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The Gallantry of Illumined Souls<o:p></o:p>

This surely is a time for the gallantry of illumined souls.Very dear friends, we pray that you can be counted among this noble company.<o:p></o:p>

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On May 14, 2008, six of the seven members of the ad-hoc governing body of the Bah!ҭs of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin Prison.Last week marked the one-year anniversary of their arrests(the seventh had been arrested on March 5, 2008). Since then, they have been held without access to their legal counsel,Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi.<o:p></o:p>

They have been charged on the baseless accusations of espionage for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic and, most recently, ԓspreading corruption on earth.<o:p></o:p>

They are men and women, mothers and fathers, some of whom have a history of persecution in their families.ԠAmong them are: a developmental psychologist, an agricultural engineer, an educator and school principal, a social worker, an optometrist, an industrialist, and a factory owner.<o:p></o:p>

In aletter written on September 9, 2007 to Bahᒭ students deprived of access to higher education in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, theUniversal House of Justice wrote:<o:p></o:p>

Service to others is the way.Let it be your watchword, Abdul-Bahҡbeing your Examplar. Like Him, you can find practical ways of serving your fellow citizens.Strive to work hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder, with your fellow citizens in your efforts to promote the common good.<o:p></o:p>

As we keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and as we work, in whatever way we can, to speak out against this injustice, let us remember the poignant words of the Universal House of Justice to the Bah!ҭs in Iran, in aletter written on November 26, 2003:<o:p></o:p>

Your long night will end, and you will have the joy of witnessing with your own eyes the might structures your sacrifices have raised.<o:p></o:p>

(For those in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>, find out how you can write to your representatives and senators regarding co-sponsoring House Res. 175 and Senate Res. 71:http://iran.bahai.us ).<o:p></o:p>

leila www.bahaiperspectives.com May 21st, 2009<o:p></o:p>

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Say: O people, cause no corruption in the earth and dispute not with men; for, verily, this is not worthy of those who have chosen in the shelter of their Lord a station which shall indeed remain secure.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> If ye find one athirst, give him to drink from the chalice of Kawtha and Tasneen; and if ye find one endowed with an attentive ear, read unto him the verses of God, the mighty, the merciful, the compassionate! Unloose the tongue with excellent utterance, then admonish the people if ye find them advancing unto the sanctuary of God; otherwise abandon them unto themselves and forsake them in the abyss of hell. Beware lest ye scatter the pearls of inner significance before every barren, dumb one. Verily, the blind are deprived of witnessing the lights and are unable to distinguish between the stone and the holy, precious pearl.</o:p>

<o:p>(Baha'u'llah, The Tablet of the Branch)</o:p>