Blogs

Faith & Action: Power of Unity
BY JOYCE FULLER KLEIKAMP
Baha’i Community of Pinal County

One of the most disheartening and frustrating aspects of the religions of the world is that they seem to be so different from each other. What’s more, each particular religion has numerous branches and sects that can appear as different from each other as the major faiths themselves.

This is why the central theme and purpose of the Baha’i faith, to unite the human family within one universal cause, within one common faith, has sparked hope and excitement in the hearts of people everywhere.

In the past in all other religions, the followers were left to themselves once their manifestation of God was no longer walking among them. Thousands of disputes arose resulting in the fracturing and splitting of the faithful into sects, denominations and groups. The underlying cause of this disunity was often a strong desire for leadership on the part of ambitious individuals. Differences of opinion about what should be done and what should happen created problems that ultimately could not withstand the pressure. No one, no group, was authorized to act. This is now the day, the era, in which the power of unity has been preserved through the unique functioning of the covenant.

The divine design for unity has been safeguarded; Baha’u’llah protected the faith against division by writing his will and testament, in it designating his eldest son, Abdu’l-Baha, to be the sole interpreter of his teachings and Center of the Covenant. Abdu’l-Baha’s life was a gift to humanity. He was the perfect exemplar of the teachings. He lived for 77 years, shared the exiles and tribulations of his father, labored to spread the word of God throughout the east and west, and wrote thousands of tablets and letters which educated the Baha’is in the ways of unity. His writings are an important part of the writings of the Baha’i faith.

By focusing on the life and writings of Abdu’l-Baha, as the center of the covenant, in addition to the life and writings of Baha’u’llah himself, the worldwide Baha’i community remained united in their efforts to create a new civilization based upon the understanding that we are one human family and that there is a blueprint for building unity in our communities. We understand that justice is a key that overlooking the faults of others and developing virtues is vital.

Furthering the protection of the faith, Abdu’l-Baha wrote in his will that his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, would serve as guardian of the faith, to be the authorized interpreter of the teachings and to guide the expansion of the faith in every part of the world. For 36 years, he clarified and educated humanity. And now, as clearly delineated, the affairs of the Baha’i world are handled by elected councils of people, at the local, national and international levels. The supreme institution guiding the faith is called the Universal House of Justice.

Throughout these years of divine revelation, divine interpretation and authorized action, the Baha’is continue to build unity in the world community; this unity is based upon the foundation of the laws and commandments given to us by the manifestation of God for this day, the promised one of all ages.

Next week, we’ll explore some of the most important and exciting of these laws and guidelines. These are the building blocks of our unity, the lamps of guidance for our footsteps. This series of articles is taken directly from the presentation entitled “The Baha’i Faith”.

Visit the Web site for the local Baha’i chapter at www.bahai.org.


I have come from distant lands to visit the meetings and assemblies of this country (US). In every meeting I find people gathered loving each other; therefore I am greatly pleased. The bond of union is evidenced in this assembly today where the power of God has brought together in faith, agreement and concord those who are engaged in furthering the development of the human world. It is my hope that all mankind may become similarly united in the bond and agreement of love. Unity is the expression of the loving power of God and reflects the reality of divinity. It is resplendent in this day through the bestowals of light upon humanity.

Abdu'l-Baha
Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 274

Iran’s Baha’is Deprived of all Human Rights
By Smile Rose
Fariba Davoudi-Mohajer
نشر موقع منتدى جوزار للديمقراطية وحقوق الانسان هذا المقال بقلم فاريبا مهاجر فى 25 يناير 2010 تناولت فيه الحقوق المسلوبة من البهائيين فى ايران
January 25th, 2010
Recent weeks have seen Iran’s Baha’i community come under maximum pressure. Twelve Baha’i citizens were arrested and nine Baha’is were sentenced to five-year prison terms and barred from exiting the country for ten years. These sentences were meted out to two Baha’is in Mashhad, Babak Rouhi and Ezzatollah Hamidian, while the seven Baha’i leaders arrested in June 2008 are also due to receive sentences shortly. These individuals are accused of “spying for Israel,” “blasphemy,” “propaganda against the system,” and “moral degeneration on earth.” <!–<if !supportLineBreakNewLine>–><!–<endif>–>
Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s spokesperson in Geneva, rejected these charges and stated that these individuals are neither spies nor have insulted Islam, and were arrested solely because of their religious beliefs. According to the International Covenant on Human Rights, no person may be arrested or harassed on this basis.
According to Article 13 of Iran’s constitution, the country’s officially recognized minority religions include only Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity, while Baha’ism is excluded. Yet this cannot justify the systematic harassment, imprisonment, torture, and civil rights violations of Baha’is.
Iranian state media broadcasts and prints negative propaganda against all non-Shiite religious minorities, especially Baha’is, Sufi Muslims, Christian Evangelists, and Sunnis. The Baha’i community, numbering 300,000 to 350,000, constitutes Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.
The “blood price” of Baha’is is not equal to that of Muslims, and since their faith is not considered a religion, it is possible to spill their blood and avoid punishment. They are banned from freely performing their religious duties and from teaching their religion. Baha’is are strictly prohibited from working in government posts, the education system, and the armed forces.
The Islamic Republic regards Baha’is as a political sect. According to the Ministry of Justice, Baha’is can enroll at school on the condition that they refrain from identifying themselves as Baha’i. In 2007, a brief policy change allowed Baha’is to enroll in university. But soon the former policy was reinstated, whereby Baha’is must list themselves as non-Baha’i in order to register for the national university entrance exam. This poses a serious barrier to their opportunity for education, because one of the tenets of Baha’ism is that a Baha’i must never deny his/her religion. Roughly 128 Baha’i students were expelled from universities across the country in the 2006-2007 academic year. The order was issued by Asghar Zarehei, head of the central security department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, barring these students from studying in Iran ever again.
Baha’is are also excluded from social security coverage. They are prohibited from receiving financial reparations for physical injuries, blood price, and inheritance. Their marriage and divorce is not officially recognized, but the government accepts notary receipts in lieu of a marriage certificate. The government frequently rejects requests for issuing or extending work and business licenses for Baha’is, and constantly hassles them to “repent” from their faith, if only to escape these types of pressure!
In February 2009, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported that the General Prosecutor in a letter to the Ministry of Intelligence warned that Baha’is have widespread and strong ties with the “Zionist regime” <Israel> and that Baha’i followers are gathering intelligence and infiltrating the public with the aim of destroying <Muslim> beliefs.
When arrested, Baha’is are usually accused of violating articles 500 and 698 of the Islamic penal code – “acts against the establishment” and “publishing propaganda”, and sometimes even “moral degeneration on earth”.
June 18 is the anniversary of the execution of 10 Baha’i women who were executed in 1983 in Shiraz’s Adel Abad prison. Mona Mohammadnejad, the youngest of this group, was arrested and executed together with her father on charges of espionage.
The harassment of Baha’is extends even to the desecration of their cemeteries. For example, in January 2009, a cemetery in Ghaem Shahr <in northern Iran> was destroyed for the fourth time, when municipality officials bulldozed the cemetery overnight. The cemetery was known as the “Unbeliever’s Graveyard.” Anti-Baha’ism is rampantly seen in setting fire to or damaging cars, offices, and properties belonging to Baha’is.
Websites, blogs, and state media try to discredit Baha’is in public opinion. “Sarab Baha’i”<!–<if !supportFootnotes>–><1><!–<endif>–> is one of these blogs, which accuses Baha’is of involvement with counter-revolutionary systems under the guise of not being politically involved. The blog goes on to accuse Baha’is of ties with the U.S. and Israel and claims that during the Shah’s time, Baha’is infiltrated top government posts and used governmental funds to promote Baha’ism. Of course, no evidence is ever presented to back up these and other claims.
“Yousef Zahra” is another website set up to fight Baha’ism. The homepage of “Girls Against Baha’ism in Rafsanjan” asks viewers to report the identities and activities of any Baha’is living in the town of Rafsanjan. On the site, in an article entitled “Bahai’s Nighttime Meeting at Ovaisi’s Garden in Qom” writes: “On the eve of Ashura, Baha’is kidnapped a Muslim child and took it to this garden. Stamping their feet and cheering, they murdered the child and while drinking, they stuck the body’s child with the alcohol bottles.” The website obviously had not done the slightest bit of research about the Baha’i faith –for example, that drinking alcohol is banned in Baha’ism!
Kayhan, a hardliner daily, is also very active in this regard. In an article titled “Baha’is are not Iranian citizens,” Kayhan writes: “We have irrefutable evidence of <their> Zionist identity and the true role of the Baha’i Party as an Israeli group and the fifth column of Israel.” It goes on to say that following the arrests of members of this “party,” Ayatollah Khomeini wrote to Iranian officials of the time: “Baha’ism is not a religion; it is a party. A party formerly backed by Britain, and currently backed by the US. Baha’is are spies.”
The brief article above shows that Iranian Baha’is in Iran are not presented or treated as citizens and are deprived of basic human rights. Because of their religion, they have been made to endure various difficulties after the Islamic Revolution. Many of them have been executed. The Islamic Republic’s actions against Baha’is has constituted a blatant violation of their rights. Perhaps if a warning bell is not sounded in their defense, we will witness countless more atrocities committed against this minority in Iran.
Persian:
http://www.gozaar.org/template1.php?id=1416&la...
English:
http://www.gozaar.org/template1.php?id=1416&la...


O people of Justice! Be as brilliant as the light, and as splendid as the fire that blazed in the Burning Bush. The brightness of the fire of your love will no doubt fuse and unify the contending peoples and kindreds of the earth, whilst the fierceness of the flame of enmity and hatred cannot but result in strife and ruin. We beseech God that He may shield His creatures from the evil designs of His enemies. He verily hath power over all things.

Baha'u'llah
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 122

A Visit To Haiti: Could Education Be The Answer?


Payam Zamani
Chairman and CEO of Reply.com
Posted: November 24, 2009 04:40 PM

My wife Gouya and I traveled to Haiti last month with a group of supporters of the Mona Foundation, which included "The Office" actor Rainn Wilson (who plays Dwight Schrute) and his wife Holiday Reinhorn. Although I have also visited poverty-stricken villages in Africa with the foundation, Haiti's poverty is coupled with frequent warnings of violence against visitors, especially ones from the United States. If there is any glimmer of safety, it's because of the overwhelming presence of the UN.
Haiti is an ungoverned country with almost no infrastructure. It lacks many of the basics we are used to. Electricity is spotty, even in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city. As I traveled on Haiti's treacherous (mostly unpaved) and pothole-packed streets, I glimpsed a dichotomous scene: a scenically picturesque, lush landscape marred by crushing poverty.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The top 1 percent of Haitians control 50 percent of its wealth. But despite the widespread poverty, chronic hunger (last year there were food riots in Haiti), and lack of amenities and social services, many of the Haitians I met on my trip remained optimistic about the future of their country.
Haitians are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. While by any measure Haiti is a poor country, one cannot help but notice the pride people take in their appearance. Every child who attends school in Haiti -- even the poorest of the poor -- wears a bright, clean, and pressed uniform. In this impoverished country, children looked immaculate as they walked and focused on getting to their destination as they bypassed the traffic and devastation they've grown accustomed to.
The Mona-sponsored schools we visited provide their students with a strong foundation in reading and writing, as well as a curriculum that stresses morals, values, leadership, community-building, vocational training, and pride in their heritage. The schools provide their students with the skills they'll need to help heal and build their nation. According to one Mona school director, "These schools have great potential to serve the country by producing graduates who will be agents of change in their community."
While the Mona Foundation sponsors coed institutions, it is primarily focused on educating girls and women. Educating girls is crucial. As mothers, women are the first educators, and studies show that once a girl gets an education, she has the opportunity to raise the standard of living for herself, her family, her community, and her country. According to GirlEffect.org, research in developing countries has shown the children of educated women are healthier, and more likely to be in school themselves. A woman or girl will reinvest 90 percent of her income into her family, while a man will reinvest only 30 to 40 percent. An extra year of primary school raises a girl's lifetime wages by 10 to 20 percent, and an extra year of secondary school raises a girl's lifetime wages by 15 to 25 percent. Focusing money on educating girls is important because for every development dollar spent, girls typically receive less than 2 cents.
Highlights from the trip included visiting the New Horizon School, which is run by Bernard Martinod, a tireless French architect who has built a lovely, renowned school outside of Port au Prince that serves some of the small villages in the area. We also visited the Georges Marcellus School in the rural village of Gureot, where the kindergarteners charmed us with a song: "Hello, my friend. Hello, my friend. How are you?"
On this trip, I had the chance to observe how integral education is to the transformation of this ungoverned and shamelessly neglected country.
The Mona Foundation was named for Mona Mahmudnizhad-- a 16-year-old girl who taught children in orphanages how to read and write and in 1983 was executed by the Iranian government because she was a member of the Baha'i Faith. In her memory, the foundation supports schools and orphanages with a specific focus on those dedicated to education of women and girls. In a speech to the foundation supporters on the trip, Mona Founder and President Mahnaz Javid, said, "As we continue [Mona Mahmudizhad's] unfinished work in her honor, we will continue to do all we can to be the partner to social economic development projects, like this, that will ultimately raise the leaders of this country."
While many of us are not actively engaged in careers that will find the cure to cancer or solve global warming, we can still get involved and do a lot with our resources to make a valuable impact.
Follow Payam Zamani on Twitter: www.twitter.com/payamzamani


It is my hope that out of the bestowals of the Lord of Hosts ye will become the spiritual essence and the very radiance of humankind, binding the hearts of all with bonds of love; that through the power of the Word of God ye will bring to life the dead now buried in the graves of their sensual desires; that ye will, with the rays of the Sun of Truth, restore the sight of those whose inner eye is blind; that ye will bring spiritual healing to the spiritually sick. These things do I hope for, out of the bounties and the bestowals of the Beloved.

Abdu'l-Baha
Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 36

Rainn Wilson visits UW, gets real with students
________________________________________
By Taylor Soper
November 9, 2009
View this day's paper in PDF
While many know him only as salesman Dwight Schrute from NBC’s The Office, Rainn Wilson, actor and former UW student, unveiled a bit of his personal side on campus Friday night.
In front of an at-capacity crowd in Kane Hall, Wilson touched on a number of topics including his involvement with the Mona Foundation, his Baha’i faith and his social-networking Web site, SoulPancake.com.
Wilson was in town for the 10th anniversary of the Mona Foundation, a non-profit organization he is heavily involved with. The 720 students in attendance had the opportunity to see Wilson as himself instead of as the know-it-all Dwight Schrute.
“It was weird seeing him in just jeans and a button-down rather than in his ugly brown Office suit,” sophomore Anthony Ghazel said. “He was goofy and dorky, just like I expected, but seemed like a very down-to-earth, personable guy.”
Wilson felt he had a great opportunity to discuss his spiritual journeys during his 20s and talked about SoulPancake.
“I love talking to young people,” Wilson said. “SoulPancake is really for, about, and by young people. There is so much crap out there <on the internet>, and the idea behind SoulPancake is something I feel really passionate about.”
The idea for the site came from the experiences Wilson had while studying in New York City as a young man. The 43-year-old actor knows that words like “spirituality” and “faith” make many of today’s youth cringe. SoulPancake, Wilson says, is a cooler way of discussing the philosophical, spiritual and creative journeys that many young people take while trying to find themselves.
“I really spent my 20s soul searching through spirituality and faith and what I believed,” Wilson said. “I wanted to created a Web site for someone like me — something that I could have really used as a tool.”
Growing up in Seattle, Wilson was raised under the Baha’i faith. According to the faith, one of the highest forms of worship is service. Although it may seem odd that performing as his character Dwight is a form of providing service, Wilson loves what kinds of things people can sometimes take from his acting.
“I’ve had so many fathers tell me the only time their son talks to them is when they watch The Office together,” Wilson said. “It brings families together. I think what I do is important, and, not to get all grandiose about it, but making people laugh is a great way to make a living and it’s important in this world.”
While there were a number of questions from students relating to The Office, many were curious about Wilson’s experiences as a youth.
“Students seemed to be open to the experience that Rainn wanted to share with them, and he was very well-received,” said sophomore Hediyeh Mohajerjasbi, a Baha’i Club member who helped organize the event.
Wilson also discussed his involvement with the Mona Foundation and showed video footage of a recent trip to Haiti, where he had the opportunity to see some of the schools that the foundation supports.
“Building in these places, it brings people together from the community and lets them run the schools and let’s them teach what they want to teach” Wilson said.
The event was sponsored by the UW Baha’i Club. Club members were happy with the fact that students were able to listen to Wilson as himself instead of as his character from The Office.
“The event went great,” Baha’i Club officer Hooman Behzadpour said. “I didn’t think it’d be easy for him to talk <to students> about those topics, but he talked about it in a great way even though he wasn’t being Dwight, which I appreciated.”
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at news@dailyuw.com.

O people of Justice! Be as brilliant as the light, and as splendid as the fire that blazed in the Burning Bush. The brightness of the fire of your love will no doubt fuse and unify the contending peoples and kindreds of the earth, whilst the fierceness of the flame of enmity and hatred cannot but result in strife and ruin. We beseech God that He may shield His creatures from the evil designs of His enemies. He verily hath power over all things.

Baha'u'llah
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 122