’s suspense around Zahra, the savvy, outraged village woman who attempts to protect Soraya and ultimately tells her story in the hopes of saving others. Her quest for truth and justice amidst lies, betrayal and fraud became the driving force of the story. Meanwhile, Soraya and her accusers were etched as the two opposite poles of innocence and corruption between which each of the villagers must make a choice.”

To me, this message transcends the situation in Iran and other Islamic countries and should cause all of us to be vigilant about justice in our own backyards. As director Cyrus Nowrasteh said, “At its core this is a story that is very relatable, because it is about a conflict between a man and a woman and you connect to the characters in an emotional way as husband and wife.” Like the Apostle John, we need to examine ourselves and continue to look for the truth. We have huge problems with marital strife and abuse and injustice in our country. 1 John 1:8 (NKJV) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” If we look at injustice in Iran and judge it without scrutinizing ourselves, we are hypocrites.

The Stoning of Soraya M. - Part One

In light of the recent election in Iran and in anticipation of next week’s film opening, I have begun reading the original novel, THE STONING OF SORAYA M. by Freidoune Sahebjam. Sahebjam, who died a little more than a year ago, had led a life fraught with danger as an Iranian-French journalist. Kidnapped and tortured by Islamic militants in Paris in 1979, he was rescued by French police and went underground. He slipped into Iran many times to cover stories there and was the first to break the news about Iran’s use of twelve to fourteen year old boys as soliders.

However, THE STONING OF SORAYA M. may one of his most important because it highlights a global problem – abuse of women by their husbands and corrupt justice systems that condone the men and condemn the women. Although this is a particularly gruesome story of an entire village’s complicity in a stoning, it happens in every country, every day. Christians and Muslims, Europeans and Africans, and yes! even Americans – all face this story, or even the convoluted reverse – where the husband is the victim.

To address this issue, the film website has a “GET INVOLVED” menu button. Anyone who desires to may register their name in support of a petition to the UN calling for women’s human rights.

And, in a more immediate way, readers in the Chicago area can help the Elgin Community Crisis Center. This organization averages one suicide call per day, and without immediate financial assistance will have to close on July 1. Supporters of the center are asking for 25,000 people to donate $10 in the next 24 hours. Contact Jeri Hodal at littlered1321@yahoo.com for more information.

Psalm 103:6 The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

On Friday... more about the process of turning the book into a film, and a report on the Elgin Community Crisis Center.

FOR ANOTHER FILM ABOUT IRAN: A Cry from Iran