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THE HAGUE

Netherlands

Faith groups sign human rights statement

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Groups and individuals around the world this month have been commemorating the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which occurred on 10 December 1948. The United Nations has designated the anniversary each year as Human Rights Day. Last week the Baha’i International Community was one of 11 faith groups whose representatives gathered at an international interreligious conference at The Hague to sign the 2008 Faith in Human Rights Statement. The event was organized by Justitia et Pax Netherlands in cooperation with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For each of the signatories, the document represents a commitment to support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms both within and outside their faith community. Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, signed on behalf of the Baha’is. The document states, “While representing different faith traditions, we come together in unity to stress that religion has been a primary source of inspiration for human rights as our sacred writings and teachings clearly show.” Organizers said the conference marked the first time that major world religions have jointly emphasized the importance of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was on hand for the signing of the document, which occurred on 10 December. In New York, in a separate event to mark the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Baha'i International Community sponsored a seminar on 8 December on "Freedom of Religion or Belief: Perspectives and Challenges after Sixty Years of United Nations Protection." Speakers included Felice Gaera of the Jacob Blaustein Institute who serves on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Azza Karam of the United Nations Population Fund; Cole Durham of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University; and Malcolm Evans of the University of Bristol School of Law. Ms. Dugal, the Baha’i representative, welcomed the participants and discussed why religious freedom is so important – both to Baha'is and others. “More than one-half of the world's population lives under regimes that severely restrict or prohibit the freedom of their citizens to study, believe, observe, and freely practice the religious faith of their choice,” she said. “The freedom to change one's religion or belief has not been expressed with such clarity in any international instrument since the Declaration,” she stated. She also noted that the Baha'i International Community is “well-acquainted” with persecution based on religion. “The enduring and systemic persecution of the Baha'i community in Iran, which has continued with varying degrees of intensity over the last 150 years, has manifested in a variety of ways,” she said. The goal, she continued, should be “to create the conditions, legal, economic, political, social and spiritual, which allow human potential to emerge and flourish – that very potential which has continually driven forward human civilization, by seeking out new avenues of knowledge and refining human relationships and the organization of human society.” “The human mind,” she added, “endowed with reason and conscience, must be free to search for truth and to believe.” MORE DETAILS In other countries, among the Human Rights Day events with Baha’i participation were the following: In the United Kingdom, students took the theme “Education is a Human Right” and hosted events to raise general awareness and also point out that in Iran, Baha’is and others are often denied access to education. At Queen Mary, University of London, Professor Eric Heinze of the School of Law addressed a special meeting hosted by the Baha’i student society and spoke about the origins and importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Cardiff, students and friends gathered in the Nelson Mandela Room at the university’s Student Union to hear presentations and watch videos about human rights, access to education and personal experiences of living in Iran. The program was followed by a late-night prayer vigil for human rights in the world. Also in Wales, some 100 students at Brynmawr comprehensive school in Blaeneu heard a presentation about young people in Iran being denied access to education. Students at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, participated in a letter-writing campaign supported by members of the university’s Amnesty International group. In Canada, the Victoria Multifaith Society in Victoria, British Columbia, sponsored a two-day Human Rights Global Dignity Conference on 6-7 December with more than 150 participants. Gerald Filson, former chair of the Canadian International Human Rights Network and representative of the Canadian Baha’i community, was one of the featured speakers. Dr. Mary-Wynne Ashford, past president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War who recently joined the Baha’i community, offered a presentation that included a focus on the “world’s newest superpower” – civil society. The conference included music, displays, and workshops, including one for children, “Becoming Your Best Self,” organized by Linda Kavelin-Popov. Dr. Filson also spoke at a program in Abbotsford, British Columbia, sponsored by local Baha’is and the Fraser Valley Human Dignity Coalition, where he outlined both successes and failures in the promotion of human rights over the past 60 years. In total, Baha’is participated in a dozen commemorative events in Canada, including a conference on 9 December at McGill University in Montreal, held in collaboration with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and the John Humphrey Center for Peace and Human Rights, and a gathering on 10 December at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. In India, the local Baha'i community of Kannur in the state of Kerala organized a meeting in collaboration with the local chapter of Amnesty International. Held in the Baha'i Centre Hall, the meeting featured an address by P.K. Premarajan, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India. In the United States, Kit Bigelow, representing the Baha’is of the United States, read a Baha’i prayer at a Human Rights Day luncheon attended by more than 200 people on 10 December. The annual event was sponsored by the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, the DC Commission, and the Office on Human Rights. Baha’is also attended a ceremony on 8 December held in the Treaty Room of the U.S. State Department by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice honoring outstanding human rights defenders in the civil society and government. Also, representatives attended a conference on 2 December sponsored by the American University Washington College of Law and the American Society of International Law titled “Realizing the Promise of Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Examining the First 60 Years and Beyond.” In Brazil, the Baha’i community prepared a revised edition of the “Human Rights Pathway,” an exhibition representing the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Baha’is will be among the 1,500 participants of the four-day XI National Human Rights Conference that opens today, 15 December, in Brasilia. In Australia, the Baha’i Regional Council of Western Australia welcomed more than 100 guests to a program where the focus was the ongoing relevance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the need for unending vigilance.

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4.3113461

NEW YORK

United States

Manhattanites start small, aim high with class for children

NEW YORK, United States — As one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the United States, Manhattan’s Upper East Side might seem like an unlikely place to start building a new world civilization. “The Upper East Side is quite well-to-do,” explained Monette Van Lith, a Baha'i and a newcomer to the neighborhood, addressing nearly 2,000 people gathered for a Baha’i regional conference in nearby Stamford, Connecticut, this past weekend. “One example I give is that even the dogs wear coats – and sometimes shoes and hats.” “It is intensely materialistic,” she said, and then added: “But maybe that is just on the surface.” Ms. Van Lith and her daughter, 9-year-old Sophie Lincoln, are counting on that last notion. They hope to introduce their neighbors to the global process by which Baha'is around the world are seeking to spiritualize society by working from the ground up. Sophie, with the help of her mother, has recently started a Baha'i children’s class, inviting her schoolmates every Saturday for a course of study that, while fun and engaging, emphasizes the importance of moral virtues and spiritual ideas. “I attend an international school in New York and there are a lot of children from around the world, from different countries and different religions,” Sophie told the audience, adding that her friends are “very busy. There is ballet and birthday parties, swimming and piano.” At a conference in Stamford, Connecticut, Baha’is from throughout the northeastern U.S. discussed the core activities they sponsor at the neighborhood level.But, she said, “I think children my age have a lot of questions that they don’t get answers to. Like who is God, why are there different religions, how should we pray, what happens when you die?” Already, Sophie said, she has three young friends who come regularly to the class, which is held in her home. “Because it is still small, I am trying to invite more of my friends so it can continue and grow,” she said. Sophie’s was one of dozens of stories heard in Stamford as Baha'is from nine northeastern U.S. states gathered to talk about the next stage of the evolution of their community. Growth, certainly, was a main theme at the conference. There is a new energy in Baha’i communities as individuals have begun to grasp the importance of initiating specific core activities designed to engage society at large. These activities, undertaken at the neighborhood level, include children’s classes, small groups engaged in the study of spiritual topics and in acts of service, devotional gatherings, and activities for young teenagers. They are the key, said conference speakers, to building the foundation for a new world civilization from the grass roots up – for everyone. “The purpose of growth is to establish a world civilization, affected by the message of Baha'u'llah,” said Sophie Clark, who recently joined the Baha'i community after attending one of the study circles. The teachings of Baha’u’llah revolve around the essential oneness of humanity and the belief that human beings were created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. “We are not about expanding and recreating patterns of old,” said Hooshmand Sheshbaradaran of Hoboken, New Jersey, who was a workshop facilitator at the Stamford conference. Baha’is, he said, are not trying to re-create a series of traditional churches or congregations. “It is about evolving, it is about stepping out and building a new world order,” he said. The Stamford gathering was one of three Baha’i conferences on 13-14 December, all part of a current series of 41 conferences being held over a four-month period in cities around the world. The others this past weekend were in Dallas and Los Angeles. Conferences next weekend will be in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Kuching, Sarawak, in Malaysia. The series concludes on 1 March 2009. For reports of the conferences, go to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

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-74.0060152

UNITED NATIONS

United States

UN General Assembly expresses "deep concern" about human rights in Iran

UNITED NATIONS, United States — The United Nations General Assembly today adopted a resolution expressing “deep concern at serious human rights violations” in Iran. The resolution, which passed by a vote of 69 to 54, specifically criticized Iran’s use of torture, the high incidence of executions, the “violent repression” of women, and “increasing discrimination” against Bahá’ís, Christians, Jews, Sufis, Sunni Muslims, and other minorities. “Iran should reflect upon and glean from this vote that, sadly, countries from Finland to Fiji are more concerned about the rights of ordinary Iranian citizens than the Iranian government itself,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. “The General Assembly is the world’s most representative body, and the fact that this represents the 21st such resolution expressing concern over human rights in Iran since 1985 should leave no doubt that this is not about ‘politicization,’ as the Iranian government likes to say, but a genuine concern for universally acknowledged rights. “Regretfully, despite outcries like this and the recent report of the UN secretary general, the human rights situation in Iran grows worse each day. Nevertheless, we remain hopeful that expressions of concern like this will cause Iranian leaders to rethink their stance on human rights in respect for the rights that have been so widely accepted by other nations,” she said. Ms. Dugal also noted that Iran comes up for Universal Periodic Review in the Human Rights Council in 2010. Iran should take note of the international community’s concern and make all efforts to improve its deplorable human rights record. Today’s resolution was put forward by Canada and co-sponsored by more than 40 other countries. It also specifically takes note of the recent report by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, issued in October, which also expressed concern about human rights in Iran, and calls on Iran to address the “substantive concerns” voiced therein. In that report, Mr. Ban said “there are a number of serious impediments to the full protection of human rights” in Iran. It likewise expressed concerns over torture, executions, the rights of women, and discrimination against minorities. (To read the full report, go to: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=a/63/459.) The resolution asks the secretary general to prepare an update on Iran’s progress over the coming year. It also calls on Iran to “end the harassment, intimidation and persecution of political opponents and human rights defenders, including by releasing persons imprisoned arbitrarily or on the basis of their political views” and to “uphold due process of law rights and to end impunity for human rights violations.” The resolution takes particular note of attacks on Bahá’ís, noting “increasing evidence of efforts by the State to identify and monitor Bahá’ís, preventing members of the Bahá’í Faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves economically, and the arrest and detention of seven Bahá’í leaders without charge or access to legal representation.” Ms. Dugal noted that there are at least 20 Bahá’ís currently in jail, including the national Bahá’í leadership of seven members who were arrested last March and May and are being held in Evin prison without charges. More than 100 others have been arrested and released on bail over the last four years as part of a stepped-up government effort at persecution.

GENEVA

Switzerland

Baha’is call for reopening of human rights center in Iran

GENEVA, Switzerland — The Baha'i International Community today expressed grave concern over the closing by the Iranian government of Shirin Ebadi’s Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran and called for its reopening. “The closing of Mrs. Ebadi’s office is a blow to human rights for the whole of Iran,” said Diane Ala’i, a representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. “The spokesperson of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the reason behind the closure was that the Center has no license. But it would be a simple matter to give them one. Otherwise, the fact that the Iranian government would shut down the office of its most famous human rights defender, who is Iran’s only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the first Muslim woman so recognized, can only be perceived by the world at large as further evidence that the government has no regard for rights and freedoms. “Mrs. Ebadi and her colleagues are engaged in defending numerous individuals and groups in Iran, and the closure of the Center will certainly interfere with their efforts and impede the adequate legal representation that they are committed to providing,” she said. Among those being defended by Mrs. Ebadi and her organization are the seven Baha'i leaders who are currently being held without charge in Evin prison in Tehran. The seven were arrested in March and May in an ominous sweep that was reminiscent of when Baha'i leaders in the 1980s were rounded up and executed. ”Regardless of the attempts against human rights defenders in Iran, Mrs. Ebadi and her colleagues are courageously pursuing their work. For the good of the country, we call upon the Iranian authorities to resolve the administrative issue, and to allow the Center to reopen immediately,” said Ms. Ala’i.

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6.1466014

SAO PAULO

Brazil

Baha’i conference series completes eighth week

SAO PAULO, Brazil — The series of 41 Baha’i conferences being held around the world continued this past weekend with gatherings in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Kuching, Sarawak, in Malaysia. The 1,700 people gathered in Brazil and the 1,300 in Malaysia represented the largest Baha’i conferences ever held in those countries. Members of the Baha’i Faith from Paraguay and Uruguay joined those from across Brazil for the Sao Paulo event, which, like the other conferences in the series, was called to provide Baha’is an opportunity to celebrate achievements in their community-building activities and also consult about plans for future work. The Kuching conference included participants from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, as well as other close-by territories. The 1,300 people gathered in Kuching, Sarawak, in Malaysia, made it the largest Baha'i event ever held in that region.It was the eighth of 18 consecutive weeks of conferences being held in cities around the world at the call of the Universal House of Justice, the elected body that is the head of the Baha’i Faith. Next week’s conference is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, followed the week after by gatherings in London and in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

-23.5506507

-46.6333824

HAIFA

Israel

Restoration work begins on Shrine of the Bab

HAIFA, Israel — Work has begun on a four-year restoration project on the golden-domed Shrine of the Bab, one of the holiest sites in the Baha’i world and Haifa’s best-known landmark. The Shrine of the Bab stands at the center of the Baha’i gardens, on the side of Mount Carmel overlooking Haifa Bay and the Mediterranean Sea. The gardens and shrine are among the most visited sites in Israel. The domed structure was completed 55 years ago and now requires restoration and updating, including structural reinforcement against earthquakes, restoration of stonework, replacement of iron decorative elements with stainless steel, upgrading of the electrical system, and refurbishment of the dome with new tiles. There will be no change in the design, use or general appearance of the building. The work will be undertaken in such a way to keep the shrine open to both Baha’i pilgrims and the general public throughout most of the project, except during summer months. Starting in May or June of 2009, the structure will be covered with scaffolding and canvas sheeting for about two years. The project will cost approximately US$6 million, with funds coming entirely from the voluntary contributions of the Baha’is of the world. The shrine is the burial place of the Bab, revered by Baha’is as a Messenger of God and one of the Central Figures of the Baha’i Faith. The Bab was executed in 1850 in the public square in Tabriz, Iran, and His remains later brought to Haifa, where they were laid to rest in the present location in 1909. The original building covering the tomb was a one-story rectangle. The domed superstructure – made of granite and marble quarried in Italy, with gilded roof tiles from the Netherlands – was added later and was completed in 1953. The burial place of the Bab, and that of Baha’u’llah near Acre, north of Haifa, are considered by Baha’is to be the most sacred places on earth. Earlier this year, the two shrines and their surrounding gardens were chosen by UNESCO as World Heritage sites – part of the cultural heritage of humanity.

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34.9983856

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia

Conference series reaches halfway point with 40,000 participants

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A series of 41 conferences is bringing together unprecedented numbers of Baha’is in country after country, with more than 40,000 people having participated so far. The 18-week series reached the halfway point last weekend with a gathering in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Previous weekends have seen as many as four simultaneous conferences, in cities from Almaty to Yaounde. The conferences began on 1 November and conclude on 1 March. The events – with their focus on providing an opportunity for reflection on achievements to date and the work ahead – have been described as a turning point for the participants. “For many individuals, it has been a life-changing opportunity,” said one Baha’i who as an appointed counselor has attended several of the gatherings. “It has helped them gain a clearer vision about their life, their identity as a Baha’i, and their identity as a Baha’i community.” Around the world, members of the Baha’i Faith are involved in four core activities at the neighborhood level – devotional meetings, study circles, children’s classes, and activities for young adolescents. One person has described the goal of the activities as “spiritual transformation” brought about by “praying together, studying together, educating children, and empowering junior youth.” A participant from Kyrgyzstan, center, listens intently as a young woman from Kazakhstan speaks during a workshop at the conference in Almaty on the weekend of 6-7 December.Praveen Mallik of India, who provided assistance at the conferences in New Delhi and Bangalore, said the events indeed have offered a better perspective of what is being accomplished at the local level. “These conferences are really an eye-opener for all of us,” he said. “They provided us the opportunity to realize the strength of the process of community-building. People sensed the process of transformation of society.” Many of the conference participants have talked about the Baha’i belief in the unity of the human race and how that teaching has been reflected in the gatherings. “The conference illustrated the uniting power of the Baha’i Faith,” said Ehsan Hemmat of the Dominican Republic, who attended the conference in Quito, Ecuador. “People of different nationalities and cultures got together in an atmosphere of love, joy, unity of vision, and unity of thought, and they left the conference more united in action.” One feature of the conferences is workshops for discussing plans to promote Baha’i core activities in specific communities. “We already are witnessing the effect of the conference in an acceleration in the number of activities,” Mr. Hemmat said a mere five weeks after the gathering in Quito. Crystal Shoaie of Bolivia said similar reports have come in after conferences in Antofagasta, Chile, and Sao Paulo. “We are hearing case after case of individuals and groups that are already carrying out the plans and commitments made at a conference,” she said. Another feature of the conferences is the connection with the Universal House of Justice, the head of the Baha’i Faith which on 20 October invited all Baha’is to attend a gathering in their area. In that respect, Mr. Hemmat called the Quito event “a channel of inspiration.” “You could feel that you were honored by the Universal House of Justice to be invited to the conference,” he said. “You could feel the spirit of the Holy Land touching the hearts of participants. Some of the people were walking around with tears in their eyes.” The same thing happened in India, Mr. Mallik said. “Every believer received a loving personal invitation from the House of Justice,” he said, and people did their very best to respond – with “maximum material and physical sacrifice.” For reports of the conferences, go to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

3.1516964

101.6942371

LONDON

United Kingdom

London, Abidjan host landmark conferences

LONDON, England — London hosted its largest Baha’i gathering in 45 years with a regional conference last weekend that brought together 3,200 people from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland. A World Congress held in Royal Albert Hall in 1963 was the only bigger Baha’i gathering in the city. More than 6,000 people attended that. This time the conference was at the Business Design Centre in the central London Borough of Islington. The gathering was one of 41 Baha’i conferences being held over a four-month period in cities around the world, all convened by the Universal House of Justice, the head of the Baha’i Faith. The conferences began on 1 November in Lusaka, Zambia, and will wind up on 1 March in Kiev, Ukraine. This past weekend there were two conferences, the one in London and another in Abidjan with 1,200 participants from Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. In Abidjan, 1,200 people came together for the eighth of nine conferences to be held in Africa in a four-month span.For a list of all the conferences, with links to articles and photographs, go to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

51.5073219

-0.1276474

GUADALAJARA

Mexico

Attendance nears 50,000 people at conferences

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In Mexico, the prayers were in Spanish, Mayan and Nahuatl. Across North America, in Toronto, they were in English, French, and the Northern Tutchone language. But the spirit was the same – members of the Baha'i Faith coming together in regional conferences to celebrate past achievements and to plan for upcoming activities. The gatherings last weekend in Guadalajara and Toronto were part of the series of 41 conferences in cities around the world convened by the Universal House of Justice, the elected body that is the head of the Baha'i Faith. The conferences began on 1 November and will finish on 1 March. Nearly 50,000 people have participated in the 27 gatherings to date. Some 4,000 attended the Toronto conference, which attracted people from throughout eastern Canada, including Nunavut, and from Bermuda. Young people join for a presentation at the conference in Toronto, which with 4,000 people was one of the largest gatherings in the current series.In Mexico, 600 people – from Baja California in the northwest to Chiapas and Quintana Roo in the southeast – participated. "This was a small conference compared to some in other countries," said one of the Mexican attendees, "but its heart and spirit were enormous – enough to cover a country as big as Mexico." Next weekend there will be gatherings in Vancouver, Canada; Managua, Nicaragua; and Lae, Papua New Guinea. (Correction: On 14 January 2009. a correction was made in the name of one of the languages given in the first paragraph.)

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-103.338396

GENEVA

Switzerland

Six Baha'is arrested in Iran; one worked for Shirin Ebadi's rights organizations

GENEVA, Switzerland — At least six Baha'is were arrested in Iran yesterday, including a woman who worked at human rights organizations connected with Nobel prize winner Shirin Ebadi. According to reports received from Iran, the six were arrested after government security agents raided the homes of at least 11 Baha'is. During the raids, they also confiscated Baha'i books and other items, such as computers and photographs. Among those arrested was Jinous Sobhani, who worked as an assistant for the Organization for Defending Mine Victims and also for the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Both were founded by Mrs. Ebadi. In an interview with CNN, Mrs. Ebadi said today that Ms. Sobhani had been laid off from both organizations after government agents raided Mrs. Ebadi's offices and shut them down in December. While some reports indicate that more than six Baha'is were arrested yesterday in Tehran, those confirmed so far include Ms. Sobhani, Mr. Shahrokh Taef, Mr. Didar Raoufi, Mr. Payam Aghsani and Mr. Aziz Samandari. Mr. Golshan Sobhani was also arrested but was released a few hours later. It is unclear whether he is related to Ms. Sobhani. "The arrest of these individuals reflects not only the grave situation facing Baha'is in Iran but also the overall human rights situation there," said Diane Ala'i, a representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. "As far as we know, all of these people were arrested primarily because they are Baha'is," said Ms. Ala'i. But she confirmed the fact that Ms. Sobhani worked for the two organizations founded by Mrs. Ebadi. "The connection of Ms. Sobhani to the work of Mrs. Ebadi's organizations points to the gravity of the situation in Iran, where the government seems intent on stifling any expression of the importance of human rights or religious freedom," said Ms. Ala'i. In December, the Baha'i International Community condemned the closing of Mrs. Ebadi's Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran and called for its reopening. (See earlier story.) (Correction: In the fifth paragraph, the spelling of the surname of Mr. Shahrokh Taef was corrected. 16 January 2009)

46.2017559

6.1466014

LAE

Papua New Guinea

Gathering in Lae draws 1,500; in the Americas, series is complete

LAE, Papua New Guinea — From every corner of Papua New Guinea, the Baha’is came – and that was not easy. They were eager to reach the city of Lae to attend a regional conference – one of 41 being held in cities around the world at the call of the Universal House of Justice, the elected body that is the head of the Baha’i Faith. But at Rabaul on the Papua New Guinean island of New Britain, the long-threatening volcano was acting up, requiring Baha’is who wanted to attend the conference to be ferried out by helicopter to a landing spot where they could then catch a boat or plane to Lae, on the main island of New Guinea. Boats to Lae had their problems, too. One group of travelers was almost stranded when their craft blew its engine. Similar challenges were experienced by some of those who traveled by bus. Others walked long distances – up to a week – in a country where most of the people live in rural villages, many of them settlements that are isolated and difficult to reach. But at 8 a.m. sharp on 17 January, right on schedule, the two-day conference in Lae got under way with 1,500 people in attendance. The 41 conferences – being held over a four-month period that will end on 1 March – are meant to give an opportunity to Baha’is to celebrate recent achievements in community-building work and to plan future activities. The Vancouver gathering was one of two held in Canada. All 13 conferences in the Americas are now over. The series spans 41 conferences around the globe.People in Papua New Guinea were showing the same eagerness to accept the invitation from the Universal House of Justice that Baha’is in Africa demonstrated earlier at the eight conferences held so far on that continent. In some African countries, people literally traveled through a war zone to reach their regional Baha’i gathering. Others walked as much as 100 kilometers or more, so determined were they to attend their conference. Many other stories of sacrifice have surfaced at the 30 conferences held to date, as Baha’is demonstrate their interest in meeting to consult on how best to serve their local communities. Last weekend, in addition to the conference in Lae, gatherings were held in Managua, Nicaragua, and Vancouver, Canada. Those two represented the final conferences of 13 that were held in the Americas. Earlier gatherings were held in Toronto, Canada; six cities in the United States; Guadalajara, Mexico; Quito Ecuador; Antofagasta, Chile; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Some 55,000 people have attended the 30 conferences to date. For links to reports of the conferences, go to https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

-6.7301976

147.0008109

ULAANBAATAR

Mongolia

World’s coldest capital hosts Baha’i conference

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — The coldest capital city on earth was the gathering place last weekend for 1,800 Baha’is from Mongolia, Russia, and other nations – called together to celebrate achievements in community-building work and make plans for future activities at the local level. Temperatures reached minus 30 C a day or two before the conference as people made their way to the gathering. Some of the Baha’is from eastern Mongolia had to get special permission from the government to travel during a major snowstorm, but they made it safely to Ulaanbaatar and were pleased to be part of the gathering, the first of its kind to be held in the country. The event was one of 41 such conferences convened by the Universal House of Justice, the head of the Baha’i Faith, in cities around the world over a four-month span. Simultaneous conferences were held in Sydney, Australia (shown here), Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and Madrid, Spain.Simultaneous conferences were held last weekend in Madrid, Spain, and Sydney, Australia. The gathering in Sydney drew nearly 5,500 participants, making it the largest Baha’i conference ever held in the Southern Hemisphere. The event in Madrid included some 1,400 participants from peninsular Spain, the Canary Islands, and Portugal. The 33 conferences to date have attracted some 63,900 people. Coming this week are events in Auckland, New Zealand, and Battambang, Cambodia, to be followed the next weekend by conferences in Frankfurt, Germany, and Padua, Italy. Eighteen consecutive weeks of conferences will conclude on 1 March in Kiev, Ukraine. For links to reports and photographs from all the conferences held to date, go on the Web to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/ (Editor's note: The attendance figures for the gathering in Ulaanbaatar and for all conferences combined were corrected on 28 January 2009.)

47.94909925

107.02225913456641

GENEVA

Switzerland

Baha'i International Community deplores destruction of Khavaran cemetery

GENEVA, Switzerland — The destruction earlier this month of a cemetery in Iran used for the mass burial of hundreds killed in the aftermath of the Islamic revolution in 1979 is an outrageous violation of human dignity, the Baha'i International Community said today. More than 50 Baha'is were among those buried at the site. "The destruction of the Khavaran cemetery by government agents goes against all concepts of respect for the dead in any culture, including values preached in Islam," said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. "We join with other human rights groups inside and outside of Iran in condemning this shameful deed, which is yet another sign of the intolerance of the current Iranian regime," said Ms. Ala'i. Located southeast of Tehran, the Khavaran cemetery was used as the burial site for hundreds who were killed in the early years of the Iranian revolution. Earlier this month, a group of unidentified individuals using bulldozers demolished an area of the cemetery known as the "graveyard of the infidels," the area where many of the people executed in the early years of the revolution were buried. Reports indicate the group clearly represented a branch of the government. It was also reported that the officials told the cemetery custodian that the parcel was being demolished to develop a green space or park. Human rights groups inside and outside of Iran have since registered protests. On 20 January 2009, Amnesty International called on Iranian authorities to "immediately stop the destruction of hundreds of individual and mass, unmarked graves in Khavaran, south Tehran, to ensure that the site is preserved and to initiate a forensic investigation at the site as part of a long-overdue thorough, independent and impartial investigation into mass executions which began in 1988. ..." Iranian human rights advocates, including Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, have also condemned the cemetery's destruction. "We have recently learned that Khavaran cemetery, where the victims of the illegal massacre of political prisoners in the 1980s and especially 1988 are buried, has been destroyed by some officials," the Human Rights Defenders' Centre said in a statement issued on 25 January, according to Agence France-Presse. "The Human Rights Defenders Centre condemns this ugly and appalling act and notes that everyone including the authorities is required to maintain the dignity of the dead." At least 50 Baha'is were buried in the same section of the cemetery, all victims in the early 1980s of the government's campaign to systematically persecute Iranian Baha'is for their religious beliefs. Specifically, it is known that eight members of the national Baha'i governing body killed on 27 December 1981 are buried there, along with six members of the Baha'i Spiritual Assembly of Tehran, killed on 4 January 1982. It is likely that other Baha'is were buried there, too. According to a Baha'i whose husband is buried at the site, most of the graves in that section of the cemetery were unmarked, designated only by numerical row markers. "They called it the place for 'infidels,'" said the widow, who currently resides outside of Iran. "They just gave us row numbers, and that is how I knew where my husband was. But there were no markers and we were not allowed to identify which grave was which." (Editor's note: On 9 February 2009, after additional verification had been received concerning the identities of Baha'is who were buried in the Khavaran Cemetery, the number given in the first paragraph was raised accordingly. On 19 August 2015, a further correction was made to the 11th paragraph of this story, to more accurately reflect the number of Baha'is buried in the particular section of Khavaran cemetery referred to in the preceding paragraphs of the article .)

46.2017559

6.1466014

BATTAMBANG

Cambodia

Cambodia hosts 2,100 Baha’is at historic gathering

BATTAMBANG, Cambodia — Some 2,100 Baha’is from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam gathered in Cambodia’s second-largest city for a historic conference that had citizens of all four nations sitting side by side to discuss service activities in their communities. The gathering last weekend was one of a series of 41 Baha’i conferences being held in major cities around the world. The events began on 1 November in Lusaka, Zambia, and will conclude on 1 March in Kiev, Ukraine. More than 67,500 people have participated in the conferences, with only six of the 41 events still remaining. In addition to the gathering in Cambodia, a simultaneous conference was held in Auckland, New Zealand, for 10 countries and island groups in the Pacific.In Battambang, a representative of the provincial government, Aem Thoeurn, addressed the conference and emphasized the diverse nature of the gathering. “The unity of religion and the harmony of its followers is essential for peace,” he said. “Your gathering here is proof that this is possible.” He expressed the wish that “each one of us will bring this (spirit) back to our own people.” As in many of the cities hosting the conferences, Baha’i organizers in Battambang were challenged to find a venue large enough for all participants. The Battambang city hall fit the bill, with 1,500 people filling the main auditorium and others watching proceedings by video link from tents set up outdoors. A simultaneous conference was held last weekend in Auckland, New Zealand, where 1,700 people from 10 countries and Pacific island groups gathered. All the conferences are being held at the call of the Universal House of Justice, the head of the Baha’i Faith. The purpose is to celebrate achievements in community-building and make plans for future work. This includes devotional gatherings; children’s classes; and programs for the moral education of young people. For links to reports and photographs from the conferences held to date, go on the Web to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

12.9256791

103.23171364274523

FRANKFURT

Germany

Fifty years ago, landmark gatherings lifted Baha’i world

FRANKFURT, Germany — A historic Baha’i conference in Frankfurt last weekend brought to mind an earlier gathering in the same city a half century before – one that was also a milestone in Baha’i history. Last weekend’s event in Frankfurt was one of the current series of 41 conferences around the globe marking the half-way point of a five-year effort involving establishment of community-building activities in tens of thousands of neighborhoods and villages. So far some 75,000 people have participated in the gatherings. By comparison, the five Intercontinental Conferences of 1958 came half-way through a 10-year program to establish the Baha’i Faith in every country and major territory in the world. Total attendance 50 years ago was about 5,400 people. The announcement of the 1958 gatherings – in addition to Frankfurt they were to be held in Kampala, Uganda; Sydney, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Chicago in the United States – was one of the final acts of Shoghi Effendi, head of the Baha’i Faith from 1921 until his passing in November 1957. Although he died unexpectedly two months before the conferences began, Shoghi Effendi himself planned many of the details, including naming his personal representative to each of the gatherings and announcing the special gifts he would send, among which were provisions for a photograph of Baha’u’llah to be viewed by all of those in attendance. Like the current conferences, the earlier gatherings had as two of their objectives the celebrating of achievements in Baha’i work as well as deliberating on how to continue to meet goals. In addition, three of the 1958 host cities were sites of soon-to-be-built Baha’i temples, and Shoghi Effendi – the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith – had announced that he would send precious and historic items for the foundation-laying ceremonies. The difference of a half century The plan of growth that covered the period of 1953-1963 concentrated on diffusion, and it carried the Baha’i Faith throughout the world. More than 100 countries and territories were opened in the first year and by the end of the decade the Faith had been brought to most nations. The number of national governing bodies grew from 12 to 56, and communities were established in more than 11,000 individual localities. Recent plans concern the multiplication and enrichment of activities at the local level. The number of localities today is nearly 10 times that of 1963, and current efforts are focused on establishing study circles, devotional gatherings, and activities for children and young teens not only for Baha’is but for the wider community in all of these areas. Many similarities, however, exist between the conferences then and now. Representatives of the head of the Baha’i Faith – Shoghi Effendi in the 1950s, the Universal House of Justice now – addressed every gathering. Specific planning for future work was a key element on each agenda – attendees in 1958 viewed Shoghi Effendi’s maps depicting progress at the midpoint of the 10-year plan, and current attendees are consulting on programs of growth in key areas. Amelia Collins, center, was the representative of the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith at the July 1958 gathering in Frankfurt. Other Hands of the Cause present, from left, were Jalal Khazeh, Enoch Olinga, Zikrullah Khadem, Adelbert Muhlschlegel, Hasan Balyuzi, John Ferraby, John Robarts, Hermann Grossmann, and Ugo Giachery. Also present but not pictured was Musa Banani. (Baha’i World Centre photograph)The sheer size of the conferences was notable both times. The Frankfurt gathering of 1958 drew 2,300 people, more than most of the current conferences but exactly half the number of participants in last weekend’s event in the same city. And the Sydney conference two weeks ago attracted 5,400 people – equal to the total for all the gatherings in 1958 and nearly 20 times the 300 participants that convened in Sydney 50 years ago. In 1958, the five conferences were scheduled with one every two months, beginning in January and winding up in September. The current series of 41 gatherings began on 1 November, with up to four conferences held every weekend for 18 consecutive weeks. Highlights from 1958 An unexpected feature of the conferences in 1958 was the opportunity it afforded the Baha’is to come to terms with the sudden loss of Shoghi Effendi. One writer called the Kampala conference “a magnet to the sorrowing Baha’i world.” Shoghi Effendi’s widow, Ruhiyyih Khanum, was his designated representative to that gathering. “Poignant indeed was her presence,” wrote a chronicler at the time. “The heart, the light, the life” of all the sessions, said another. Ruhiyyih Khanum herself offered a tribute to Shoghi Effendi at the conference, and told the gathering, “I hope that each one of you will go back from this conference … just like a blazing fire … and create a worthy memorial to our beloved Guardian.” Other noteworthy facts from the 1958 conferences: –  More than half the 2,300 people who attended the earlier Frankfurt gathering traveled from Iran for the event. At this month’s event in that city, a gift of red roses onstage represented the Baha’is of Iran. –  Just as people were gathering in Jakarta for the conference in Indonesia, government permission to hold the gathering was rescinded. Two planes were chartered, and all the people who could travel went to Singapore, then part of Malaya, where arrangements were hastily made for a gathering. Official accounts of the conference list it as taking place in both Jakarta and Singapore. –  Eleven Baha’is with the rank of Hand of the Cause of God, one of whom was Shoghi Effendi’s personal representative, attended the Frankfurt conference of 1958. –  Three of the five venues in 1958 were also sites of conferences in the current series – Frankfurt, Sydney, and Chicago. –  Four of the earlier venues are sites of Baha’i houses of worship. The temple near Chicago had been completed in 1953. Foundation-laying ceremonies were held during the conferences in Kampala and Sydney, and those temples opened in 1961. The house of worship near Frankfurt opened in 1964. Memories At least nine people – and possibly more – at last weekend’s gathering in Frankfurt were also at the conference in 1958. Uta von Both of Germany spoke of the earlier event in a presentation this past weekend. The 2,300 participants in 1958 represented 57 countries, she told the audience. She said one of the themes had been the need for Baha’is to move to new areas, and 133 people committed themselves to such a move. Ian Semple of Switzerland recalled how the representative of Shoghi Effendi, Amelia Collins, stood by the photograph of Baha’u’llah as people approached to view it, distributing rose water to each person. Ursula Grossmann, originally from Germany and now living in Finland, said the flavor of the two gatherings was different. “The conference in 1958 was much smaller than the one today, and the countries from the east weren’t allowed to join,” she said. “Today that is possible – we have representatives from Macedonia, Kosovo, Hungary, Poland, and others present, and that gives a whole new atmosphere.” Foad Kazemzadeh of Germany, who attended the 1958 conference as a youth, remembered it thus: “The Baha’is had lost their dearly loved Guardian only a few months before. How eagerly they listened at the conference to the tribute which Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins paid to their beloved Shoghi Effendi in her personal recollections. “Especially for the many, many believers who had come from Iran, her words were a solace to their wounded hearts. It is such a shame that due to the suppression of the Baha’is in Iran, no one could come this time. The bouquets of red roses that you see on the different stages are a sign that their empty places are sorely felt.”

50.1106444

8.6820917

GENEVA

Switzerland

Jailed Iranian Baha'is should be released, not put on trial, says BIC

GENEVA, Switzerland — Reports that seven imprisoned Baha’is have been accused of espionage and other crimes and that their case will be referred to the Revolutionary Court next week are deeply concerning, potentially marking a new and dangerous stage in Iran’s persecution of Baha’is, said the Baha’i International Community today. “The accusations are false, and the government knows this,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “The seven Baha’is detained in Tehran should be immediately released.” Word of a possible trial against imprisoned Baha’is came yesterday in an Iranian ISNA news agency report quoting Tehran’s deputy public prosecutor, Hassan Haddad. According to the report, a case will be sent to the revolutionary courts next week accusing the seven Baha’is of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” It is presumed that the seven referred to by Mr. Haddad are the group of Baha’i leaders from Tehran who were arrested last year in raids reminiscent of sweeps nearly 30 years ago at the start of the Islamic revolution. Those sweeps led to the execution of dozens of Baha’i leaders at the time. The seven Baha’i leaders have been held in prison for over eight months and no evidence against them has been brought to light. Further, at no time during their incarceration have the accused been given access to their legal counsel, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi. Mrs. Ebadi has been threatened, intimidated, and vilified in the news media since taking on their case and has not been given access to their case files. In December, the government moved to shut down the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre, which was founded by Mrs. Ebadi. “The government must now allow Mrs. Ebadi access to the prisoners and to their files,” said Ms. Ala’i. All Baha’i elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government in 1983; most of the members of the previous three national governing councils having successively been executed. In the absence of a national governing council (known as a “National Spiritual Assembly”), the ad hoc leadership group, called the “Friends in Iran,” was formed with the full knowledge of the government and since then has served as a coordinating body for the 300,000 Baha’is in that country. The various governments in power in Iran since 1983 have always been aware of this group. In fact, over the years government officials have routinely had dealings with the members of this group, albeit often informally. “To now say that the ‘Friends in Iran’ is an ‘illegal’ group is fallacious,” said Ms. Ala’i. Systematic campaign The prosecution of the leaders is just one step in a 30-year-long systematic campaign orchestrated by the government to eliminate the Baha’i community as a viable entity in Iran, the birthplace of the Baha’i Faith. Documentary evidence has been provided by United Nations agencies on this campaign. The arrest of the Baha’i leadership takes place in the context of a severely and rapidly escalating campaign of attacks against the Baha’i community that has included the creation and circulation of lists of Baha’is with instructions that the activities of the members of the community be secretly monitored (PDF); dawn raids on Baha’i homes and the confiscation of personal property; a dramatic increase over the past two months in the number of Baha’is arrested; daily incitement to hatred of the Baha’is in all forms of government-sponsored mass media; the holding of anti-Baha’i symposia and seminars organized by clerics and followed by orchestrated attacks on Baha’i homes and properties in the cities and towns where such events are held; destruction of Baha’i cemeteries throughout the country and demolition of Baha’i holy places and shrines; acts of arson against Baha’i homes and properties; debarring of Baha’is from access to higher education and, increasingly, vilification of Baha’i children in their classrooms by their teachers; the designation of numerous occupations and businesses from which Baha’is are debarred; refusal to extend bank loans to Baha’is; sealing Baha’i shops; refusing to issue or renew business licenses to Baha’is; harassment of landlords of Baha’i business premises to get them to evict their tenants; and threats against Muslims who associate with Baha’is. Ms. Ala’i said the nature and timing of the reported accusations against the seven Baha’is and possible trial are ominous. “The charges of spying for Israel are often used by the Iranian government when it wishes to push forward a false case against Baha’is,” said Ms. Ala’i. “Since the early 1930s, the Baha’i Faith’s antagonists in Iran have insisted that the religion was instead a political sect created by imperialist governments attempting to weaken Islam. Baha’is have successively been accused of being tools of Russian imperialism, British colonialism, American expansionism, and most recently, of Zionism. “The international headquarters of the Baha’i Faith is based today within the borders of modern-day Israel purely as a result of the banishment of the Faith’s founder, Baha’u’llah, by the Persian and Ottoman empires in the mid-19th century. In 1868, 80 years before the state of Israel was founded, Baha’u’llah was exiled to perpetual imprisonment in the city of Akka.” “If the Baha’is are accused of spying for Israel, then why do they not hide their identity? Why were hundreds previously executed for refusing to recant their faith and embrace Islam? Why have thousands been deprived of their jobs, pensions, businesses and educational opportunities? Why have holy places, shrines and cemeteries been confiscated and demolished? All of this demonstrates a concerted attempt to destroy a religious community,” Ms. Ala’i said. **Other charges ** The other charges are equally false, she said. “Accusations of ‘insulting religious sanctity’ are more about the Iranian government’s own intolerance of other religions or beliefs than any imaginary disrespectfulness of Baha’is towards Islam. It is well known that Baha’is recognize the divine origin of Islam and accept Muhammad as a true Prophet. “As for the idea that the seven have been working against the regime, these people have been under constant surveillance and have been interrogated and detained previously. “The government knows that the seven, following the principles of the Baha’i Faith, have refrained from involvement in any partisan political activity, whether local, national, or international. Like other Baha’is, they reject violence and any involvement in overthrowing governments. The Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the worldwide Baha’i community, has recently spoken to this issue in a message to the Baha’is in Iran (PDF). “Because the government knows such accusations are false, we can only conclude that this is yet another step in the escalation of its decades-long crackdown on Iranian Baha’is,” said Ms. Ala’i. Although news reports did not specify the names of the accused, the seven who were arrested last year are: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm (See profiles). All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. Ms. Ala’i also noted that at this time, some 30 other Baha’is are imprisoned in Iran solely on account of their religion. Close to 80 more Baha’is are out on bail, having posted deeds of property and business licenses as collateral for bail. They are awaiting trial on similarly false charges. They are also innocent and should be released, she said.

46.2017559

6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Lives of service: Profiles of seven imprisoned Baha’is

GENEVA, Switzerland — The following are a series of short biographical profiles of the seven Baha'i leaders currently being held in Evin prison in Iran. Six were arrested in their homes in Tehran on 14 May 2008. A seventh had been arrested earlier, on 5 March 2008, while visiting Mashhad. As the profiles will show, all have served Iranian society and also the Baha'i community extensively. As well, like most Iranian Baha'is, they have all experienced varying degrees of persecution since the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979. Their current imprisonment is particularly alarming because of their leadership position as members of a national-level coordinating group known as the “Friends in Iran.” All Baha’i elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government some 30 years ago, following the Islamic revolution. In the absence of a national governing council (“National Spiritual Assembly”), the “Friends in Iran” was then formed with the full knowledge of the government and since then has served as an ad hoc coordinating body for the 300,000 Baha’is in that country. The various governments in power in Iran since then have always been aware of the Friends in Iran; in fact, over the years the government has routinely had dealings with the members of the Friends, albeit often informally. The seven people arrested last spring constitute the entire current membership of the Friends, which is one reason their sweeping arrests are so alarming. All have been held without official charges, although a report this week from the semi-official ISNA news agency said the cases would be sent to the revolutionary courts with accusations of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” In these profiles, there are a number of references to the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). The BIHE was established by Baha'is in the late 1980s as an alternative institution of higher education after Baha'i youth were banned from public and private universities in Iran in the early 1980s. Accordingly, many of the Friends or their family members received education from the BIHE or its adjunct, the Advanced Baha'i Studies Institute (ABSI), or they have contributed to its work as lecturers or instructors. In recounting the voluntary service these individuals rendered to the Baha'i community, there are also references to various institutions, such as national or local governing councils, known as Spiritual Assemblies, various committees, or the Auxiliary Board, which comprises a group of individuals appointed to inspire, encourage, and promote learning. Most of these institutions have since been banned or dissolved in Iran because of government persecution. Profiles available here »

46.2017559

6.1466014

NEW YORK

United States

Swift international reaction to pending trial of Iranian Baha'is

NEW YORK, United States — International reaction to news that Iran may soon put on trial seven Baha'i leaders for espionage and other charges came swiftly last week as governments, parliamentary leaders and human rights organizations expressed strong criticism of any such trial. Many called for the immediate release of the Baha'is. The group of seven has been imprisoned in Tehran since last spring. Since then, no formal charges had been announced, but the Iranian news agency ISNA reported last Wednesday that the Baha’is would be accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting [Islamic] religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” The Baha’is have had no access to their attorney, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. In the United States, the Department of State condemned “the Iranian government’s decision to level baseless charges of espionage against seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community.” “Authorities have detained these Baha’i for more than nine months without access to legal counsel or making public any evidence against them. The accusations reported in Iranian and international media are part of the ongoing persecution of Baha’i in Iran,” Department of State spokesman Robert Wood said Friday. In London, Amnesty International issued an “urgent action” appeal on behalf of the seven, calling for their “immediate and unconditional release.” In Canada, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler spoke in the House of Commons and expressed concern that the trial could lead to the death penalty for the seven Baha'is. He called the charges “trumped up.” “The systematic and systemic abuse of the Bahai minority in Iran unfortunately manifested itself again this week as seven members of the Friends of Iran group, already being held for almost a year in the notorious Evin Prison, were charged on Wednesday with spying for Israel, insulting Islam and spreading propaganda against the state,” Mr. Cotler said. In Germany, Bundestag member Dr. Peter Ramsauer, leader of the Christian Social Union party, expressed “deep concern” over the fate of the seven. “Our minimum expectation for a fair trial is unconstrained access for the defense attorney, the Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, to her clients and to have a public trial,” he said. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a statement saying “it is disappointing that the Iranian government is demonstrating that it will use any pretext, however baseless, to harass and detain those whose religious beliefs differ from those enforced by the state.” “Due process, something to which Iran is committed as a signatory of the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is absent from this case,” commission Chair Felice D. Gaer said in the statement. Last week’s report from the ISNA news agency did not specify the names of the accused, but it was assumed to refer to Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. They constitute the membership of an informal coordinating body known as the Friends, which – with the knowledge of the government – was established some years ago to see to the minimum needs of Iran’s 300,000-member Baha'i community after its elected governing bodies were banned by government decree in 1983. A spokeswoman for the Baha'i International Community last week stated emphatically that the seven are innocent of all charges and are being held solely because of their religious belief. “The accusations are false, and the government knows this,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. “The seven Baha’is detained in Tehran should be immediately released.” In its “urgent action” appeal last Thursday, Amnesty International said it “considers the charges to be politically motivated and those held to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their conscientiously held beliefs or their peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community. “If convicted, they would face lengthy prison terms, or even the death penalty,” the organization said. Other human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations made similar statements. In Washington, Freedom House published a condemnation of Iran over the possibility of a trial for the seven, saying: “The five men and two women should be released immediately, along with dozens of other Baha'is who are in prison for exercising their human right to religious freedom.” The Institute for Religion and Public Policy, also based in Washington, called the charges “absurd.” “The arrest of Iran’s top Baha’i leaders has simply been another move to intimidate and undermine the faith’s followers. Iran has an especially poor record in respecting the right to worship of non-Shiite Muslims, and we call on them to drop the charges and release the prisoners,” said the institute’s president, Joseph K. Grieboski. (Note: On 15 February, a correction was made to state that Freedom House is based in Washington.)

40.7127281

-74.0060152

NEW YORK

United States

Baha’is express gratitude for open letter of support

NEW YORK, United States — The Baha’i International Community has issued a statement of gratitude to the Iranian intellectuals, scholars, writers, journalists, activists, and artists throughout the world who signed an open letter apologizing for their silence during Iran’s long-running persecution of the Baha’is. The open letter from the Iranians – dated 3 February and signed so far by 243 men and women living in 19 countries – had asked Baha’is to forgive them “for the wrongs committed against the Baha’i community of Iran” over the last century and a half. “We will no longer be silent when injustice is visited upon you,” the letter said after enumerating some of the ways Baha’is have been persecuted, from “barbaric murders” to depriving youth of higher education. In response, the Baha’i International Community told the signatories that the letter “brought a degree of solace and relief to the pain that your Baha’i fellow citizens endure.” “On their behalf and that of the Baha’is throughout the world we convey our profound gratitude and appreciation for a deed of such historical moment,” the Baha’i message said, referring to the publication of the open letter. The letter was particularly significant, said the Baha’i response, in that it rejected the milieu of intimidation created by Iranian authorities throughout the decades that served to silence “those fair-minded and informed individuals who had always wished to rise up” in support of the Baha’is. Indeed, in a press statement yesterday, the organizers behind the letter said that many more people would like to sign. “We are confident,” their statement said, “that many more individuals, responsible and humane individuals, both inside and outside Iran, will add their seal of approval to it, as they become aware of such a letter, and we hope that the independent and committed Iranian media will join us in disseminating this message.” The open letter began with the heading “We are ashamed! A century and a half of oppression and silence is enough!” “We are ashamed that during the last 30 years, the killing of Baha’is solely on the basis of their religious beliefs has gained legal status and over 200 Baha’is have been slain on this account,” said one clause. “We are ashamed that a group of intellectuals have justified coercion against the Baha’i community of Iran,” the letter continued. The letter ended thus: “We stand by you in achieving all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights. Let us join hands in replacing hatred and ignorance with love and tolerance.” The Baha’i response also ended with a statement of hope: “The ardent hope of Iranian Baha’is is to be able to labor, shoulder to shoulder, with their compatriots for the progress and exaltation of their country that it may assume its seat of honor and glory among the family of nations.” The open letter was initially signed by 42 people but more than 200 others added their signatures in the 10 days after it was first published. Their countries of residence were listed as Iran, Sweden, Canada, United States, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Malaysia, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Turkey, Switzerland, and Norway. The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights has offered a response, stating that such a letter “by a group of Iranian intellectuals and activists (was) truly inspirational. Change and progress cannot be brought about until mistakes of the past are acknowledged and admitted, and a resolve is made for them to never be repeated.” The network answered the “We are ashamed …” clauses of the open letter with declarations of “We are proud …” “We are proud that after a long period of silence, voices of protest are now being registered,” the network wrote on its Web site. “We are proud that in the face of the increasing attacks against the Baha’is of Iran, the intellectual community refuses to be silent. … We are proud of your speaking out against the painful reality in Iran.” Another response came from the Institute on Religion & Public Policy based in Washington, D.C. “The open letter is a great first step in publicizing and accepting societal responsibility for the way Baha’is have been persecuted over the last 150 years,” said Joseph K. Grieboski, president of the institute. “Now it’s up to the Iranian government to do the same and stop its abuse of the community.”

40.7127281

-74.0060152

ISTANBUL

Turkey

Istanbul hosts 38th in series of 41 conferences

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The 38th conference in the series of Baha’i gatherings occurring around the world was held last weekend in Istanbul, drawing 925 participants, mainly from Turkey, Cyprus, and Albania. Istanbul is the only city hosting a conference where Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, set foot. Baha’u’llah was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1817. In 1853, the Iranian authorities banished Him from His homeland to Baghdad, then part of the Ottoman Empire (see The Life of Baha'u'llah Web site). This marked the beginning of 40 years of exile which, after Baghdad, took Him to the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Edirne, and culminated in perpetual imprisonment in Acre, then a remote Ottoman outpost. Map shows the exiles of Baha’u’llah after He left Tehran. Constantinople is now called Istanbul.Some 75,000 people have participated to date in the conferences, which began on 1 November and will conclude on 1 March. Scheduled for this coming weekend are gatherings in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Accra, Ghana, followed the next week by the last of the series of 41, which will be in Kiev, Ukraine. To read a report of last weekend’s conference in Istanbul, go to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/ To see photographs with a narrative about the life of Baha’u’llah, including His exile in Istanbul, go to: http://www.bahaullah.org/

41.0091982

28.9662187

GENEVA

Switzerland

European Union expresses "deep concern" over seven Baha'i prisoners

GENEVA, Switzerland — The European Union yesterday issued a statement expressing its “deep concern” over Iran’s plans to bring seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders to trial for espionage and other charges soon. The Baha’i International Community has called for their immediate release, maintaining their innocence and characterizing the regime’s claims as an “escalation of its systematic crackdown on the Baha’is.” The EU statement coincided with increasingly sharp anti-Baha'i rhetoric from Iranian officials, who said a trial for the seven might come within a week. The seven Baha'i leaders have been imprisoned in Tehran for more than eight months, during which no formal evidence has been brought against them and they have not been given access to their legal counsel, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. Another 30 Baha’is are imprisoned in Iran, while 80 other prisoners have been released on collateral. The European Union said it was concerned that, “after being held for so long without due process, the Baha’i leaders may not receive a fair trial. “The EU therefore requests the Islamic Republic of Iran to allow independent observation of the judicial proceedings and to reconsider the charges brought against these individuals.” The document was endorsed by the entire 27-nation membership of the EU, along with Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine, and Moldova. Separately, in Brazil yesterday, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies sent an open letter to Iran, asking for the release of the Baha´i prisoners. “The peace-loving, humanistic principles and practices for which the Baha’is are known in Brazil have earned this community respect and credibility among the country’s human rights supporters,” said Deputy Pompeo de Mattos. “There is therefore no reason to doubt the credibility of their claims.” Other such strong statements of support have been issued over the past several days from governments and parliamentarians in a number of countries, including Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Meanwhile, an official Iranian news agency report yesterday quoted a judiciary spokesman as saying the seven Baha'is “would attend their hearing sessions within one week.” According to an Islamic Republic News Agency story, the spokesman, Ali-Reza Jamshidi, told reporters at his weekly press conference yesterday that the “seven committed criminal acts including spying for foreigners.” Mr. Jamshidi stated that the Baha'is would “definitely be allowed to use legal counsel," though they have had no access to their lawyer to date. His statement followed a harsh report on Sunday that quoted Iran’s prosecutor general as saying the government plans the “complete destruction” of Baha'i administration in Iran. “The administration of the misguided Baha’i sect at all levels is unlawful and banned, and their ties to Israel and their opposition to Islam and the Islamic regime are clear,” said Iranian Prosecutor General Ayatollah Ghorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi, according to a report in Fars News. “The danger they pose to national security is documented and proven and therefore it is necessary that any substitute administration that acts as a replacement for the original be confronted through the law,” said Ayatollah Najafabadi. Diane Ala’i of the Baha'i International Community said the activities of the Baha’i leaders had to do with meeting the minimum spiritual and administrative needs of the 300,000-member Baha’i community of Iran. She said Ayatollah Najafabadi’s attempt to portray their actions as “dangerous” was baseless and that the government is well aware that there is no truth to such allegations. “How can the chief prosecutor equate something so harmless as a group of individuals who get together to give spiritual guidance and administer such things as marriages and burials and children’s moral classes with something that threatens Iran’s national security?” said Ms. Ala’i, the Baha'i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “After they banned Baha'i administration in Iran in 1983, the government has always been aware of and informed of the activities of these ad hoc groups. “In the eyes of the government, the only real ‘crime’ of the seven currently in Evin prison – along with the some 30 other Baha'i prisoners currently held in Iran – is that they hold a religious belief that is different from the majority in Iran, and that is something that the current regime finds intolerable,” she said. Ms. Ala’i also discussed remarks made yesterday by Mr. Jamshidi in response to a question about Ayatollah Najafabadi’s statements. Mr. Jamshidi was quoted as saying: “Any acts which could be taken as propaganda against Islam, Iran and its Islamic establishment is definitely considered a crime and its perpetrators would be legally encountered.” “The fact is that the Baha'i Faith is the only independent world religion other than Islam that accepts the divinity of Muhammad and reveres the Qur’an – along with the holy books of all the world’s great religions. There is nothing anti-Islamic or anti-Iran about the Baha'i Faith, its teachings, or the practices of its followers. The government cannot impose its own interpretation of Islam on the Baha’i Faith and conclude that the Baha’i Faith is anti-Islam,” Ms. Ala'i said. “Indeed, the lives of the seven leaders currently in prison reflect lifelong efforts to promote the best development of Iranian society as a whole, through the promotion of education, social and economic development, and adherence to moral principle,” she said. Earlier this week, the British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell issued a statement saying the Iranian government “appears to be increasingly using vaguely worded charges to target human rights defenders and religious minorities.” “It is hard,” said Minister Rammel on Monday, “not to conclude that these people are being held solely on account of their religious beliefs or their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and association.”

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6.1466014

ACCRA

Ghana

Regional conferences in Ghana and Azerbaijan conclude

ACCRA, Ghana — Accra was host this last weekend to the largest of the nine regional conferences held in Africa with 1,700 participants from eight countries. The Accra gathering was held concurrently with the regional conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. They were the 39th and 40th in the series called for by the Universal House of Justice and begun on 1 November in Lusaka, Zambia. The conference in Accra included about 950 participants from Ghana itself, 156 from Benin, 140 from Burkina Faso, four from Cape Verde, three from Guinea Bissau, 106 from Niger, 137 from Nigeria, and about 200 from Togo. The regional conference for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan drew 360 people to Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, to celebrate achievements in the Baha’i work of the last two and a half years and consult about future goals. A hotel and conference center at the seaside served as the venue for the gathering, which attracted 27 Baha’is from Turkmenistan and 47 from Georgia, along with a large contingent from Azerbaijan and a few participants from other countries. In Baku, Azerbaijan, some of the conference participants consult during a workshop. People from Turkmenistan, Georgia, and Azerbaijan attended the gathering, held on 21-22 February.Reports from participants tell of a sense of invigoration among the attendees, brought to further heights by music, drama, and dances from the many cultures gathered together. “This conference is like rain after an unbearable heat,” said Yegana Farzaliyeva, 20, of Azerbaijan. Next weekend’s conference in Kiev, Ukraine, is the 41st, the last of the series. Some 77,000 people have attended the conferences, which have been organized to review achievements of the worldwide Baha’i community in the present stage of its growth, and to consider the next steps in moving the community forward.

5.5571096

-0.2012376

KIEV

Ukraine

Historic 18-week conference series comes to an end

KIEV, Ukraine — The historic series of 41 Baha’i conferences that began four months ago in southern Africa wrapped up last weekend in eastern Europe with a gathering in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Some 730 people – mostly from Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – attended the Kiev event, which like all 41 of the conferences was convened by the Universal House of Justice. An estimated total of 77,700 people participated in the series, which began 1 November and continued for 18 consecutive weeks, spanning the globe and attracting Baha’is from the largest Western cities to the smallest villages in South Sea islands. Two of the gatherings – in Los Angeles and Sydney – drew more than 5,000 participants, and Frankfurt and Toronto each passed the 4,000 mark. Baha'is from eight eastern European countries were among the 730 participants in Kiev.Baha’is around the world were inspired with stories of sacrifice and dedication as people walked long distances or braved difficult conditions in order to celebrate achievements in community-building activities and consult on future plans. Attendance at almost all the conferences far surpassed initial estimates, often sending organizers scrambling to find larger venues or additional rooms to accommodate the overflow crowd. The conferences came at the half-way point of a five-year plan to establish Baha’i activities in neighborhoods and villages around the world. For links to reports of the conferences, go to https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/

50.4485578

30.52716228586082

NEW YORK

United States

Baha'i International Community sends letter to Iran's chief prosecutor

NEW YORK, United States — The Baha'i International Community has issued an open letter to Iran's prosecutor general outlining the tragic history of the persecution of Baha'is in that country, explaining their innocence in the face of accusations made by the government, and asking for fairness in any upcoming trial of seven Baha'i prisoners. Sent late yesterday by email to Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, the letter also suggests that the government's continued oppression of Baha'is will ultimately have a wide impact on Iranian society as a whole. "Your Honor, the decisions to be taken by the judiciary in Iran in the coming days will have implications that extend well beyond the Baha'i community in that land - what is at stake is the very cause of the freedom of conscience for all the peoples of your nation," said the six-page letter, dated 4 March 2009. "It is our hope that, for the sanctity of Islam and the honor of Iran, the judiciary will be fair in its judgment." The letter comes after a series of statements from Ayatollah Najafabadi quoted in the Iranian news media leveling charges at the Baha'is and stating that the ad hoc arrangements that tend to the spiritual and social affairs of the Baha'i community of Iran are illegal. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow any movement to harm the national security through illegal and unauthorized organizational activities," he said, referring specifically to Baha'is, according to an account published by the Islamic Republic News Agency. The seven members of the group that had been coordinating the affairs of the Baha'is at the national level and who have been in prison for some 10 months, responded to the declaration from their prison cell. They stated that if the current arrangements for administering the affairs of the Baha'i community are no longer acceptable to the government, to bring them to a close would not present a major obstacle. They said this is now being done, to further demonstrate the goodwill that the Baha'is have consistently shown to the government for the past 30 years. The letter, which was also sent to the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations and published late yesterday on the Web site of the United Nations office of the Baha'i International Community, carefully outlines the facts of the oppression of the Iranian Baha'i community since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. "While the harassment and ill-treatment of Baha'is continued uninterrupted during this period, they have been taken to new levels of intensity in recent years as certain elements that have historically been bent on the destruction of the Baha'i community have assumed growing influence in the affairs of the country," says the Baha'i International Community in the communication. It notes that it was only in response to that persecution that small ad hoc groups were set up to "tend to the spiritual and social needs" of Iran's 300,000 Baha'is - and that for more than 20 years the government has worked with those structures. At the national level, the group was known as the "Yaran," which means "Friends" in Persian. The "Khademin," or "Those Who Serve," performed a similar function at the local level. "Then last year the seven members of the Yaran were imprisoned, one of them in March and the remaining six in May. ... The conditions of their incarceration have varied in degree of severity over the course of the past several months, with the five male members confined at one time to a cell no more than ten square meters in size, with no bed," the Baha'i International Community points out. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. "Finally," the letter continues, "after some nine months of imprisonment, during which time not a shred of evidence could be found linking the members of the Yaran to any wrongdoing, they were accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,' and it has been announced that their case will soon be submitted to court with a request for indictment. "This announcement was followed almost immediately by news reports which indicated that you had written to the Minister of Intelligence stating that the existence of the Yaran and the Khademin in Iran is illegal, while at the same time raising the question of the constitutional right of Iranian citizens to freedom of belief. You then made an official announcement to this effect. "Your Honor, the events of recent years and the nature of the accusations made raise questions in the mind of every unbiased observer as to the intent behind the systematic perpetration of injustice against the Baha'is of Iran. Even if there might have been some misunderstandings about the motives of the Baha'i community during the early turbulent days of the revolution, how can such suspicions persist today? Can it be that any member of the esteemed government of Iran truly believes the false accusations which have been perpetuated about the Baha'is in that country?" The letter also notes that many prominent Iranians have recently arisen to defend Baha'is, linking the overall struggle for human rights in Iran and the situation of the Baha'is. "And we hear in the voices raised by so many Iranians in defense of their Baha'i compatriots echoes from their country's glorious past. What we cannot help noting, with much gratitude towards them in our hearts, is that a majority of those coming out in support of the beleaguered Baha'i community are themselves suffering similar oppression as students and academics, as journalists and social activists, as artists and poets, as progressive thinkers and proponents of women's rights, and even as ordinary citizens." To read the full letter, go to: https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/prosecutor-general-iran-en.pdf To read the letter in Persian, go to: https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/prosecutor-general-iran-fa.pdf

40.7127281

-74.0060152

GENEVA

Switzerland

Egyptian court removes barriers to ID documents for Baha'is

GENEVA, Switzerland — A court in Egypt today removed any grounds for preventing Baha'is from receiving proper official identity documents, clearing the way for an end to years of deprivation for Egyptian Baha'is - and opening the door to a new level of respect for religious privacy in Egypt. The Supreme Administrative Court dismissed an appeal by two Muslim lawyers that sought to prevent implementation of a lower court ruling last year that said Baha'is can leave blank the religious classification field on official documents, including all-important identity cards and birth certificates. "We are pleased that the court has finally put this matter to rest, removing any possible excuse that would prevent the government from issuing official documents to Egyptian Baha'is," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "Our expectation now is that the government will move swiftly to bring this ruling into practice and, at long last, grant Baha'is the essential right that all citizens have of possessing proper documents." Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), said the ruling actually goes far beyond the issue of rights for Egyptian Baha'is. "This is the first time that the Supreme Administrative Court has found that any Egyptian has the right to keep their religious convictions private, even if the state does not recognize their belief system," said Mr. Bahgat, whose organization handled legal representation for Baha'is in court. "The final ruling is a major victory for all Egyptians fighting for a state where all citizens enjoy equal rights regardless of their religion or belief," he said. Mr. Bahgat said that because the Supreme Administrative Court is the highest court on such matters, there can be no further appeal to this case - and that, therefore, there should be no delay in the government's implementation of the new policy. "The government policy that justified mistreatment of Egyptian Baha'is has now been firmly and finally struck down," he said. For nearly five years, since the government began introducing a computerized identity card system that locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, Baha'is have been unable to get documents essential to day-to-day life. Among other things, they have been blocked from obtaining education, financial services, and even health care in government hospitals. In April 2006, a lower administrative court upheld the right of Baha'is to be explicitly identified on official documents. But in December that year, the Supreme Administrative Court reversed that decision. In a compromise, Baha'is proposed using a dash or the word "other" on documents, instead of being forced to list themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, and, on 29 January 2008, a lower court again ruled in their favor. But then two Muslim lawyers, who oppose anything that might be seen as even tacit recognition of the Baha'i Faith, filed an appeal. In response, government officials took a "go slow" attitude on implementing the lower court ruling, saying they wanted to wait until all legal issues were cleared up. The ruling today came in the case of 14-year-old twins Imad and Nancy Rauf Hindi who have been deprived of birth certificates and were unable to legally attend school in Egypt. In recent weeks, several other cases involving Baha'is have been likewise resolved in their favor. But the Rauf Hindi twins' case was the final case to be settled.

46.2017559

6.1466014

HAIFA

Israel

Naw-Ruz this year marks centenary of entombment of the Bab

HAIFA, Israel — On March 21, Baha'is around the world will mark Naw-Ruz - their new year - a date that this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the interment of the remains of the Bab on Mount Carmel. On Naw-Ruz in 1909, 'Abdu'l-Baha, then the head of the Baha'i Faith, laid to rest the mortal remains of the Bab. 'Abdu'l-Baha personally placed the precious trust in its place in a building he had had constructed on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The original structure was later surrounded by a formal colonnade and crowned with a golden dome to make it a fitting burial site for the Bab, the first of two Messengers of God associated with the Baha'i Faith. Both lived in the 19th century, with the Bab's mission being to announce the imminent coming of Baha'u'llah, considered by Baha'is the long-awaited promised one of all religions. The Bab was executed in the public square in Tabriz, Persia (now Iran), in 1850, and His remains were hidden in that country for nearly 50 years until being secretly brought to the Holy Land and hidden another decade before being laid to their final rest. The original building is still visible at the Shrine of the Bab. The colonnade and golden dome were added later, with the work completed in 1953. (Photo copyright Baha'i World Centre)Baha'u'llah was also from Persia but was banished from His native land and eventually exiled to the Acre-Haifa area. Before His passing in 1892, Baha'u'llah gave instructions to 'Abdu'l-Baha to have the remains of the Bab brought from Persia and interred at a specific site on Mount Carmel. 'Abdu'l-Baha thus arranged for the purchase of the land; the building of an adequate structure for the interment; and a road to the site on what at that time was still a rough, undeveloped mountainside. The Baha'is of Rangoon, Burma, sent a sarcophagus to use for the entombment. The circumstances of that significant event 100 years ago are described in the Baha'i history "God Passes By": "'Abdu'l-Baha had the marble sarcophagus transported with great labor to the vault prepared for it, and in the evening, by the light of a single lamp, he laid within it, with his own hands - in the presence of believers from the East and from the West and in circumstances at once solemn and moving - the wooden casket containing the sacred remains of the Bab. ..."

32.8191218

34.9983856

HAIFA

Israel

Web site offers information for visiting Baha'i gardens, shrines

HAIFA, Israel — A new Web site with information for visiting the Baha'i shrines and gardens in Haifa and Acre was introduced today by the Baha'i International Community. The Web site gives details about tours, hours, and the gardens themselves, as well as information about visiting the Shrine of Baha'u'llah in Acre and the Shrine of the Bab in Haifa. The shrines are the resting places of the founders of the Baha'i Faith. Letting people know what to expect when they visit the properties is a major aim of the Web site, said Albert Lincoln, secretary general of the Baha'i International Community. The site gives maps and suggestions for visitors, answers frequently asked questions, and also notes when people might find the gardens closed, such as on Baha'i holy days. Details of tours, hours of opening, and information about visiting the Baha'i shrines in Haifa and Acre is available on the Web site.The launch of the Web site - called "The Baha'i Gardens" - coincides with an expanded array of public tours. Half a million people come to the properties each year, making them among the most visited sites in the eastern Mediterranean region. Last year the shrines and gardens were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list as having "outstanding universal value" for humanity. A major impetus for creating the Web site was to make visitor information available in the local languages, Mr. Lincoln said. In addition to English, the site already offers Hebrew, and Arabic will be added as soon as possible. Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of Israel. Public tours have changed in that people may check the Web site for the hours of the main "Panorama Tour" and the languages in which it is offered. Reservations are no longer required. More specialized tours are available for groups, depending on their interests. Such tours must be arranged ahead of time. "Organized groups often want a more in-depth experience," Mr. Lincoln said. "They want to learn more, in addition to visiting the gardens." Besides providing practical details for visitors, the new Web site includes information about the Baha'i Faith and also such resource material as extracts from an architectural study of the Baha'i properties in Acre and Haifa. The address of the new Web site is www.ganbahai.org.il.

32.8191218

34.9983856

OTTAWA

Canada

Canada's Parliament condemns persecution of Baha'is in Iran

OTTAWA, Canada — Canada's House of Commons has unanimously adopted a strongly worded motion condemning the persecution of Baha'is in Iran and calling on the Iranian government to release Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Tehran. The motion, which was approved on 30 March, stated that the accusations against the Baha'is – espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic – are charges "frequently used by Iranian authorities to target human rights defenders and religious minorities, and there is nothing in the history or teachings of the Baha'i community to lend any credence to such charges." The motion was addressed in a debate on the floor of the House of Commons which lasted some 90 minutes. Members of Parliament from all four of Canada's political parties spoke of the long history of persecution suffered by Iran's Baha'is and the current "campaign of hatred and incitement" against the Baha'i community there, noting that these current attacks "constitute a number of warning signs that often foreshadow widespread ethnic, racial or religious cleansing." Decrying the "persistent and pervasive" violation of the human rights not only of Iran's Baha'is but of all Iranian citizens who have suffered repression at the hands of extremist elements in that country, members of Parliament also expressed deep admiration for Iran's people and "the enormous contribution" that Iran's "great civilization" has made to humankind. The resolution concludes: "Therefore, be it resolved that this House condemns the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i minority of Iran and calls upon the government of Iran to reconsider its charges against the members of the Friends in Iran, and release them immediately or failing this, that it proceed to trial without further delay, ensuring that the proceedings are open and fair and are conducted in the presence of international observers." Seven of the Baha'is imprisoned in Tehran had comprised an ad hoc group called the "Friends in Iran" that tended to the minimum needs of the 300,000-member Baha'i community in Iran. The seven were rounded up a year ago and have been detained ever since, without access to legal counsel. Accusations against them were only recently announced, but no hearing or trial has yet been held. More than 30 Baha'is are currently jailed in Iran because of their religion. Here is the wording of the full motion adopted by the Canadian House of Commons: "Whereas, the House of Commons recognizes that on 14 May 2008, six members of an informal group known as the Friends in Iran that oversee the needs of the Baha'i community in Iran were arrested and taken to the political prisoners section of Evin prison in Tehran, where the seventh member was already being held, following her arrest in Mashhad in March 2008. "And whereas, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in October 2005, uncovered a confidential letter from the Command headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran ordering the identification and monitoring of all Baha'is and their activities. "And whereas, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief stated on March 20, 2006, that she 'also expresses her concern that the information gathered as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of and discrimination against, members of the Baha'i Faith, in violation of international standards ... The Special Rapporteur is concerned that his latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating.' "And whereas, the Baha'i community of Canada is gravely concerned for the safety of these seven Baha'is, who have been held without formal charges, access to legal counsel or evidence brought against them, and being subjected to harsh treatment and interrogation with very restricted visits from family members for more than nine months. "And whereas, Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi - who announced her intention to defend the Baha'is in court - has since been harassed and her offices have been closed. "And whereas, the Deputy Prosecutor General has announced that these prisoners will be tried by the Revolutionary court on charges of 'espionage on behalf of Israel', 'insult to the sacredness (of Islam)' and 'propaganda against the regime' - all of which are capital offences. "And whereas, such charges are frequently used by Iranian authorities to target human rights defenders and religious minorities and there is nothing in the history or teachings of the Baha'i community to lend any credence to such charges. "And whereas, these arrests have taken place in the context of an upsurge of arbitrary arrests, raids on home, expulsion of university students, harassment of school children, destruction of graveyards, virulent attacks in government controlled media. "Therefore, be it resolved that this House condemns the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i minority of Iran and calls upon the government of Iran to reconsider its charges against the members of the Friends in Iran, and release them immediately or failing this, that it proceed to trial without further delay, ensuring that the proceedings are open and fair and are conducted in the presence of international observers."

45.4211435

-75.6900574

CAIRO

Egypt

Egypt officially changes rules for ID cards

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s Ministry of Interior this week published a decree that allows individuals to obtain government documents without identifying themselves as belonging to a particular religion. The decree is the result of a recent Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court ruling – in a case involving Baha’is – that on government ID cards and other documents, individuals may put a dash in the field denoting religious affiliation. “We are very pleased that the Egyptian government has moved to officially change the regulation that prevented Baha'is and others from realizing their rights of citizenship,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. The computerization of ID cards introduced by the government had locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. This had meant that Baha'is were unable to get documents essential to day-to-day life. The decree was signed by General Habib al-Adly, Egypt’s Interior Minister, and dated 19 March 2009, and was published on 14 April in the official gazette. According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), which represented Baha’is in many of the recent court cases concerning religious affiliation on government documents, the decree amends the Implementing Statutes of Egypt’s Civil Status Law of 1994. It specifically instructs officials to place a dash (--) before the line reserved for religion in the official documents of citizens who can show that they, or their ancestors, were followers of a religious belief other than the three recognized by the state.

30.0443879

31.2357257

GENEVA

Switzerland

Baha'is and rights groups say Iranian president must address discrimination at home

GENEVA, Switzerland — The Baha’i International Community joined two human rights organizations in calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address discrimination in his own country when he speaks this week at the conference known as Durban II. The statement was issued as a joint news release by the Baha’i International Community, the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI), and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH). In addition to calling on the Iranian president to address discrimination against ethnic minorities, women, and religious minorities, the three organizations also ask him to redress the problem of incitement to hatred. “Of particular concern is the manner in which the government-controlled news media has vilified adherents of the Baha’i Faith,” the statement said, citing the hundreds of articles, radio and television programs, Internet postings, and pamphlets containing hate speech that have been disseminated in Iran in recent years. The Durban Review Conference is being held under the auspices of the United Nations. The purpose is to evaluate progress towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. (To read the news release issued by the three organizations, go here.)

46.2017559

6.1466014

BUENOS AIRES

Argentina

For 70th year, Buenos Aires elects assembly

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — This week, for the 70th year, the Baha'is of Buenos Aires gathered to elect their local Spiritual Assembly – one of the two oldest of what are now 600 such Baha'i governing councils throughout South America. A special program featuring historical photographs was presented at the annual meeting of the Buenos Aires' Baha'is on 20 April, said Behrooz Khomassi, who has researched local Baha'i history and helped prepare the program. "The first assembly of Buenos Aires was elected on the 10th of May in 1940," he said. The Spiritual Assembly of Buenos Aires was first elected in May 1940. This group, and that of Bahia, Brazil, were the first such assemblies in South America. (Photo courtesy of the Baha'is of Buenos Aires)Published documents from the period list Buenos Aires and Bahia, Brazil, as being the first two Baha'i assemblies in South America. Both cities were visited in 1919 by the famed Baha'i travel teacher Martha Root, known for her journeys around the world to present the Baha'i message to royalty, government officials, civic leaders, newspaper editors, and the public at large. In 1940, another prominent Baha'i, May Maxwell, also came to Buenos Aires, but she died within three days of her arrival on 27 February. Mr. Khomassi said her passing served as a catalyst for Baha'i activity in the city – two months later its first Spiritual Assembly was formed. Worldwide, elections for local Baha'i assemblies are held annually at the beginning of the Festival of Ridvan, which goes from 21 April to 2 May and marks the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in 1863 that He was a new messenger of God. There are thousands of localities around the globe that hold such elections. Also during Ridvan, virtually every national Baha'i community holds a convention where delegates elect their National Spiritual Assembly. Some 180 such elections will be held this year. Assemblies at both the national and local level have nine members, and all Baha'is aged 21 or over who live in the jurisdiction are eligible for election.

-34.6075682

-58.4370894

LONDON

United Kingdom

British prime minister sends Ridvan message to Baha'is

LONDON, England — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has sent a message to UK Baha'is to mark Ridvan, the most important Baha'i festival. In it he expressed his "respect and admiration" for the British Baha'i community which, he said, "makes a contribution to British life out of all proportion to its size." In the letter, which was addressed to the annual reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is, Mr. Brown welcomed the Baha'is' "participation in public life" and described as "tragic" the prejudice and discrimination faced by some Baha'is in the world. His sentiments were echoed by leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, and the archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, all of whom also sent messages to the reception. "The Baha'i emphasis on equality, unity, social justice, and human rights does credit to your faith," wrote David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party. Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, called Ridvan "a time to acknowledge and reflect on the valuable social and cultural contribution made by the thousands of Baha'is living in the UK." "The Baha'i community," he said, "can be very proud of its active role in promoting religious tolerance, peace and unity across the world." Bahar Tahzib, whose father was killed in Iran in the 1980s and whose uncle is currently imprisoned, speaks at the Ridvan reception.The prime minister's message pointedly addressed the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran: "At the forefront of all of our minds this Ridvan is the fate of the seven Baha'i leaders awaiting trial in Iran. We have raised our concerns with the Iranian government and I urge the authorities to ensure that these individuals receive a fair trial and ask them to put an end to discrimination against the wider Baha'i community within Iran." A message written on behalf of the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said he has "made clear to the Iranian authorities his profound disapproval of the way in which the leadership has been treated since their arrest and detention in harsh conditions and without charge last year. The charges now brought go against all the experience of Baha'is as peaceful people and loyal citizens of their countries." The prime minister's letter was read by Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell, who attended the reception along with 80 other guests, including leading figures from nongovernmental organizations and different religious communities. The event was held on the terrace of the House of Commons on 22 April. The 12-day Festival of Ridvan marks the anniversary of the announcement in 1863 by Baha'u'llah that He is God's Messenger for this age, the latest in a line of divine teachers that includes Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, and others.

51.5073219

-0.1276474

IQALUIT

NUNAVUT

Canada

Youth art project brings citation for Nunavut resident

IQALUIT, NUNAVUT, Canada — Beth McKenty moved to sparsely populated northeast Canada – to Iqaluit on Baffin Island – in 1999 to fulfill a pledge, made 45 years earlier, to devote part of her life to reducing youth suicide. Within two weeks of arriving she had begun a project to help children build self-esteem by exploring their creativity. The Arctic Youth Art Initiative has since grown to involve hundreds of children. Ms. McKenty's efforts were acknowledged this month when she was one of 75 individuals from across Canada named as recipients of the Caring Canadian Awards for 2009. Created in 1996 by the Canadian Governor General, the award is presented to individuals and groups whose unpaid, voluntary contributions over a number of years provide extraordinary help or care to people in their community. It has been a long and often surprising road for Ms. McKenty from her birthplace of Snowflake, Manitoba, to Iqaluit, population 7,200 and the capital of the Nunavut territory. In addition to several decades in Wisconsin, where she worked as a freelance journalist and raised a family, she has lived in Japan, China, and Russia, and she has taught at the Navajo College at Tsaile, Arizona, in the United States. "I started out on a farm in Manitoba, one of seven children," she said. "My father was from pioneer stock and a veteran who served at Vimy Ridge. My mother, a nurse, was an Icelandic immigrant. We grew up in a home with an openness to the whole world. "In 1954, my younger brother took his own life. One way I dealt with the anguish was to make a promise to myself that some day, somehow, I would do something to help reduce youth suicide." It was the day of her brother's funeral that she first heard of the Baha'i Faith. As she learned of Baha'u'llah's world-embracing principle of unity, she felt it matched the values she had grown up with. A life of Baha'i activity has followed. "I was so busy and the years went by, but my plan always included fulfilling my promise to my brother," she said. "Then in 1999, two things happened simultaneously. I read that the rate of youth suicide in newly formed Nunavut was seven times the Canadian average. Around the same time, I attended the Baha'i National Convention in Montreal where I learned of opportunities for service in the Arctic. Here was my chance." The young people are offered space and materials for their work, but Beth McKenty says she "never really instructed these children." (Photo copyright 2004 Nunatsiaq News. Used with permission.)By October, she had moved into Baha'i House in Iqaluit, located on the Arctic tundra not too far south of the Arctic circle. 'I came with a purpose' "I came with a purpose but didn't have a method," she said. "Earlier, I had had my own artist's studio for two years and had brought my paints with me to Iqaluit. Two weeks after getting there, I heard some strange sounds and discovered two boys trying to throw stones over the house, but missing. I opened the door and asked if they'd like to come in for hot chocolate. "Since I'd been painting, I asked them if they would like to paint, too. I explained that with red, yellow, and blue they could mix any color except white. They were shy but accepted. I was astounded at what they could paint. Their work was so northern. The wonderful heritage of the Inuit was evident in these children. They returned later with one or two friends. That's how this project began. "I never really instructed these children. I just facilitated by providing a space and good quality materials. In addition to the painting, the children enjoy games, prizes, lunch, and occasional 'multiple' birthday parties." Although located in Baha'i House, the project is separate from Baha'i gatherings and is offered as a service to the community. Little by little, a special format developed with greeting time followed by preparation of palettes, brushes, paper, and paint for each child. "I soon learned," Ms. McKenty recalled, "that it matters to give exactly the same amount of materials to each child as they intently watch the preparation. I ask for six or seven minutes of silence at the beginning of painting. I've learned talking disturbs the creative moment. Often, silence continues a long time as the young artists become absorbed in what they are creating." Saturday morning sessions Gradually more children came, bringing their friends. Today, the Saturday morning workshops still average five to 20 participants, from 4 to 14 years of age. "There are many benefits to the project beyond the art," Ms. McKenty said. "It is also important that children make friends here. A child who has been very unpopular with others can produce something unusual or very beautiful. This changes the others' feelings and the child's sense of worth. "I can't say for sure that as an adult they won't take their lives, but I know there is much less chance of it if they have become proud of their work, give and receive praise, and learn more about human relationships. "My experience shows me that every human being is an artist. When we recognize it, it helps inform us about our own soul." The Arctic Youth Art Initiative has steadily expanded, including visits to schools. With the support of other individuals and organizations, workshops have been held in eight other settlements in Nunavut, including the two most northerly, Resolute and Grise Fiord. Participants' work has been shown in the Nunavut Legislature, in Iqaluit's Nunatta Sanukkataangit Museum, as well as the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the Marion Scott Inuit Art Gallery in Vancouver. This summer, two especially gifted young artists are being given two weeks of individual instruction and visits to galleries and museums by the Ottawa School of Art, in recognition of the eight years they have regularly come to the workshops. "Life is so rich for me as a Baha'i," said Ms. McKenty. "I have learned to look at each human being, quite literally, as family. My hope is that this is part of what children feel here, that we are really united in what we are doing, that I am not a teacher from a different place, just a friend. "It was overwhelming to me, returning two years ago from the funeral of my son Jack Jr. in Los Angeles, to answer the doorbell and find an enormous basket of orchids and lilies delivered with a note from 'your friends, the taxi drivers of Iqaluit.' Although this project is aimed at children, apparently it has reached other hearts, and my own continues to be educated by this privilege of living and working in Iqaluit." Editor's note: This article was first published by the Canadian Baha'i News Service.

63.74944

-68.521857

SYDNEY

Australia

Australian National Assembly marks 75th year; like Iran's, it was first elected in 1934

SYDNEY, Australia — A congratulatory message from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was read to Australian Baha’is as they celebrated the 75th anniversary of their National Spiritual Assembly at an event in Sydney. Participants remembered the Baha’is in Iran, who would be marking the same anniversary if not for the decades of persecution in that country. Both Iran and Australia elected their first national Baha’i governing councils in 1934. In Sydney, more than 2,500 people turned out on 25 April for a special anniversary event at the Sydney Convention Centre, followed the next day by a reception on the grounds of the Baha’i House of Worship. A spokesperson for the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia said at the reception that the Iranian Assembly was dissolved in 1983. This occurred after the Iranian Prosecutor General called for the dismantling of the Bahá’í administrative structure. Persecution of the Iranian Bahá’ís had intensified in the years immediately following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. During that time all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran were abducted and disappeared without a trace, assumed to have been killed. Individuals subsequently elected to the same Assembly were then executed along with scores of other Bahá’ís. The anniversary celebration coincided with this year's national Baha'i convention in Australia. Convention participants are shown here during a break.About 40 Baha’is are currently in prison in Iran because of their religion, including seven men and women who had a leadership role in helping see to the needs of the 300,000-member Baha’i community there. Delegates to the annual Baha’i convention in Australia referred to Iran in a message: “We grieve for the 30 years lost to the Bahá’í administration in Iran and salute those who gave their lives as a result of their service to that institution as well as the selfless dedication of the Iranian friends throughout their long oppression.” Prime minister sends greetings Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sent a message for the anniversary event, read by Member of Parliament Laurie Ferguson. In his own address, Mr. Ferguson complimented the Australian Baha'i community: “Your organization is in the forefront of tolerance, debate, and rationality." He said he was particularly concerned by the persecution of Baha'is in Iran. Also speaking at the reception was Dr. Peter Khan, a member of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Baha’i Faith. Dr. Khan said that since its establishment in 1934, the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia had dedicated itself to fulfilling the central mission of the Baha’i Faith – to be a source of harmony, unity, and understanding among diverse people. The National Spiritual Assembly of Australia is one of 180 such Baha’i governing councils in the world. In virtually all countries, elections are held annually during the festival of Ridvan, which runs from 21 April to 2 May. Some 90 delegates from throughout Australia attended their national convention – held at the Sydney Baha’i Centre from 24-26 April – and voted in the election for the National Assembly. All Baha’i elections are by secret ballot, without nominations or campaigning. Australia and New Zealand originally had a joint National Spiritual Assembly, but growth in the number of the Baha’is in both countries led to formation of two separate governing bodies in 1957. New Zealand also celebrated the 75th anniversary during the recent Ridvan period.

-33.8548157

151.2164539

NEW YORK

United States

Iranian Baha'i leaders may face new accusation on anniversary of imprisonment

NEW YORK, United States — The seven Baha'i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran are facing the anniversary of their arrest this Thursday, along with new and extremely grave accusations, after spending a year in jail without formal charges or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi. "Despite their obvious innocence and the call by many for their immediate release, these seven men and women have been in legal limbo for a year now, against all international human rights standards," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "Moreover, their families have recently been told of a possible new charge - 'the spreading of corruption on earth,' which goes by the term 'Mofsede fel-Arz' in Persian and carries the threat of death under the penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Ms. Dugal. "The sequence of events surrounding their detention exposes a shameless travesty of justice. Notwithstanding their having been subjected to intensive interrogations, it took a full seven months before they were given even a single pretext for their detention. On February 10, 2009, the Iranian Student News Agency quoted Tehran deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad as having said that the investigation of these individuals was complete and that 'the case will be sent to the revolutionary court next week' and that these Baha'is are accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' The international protest expressed by governments and civil society was immediate and widespread, causing the Iranian authorities to review their approach. "Now a new wrongful accusation reportedly has been added some three months after the investigation was supposed to have concluded. The charge of being spreaders of corruption was used against the Baha'is who were executed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution. That it may now be resorted to in this case is a further demonstration that the authorities have no basis for any allegation against these seven individuals, other than blatant religious persecution. This action against the Baha'i leadership reflects the government's sharply increased persecution of the entire Iranian Baha'i community of more than 300,000 members. "The upcoming anniversary of their arrest offers an important milestone and we ask that the international community re-state once again in the strongest terms its demand for their immediate release, or, at least, for a fair and open trial that meets international standards of justice," said Ms. Dugal. Ms. Dugal also noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frequently emphasized the importance of "justice and human dignity" and "the establishment of a just world system," such as when he addressed the UN Durban Review Conference in Geneva last month. "How can the calls of the Iranian leadership for justice in the international sphere be taken seriously if they do not grant justice to their own citizens? In Iran, by all accounts universally agreed upon human rights are routinely ignored, not only for Baha'is but also for women, journalists, and others who only seek dignity and justice," she said. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad.

40.7127281

-74.0060152

UNITED NATIONS

United States

Baha'is participate in U.N. Sustainable Development session

UNITED NATIONS, United States — As one of the youngest representatives from a nongovernmental organization to attend this year's U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, it was natural that 19-year-old Alicia Cundall would participate in the youth caucus. But she didn't expect to be appointed by the group to deliver their main statement to the plenary session of governments, which she did on 14 May. "I didn't want to read it but the people in my group said it would make sense for me to do it because I had worked really hard on it," said Ms. Cundall, who is an environmental science student at the University of Toronto and one of six youth delegates from the Baha'i International Community to this year's session of the commission, held 4-15 May. The youth statement sought to emphasize the commission's responsibility to take future generations into account as it grapples with this year's agenda, which focused on the food crisis, agriculture, and Africa. "In times of crisis we're often urged by convenience or panic to fall back on old practices and cheap fixes," said Ms. Cundall, reading the youth statement. "But we cannot continue along this road," the statement said. "We must ensure that wherever possible, even if it's hard, even if it costs more now, we prioritize truly sustainable practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." "Climate Ethics" was a Learning Center side event sponsored by the Baha'i International Community during the session of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development. The event was held on 4 May.Tahirih Naylor, the Baha'i representative to the U.N. who specializes in sustainable-development issues, said that the goal in sponsoring so many young people at the meeting was to emphasize the role of education and capacity building as an essential component of sustainable development. "Youth, with access to quality education and training, can be the protagonists of their own development," she said. In addition to the Youth caucus, Baha'i delegates – 12 in all – participated in the Women's caucus, the NGO caucus, and the Indigenous Peoples caucus. The Baha'i International Community sponsored and participated in several side events at this year's session of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development. These included: -- A Learning Center program on "Climate Ethics." The interactive course intended for policy makers and others sought to enable participants to identify key ethical and moral responsibilities that should guide decision-making in the area of climate change. The discussion focused on how the threats of climate change to agriculture, rural development, and land productivity should be addressed within an ethical framework that allows nations to move beyond national interest to consideration of the common good. Facilitators included Donald A. Brown, associate professor of environmental ethics, science and law, Penn State University; Marilyn Averill, an attorney and doctoral candidate in environmental studies in the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado at Boulder; and Peter Adriance, NGO liaison for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States. -- A panel discussion on "Poverty and the Climate Crisis" organized by the Working Group on Poverty and Climate Change of the NGO Subcommittee on Poverty Eradication. The event featured Fred Matwang'a of the Kenyan mission to the United Nations; Kiara Worth, a specialist in sustainable development from South Africa; Dessima Williams, ambassador of Grenada to the United Nations; and Ms. Averill of the University of Colorado. The event was moderated by Anita Wenden, convener of the Working Group on Poverty and Climate Change. Ms. Worth, 25, who was one of the Baha'i delegates, presented a one-woman dramatic presentation titled "Theatre of Survival: Grassroots Climate Change Communication." She appeared as an old and wizened village songoma who tells the story of young white scientists overtaking her village with complicated charts and numbers, demanding that the people change the type of crops they grow. "It's often difficult to communicate scientific concepts without taking into account the existing cultural realities," said Ms. Worth, explaining why she chose to use theater for her contribution – a technique she often employs in her work with Golder Associates in promoting sustainable development in South Africa. "The beauty of theater is that anyone can do it and it can be adapted to various social messages," she said. (The Web site of the United Nations Office of the Baha'i International Community at http://www.bic.org/ has additional information, including links to video with portions of some of the presentations.)

HAIFA

Israel

Baha'is observe Declaration of the Bab

HAIFA, Israel — On 23 May, Baha'is around the world will celebrate the 165th anniversary of the birth of the Baha'i Faith. The holy day marks the Declaration of the Bab, who in 1844 announced that He was a new divine Messenger, sent to herald a new age for humanity and to prepare the way for Baha'u'llah, the universal Messenger of God expected by people of all religions. The house in Shiraz, Iran, where the Bab first made His announcement had been preserved as a Baha'i holy site, but in 1979 – 30 years ago this year – it was destroyed by a mob aided by Revolutionary Guards. The Baha'i calendar dates from 1844, with the year 166 B.E. (Baha'i era) now under way. The Declaration of the Bab is one of nine holy days during the year on which Baha'is suspend work.

32.8191218

34.9983856

ACRE

Israel

Ascension of Baha'u'llah commemorated

ACRE, Israel — On 29 May 1892 – 117 years ago this week – Baha’u’llah passed away at His home outside Acre. Baha’is around the world each year commemorate the date with special devotional programs, many turning in the direction of His burial site as they pray. To Baha’is it is the most sacred spot on earth. The Shrine of Baha’u’llah is adjacent to the home where He lived His final years. To the end He was a prisoner of the Turkish Empire, even after authorities allowed Him to live outside the walls of the prison city of Acre. His passing in 1892 followed nearly 40 years of exile from His native Iran, first in Baghdad and later in Turkey before His incarceration in Acre in 1868. Baha’is accept Baha’u’llah as the Manifestation of God for this age, the latest in a line a divine prophets that includes Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, and others. The Ascension of Baha’u’llah is one of nine holy days during the year on which Baha’is suspend work.

32.9281731

35.0756378

CANBERRA

Australia

Australia, Canada call for immediate release of imprisoned Baha'is

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian Parliament has called on the government of Iran to release seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders “without delay.” A motion from the House of Representatives expresses “serious concern” that the detained Baha’is have had no access to legal representation and have not been subject to due legal process. It also expresses concern about charges of “spying, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and that these charges could attract the death penalty.” Finally, the motion calls on Iran to “to respect rights to freedom of religion and the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and association, in accordance with international human rights conventions.” Six members of Parliament from both major parties spoke in support of the motion, which was approved on 25 May. One of them was Mr. Luke Simpkins. “I would like to be able to say there has been some progress since I last spoke on this issue,” he said, “but the cause of justice in Iran has only gone backwards in the last few months. “It has recently been publicized that the Baha’i seven may face another charge, that of spreading corruption on earth, which is in addition to the other charges reportedly laid. It is my firm view that all these charges have no validity and remain inconsistent with the teachings of the Baha’i Faith.” IN OTTAWA, the Canadian government also issued a statement, published on 14 May – the one-year anniversary of the imprisonment of six of the seven Baha’i leaders. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon said his government “calls upon the Iranian authorities to immediately release the seven Baha’i leaders and to cease the harassment of members of the Baha’i Faith.” He said Canada is “deeply troubled by the continued imprisonment of these Baha’i leaders, without charge or legal representation.” “We believe they are being detained solely because of their faith,” he said. IN BRUSSELS, the Presidency of the European Union has issued a strong statement expressing “deep concern about the increasing violation of religious freedom in Iran.” The statement specifically names 13 individuals – five Christians, seven Baha’is, and one Shiite – who the EU says are currently imprisoned for legitimate expression of religious belief. About the Baha’is, it says “evidence suggests that the persecution deliberately aims to suppress Baha’i religious identity and legitimate community activities.” “Concerns relating to this case are further reinforced by numerous reports of official harassment of members of the Baha’i community, including detentions; police summons and pressure to desist from community religious activities,” said the statement, issued on 25 May. The seven Baha'is referred to in all the pronouncements are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but Mrs. Sabet were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. The seven are being held in Evin prison in Tehran. (Editor's note: The photograph was added to this Web page on 2 June 2009. Wording describing the statement from the European Union was changed on 8 June 2009.)

-35.2975906

149.1012676

LOS ANGELES

United States

Jazz singer Tierney Sutton takes a spiritual look at 'Desire'

LOS ANGELES, United States — Tierney Sutton is hardly alone among jazz vocalists in trying to bring a spiritual dimension to her music. But lining up jazz standards with the sacred writings of the Baha'i Faith takes the idea a step further, says Britain's Daily Express in a review of her new album. The disc, called "Desire," features 11 well-known songs and has been garnering rave reviews since its release earlier this year. The first and last tracks – "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "Skylark" – are introduced by spoken extracts from The Hidden Words, a work by Baha'u'llah that states spiritual truths common to religion throughout the ages. Ms. Sutton's new album – her eighth – "comes across as a powerful, even spiritual, musical statement about the nature of human desire, both good and bad," says one online review. "Material things that we want or desire are not usually a path to happiness," Ms. Sutton explains, "and are not usually a path to ourselves." A member of the Baha'i Faith since the age of 18, she has emerged as one of the outstanding jazz singers of the past decade – "a serious jazz artist who takes the whole enterprise to another level," said the New York Times at one point. Ms. Sutton, whose previous two albums each won Grammy nominations, says she has wanted for years to do a record challenging the modern tendency to exalt material wealth and self-gratification over humanity's higher, spiritual nature. Finally, the time was right. The key, she said, is the 15-year relationship she has with her band – Christian Jacob on piano, Trey Henry and Kevin Axt on bass, and Ray Brinker on drums – and the way the five have learned to work together and with the music. "I wouldn't have set about doing this in the first years that our band was together," Ms. Sutton says. "We are a collective and make all our decisions collectively. As time went by, we were all craving to get deeper – both musically and conceptually. We'd reached a place where we were all very comfortable about doing this." Sacred writings The Tierney Sutton Band includes Christian Jacob on piano, Trey Henry and Kevin Axt on bass, and Ray Brinker on drums.As she began work on the album, she set about exploring the literature of the world's religions to find relevant extracts to use. "My 12-year-old son and I have held an interfaith children's class for the last six or seven years, so I had all the books from the different traditions to go to," she says. "I read through all of them looking for texts about materialism. Of course, all faith traditions speak of this but in the end, I found that Baha'u'llah's writings seemed to be the most direct and concise in terms of materialism. "In the course of researching this album, my understanding of the Hidden Words changed, and I now see the core issue of the book as humanity's struggle between its spiritual nature and materialism." It took her many years to consider her work as a singer as a form of service to others. "There are deep prejudices in our society about the usefulness of artists," says Ms. Sutton, who grew up in Milwaukee in the central United States and now lives in Los Angeles. "I first set out to study Russian because I thought I would be able to serve humanity with it." In the process of pursuing a bachelor's degree in Russian, she discovered jazz. "I knew there was something spiritual there, but I couldn't see standing on a stage singing 'do-be-do' as service," she remembers. "Then, after about 10 years, we started to get reviews where the critic could catch in our performances something of what I was trying to convey as a Baha'i." Following one of her shows, a New York Times' review said she "conveyed a sense of jazz singing as an extension of spiritual meditation in which adherence to an ideal of balance and consistency and, yes, humility took precedence over any technical or emotional grandstanding." Letters from listeners began to confirm her in the idea of service. "One man wrote to me and said our concert had given him his first experience of joy since his 20-year-old son had died the year before," she says. "Another email came from a man who was thinking of taking his own life. He heard one of our songs on the radio and came to our concert that night, and he changed his mind." Finding harmony Ms. Sutton says she sees her voice as just another instrument in the ensemble. The band is incorporated, with each member an equal partner in the finances. "Look at the state of art and music in the world. It's in a very sorry state. I see people changed by listening to the level of excellence in this band," she says. "We want to offer our experience as a model to corporations and all sorts of organizations who struggle with problem solving. We are inspired by a true process of consultation. When we set out to make a song, one person puts out an idea and the others contribute theirs. We all know each other extremely well. We have different styles, strengths and weaknesses," she notes. "We can only do what we do if we remain united. Unity changes the way you do everything. And when we are onstage we always need to have a deep and profound sense of humility. We are there to serve the music." Ms. Sutton is one in a line of accomplished jazz musicians who have been inspired by the Baha'i teachings, most notably Dizzy Gillespie, one of the 20th century's foremost trumpeters. She believes that there are parallels between the way that jazz works and concepts found in the Baha'i Faith. "Despite what people think, jazz is not a kind of music without rules," she says, "but its rules create a structure that inspires diverse expression. In the band, we all trust each other to follow certain rules. Likewise, the diversity and the variation of individual Baha'i experience are vast and personally directed in many ways, but there are core values or principles guiding it." When she saw the beautiful gardens and terraces of the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel, she says she found herself thinking about some of the solos by Christian Jacob, the pianist in her band. "There was intricacy and beauty and great variation, but all in harmony. That's very much in the tradition of the best jazz."

34.0536909

-118.242766

BIC NEW YORK

Reports of a trial date for Baha'i leaders falsely accused of espionage

BIC NEW YORK, United States — According to information conveyed by the authorities in Evin prison to the family members of the seven Baha'is who have been imprisoned in Tehran, Iran, for over a year, their trial date has been set for 11 July 2009. This information has been provided to the family members only orally and, as information conveyed by officials concerning the judicial process has often proved unreliable, it is possible that the Iranian authorities may find some reason to change the trial date. The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the Baha'is will be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic." The trial is apparently scheduled to be held at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. This is where American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was recently convicted of espionage and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. She was eventually released, but only after an international outcry at the clear politicization of the case and manifestly unjust legal procedures. "These seven individuals are facing completely false charges," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "They - along with the some 30 other Baha'is currently in prison in Iran - are innocent of any wrongdoing and are being held solely because of their religious beliefs."

HAIFA

Israel

The Universal House of Justice addresses a message to the Baha’is of Iran

HAIFA, Israel — The Universal House of Justice has addressed the following message dated 23 June 2009 to the Baha’is of Iran in light of recent events in that country:*  *  *23 June 2009 To the Bahá’ís of Iran Dearly loved Friends, With hearts grieved by events unfolding in Iran, we address this letter to you, the steadfast followers of Bahá’u’lláh in that land. To the concern for your safety that has long weighed on us is now added mounting fear for the safety of millions of Iranian men and women, so many of them at the pinnacle of their youth, their vast potentialities yearning to be realized. How rapidly have veils been rent asunder! Cruelty meted out in calculated measures to you and others over the years has been unleashed in the streets of Iran for all humanity to see. No matter what the turn of events, we are confident you will adhere firmly to the fundamental principle of our Faith that strictly prohibits any involvement in partisan political activity by individual Bahá’ís or by Bahá’í institutions. Yet you cannot remain aloof and insensitive to the suffering of your people. Decades of hardship have prepared each of you to stand as a beacon of strength in the circle of your family and friends, your neighbours and acquaintances, radiating hope and compassion to all those in need. Keep alive in your hearts the feeling of confidence that the future of Iran holds bright promise, the certitude that the light of knowledge will inevitably dispel the clouds of ignorance, the conviction that concern for justice will protect the nation from falling prey to calumny, and the belief that love will ultimately conquer hatred and enmity. You have demonstrated in the example of your lives that the proper response to oppression is neither to succumb in resignation nor to take on the characteristics of the oppressor. The victim of oppression can transcend it through an inner strength that shields the soul from bitterness and hatred and which sustains consistent, principled action. May the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá resound: “Iran shall become a focal centre of divine splendours. Her darksome soil will become luminous and her land will shine resplendent.” You and your compatriots are in our continued prayers. The Universal House of Justice

32.8191218

34.9983856

LANGENHAIN

Germany

German town marks 700-year anniversary with programs at Baha'i temple

LANGENHAIN, Germany — The European Baha’i House of Worship – the most prominent landmark in a wide area around Langenhain – was the site of events this month celebrating the 700-year anniversary of the village. The mayor of Hofheim, of which Langenhain is a part, and more than 300 townspeople gathered at the temple where a choir from Langenhain sang Christian psalms, alternating with works performed by the national Baha’i choir. The program culminated with the choirs joining together to sing words of Baha’u’llah set to music from Mozart. “From the very first sound, everyone could feel that it was something extraordinary,” one of the Baha’is said of the finale. “The very special, prayerful atmosphere lasted a long time – nobody spoke or applauded.” The event was followed by a second program – a “musical matinee” – at the nearby Baha’i center where the choirs again sang for the hundreds of visitors. Both programs took place on 1 June and were attended by local officials as well as representatives of the Protestant and Catholic churches. Several of the Langenhain chorus members commented that they had long wanted to sing at the Baha’i House of Worship. Several Langenhain choir members said they had long wanted to sing at the European Baha'i House of Worship, located in their village. They finally had the opportunity at an event celebrating the 700 years of Langenhain.“It was a great joy for us,” choir conductor Andrea Post said. Her group of about 30 singers actually comprised two choirs that joined forces for the special events – the New Langenhain Choir and a local traditional choir that was founded in 1844. Anniversary events in the village of Langenhain will continue for several months. The weekend of 29 May to 1 June included many activities, among them an ecumenical service at the local Protestant church, a historical landmark dating back to 1748. The European Baha’i House of Worship, visited by about 25,000 people each year, opened in 1964. It is one of seven such Baha’i temples around the world. The village of Langenhain, which was annexed to Hofheim in 1972, today has a population of 3,200 people. It is located about 25 kilometers west of Frankfurt.

50.9029533

10.5218165

GENEVA

Switzerland

Ethics at heart of economic crisis, says EBBF

GENEVA, Switzerland — Any response to the world economic crisis must address ethics, given that the crisis is "fundamentally one of trust and integrity," the European Baha'i Business Forum said in a statement published last week. Furthermore, the situation requires an ethical response "at all levels" – from individuals, from corporations, and from governments and regulatory entities, said the statement, released as some 400 representatives from dozens of countries and organizations gathered in Geneva for a two-day Global Ethics Forum. As people reshape their thinking, certain principles must be considered, said the EBBF. "We need to replace the concept of self-centered materialism with that of service to humanity," the EBBF said. Cooperation must replace competition, the statement continued; ethical behavior must replace corruption, gender balance must replace sexism, world unity must replace protectionism, justice must replace injustice. "EBBF promotes and welcomes engagement with the widest possible community to develop together the new framework," the statement said. "We call on peoples from all businesses, countries, and walks of life to work together to build a new economic system based upon equity and justice," it concluded. More than 20 members of the European Baha'i Business Forum participated in the Global Ethics Forum, held 2-3 July at United Nations headquarters in Geneva. EBBF issued the statement in an effort to contribute to new ways of thinking that will help companies and countries develop new models as they navigate the current crisis. "There is a growing need for alternatives," said Daniel Truran, secretary general of the EBBF. "People are thirsty for a different way of working and of conducting their organizations. "In times of crisis, the search for the 'right' way forward – a direction that was not the one that got us into this crisis – is stronger than ever," he said. The European Baha'i Business Forum was founded in 1990 and now has nearly 400 members in some 60 countries. Among its activities, the EBBF: – organizes or participates in more than 250 events a year at the local, national, or international level; – designs university and postgraduate courses for young professionals, particularly those who are concerned about being confronted with a business environment that conflicts with their own ideals and values; – publishes materials to offer ideas and background to its members and others, and posts online interviews with individuals who are trying to practice values-based leadership in their work. The organization lists its seven core values as ethical business practices, social responsibility in business, values-based leadership, sustainable development, a new paradigm of work, partnership of women and men in all fields of endeavor, and nonadversarial decision-making through consultation. The EBBF Web address is http://ebbf.org

46.2017559

6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Trial for seven Baha'i leaders reportedly delayed

GENEVA, Switzerland — Iranian officials have reportedly told families of the seven Baha'i leaders currently held in Evin prison in Tehran that their trial has been delayed. No new trial date was given. Held for more than a year, the seven were reportedly to have been tried on Saturday, although this information, too, was based on oral reports from officials, and such reports have often been unreliable in the past. The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the Baha'is will be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic." The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. The Baha'i International Community has repeatedly said that the seven are being held solely because of their religious beliefs, calling for their immediate release. Such appeals for the release of the seven have been echoed by governments and human rights groups around the world. On Friday, Amnesty International issued a press release calling on Iranian authorities to release the seven. On Thursday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, responding to a letter from Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who spent almost four months in an Iranian cell, likewise urged the release of the seven. Also on Thursday, European Parliament member Angelika Beer, speaking on behalf of the Parliament's delegation for Iran, called for the release of the seven, or, at the least, urged that any trial be free, fair and open.

46.2017559

6.1466014

LONDON

United Kingdom

British Baha'is meet with Prime Minister Brown on Iran concerns

LONDON, England — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met this week with members of the U.K. Baha'i community and underlined his government's concern over the seven Baha'i leaders being detained in Iran. Mr. Lembit Opik, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is group, accompanied three Baha'i representatives to the meeting, held yesterday at the prime minister's office in the Houses of Parliament. One of the Baha'is, Mrs. Bahar Tahzib – originally from Iran but now living in England – shared with Mr. Brown her first-hand experience of religious persecution. Her father was executed in Iran in June 1980 for being a Baha'i, and her uncle, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, is one of the seven Baha'i leaders arrested in the spring of 2008 and jailed since then in Evin prison in Tehran. Charges against the seven have been reported in government-controlled mass media as "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic" – accusations the Baha'i International Community categorically denies. No formal charges have been filed, however, and the seven Baha'is have had no access to attorneys. Families of the prisoners had been informed that there would be a trial this past week, but now the families reportedly have been told there is a delay. No new trial date has been given. Before their arrest, the prisoners were members of an informal committee looking after the affairs of Iran's 300,000-member Baha'i community, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority. At least 30 Baha'is are currently being held in Iranian prisons because of their religion. "I was very touched by the prime minister's genuine expressions of sympathy and concern," Mrs. Tahzib said after yesterday's meeting with Mr. Brown. "My uncle is 75 years old, and he is being kept in unsuitable conditions for more than a year," Mrs. Tahzib said she told the prime minister. "This is clearly a cause of great concern for the family, and their wish is for a fair trial." Mr. Opik noted that recent events in Iran have shown the world the methods – including manipulating the judiciary process – that the Iranian government uses to impose its will. "The examples of the case of Roxana Saberi, the protesters picked up on the streets, in their homes and hospital beds, and the arrests of foreign and domestic journalists, among others, illustrate a pattern of arbitrary arrest, coercion, false confessions, baseless charges, and summary judgments," he said. The other Baha'is who met with Prime Minister Brown were Dr. Kishan Manocha, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom, and Mr. Barney Leith, director of diplomatic relations for the U.K. Baha'i community.

51.5073219

-0.1276474

GENEVA

Switzerland

Due process ignored as trial date is set for Iranian Baha'i prisoners

GENEVA, Switzerland — In yet another example of the denial to Baha’is in Iran of their rights to justice, including due process, judicial officials have reportedly set next Tuesday as the trial date for seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders – despite the fact that the lead lawyers registered with the court to represent them are either in prison or outside the country. Further, efforts to have the accused released on bail have not succeeded. The investigation against them was concluded months ago but they remain incarcerated, without access to their legal counsel and with only the barest minimum contact with their families – contact that did not begin until some five months’ after their arrest, when they were finally taken out of solitary confinement. Authorities recently sent to Abdolfattah Soltani, a key member of the legal team representing the seven Baha’is who is himself currently imprisoned in Evin prison, a notice saying that 18 August has been set as the trial date for the seven Baha’is. Dated 15 July, the writ of notification for the seven gives 9 a.m., 18 August, as the date for the trial, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That is the same court that tried Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi. The writ of notification giving 18 August as the trial date was specifically addressed to Mr. Soltani, a well-known human rights lawyer and a principal of the Tehran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and has since last year undertaken to defend the seven Baha’is. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ebadi, the senior member of the legal team, remains outside the country. “The judiciary’s decision to schedule the trial under these circumstances is an effrontery and yet another tactic aimed at depriving the seven Baha’i leaders of competent legal counsel,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “The Iranian authorities know full well who is serving as legal counsel for the Baha’is. Indeed, authorities have several times tried to pressure the seven to change lawyers. “It is the height of absurdity to issue a trial notice to a lawyer who has himself been unjustly imprisoned,” she said. “The willingness of Iran’s judiciary to flout the most fundamental internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence were brought to light in the widespread publicity attending the trial of Roxana Saberi. “More recently, the attention of the world has been focused on the show trial of scores of individuals arrested in post-election turmoil in Iran, also without due process and which has included ‘confessions’ that were clearly coerced through torture,” said Ms. Ala’i. The Baha’i International Community has called for the human rights of all the people of Iran to be respected and upheld. “Today, then, we raise the call on behalf of our innocent co-religionists, whose only ‘crime’ is their religious belief, and who face the most severe punishments if they are found guilty of the trumped-up charges against them. “Instead of going on trial, they should be immediately released on bail, and, at the very least, be given adequate time for their attorneys to prepare a defense,” said Ms. Ala’i. Ms. Ala’i also said that the 18 August trial date could not be taken as firm, noting that the families of the seven had been told in June they were to be tried on 11 July, only to have that date come and go. “Given the past history of this case, the utter lack of concern for procedure on the part of authorities, and the current situation in Iran, it is simply not possible to know when the proceedings will actually begin,” she said. The seven Baha’i prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have since been held without formal charges or access to their lawyers at Evin prison in Tehran. Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic,” charges that are rejected completely and categorically. The ongoing imprisonment of the seven and pending trial is particularly alarming because of their leadership position as the former members of a national-level coordinating group known as the "Friends in Iran." Some 25 years ago, other Baha’i leaders were executed after being rounded up in a manner similar to the way in which these seven were arrested last year.

46.2017559

6.1466014

CAIRO

Egypt

First identification cards issued to Egyptian Baha'is using a "dash" instead of religion

CAIRO, Egypt — Two young Baha'is at the center of a court case over religious identification on government documents have received new computerized ID cards showing a "dash" instead of their religion. Imad and Nancy Rauf Hindi received the new cards on 8 August 2009. They are the first such cards to be issued following a ruling by the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court that cleared the way for the government to issue documents without reference to religious identity. "We welcome this development and are now hopeful that the Egyptian government will begin granting more identification cards and related documents to Baha'is and others," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community. For nearly five years, since the government began introducing a computerized identity card system that locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, Baha'is have been unable to get ID cards and other documents essential to day-to-day life in Egypt. Official Egyptian national identification card issued to Nancy Rauf Hindi on 8 August 2009, showing a "dash" on the back in the field reserved for religious affiliation.In April 2006, a lower administrative court upheld the right of Baha'is to be explicitly identified on official documents. But in December that year, the Supreme Administrative Court reversed that decision. It was proposed that a dash or the word "other" be used on documents, instead of the Baha'is being forced to list themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. That case specifically involved the 16-year-old Rauf Hindi twins, who had been unable to attend school in Egypt for lack of proper documents. On 29 January 2008, a lower court again ruled in their favor. But then two Muslim lawyers filed an appeal. On 16 March 2009, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal and the Ministry of Interior soon after that issued a decree specifying that individuals can now obtain government documents without identifying themselves as belonging to a particular religion.

30.0443879

31.2357257

GENEVA

Switzerland

Trial of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders postponed

GENEVA, Switzerland — The trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran has been postponed until 18 October, the Baha'i International Community learned today. According to Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva, following a request for postponement of the trial from Mr. Hadi Esmaielzadeh and Ms. Mahnaz Parakand – attorneys from the Defenders of Human Rights Center who are representing the seven Baha'is – the court has decided to delay the hearing for two months. Two senior members of the legal team, Nobel laureate Mrs. Shirin Ebadi and Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, were unable to attend the hearing as Mrs. Ebadi is out of the country and Mr. Soltani is in prison, having been detained on 16 June 2009 in the wake of the civil unrest following the presidential election in Iran. "Our hope now is that our seven innocent co-religionists will be released on bail," said Ms. Ala'i. The seven Baha'i prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have since been held at Tehran’s Evin prison without formal charges or access to their lawyers. Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic." The Baha'i International Community categorically rejects all charges against the seven, stating that they are held solely because of religious persecution.

46.2017559

6.1466014

WASHINGTON

D.C.

United States

Conference: Religion joins with science to address environment issues

WASHINGTON, United States — People’s spiritual beliefs affect their attitude toward climate change, with religious groups increasingly helping to frame humanity’s response to environmental issues. That was one of the messages from a session at the 33rd annual conference of the Association for Baha’i Studies, held in mid-August in Washington, D.C. The gathering drew nearly 1,000 participants from some 20 countries. The theme of the conference was “Environments,” and one of the plenary speakers was Peter G. Brown, a geography professor at McGill University in Montreal who has participated in the Moral Economy Project of the Quaker Institute for the Future. Dr. Brown said the current economic paradigm is bringing mayhem to the planet and that people need to learn to think of themselves as citizens, not consumers. “We need a different image of ourselves,” he said − an image that sees humanity as part of a long “co-evolutionary” process. Rather than asking how to better exploit the earth's resources, humanity should be asking how to live with an ethic of respect and reciprocity for all life, he said. Society’s concept of morality is too limited, he continued, suggesting that a moral framework must be applied to systems, not just to individuals. “We have not been able to connect our scientific knowledge with our moral systems,” he noted. Artist Otto Don Rogers of Canada delivers the Balyuzi Memorial Lecture, focusing on the arts as a spiritual endeavor. He spoke on 15 August 2009 in Washington.A Baha'i speaker, Peter Adriance, described how religious groups and faith communities are increasingly collaborating with the environmental movement. He quoted Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-founder of the Forum on Religion and Ecology, as saying that “no other group of institutions can wield the particular moral authority of the religions.” Mr. Adriance listed a dozen initiatives by various groups that focus on spiritual or moral aspects of creating a sustainable environment. Among those that he mentioned were: -- A first-of-its-type report from the Sierra Club titled "Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet." -- Programs sponsored by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. -- A paper from the Worldwatch Institute titled “Engaging Religion in the Quest for a Sustainable World”; part of the text was included in the 2003 State of the World report. -- The Green Sanctuary program initiated by the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth. He quoted Gus Speth from the 2007 Yale Conference Report: “Religions played key roles in ending slavery, in the civil rights movement, and in overcoming apartheid in South Africa, and they are now turning attention with increasing strength to the environment.” Mr. Adriance also quoted from a 1991 statement by the Baha’i International Community calling for a spiritual response to address global problems: “The changes required to reorient the world toward a sustainable future imply degrees of sacrifice, social integration, selfless action, and unity of purpose rarely achieved in human history. These qualities have reached their highest degree of development through the power of religion.” This year’s conference of the Association for Baha’i Studies (North American chapter) was held from 13-16 August, concurrently with the annual meeting of the International Environmental Forum, a Baha’i-inspired organization addressing the environment and sustainable development. Arthur Dahl gave the opening address and said that the conference theme of “Environments” would explore the relationship “between our outer and inner environments, between the planet and our souls, between science and spirituality.” “We still look at economic issues separately from social or environment questions despite all the efforts to integrate them,” said Dr. Dahl, who is president of the International Environment Forum and a former official with the United Nations Environment Program. Speaking to an audience that included many scientists, he warned of the “spiritual danger in the pride to think that we can know everything through science.” Science uncovers facts, he noted, and he gave the example of science proving that smoking causes lung cancer. But science is powerless to change behavior − what changes behavior is spiritual and cultural transformation, he said. Balyuzi lecture A highlight of the conference was the Balyuzi Memorial Lecture by Canadian artist Otto Don Rogers, said Kim Naqvi, one of the organizers of the gathering. Works by Mr. Rogers hang in a number of museums – among them the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. “He challenged the community to consider the arts as both an intellectual and spiritual endeavor,” said Dr. Naqvi. Mr. Rogers explored the concept of space and said even scientists do not understand it very well; in the past it was sometimes referred to as the “ether.” Cezanne, he noted, was one of the first painters to leave gaps − spaces − in his paintings, making it possible for the mind to move into his works. “Space is not simply a curtain that hangs behind everything, physicists have found, but it has an intelligence and form,” he said. “Recent research on brain function has revealed interesting insights,” he continued. “Physicists had thought that the brain’s some two billion neurons are connected in one long string. Yet now, with the development of high-powered microscopes, they have discovered that each neuron is bonded by its own memory. One cluster of neurons is bound to another by some type of memory, but they do not touch.” He said scientists have concluded that the synapses between cells are the secret sites of communication. Likewise, he said, a painting is about the space between things, the way the dark relates to the light, the fast to the slow, stillness to motion, and all happening simultaneously. He arranged for images of eight of his most recent works to be projected on huge screens during the address, and he encouraged the audience to “appreciate the static.” “We artists wonder,” he said, “at viewers who read the title of a work, spend a few seconds, and then move on.” More information about the conference is available from the Canadian Baha’i News Service and from the International Environmental Forum. (Julia Berger, Sandra Blaine, and Parvin Rowhani contributed to this article.)

38.8950368

-77.0365427

NEW YORK

United States

Ethics are 'missing dimension' in climate debate, says IPCC head

NEW YORK, United States — The inequities and injustices that are likely to occur on a global level because of climate change mean that world leaders must carefully examine the moral and ethical dimensions of global warming, said Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "The impacts of climate change are going to be inequitable, unequal, and severe in many parts of the world," said Dr. Pachauri, who spoke today at a breakfast meeting at the Baha'i International Community offices. "We have to think at a much higher level. And I think this is where ethics comes in so critically as the missing dimension in this debate," he said. Dr. Pachauri's comments came at the official launch of an appeal, directed at world leaders gathered at this week's UN Summit on Climate Change, to emphasize the importance of the moral and ethical dimensions of global warming and its impact in their deliberations. The appeal was drafted by the Baha'i International Community and has been signed by 25 nongovernmental organizations, religious groups, and policy institutes. The document calls on world leaders to "consider deeply the ethical and moral questions at the root of the climate change crisis." "The quest for climate justice is not a competition for limited resources but part of an unfolding process towards greater degrees of unity among nations as they endeavor to build a sustainable, just and peaceful civilization," the appeal states. Tahirih Naylor, a Baha'i representative to the United Nations, said the purpose of the document is to call attention to the fact that climate change is more than a political, economic and scientific problem. "There is a moral and ethical dimension to climate change that must be addressed," said Ms. Naylor. "For example, we know that wealthy nations have contributed more to climate problems than the poor nations, and so there is an element of justice that must be considered in any long-term solution." Dr. Pachauri said that while science can provide the building blocks for understanding the impact and likelihood of climate change, it will be important for citizens groups and individuals to provide the motivation for action. "I feel you really cannot rely on the leaders, you really cannot rely on the nation states," he said. "You really need a groundswell of grassroots action and grassroots consciousness on what needs to be done. If that is happening, then leaders will follow." Dr. Pachauri called for a "groundswell of grassroots action" on what needs to be done to address the challenge of global warming. He spoke in New York as world leaders were gathering at the United Nations.He encouraged the representatives of civil society gathered for the breakfast meeting to continue to work to keep the moral and ethical issues front and center in the climate debate. "You have to persevere and persist," he said. "If you do, you certainly will be able to change the nature of the debate." He said, especially, that the long term impact of climate change on future generations must be taken into account. "Ethics demands that action has to be taken early," he said. Dr. Pachauri also said he expects that whatever its outcome, the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December is unlikely to be the final word on the subject. "When the IPCC's fifth assessment comes out in 2013 or 2014, there will be a major revival of interest in action that has to be taken," said Dr. Pachauri, speaking of the periodic assessments rendered by the group of more than 400 scientists around the world that he leads. "People are going to say, 'My God, we are going to have to take action much faster than we had planned.'" As chairman of the IPCC, Dr. Pachauri accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded jointly to the IPCC and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore for their work in warning of the potential impact of global warming. Among the organizations that have signed the appeal are the International Peace Research Association, Oxfam International, Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries, Solar Cookers International, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural (WOCAN), and the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO). The document presented today is titled "Moral and Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change: Appeal to World Leaders." The text follows: *We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, leaders of the world's religions, and other members of civil society, urge the governments of the world to participate in the UN High Level Event on Climate Change through representatives at the highest level and unequivocally call on them to: * *– Consider deeply the ethical and moral questions at the root of the climate change crisis-questions of justice and equity that will determine the survival of cultures, ecosystems, and present as well as future generations; * – Recognize that the quest for climate justice is not a competition for limited resources but part of an unfolding process towards greater degrees of unity among nations as they endeavor to build a sustainable, just and peaceful civilization; – Distinguish their contributions to this High-Level Event by demonstrating trust, justice, solidarity, and a vision of prosperity for the most vulnerable populations; *– Demonstrate courage and moral leadership as they articulate the vision and secure the foundations for a comprehensive and legally binding agreement during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCC and the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in December 2009; and * *– Ensure that commitments in all arenas of the climate change challenge are guided by ethical and moral considerations so as to inspire the trust and confidence of individuals, communities and institutions to effect the changes needed to build a sustainable civilization. * We call on the gathered leaders to summon the same spirit and sense of urgency that led to the creation of the United Nations, to forge a climate change agreement worthy of the trust of humankind. Baha'i International Community, Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Congregation of Notre Dame, The Congregations of St. Joseph, The Fellowship of Reconciliation, Franciscans International, GRATIS Foundation, Initiatives of Change International, International Peace Research Association, International Presentation Association of the Sisters of the Presentation, International Public Policy Institute, International Women's Anthropology Conference, Loretto Community, Oxfam International, Passionists International, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of Charity Federation, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries, Solar Cookers International, SustainUS, UNANIMA International, WEDO, WOCAN

40.7127281

-74.0060152

BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTRE

Music and the arts a highlight of summer gatherings

BAHA'I WORLD CENTRE — Singing was the draw at a festival of choirs in the Congo, while in Venezuela, both plastic arts and music played a key role at the annual Baha'i summer school. In the United Kingdom, the long-running Academy for the Arts gave 300 people the opportunity to focus on art, music, writing, or dance at a summer retreat. And in the United States, renowned Baha'i singer Narges and the Unity Bluegrass Band were among the performers who added an artistic element to the 50th year of the popular Green Lake conference. All four events are sponsored by Baha'is and took place in August. Other seasonal events in a host of countries also featured the arts, including an annual Arts Week in both Bulgaria and the Netherlands. The choir festival in the **Democratic Republic of the Congo **was the second such gathering since the annual event resumed after a 12-year hiatus caused by war and unrest in the eastern part of the country. "Before the war, every year there was the festival," said Ahmad Parsa, a resident of neighboring Rwanda who attended part of the three-day event. Some 16 choirs – mostly youth – presented original songs focusing on the life of Baha'u'llah and of the Bab. Each year, a theme is announced beforehand, and singers prepare new material. The event is always in the province of South Kivu, but the exact locale changes. This year it was held in Sange, where local residents gave a warm welcome to the hundreds of festivalgoers and a Christian church allowed use of a property it owned for the venue, Mr. Parsa said. At this year's seasonal school in **Venezuela **– held annually at the Baha'i institute in the city of Cabudare – a portion of each day was set aside for arts-related activities. "We worked with clay for two days and then made papier mache instruments – tambourines, rain sticks, maracas – the other two days," said Nuriyeh McLaren, who helped plan the school. At the Baha’i summer school in Venezuela, young Key Aray joins in during a creative art project. Arts and music were part of the program each day for all age groups."The last night we had a bonfire, and everybody took the instruments they had made and we sang songs and played them," she said. "One of the nights we also had a talent show, and people sang, danced, did mini-dramas on all different topics – Baha'i themes, cultural themes, taking care of the environment. ..." Youngsters aged 11 to 15 had two sessions specifically dedicated to the importance of the arts and how to use them for service to others, she added. "In general, all the children's classes and pre-youth workshops had an artistic activity of some kind – painting, coloring, dramas, music, pasting, cutting, story-telling." The theme of the summer school was "Hoy Te Sumas Tu" (Today You Join In), which is the title of a song written by one of the Baha'is. "It was taught and sung during the whole school, and everybody still sings it all over the country," Ms. McLaren said. Baha'i Academy for the Arts In England, the annual Academy for the Arts offered 19 different courses and attracted people from around the world, said Margaret Appa, who has been involved with the event since its founding in 1993. "Participants work on one course for the week," she said. Offerings included songwriting, watercolor painting, dance, public speaking, acting, audiovisual production, choir directing (the name of the course was "Leading a choir when all you can do is sing"), and drawing. A class on writing, both fiction and nonfiction, was titled "Write to change the world." Three of the 19 classes were designed for youths aged 11 to 16. "It's very much a family event," she said. The Academy for the Arts, which this year was held at Wellington College, Berkshire, is aimed at giving people an environment in which to study an area of the arts and develop their creativity. "We work completely by encouragement," Mrs. Appa said, "to be warm and loving, but also to be challenging. We strive for excellence, but one person's excellence is not the same as another person's." Participants also are treated to a schedule of evening performances, films, and talks by guest speakers – "something to stretch people," Mrs. Appa said. "We have discovered over the years that some of the people, during the year, never go to a play, never go to a concert, never go to see a film," another of the organizers noted. The Academy for the Arts has grown from about 25 participants its first year to this year's 300 – 270 students and 30 tutors and staff members. In the United States, the annual Green Lake Baha'i Conference in central Wisconsin – always known for its stellar lineup of speakers – this year celebrated its 50th anniversary with outstanding performing artists as well. "The Green Lake committee has been superb at elevating the arts," noted one conference participant. The singer Narges – who has performed at major international venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and Winston Churchill Hall in London – had appeared previously at Green Lake and returned for the golden anniversary. A special treat was a presentation by the Unity Bluegrass Band, an ensemble that had been popular in the Chicago area back in the 1970s and 1980s and had played at Green Lake once before, in 1977. "They had not been together in 20 years, and they had a reunion there and performed to a very appreciative crowd," said Ellen Price, who was in the audience. "People were up on their feet, dancing to the music." Performances were offered both on the main stage at the conference and at a coffee house. Among the presenters were the singer-musician Alessandro and two women who performed an original drama by Beth Carrier about events following the martyrdom of the Bab in 1850.

WASHINGTON

D.C.

United States

Prominent Iranians call for religious liberty

WASHINGTON, United States — A best-selling author and an Oscar-nominated actress are among those who have called for religious freedom in Iran, including an end to the persecution of Baha'is in that country. Some 1,400 people heard Azar Nafisi, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran," and Shohreh Aghdashloo, Academy Award-nominated actress for "House of Sand and Fog," speak at a public gathering this month at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Both Dr. Nafisi and Ms. Aghdashloo were born in Iran, and neither is a member of the Baha'i community. Dr. Nafisi spoke passionately about the common humanity of all people and the suffering of one being the suffering of all. She particularly focused on minorities in Iran and pointed to the example of the Baha'is. "I ask myself," she said, "how does it feel to be deprived of every single basic human right in a country you call your own, in a country where you have been born into the language and the culture, a country where your parents and your parents' parents ... have lived and contributed to, what does it mean to be deprived of the right to education, of the right to property, of even the right to life?" She said the struggle is "not a political struggle, it is an existential one." It goes beyond the Baha'is, she said, to "every single person in Iran who dares to be different, who dares to express his or her desire for the freedom to have a choice." "Baha'is in Iran have become the canaries in the mine," she said. "You want to know how much freedom the Iranian people enjoy today, you go to the fate of its Baha'is." Depriving people of their individuality is a way of killing them, she said. "It is worse, in fact, than just being plainly murdered. To deny your humanity, your individuality, is to be dead." Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo spoke by video to the gathering in Washington, saying she stands "with many others around the world" in supporting the Iranian Baha'is."The show trials that have been going on in Iran – all these people coming from such different backgrounds, such different ages, such different political and religious beliefs, all of them deprived of their individuality," she said. The defendants, she said, were forced into confessing that "whatever they believed in, whatever lifestyle they led ... was a farce and sham. That is another way of killing people." Ms. Aghdashloo, addressing the gathering via video from Los Angeles, said everything she had "ever read or understood about the Baha'i Faith" is that it stands for the oneness of humanity and inherent nobility of all human beings. "I stand with many others around the world in conveying our unified voice in support of the Baha'is in Iran and wish to speak out against the ongoing and deplorable actions of the Iranian government," she said. The event in Washington, held on 12 September, was dedicated to the Baha'is who are jailed in Iran, including the seven "leaders" who have been detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for more than a year on trumped-up charges of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic." It was one of a number of gatherings held in recent months across the United States to offer prayers for the prisoners, including events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and now Washington. In San Francisco – at the Herbst Theatre, where the United Nations Charter was signed in 1945 – Dr. Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University, was the principal speaker. "For Iran, the treatment of the Baha'is in the last 150 years, our society's acts of omission and commission, what we said and did or failed to say and do, all create an embarrassing blot of shame on our history," he said. "Iran can't become a democracy unless it has had a full reckoning with its Baha'i problem," he said. "Iran can't be a democracy unless the Baha'is are considered full citizens of the society and their faith – like those of Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, Muslims, or members of any other faith, belief, or even disbelief – is recognized as a private matter where the state, social institutions, or actors have no right of inquiry, interference, or harassment." In Washington, one of the speakers was Dwight Bashir, associate director for policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He quoted from U.S. President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo earlier this year, directed to the Muslim world: "People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it's being challenged in many different ways. ... Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith." "The last part of President Obama's statement is exactly what we are witnessing in Iran today," Dr. Bashir said. For a video of Azar Nafisi's talk: http://vimeo.com/6727194 For Shohreh Aghdashloo's message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeb_HDTRkbA For Abbas Milani's presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy4vItX1YxI

38.8950368

-77.0365427

UNITED NATIONS

United States

Secretary general of UN releases report criticizing human rights abuses in Iran

UNITED NATIONS, United States — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday expressed strong criticism of Iran's human rights record, voicing concern about the use of excessive force after the recent presidential election, the harassment of women's rights activists, the ongoing execution of juveniles, and the continued persecution of minorities, including Baha'is. In a 19-page report written specifically to address a request made last December from the UN General Assembly about human rights in Iran, Mr. Ban said there have been "negative developments" in the area of civil and political rights since 2008. The year saw "an increase in human rights violations targeting women, university students, teachers, workers and other activist groups, particularly in the aftermath of the elections," Mr. Ban said. "Members of various ethnic and minority groups faced harassment, violence and, in some cases, persecution," he added, noting that "a pattern of concern arises with respect to the protection of minorities, including the Baha'i community, the Arab minority in Khuzestan, the Nematollahi Sufi Muslim community, the Kurdish community, the Sunni community, the Baluchi community, and the Azeri-Turk community." The report made specific mention of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders who were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have since been held in Evin prison, noting that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has written to Iran "on numerous occasions to express concern and seek clarification" about the status of the seven. Mr. Ban also noted that during the year reports "continued to be received about members of the Baha'i community being subjected to arbitrary detention, confiscation of property and denial of employment, government benefits, and access to higher education." The report, which was dated 23 September 2009 but actually released yesterday, focused extensively on the government's response to post-election protests. It noted that Mr. Ban himself had on 22 June issued a statement "expressing dismay at the post-election violence, particularly the use of force against civilians, which had led to the loss of life and injuries." That statement, the report noted, called on the authorities to respect fundamental civil and political rights, especially freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of information. It also called for an immediate stop to the arrests, threats, and use of force. Yet, the report noted, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the following day that he rejected the secretary general's statement. Like a similar report he issued last year, Mr. Ban also took note of reports of Iran's continuing execution of juveniles, reports of the use of torture, and the oppression of women's rights activists. "I encourage the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to address the concerns highlighted in the report and to continue to revise national laws, particularly the new penal code and juvenile justice laws, to ensure compliance with international human rights standards and prevent discriminatory practices against women, ethnic and religious minorities, and other minority groups," he said in the report's conclusion. Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations said Mr. Ban's report was extremely welcome – and timely. "Although Mr. Ban has praised Iran for some developments, such as government's pursuit of the redistribution of wealth and poverty reduction, overall the report is quite damning," said Ms. Dugal. "He also makes a number of suggestions about how Iran could make a constructive response, such as by opening the country to visits by special UN human rights monitors, and we sincerely hope that Iran will heed his call. "Mr. Ban paints a grim picture of the situation in Iran, clearly indicating that the human rights situation has worsened since his report last year. Our hope, therefore, is that the UN General Assembly will again adopt a resolution this year urging Iran to live up its international human rights obligations." To read the full report: "The situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran"

GENEVA

Switzerland

Trial of seven Baha'is in Iran scheduled for 18 October

GENEVA, Switzerland — The trial of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran is scheduled for Sunday. However, defense lawyers have not received the standard advance notification required under Iranian law. "It is unclear whether the trial will take place on Sunday, or whether it will be postponed again," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "If the trial does not go ahead, the seven Baha'is should be released on bail, as Iranian law requires," she said. "They are completely innocent of the accusations against them and should not have been imprisoned in the first place." Ms. Ala'i explained that Iranian law requires that attorneys receive a writ of notification at least two business days before any trial takes place. She noted that Friday is not a business day in Iran, and since lawyers have not yet received the notice, it may be an indication that the trial will be delayed again. The trial for the seven prisoners had originally been scheduled for 18 August. But on 17 August it was postponed to 18 October, after court officials agreed to requests from defense attorneys for more time to prepare, since they had not been given adequate access to the prisoners. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have been held in Tehran's Evin prison ever since, spending their first year there without formal charges or access to lawyers. Official news agencies in Iran say the seven are accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic." They also reportedly face charges of "spreading corruption on earth." "All of these accusations are absurd and baseless," said Ms. Ala'i. "Take, for example, the idea that they have been spying for Israel. That stems entirely from the fact that the religious and spiritual center of the Baha'i Faith is, through a fact of history, located in Haifa, Israel. "Just as a Catholic archbishop is expected to communicate with the Vatican, so it is that these seven – with the knowledge of the Iranian government – communicated with their spiritual center, which happens to be in Israel. There is nothing wrong with that."

46.2017559

6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Trial of seven Baha'is delayed, no new date set

GENEVA, Switzerland — Although the trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran for more than 17 months was scheduled for today, when attorneys and families arrived at the court offices in Tehran they were told it would not take place. No new trial date was given. "The time has come for these seven innocent people to be immediately released on bail," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "The seven, whose only 'crime' is their religious belief, are once again in legal limbo, held with no idea of the legal process ahead of them. The whole charade cries out for an end to their unlawful detention," she said. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic." They have also been charged with "spreading corruption on earth." Last week, it appeared likely that the trial would indeed be postponed again, since attorneys for the seven had not yet received the proper writ of notification. "The fact that their attorneys did not receive proper notification and that there is no new date for the trial is just one among many gross violations of Iran's own legal procedures, not to mention the violations of due process recognized by international law, that have marked this case from the beginning," said Ms. Ala'i.

46.2017559

6.1466014

NEW YORK

United States

Baha'is join global plan for "generational change" on climate change

NEW YORK, United States — The Baha'i International Community today announced that it has become a partner in a United Nations-sponsored program to promote "generational change" to address climate change and environmental sustainability. The program, which is co-sponsored by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), seeks to promote lifestyle changes that will help slow global warming and other environmental problems during a seven-year period from 2010 to 2017. "We are very pleased to join with other world religions and with the United Nations in this inspiring initiative to promote lasting change in the way people interact with the environment," said Tahirih Naylor, a representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "The significance of this effort is the manner in which it capitalizes on the strengths of faith communities – such as their strong grassroots network and the transformative power of religious belief – to address environmental problems at their foundation, which is human behavior. "One of the long-term goals of the Baha'i Faith is to promote the positive transformation of individuals and communities, and to this end we already sponsor thousands of study circles, children's classes, devotional gatherings, and youth groups in more than 180 countries. "We look forward to learning more about the efforts of other faith communities and are confident that we can make a useful contribution to this exciting program," she said. Ms. Naylor will join representatives of the world's other religions next week at Windsor Castle when the ARC/UNDP program is formally launched. The event, scheduled for 2-4 November, will feature a keynote speech by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and will be hosted by HRH The Prince Philip. More than 200 faith and secular leaders are expected to be present, and many faith groups will announce commitments to practical initiatives, like the Baha'i plan, to meet global environmental challenges. Joining Ms. Naylor as a Baha'i representative to the event will be Arthur Lyon Dahl, a former deputy assistant executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, an author, and a well-known specialist on coral reefs and biodiversity. Ms. Naylor noted that the BIC has been a member of ARC since its founding, and has consistently sought to support its program of interfaith conservation efforts. "The worldwide Baha'i community has long been involved in promoting sustainable development and in creating small-scale projects that include environmental conservation," she said. "And so this initiative is especially exciting because of the way it concretely addresses the underlying attitudes and values that are at the root of many of humanity's environmental problems." Specifically, said Ms. Naylor, Baha'is around the world will be encouraged to explore the relationship of humans to the environment as articulated in the Baha'i sacred writings and to take action at the individual and community level. "In our experience, connecting the hearts of people to sacred writings is the best way to provide the motivation for social change and action," she said. "As well, Baha'is will be encouraged to engage in acts of service related to environmental sustainability." At the present time, Ms. Naylor said, many thousands of Baha'is in virtually every country are engaged in a coherent framework of action that promotes the spiritual development of the individual and channels the collective energies of its members towards service to humanity. These activities include the systematic study of the Baha'i writings in small groups in order to build capacity for service; devotional gatherings aimed at connecting the hearts of participants with the Creator; neighborhood children's classes that offer lessons aimed at laying the foundations of a noble and upright character; and groups that strive to assist young teens to navigate a crucial stage of their lives and become empowered to direct their energies toward the advancement of civilization. The Baha'i International Community is an international nongovernmental organization that represents the worldwide Baha'i community, which has some five million members in 100,000 localities spread through virtually every country. Its members come from nearly every ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic background. ARC is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programs, based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices. It was founded in 1995 by Prince Philip. Its members include 11 major world religions.

40.7127281

-74.0060152

WINDSOR

United Kingdom

World’s major religions present action plans on environment

WINDSOR, England — Leaders representing the world's major religions, including the Baha'i Faith, gathered yesterday at historic Windsor Castle to formally launch a series of action plans involving their communities in a long-term effort to protect the environment. They were joined by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a celebratory meeting that emphasized the role religion can play to inspire grassroots change and make "peace with the planet." "I have long believed that when governments and civil society work toward a common goal, transformational change is possible," said Mr. Ban. "Faiths and religions are a central part of that equation. "Indeed, the world's faith communities occupy a unique position in discussions on the fate of our planet and the accelerating impacts of climate change," he said. The three-day event – which ended at noon today – was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), which was founded in 1995 by Prince Philip. The core session of the gathering was yesterday's meeting at Windsor Castle, where representatives of each religious group presented a seven-year plan designed to promote "generational change" in attitudes towards the environment. Baha'i delegates Arthur Lyon Dahl and Tahirih Naylor receive certificates at the Windsor Castle gathering. They are pictured with Prince Philip, founder of ARC; Martin Palmer of ARC; and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.Thirty-one plans were presented, reflecting representation by virtually all of the world's independent religions: the Baha'i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, and Sikhism. In general, the plans sought to offer concrete, practical steps for action. The Muslim plan, for example, calls for the establishment of an umbrella organization, Muslim Associations for Climate Change Action (MACCA), that will represent Islamic nations and faith communities from around the world. It also calls for an Islamic environmental labeling system, a "Green Hajj" so that within 10 years the traditional Islamic pilgrimage will be recognized as environmentally friendly, and the construction of a model "green mosque" to showcase best practices in heating, light, and design. The Sikh plan urges all Sikh gurdwaras – temples – to recycle, compost, use green energy, use eco-stoves, start rainwater harvesting, purchase reusable plates and cups. Representatives of the Baha'i Faith presented a plan that focuses on using a system of regional training institutes to encourage within the worldwide Baha'i community "acts of service related to environmental sustainability." "Baha'is believe that religious belief and spirituality lie at the foundation of human motivation and behavior," said Tahirih Naylor, a Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations who was one of two Baha'i delegates to the Windsor event. "We believe that efforts to change harmful human behavior – such as those actions that contribute to global warming or environmental degradation – can be greatly facilitated by processes that lead to a better understanding of our own relationship to God, and of humanity's relationship with nature. It is from such understanding that action naturally arises." The approximately 200 representatives from religious communities, environmental groups, and international agencies who gathered in Windsor also met in a series of plenary sessions and workshops at the Harte and Garter Hotel to discuss how they can reach a new level of collaboration in the face of global warming, water shortages, deforestation, and other environmental threats. "Climate change is complex, and dealing with it requires us to change at many levels," said Olav Kjorven, assistant secretary general of the United Nations and director of the Bureau of Development Policy at the UN Development Programme. "It requires a change of ethos. Religions have an unparalleled ability to reach out to people at the grassroots and to touch hearts and minds. Religious institutions are the third largest actors in international markets. Environmentally friendly purchasing decisions by them would have a huge impact across the world." Tony Juniper, special adviser to the Prince of Wales' Rainforests Project and former executive director of the Friends of the Earth, likewise emphasized the important role that religions can play. "Scientific rationalism gave rise to good science, which in turn gave rise to strong political arguments for cleaning up the environment," Mr. Juniper said. "As a result, governments dealt with acid rain and other environmental threats. But these changes were only superficial," he said. "Purely scientific rationalism cannot change our fundamental understanding of who we are and how we should live. Religion and science must work together to bring about a fundamental transformation in our relationship to the world. This kind of change needs a spiritual foundation," he said.

51.483757749999995

-0.6040964041849046

BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTRE

Baha'is celebrate the Birth of Baha'u'llah

BAHA'I WORLD CENTRE — On 12 November, Baha'is around the globe will celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith. Gatherings are held in thousands of localities – in homes, at public facilities, at local and national Baha'i centers, and at Baha'i Houses of Worship. Baha'is invite their friends and the public to join them in offering prayers and celebrating with special programs, artistic performances, and refreshments. The date is one of nine holy days during the year when Baha'is suspend work. Baha'u'llah was born in 1817 into a noble family in Tehran, the capital of Persia. In 1853, He was exiled from His native land to Baghdad, where in 1863 He announced that He was the bearer of a new revelation from God that would bring unity to the peoples of the world. He was later exiled to Acre, in present-day Israel, where He passed away in 1892.

UNITED NATIONS

United States

UN resolution on Iran sends powerful message on human rights

UNITED NATIONS, United States — The approval today of a strongly worded resolution on human rights in Iran sends a powerful signal to the Iranian government that the world is gravely concerned about how Iran treats its citizens, said the Baha'i International Community. The resolution, approved by a vote of 74 to 48 by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, expressed "deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran." The list of violations included oppressive measures taken after the June presidential election and "increasing discrimination" against minority groups, including Baha'is. "This year's resolution – which is among the most forcefully worded in more than 25 years of resolutions on Iran – sends a potent message to the government there, stating vigorously that the international community will not turn a blind eye to human rights violations," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "The General Assembly identifies numerous violations, including the use of torture, the repeated abuse of legal rights, the violent repression of women, and the ongoing discrimination against minorities, including Baha'is, who are Iran's largest religious minority and are persecuted solely because of their religious belief," she said. The resolution also expresses concern over the treatment of "Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Sufis and Sunni Muslims and their defenders." "The resolution also sharply condemns Iran's severe curbs on freedom of expression and its use of violence to silence dissent after the presidential election in June," said Ms. Dugal. "We can only hope that, given the severity of the resolution's expression, Iran will at long last heed the international community's recommendations and change its ways." The resolution, which was put forward by Canada and cosponsored by 42 other countries, calls on Iran to better cooperate with UN human rights monitors, such as by allowing them to make visits to Iran, and asks the UN secretary general to report back next year on Iran's progress at fulfilling its human rights obligations. Noting the turmoil that followed the presidential elections, the resolution devoted eight paragraphs to express "particular concern" about oppressive measures used by the government to suppress dissent. It noted specifically the persecution of journalists, human rights defenders, students and "others exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and association." It also noted the "use of violence" against "Iranian citizens engaged in the peaceful exercise of freedom of association, also resulting in numerous deaths and injuries." And it criticized the holding of "mass trials and denying defendants access to adequate legal representation." It makes extensive mention of the persecution of Baha'is, expressing concern over "attacks on Baha'is and their faith in State-sponsored media, increasing evidence of efforts by the State to identify, monitor and arbitrarily detain Baha'is, preventing members of the Baha'i Faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves economically." The resolution also notes the continued detention of seven Baha'i leaders who were arrested in March and May 2008, stating they have faced "serious charges without adequate or timely access to legal representation."

MELBOURNE

Australia

Parliament of the World's Religions under way in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia — Baha'is from five continents are making presentations at the Parliament of the World's Religions – an event now held every five years in the modern continuation of an initiative begun more than a century ago. The seven-day parliament, which opened on 3 December in Melbourne, is expected to draw as many as 8,000 individuals from virtually every world religion and faith group. Among those expected to participate are such international figures as the Dalai Lama and theologian Hans Kung. It was at the inaugural Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1893, that the Baha'i Faith received one of its first public mentions in the West. "That earlier gathering, which in some respects represents the beginning of the interfaith movement, created hope for a new spirit of unity among the religions," said Natalie Mobini, spokeswoman for the Australian Baha'i community. "The main organizer said later that it had emancipated the world from bigotry," she said. "At first, there indeed were signs of change. But it is apparent that we have a great deal more work to do to achieve our common aim of establishing brotherhood and peace. "The belief that all the major religions come from God and are part of His plan for humanity is central to the Baha'i Faith," she continued. "Thus the work to strengthen ties among the different religions is an arena of activity that we feel passionately about." More than 70 Baha'is are attending the Melbourne event, participating at virtually every level of the parliament – from panel discussions on climate change and interfaith relations to artistic presentations to hosting a devotional gathering. Among the Baha'i participants are: – Professor Brian Lepard, a human rights specialist from the University of Nebraska in the United States, who is examining from a Baha'i perspective the concept of the right to development. Dr. A. K. Merchant, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, will speak at the same session. – Lucretia Warren, a Baha'i from Botswana and a speaker at the past two parliaments, who is participating in a session on "Interfaith and the Future of Africa." – Native American Kevin Locke, a well-known performer of the Lakota hoop dance, who is leading a session titled "There are no back row seats in the Hoop of Life." – British authors Moojan Momen and Wendi Momen, who are presenting a panel discussion on "Building Peace in the Pursuit of Justice: A Baha'i Approach." – Australian Baha'i Arini Beaumaris, who will speak on "Spirituality and Women's Leadership." – Recording artists Shadi and Shidan Toloui-Wallace, who will perform during the concert of sacred music scheduled for the evening of 6 December. Baha'is also are making presentations on environmental topics, consistent with the overall theme of the parliament, "Make a world of difference: Hearing each other, healing the earth." "The healing of the physical planet ... requires that we address spiritual principles," Dr. Mobini added. Baha'is of Australia are hosting a spiritual observance open to all participants at the parliament; an evening of music, drama, and dance featuring national and international artists; and presentations on topics ranging from the journey of the soul to the role of women in interfaith work. The modern Parliament of World Religions began in 1993 in Chicago on the centenary of the original event. It is now held every five years. In 1999 it took place in Cape Town, South Africa, and in 2004 in Barcelona, Spain. Information about the parliament is available at http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/

-37.8142176

144.9631608

LANGENHAIN

Germany

Human Rights Day in Germany puts spotlight on Iran

LANGENHAIN, Germany — Youth from a drama troupe joined with local dignitaries this week to address themes of exclusion and prejudice as they commemorated Human Rights Day with the Baha'i community of Germany. The program took place at the Baha'i National Center, on the grounds of the European Baha'i House of Worship, with more than 200 people in attendance. The performance by the People's Theater, a youth project in the city of Offenbach, took a look at relationships between native Germans and immigrants, while other parts of the program focused on the situation of the Baha'is in Iran, especially a group of some 50 young people in Shiraz who are being punished for organizing activities for underprivileged children. Three of the Shiraz group are serving four-year prison sentences. "I find it deeply shocking that the Baha'i youth in Shiraz engage in social activities in the same way as we do in Offenbach, but with one difference – whereas here in Germany our efforts are rewarded with prizes, the Baha'i youth in Shiraz must pay for their services to Iranian society with prison sentences and other coercive measures," said Peggy Habermann, coordinator of the People's Theater. Kamal Sido, head of the Near East division of the Society for Threatened Peoples, attended the gathering and offered words of support for those persecuted in Iran. The chairwoman of the Green Party in the German federal state of Hesse, Kordula Schulze-Asche, expressed indignation over the human rights violations perpetrated in Iran, as did Gisela Stang, mayor of Hofheim, which encompasses Langenhain. Over 200 people attended the Human Rights Day program at the Baha'i National Center in Germany on 6 December 2009. The building is near the European Baha’i House of Worship.Messages were read from two members of the German Federal Parliament, Erika Steinbach of the Christian Democratic Union and Omid Nouripour of the Green Party. Ingo Hofmann, representing the Baha'i community of Germany, presented an overview of the current situation of the Baha'is in Iran. In Shiraz, he said, Haleh Rouhi, Raha Sabet, and Sasan Taqva, had organized, with permission from authorities, an educational program for underprivileged children. They were later accused of having propagated the Baha'i Faith, even though a report commissioned by the government concluded that their activities were strictly humanitarian. The three were sentenced to prison terms. Before performing "Souls of Shiraz," a piece composed for the occasion, musician Anke Keitel spoke of the invisible ties she feels with those imprisoned in Iran. "Haleh, Raha, and Sasan believe just like me in the universality of human rights. They strive to foster the well-being of humanity, just as I do. And they are just as young as I am," she said. Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world and marks the anniversary of the adoption – on 10 December 1948 – by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

50.9029533

10.5218165

MELBOURNE

Australia

Appeal for tolerance at Parliament of the World's Religions

MELBOURNE, Australia — How can interfaith dialogue and religious freedom flourish when one religion declares that another is not a religion? Are tolerance and cooperation only possible among people who share the same doctrinal view of the world? These questions were posed by a representative of the Australian Baha'i community at one of the sessions at the Parliament of the World's Religions, which has come to an end after a week of speeches, panel discussions, devotional programs, and artistic presentations. Dr. Natalie Mobini made her remarks during a 30-minute presentation on the fifth day of the parliament, within a session on religious conflict and persecution that focused on Myanmar, Thailand, and Iran. Reflecting on the origins of the interfaith movement – in particular the first Parliament of Religions in 1893 – Dr. Mobini related how its principal organizer believed that it had "emancipated the world from bigotry." "The interfaith movement has continued to be inspired by the vision of a world in which the followers of different faiths are able not merely to engage with one another in a spirit of tolerance and respect but also to collaborate in contributing to the advancement of society," she said "At the same time, the havoc that religious intolerance is continuing to wreak in our world now poses a more serious threat to humanity's progress and well-being than at any previous time in history." Gary Sterling sings a passage from the writings of Baha’u’llah at the opening ceremony of the parliament. (BWNS photographs by Rachael Dere)Dr. Mobini explored how the interfaith movement might encourage mutual respect and cooperation among the followers of all religions and beliefs. She asked how dialogue can occur when one religion attempts to delegitimize another because of underlying theological differences. In the case of Iran, the results of such an attitude have included the imprisonment of the Baha'i community's leaders, the desecration of its cemeteries, and the destruction of its holy places. Referring to the Islamic government of Iran denying that the Baha'i Faith is a religion, Dr. Mobini asked, "Is this not the same as the past, when Christianity claimed that Islam is not a true religion?" "And when the machinery of the state is used for the purpose of eliminating that religion, the challenge moves into sharper focus," she said. The lives lost during the crusades highlighted the prejudice that colored the attitudes of Christians towards Muslims in past centuries because Christianity did not recognize Islam as a "divine" religion, she noted. "Christians today have, however, been able to transcend that intolerance without compromising their own theological beliefs and engage in interreligious dialogue with Muslims with an open-minded spirit. The world needs to learn from this." Dr. Mobini cited examples of Islamic and other religious leaders who have held respectful dialogue and collaborated with others in spite of theological differences. "Should not everyone seek to find within the particular framework of his or her beliefs how to set aside exclusionist claims in order to collaborate with followers of religions whose beliefs are different?" she asked. In the case of Iran, the Baha'i Faith does not need to be recognized as "divine" in origin, said Dr. Mobini, "but simply asks that the fact of its existence be accepted and the rights of its followers upheld." Responding to a question from the audience about what action individuals can take to combat such instances of human rights abuses, she replied that the support of the interfaith movement was appreciated. She said that the transformation of attitudes begins at the grass roots and urged individuals to take the spirit of the parliament back to their communities. More than 5,000 people from some 80 countries attended the parliament, which ran from December 3 to 9. Some 70 members of the Baha'i community played an active role in the proceedings, including participating in panel discussions with members of other religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam as well as indigenous faiths and traditions. "It is evident that growing numbers of people are coming to realize that the truth underlying all religions is in its essence one," Dr. Mobini said. "This is the challenge of all of us here and to all who desire to overcome religious intolerance and hatred: how to live up to a 'golden rule' that is at the heart of each of the world's religions; urging us to treat the followers of other faiths as we ourselves would wish to be treated."

-37.8142176

144.9631608

COPENHAGEN

Denmark

Climate ethics is talking point at Copenhagen conference

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Acceptance of the ethical dimension of climate change has risen to a new level of importance in discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, say members of the Baha'i delegation. "It is no longer just a small group that is talking about the moral and ethical dimensions of the issue – these ideas are becoming part of the discourse at Copenhagen," said Duncan Hanks, executive director of the Canadian Baha'i International Development Agency. "We hear it from people at the podium, in discussions in the hallways, and we see it on banners saying things like 'Climate justice now,'" he said. Peter Adriance, another member of the Baha'i delegation, said the focus on ethics and justice has also helped bring about a realization on the part of many at Copenhagen that climate change must be considered beyond the bounds of domestic politics. "The local and national and the international are very much linked on the climate issue," he said. "If a representative of a country says 'I am not going to take measures to reduce carbon emissions because it is going to hurt the economy,' more and more people are asking the logical question: 'Then, does that mean you don't have obligations outside your border?' So the whole discourse on climate ethics is calling attention to the international obligations that nations have towards each other." The UN conference aims to strike a new international agreement to reduce global emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Such a pact would succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. In addition to government leaders and negotiators from 192 countries, the conference has drawn participants from international agencies, the news media, and a diverse sampling of other organizations, ranging from environmental groups to corporations. At a press conference on the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change, Baha’i representative Tahirih Naylor, left, said that climate change is “challenging humanity to rise to the next level of our collective maturity.”The delegation of the Baha'i International Community, registered with the United Nations as an international nongovernmental organization, comprises some 20 people. Tahirih Naylor, a Baha'i representative to the UN, said many of the difficulties encountered during the conference have served to highlight the need for international cooperation to protect the environment. "Tackling climate change requires concern for the welfare of all humanity over self-interested nationalism," she said. "The findings of science should not be distorted to serve political ends. Whatever disagreements there may be on the causes of climate change, it is clear that protecting our environment should be viewed not only in technical and economic terms, but also as a moral and ethical challenge for the whole world." She agreed that statements by government leaders, civil society representatives, and others have begun increasingly to make reference to the importance of justice and morality in dealing with the issues of environmental protection. At a press conference last week on the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change, held as part of the Copenhagen event, Ms. Naylor said that it is "critical for the religions to come together around this issue, to call for action from the leaders of the world, and also to take action within our own communities." "We feel that climate change is challenging humanity to rise to the next level of our collective maturity, a maturity which calls us to accept our fundamental unity, the fact that we are all one people living on one finite planet, that we are all brothers and sisters," she said. "We recognize that the quest for climate justice is not a competition for limited resources," she said, "but part of an unfolding process toward greater degrees of unity among nations. ..." At the Copenhagen summit, scheduled to end Friday, the Baha'i International Community sponsored or participated in a number of events that focused on the subject of climate ethics. These events included: -- A panel discussion on "The Role of Religion in Combating Climate Change," held at the Copenhagen Baha'i Center on 8 December and featuring Bent Melchior, former chief rabbi of the Jewish Community in Denmark; Ole Birch, vicar and chairman of the Climate Group of the National Council of Churches in Denmark; and Mr. Adriance of the Baha'i International Community. -- A press conference on the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change, held 9 December in the main conference media area, which expressed the united views of diverse faith communities on the importance of taking action on climate change. Ms. Naylor was among the participants. -- A press conference on "Climate Ethics" held by the Collaborative Program on the Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change, moderated by Mr. Adriance. Baha'i delegates contributed to the drafting of the statement issued by the group. -- A panel discussion on "The Moral and Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change," held at the Klimaforum09 on 12 December and featuring Don Brown, associate professor of environmental ethics, science, and law at Pennsylvania State University; Philo Morris, representative of the Medical Mission Sisters from India; and Dr. Arthur Dahl, a Baha'i who is a former official with the UN Environment Programme. -- A preconference event, the Climate Sustainability Platform, held 3-6 December at the Climate Expo in Copenhagen, organized by Uchita de Zoysa of Sri Lanka. Four members of the Baha'i-inspired International Environment Forum participated: Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Victoria Thoresen, Onno Vinkhuyzen, and Dr. Dahl.

55.6867243

12.5700724

UNITED NATIONS

United States

UN gives final approval to resolution criticizing rights violations in Iran

UNITED NATIONS, United States — The United Nations General Assembly gave its final stamp of approval today to a strongly worded resolution condemning Iran for a long list of human rights violations. By a vote of 74 to 49, with 59 abstentions, the General Assembly confirmed an earlier vote by its Third Committee in November on a resolution that expresses "deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran." Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, said the resolution sends a stern message to Iran. "Day by day, human rights continue to deteriorate in Iran," said Ms. Dugal. "This vote matters very much because the General Assembly has now fully, clearly, and powerfully expressed itself over Iran's flagrant abuse of human rights. "Our hope is that the government will heed this call and begin to respect the universally recognized rights of its citizens. "As a first step to that, Iran could allow independent UN special rapporteurs into their country, as called for by the resolution," she said. The list of violations outlined this year was among the most extensive in some 25 years of UN resolutions on human rights in Iran. Specifically, the resolution expresses concern about oppressive measures taken after the June presidential election, the use of torture, the repeated abuse of legal rights, the violent repression of women, and "increasing discrimination" against minority groups, including "Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Sufis and Sunni Muslims and their defenders." It makes extensive mention of the persecution of Baha'is, expressing concern over "attacks on Baha'is and their faith in State-sponsored media, increasing evidence of efforts by the State to identify, monitor and arbitrarily detain Baha'is, preventing members of the Baha'i Faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves economically." The resolution also expresses concern over the continued detention of seven Baha'i leaders who were arrested in March and May 2008, stating they have faced "serious charges without adequate or timely access to legal representation." Ms. Dugal noted that attorneys for the seven were recently informed their trial has now been set for 12 January 2010. Two earlier trial dates for the seven had been set but were postponed for various reasons. "This year's resolution points out the degree to which Iran has abused the legal process and denied many of their citizens the right to a fair trial. "We therefore remain gravely concerned about the likely trial of these seven innocent Baha'is, who have been wrongly accused and improperly held. The charges against them are utterly baseless, and they should be released immediately," said Ms. Dugal.

GENEVA

Switzerland

Trial of seven Baha'i leaders in Iran looms

GENEVA, Switzerland — Recent developments in Iran have raised grave concern about the ultimate fate of the seven Baha'i leaders who are scheduled to go on trial next Tuesday. "The Baha'i community in Iran has all too often been subjected to campaigns of vilification and false charges devised to deflect the attention of a disquieted population onto the Baha'is and away from those in power," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "And now, in these days leading to the trial, there are signs that once again the Baha'is are being made scapegoats. "Rather than accepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country, the Iranian government seeks to lay the blame on others, including foreign powers, international organizations and media outlets, students, women, and terrorists. Now the Baha'is have been added to this long list of alleged culprits," she said. "Over the past several days, Iranian state-sponsored media have accused the Baha'is of being responsible for the unrest surrounding the holy day of Ashura," said Ms. Ala'i. "This is clearly aimed at rousing public sentiment against the seven Baha'is being held in Evin prison. We are particularly concerned that the government, or ultraconservative elements within it, may use the turmoil in Iran as cover for extreme measures against these wrongly imprisoned individuals. This concern deepened on Sunday, she said, when authorities rounded up 13 Baha'is from their homes in Tehran, took them to a detention center, and tried to get them to sign a document saying that they would not engage in any future demonstrations. "Putting two and two together, the situation facing these Baha'i leaders is extremely ominous. We are deeply concerned for their safety. "We expect their trial to be nothing but a show trial, with a predetermined outcome," she said. "Should anything happen to any of these seven Baha'is before or after the trial, the Iranian government must be held responsible," said Ms. Ala'i. "We ask that the international community indicate clearly to Iran that it will be watching and that it expects any trial to be public and held in accordance with internationally recognized principles of due process." The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. They were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held in Evin prison ever since. Official Iranian news accounts have said the seven are to be accused of "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic." All of the charges are utterly baseless, said Ms. Ala'i. Trial dates were previously announced for July, August, and October but were postponed each time. In December, lawyers were notified that 12 January had been set as a new date. Ms. Ala'i noted that persecution of Baha'is in Iran had intensified steadily throughout 2009. Currently, some 48 Baha'is are imprisoned, and many others across the country have been subjected to home searches, confiscation of personal property, and revolving-door arrests. Since last March, some 60 Baha'is have been arrested and imprisoned for periods ranging from overnight to several months. An anti-Baha'i campaign in the news media campaign has also continued, she said, culminating in the absurd accusations last week that Baha'is were involved in provoking the recent civil unrest on the Ashura holy day on 27 December. The semiofficial Fars News Agency, for example, reported the next day that Ne'mattollah Bavand, described as an "expert" in political affairs, said "Bahaism under the leadership of Zionism is behind the latest crisis and unrest." Ms. Ala'i said these statements have raised concern among the Baha'is that there may be a coordinated effort to introduce these false accusations at the upcoming trial. Among the 13 arrested on 3 January were relatives of two of the imprisoned leaders, including Negar Sabet, daughter of Mahvash Sabet; Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani; and her husband, Babak Mobasher. Others arrested were Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, and her husband Artin Ghazanfari; Mehran Rowhani and Farid Rowhani, who are brothers; Nasim Beiglari; Payam Fanaian; Nikav Hoveydaie and his wife, Mona Misaghi; and Ebrahim Shadmehr and his son, Zavosh Shadmehr.

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HAIFA

Israel

By-election announced for two members of Universal House of Justice

HAIFA, Israel — The Universal House of Justice has announced that it has approved the requests of two of its members, Mr. Hooper Dunbar and Dr. Peter Khan, to relinquish their positions owing to their advanced age and the heavy burden of work involved in membership. The announcement came in a letter addressed to all National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'i Faith around the world. In the letter, the House of Justice said the two men would continue to serve until completion of a by-election to replace them. The nine members of each National Assembly serve as electors for the House of Justice, which is the head of the Baha'i Faith. The election will be conducted by mail, with results scheduled to be announced at Naw-Ruz, the Baha'i new year, on 21 March. The regular election of the Universal House of Justice is every five years, when the members of the National Assemblies serve as delegates to the International Convention and vote for all nine members of the international governing body. The last election was in April 2008. Dr. Khan was first elected to the House of Justice in 1987 and Mr. Dunbar in 1988.

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34.9983856

GENEVA

Switzerland

Baha'i International Community rejects allegations that arrested Baha'is had weapons in homes

GENEVA, Switzerland — The Baha'i International Community today categorically rejected new allegations by the Iranian government that arms and ammunition were found in the homes of Baha'is who were arrested in Tehran last Sunday. "This is nothing less than a blatant lie," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "Baha'is are by the most basic principles of their faith committed to absolute nonviolence, and any charge that there might have been weapons or 'live rounds' in their homes is simply and completely unbelievable. "Without doubt, these are baseless fabrications devised by the government to further create an atmosphere of prejudice and hatred against the Iranian Baha'i community. For more than a century Baha'is have suffered all manner of persecution in Iran and have not resorted to armed violence, and everyone knows this. Unfortunately, the Iranian government is once again resorting to outright falsehoods to justify its nefarious intentions against the Baha'i community. It should know that these lies will have no credibility whatsoever. "We are particularly concerned by the fact that these accusations come just days before the scheduled trial of seven Baha'i leaders, who have been locked up for nearly two years on equally unfounded charges," she said. "All of these latest accusations are so far-fetched as to be ludicrous if they were not so obviously aimed at putting innocent lives at risk," she said. "As we have said before, rather than accepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country, the Iranian government seeks to lay the blame on others, including foreign powers, international organizations and media outlets, students, women, and terrorists." On Friday, several news agencies reported that Tehran's general prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said the Baha'is who were arrested on Sunday "were arrested because they played a role in organizing the Ashura protests and namely for having sent abroad pictures of the unrest." "They were not arrested because they are Baha'is," said Mr. Dolatabadi, according to Agence France Presse. "Arms and ammunition were seized in the homes of some of them." Ms. Ala'i also rejected Mr. Dolatabadi's assertions that Baha'is were involved in the planning of the Ashura demonstrations, or in any violent or subversive activity related to the recent turmoil in Iran. "For the past 30 years, Iranian Baha'is have been subjected to the worst forms of persecution, ranging from arbitrary execution to the exclusion of their children from school," said Ms. Ala'i. "Yet they have responded only through means that are peaceful and legal." Seven Baha'is leaders are scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday on trumped-up charges of espionage, "insulting religious sanctities," and "propaganda" against the government. They have been held in Evin prison since mid-2008. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. On Sunday, 13 Baha'is were arrested in early morning raids on their homes in Tehran. Three have been released but 10 remain detained at Evin prison. They are: Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, and her husband, Babak Mobasher; Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, and her husband Artin Ghazanfari; Mehran Rowhani and Farid Rowhani, who are brothers; Payam Fanaian; Nikav Hoveydaie; and Ebrahim Shadmehr and his son, Zavosh Shadmehr.

46.2017559

6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

First session held in trial of Baha'i leaders in Iran

GENEVA, Switzerland — The trial of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders began today in Iran. Initial reports indicate that the trial was marked by numerous violations of legal due process. After about three hours, the hearing ended. Authorities indicated that today’s proceeding was merely the “first session,” and no date for future sessions was given. "We understand that no observers were allowed in the court," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "We find this completely outrageous, given that these seven have been held purely because of their religious beliefs, in total contradiction to any human rights standards. "We understand that even the lawyers had to argue their way inside the court – lawyers who in any case had virtually no access to the accused for nearly two years. "At the same time, the prisoners' interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence and a film crew were seen going in, raising questions about the nature of the trial," she said. Ms. Ala'i also noted that an Iranian Web site linked to state-run television posted a story Monday evening announcing that the trial had already begun and listing the same baseless accusations made in the past against the seven. "In any event, all of these accounts point to a trial that is highly irregular, very similar to the show trials that have been held in Iran in recent months," she said. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have been held in Tehran's Evin prison ever since, spending their first year there without formal charges or any access to lawyers. "Whatever happens, it is clear that the trial of these seven innocent people represents the trial of an entire religious community, and is an attempt to further intimidate and ostracize all Iranian Baha'is simply because they hold a different religious viewpoint from those in power." Note: The headline and article were updated at 9 p.m. on 12 January 2010 (Geneva time).

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6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

World reacts to the trial of the seven Baha'i leaders

GENEVA, Switzerland — Iran's decision to begin the trial yesterday of seven Baha'i leaders has triggered a strong international reaction, including a call by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi for their immediate release and ultimate acquittal. "If justice is to be carried out and an impartial judge should investigate the charges leveled against my clients, no other verdict can be reached save that of acquittal," said Mrs. Ebadi, in comments posted on WashingtonTV, a Web-based news service in the United States. Mrs. Ebadi, who is one of the lawyers for the seven, said she had carefully read the dossier of charges against them and "found in it no cause or evidence to sustain the criminal charges upheld by the prosecutor." Others also expressed concerns about the fairness of the trial, calling for it to be open and held in accordance with international legal standards. Governments and prominent individuals in the European Union, the United States, Brazil, India, and Canada issued strong statements of concern. The European Union statement came yesterday, echoing an earlier call for international observers to be allowed in the trial of the seven Baha'is. "The EU recalls that freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a fundamental and undeniable right which shall be guaranteed in every circumstance," the statement said. "The EU calls for a just, fair and open trial respecting all international standards and obligations. ..." In Brazil yesterday, Luiz Couto, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies, said in a letter to the Iranian ambassador to Brazil that it appears the "trial is not transparent and public," and that any closed trial would violate the right to a full and fair defense. "We consider the freedom of religion and belief – that of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Baha'is, and all other religious expressions – a fundamental human right for democracy, both in the east and west," said Congressman Couto. On Monday, the United States Department of State condemned Iran's decision to move ahead with the trial. "Authorities have detained these persons for more than 20 months, without making public any evidence against them and giving them little access to legal counsel," said Philip J. Crowley, assistant secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State. "These persons are entitled to due process." In India, prominent Indians called upon the government to take up the issue of the Baha'i persecution with Tehran. "Our country has a long record of pluralism and tolerance and must speak out," said Maja Daruwala, director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, according to The Hindu newspaper on Saturday. In Canada, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon issued a statement on Friday expressing deep concern about the ongoing detention of the seven Baha'i leaders. "It is deplorable that these individuals were detained on the sole basis of their faith and have been denied a fair trial," said Mr. Cannon. Leading human rights barrister Cherie Blair in an interview today with the BBC World Service called for the release of "this group of people who live a religion which preaches peace and did nothing whatsoever to deserve this trial." In the WashingtonTV interview, Mrs. Ebadi, who is currently outside Iran, also offered a glimpse of what happened yesterday inside Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, where the "first session" of the trial was held. She said only two lawyers of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which she established, were able to be present in the court. And that in spite of a request for an open hearing, the court was closed. The charges against the seven were reiterated yesterday in news accounts in government-sponsored news media. They were given as: espionage, "propaganda activities against the Islamic order," the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, the sending of secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and "corruption on earth." Diane Ala'i of the Baha'i International Community said the seven have consistently and categorically denied such accusations. "We can be certain that they also did so in front of the judge yesterday," she said. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have been held in Tehran's Evin prison ever since, spending their first year there without formal charges or any access to lawyers. Prior to their arrest, the seven served as an appointed, ad hoc group known as the "Friends." Their role, carried out with the government's knowledge, was to see to the minimum spiritual and material needs of Iran's Baha'i community, which has been without formal leadership since its elected governing bodies were disbanded in response to a government decree in 1983.

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6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Date set for seven Baha'i leaders' next court session

GENEVA, Switzerland — Iranian authorities have notified the lawyers of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders that the next session of their trial will be held on 7 February, the Baha'i International Community learned today. At their first court appearance, held 12 January in Tehran, the charges were read to the seven, who categorically denied the accusations. "While we know little about what actually took place inside the court, we can now say for certain that these seven innocent Baha'is stood up and firmly rejected all of the charges against them," said Diane Ala'i of the Baha'i International Community. "We can also say that, based on the international outcry that accompanied the first session of their trial, the world is watching this proceeding closely and that the Iranian government will be held accountable for any injustices," she said. The charges against the seven, according to accounts in government-sponsored news media, were: espionage, "propaganda activities against the Islamic order," the establishment of an "illegal administration," cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and "corruption on earth." The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad. They have been held in Tehran's Evin prison ever since, spending their first year there without formal charges or any access to lawyers.

46.2017559

6.1466014

NEW YORK

United States

Detention of ten Baha’is leads to fears for other prisoners

NEW YORK, United States — Concern is growing over the lack of information about the status of 10 Baha'is who were arrested earlier this month in Iran. In addition to worry about their safety, there are fears that charges against these 10 will be used to create false evidence in court against the seven Baha'i leaders who have been held since 2008 and whose trial is set to resume on 7 February. "Our concern is that in the absence of any evidence against the seven leaders, the authorities may be attempting to build a case by perhaps forcing these newly arrested Baha'is to 'confess' that they were involved in organizing December's Ashura demonstrations under orders from their 'leadership'," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "Any such claim would be absurd, given that the seven leaders have been in prison for the last two years," she said. Since their arrest on 3 January, statements have been made in Iranian state-sanctioned media that the 10 possessed arms and ammunition in their homes as part of an anti-government plot related to the December demonstrations. The 10 have virtually disappeared into Iran's detention system, said Ms. Dugal. While it is not known whether any of these 10 were in fact present at the Ashura demonstrations, any suggestion that they were central to the organization of these events or that they possessed arms to be used against the government is completely without foundation, she said. "In the three weeks since these Baha'is were detained, their families have had no contact with them, aside from a brief telephone message to one family member on 11 January." While families have been unable to contact the 10, it has been learned that they have been transferred recently to Gohardasht prison in Karaj. "A cell mate of some of the Baha'i prisoners was recently released, and this individual informed the families of this transfer," said Ms. Dugal. "We don't know exactly what this means, but we do know that families tried to bring clothes and money to the prisoners. The money was accepted by authorities in Karaj, but not the clothing." The 10 Baha'is who were arrested on 3 January are Mrs. Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the seven Baha'i leaders, and her husband, Mr. Babak Mobasher; Mr. Artin Ghazanfari and his wife, Mrs. Jinous Sobhani, former secretary of Nobel laureate and human rights attorney Shirin Ebadi; Mr. Mehran Rowhani and Mr. Farid Rowhani, who are brothers; Mr Payam Fanaian; Mr. Nikav Hoveydaie; and Mr. Ebrahim Shadmehr and his son, Mr. Zavosh Shadmehr. On 12 January, the formal arraignment of the seven leaders was held in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. According to accounts in government-sponsored news media, the seven have been charged with: espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and corruption on earth. In court, the defendants explicitly denied all of these charges. Ms. Dugal said the judge has reportedly indicated that the next session of the trial on 7 February will be open and the families will be permitted to attend. The first court appearance was closed to the public. The seven "leaders" are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. This group of seven and the 10 Baha'is arrested on 3 January are among hundreds of Baha'is who have been detained in the ongoing persecution of Baha'is - a systematic campaign that has increased in severity in the last few years.

40.7127281

-74.0060152

SANTA ROSA DE COPAN

Honduras

Young people aim for a "coherent" life as they plan their future

SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras — Having a belief system is not so difficult, said 25-year-old Nava, participating in a recent university seminar in Honduras. The challenging part is building your life around your beliefs. More than 1,500 young people addressed this challenge at recent Baha'i gatherings in five countries – Honduras, Italy, Australia, England, and the Philippines. The youth are trying to examine their lives at a time when they have the opportunity to develop a lifestyle and career path that incorporate the values and activities which they believe can shape the kind of world they want to live in. Nava Kavelin, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, helped facilitate sessions for some of the 60 university students from Central America who signed up for a 10-day seminar in Santa Rosa de Copan in early January. Participants explored educational paths in light of their beliefs, said Ms. Kavelin. Among the professions they discussed was advertising. "We looked at the mass media and the messages it communicates. We talked about how the media can paint people in a less-than-favorable light – yet as Baha'is we believe in promoting the nobility of man," Ms. Kavelin said. "The question for university students becomes, how will I use my degree to promote the values I agree with – and to not promote values that I don't agree with." Students of business and economics discussed how some business models are in agreement with their principles and some aren't, she said. "The participants are learning to become owners of their own education rather than passive recipients, looking critically at how the classes they take can help them with their objectives," Ms. Kavelin said. "A coherent life" Luke Bolton, 22, of New York was one of 300 young people from 39 countries who attended the six-day conference in Italy, which was aimed at assisting participants to see all aspects of their life as complementary elements devoted to the service of humanity. Since Mr. Bolton's return home, he and colleagues at his office have discussed the subject of not compromising your principles while working at your job. In the Philippines, students discussed themes such as the coherence between material and spiritual civilization, and how language influences action. (Photograph by Klyne Ally Peralta)"One thing that resonates with people is living a coherent life," he says. Some of the participants at the conference, held in Verona in late December, talked about having useful skills and good jobs – but still feeling that their work is not related to the type of community-building activities that Baha'is believe are vital to grassroots change in the world. Those people, Mr. Bolton said, tended to feel that they need to devote more of their time to service to the community. Some discussed how they could use job skills – computer knowledge, for example – outside of work and apply it to service. "New vigor to the concept of service" Service to humanity was at the crux of a message sent by the Universal House of Justice to the more than 800 Baha'i youth who gathered in early January at a conference in the Australian coastal city of Wollongong. "Central to your role in the present day is to give new vigor to the concept of service – being devoted to high ideals far removed from purely selfish interests, oriented to advancement of society, and committed to the welfare of humanity," the House of Justice wrote to the youth. The young people seem to be taking the guidance to heart. "The conference helped me to raise my level of consciousness about the individual and society," Negin Sedaghat of Sydney said afterwards. The presentations "challenged the youth to move beyond their frivolous pursuits," said another young woman. "We are not just here to engage in idle talk but to put everything into practice," commented a third. "Greater coherence and a life of service," said Rewa Worley of Auckland, New Zealand, summing up the message he was taking home from the conference. Building capacity among youth A key feature of the conference in England, held at the University of Warwick in Coventry, was that the young people themselves were running it. Bonnie Smith – who at only 16 is a veteran of dozens of Baha'i gatherings – said the difference was noticeable. "Suddenly a lot of youth I had never seen before were giving talks and performances," she said. "The idea was to give the youth skills that they could take home with them." Aryan Ziaie, at age 20 one of the four main organizers, guessed that about a third of the 346 registered participants were presenters or performers or in some way contributed their skills to the event. "The purpose of this conference was developing capacity," he said. "It was run by the youth - people who hadn't done this before. It is a hallmark of the success of the conference." A first-year law student at the London School of Economics, Mr. Ziaie said a more typical conference might have two or three keynote speakers. This one had many. Even at his university, when he and his friends have serious discussions about social change, the assumption seems to be that only a handful of people will be the catalyst – "top down," he said. The mood at the conference was different, he said, with a "grassroots sharing of experiences." "You saw people pledging their future to learning about how to effect social transformation," he said. "They are conscious of this, and they know where to look for the guidance." The Baha'i youth seemed to have changed in the past year, he observed. "You can tell by the level of conversations," he said. "They share experiences so that they can further refine their activities. They plan, they act, they reflect – they have been brought up with this dynamic." He said his own experience at the gathering was of less social chitchat and more time spent in focused discussion. "The vision was clearer," he said.

14.7727334

-88.7785635

NEW YORK

United States

Baha'is condemn lack of due process at trial in Iran

NEW YORK, United States — The Baha'i International Community has issued a statement condemning the trial of 16 individuals in Iran yesterday as a "violation of all internationally accepted standards of legal due process." The statement highlights the lack of proper legal representation for the defendants and the use of unreliable "confessions" in the trial. One of the 16 on trial is a Baha'i. "The use of coerced 'confessions' and the denial of adequate legal representation reflect the Iranian authorities' growing assault on human rights," said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. The complete statement follows: The trial yesterday of 16 individuals in Iran, apparently accused of participating in the Ashura demonstrations on 27 December, stands in violation of all internationally accepted standards of legal due process. While facts are unavailable to the Baha'i International Community concerning 15 of the defendants in the court proceedings, it can confirm that one individual – identified only as "P.F." in government reports – is a Baha'i. The show trials in the aftermath of the June 2009 presidential election, at which defendants have been forced to read statements incriminating themselves, have completely discredited "confessions," such as the one purportedly made by "P.F.," both inside and outside of Iran. It is well known that such confessions are obtained while prisoners are under extreme duress, often after being exposed to such appalling tactics as food and sleep deprivation, fake executions, threats against their families, and worse. Rather than accepting responsibility for the turmoil in the country, the Iranian government organizes such show trials in order to lay the blame on innocent citizens and others. While it is claimed that the court proceedings are open, not even the families of the defendants are notified of the trial of their loved ones. The person identified as P.F., along with nine other Baha'is who were arrested on 3 January in Tehran, has not been able to contact his family, has been denied access to a lawyer, and was not allowed to choose his own legal representation. The government-appointed lawyer who acted on behalf of P.F. did nothing more than to accept the "confession" of his client and make a pro forma request for leniency. The Iranian government is well aware that it is a fundamental principle of the Baha'i Faith that its followers strictly refrain from involvement in any partisan political activity, whether local, national, or international. Consequently, the arrest of ten Baha'is on 3 January, a full week after the Ashura demonstrations, and the claims that Baha'is were behind the recent anti-government turmoil have come as a complete surprise to the Baha'i community. These fabricated accusations clearly appear to be not so much about some Baha'is participating in the Ashura demonstrations. They point instead to a scenario which has been concocted by the authorities to justify placing further restrictions on the activities of the Baha'i community. This is but the most recent tactic in the ongoing systematic campaign of persecution that seeks to eliminate the Baha'i community as a viable entity in that country. We call on governments and fair-minded people throughout the world to join us and raise their voice to protest against the blatant violations of human rights in Iran, of which yesterday's trial is only the most recent example.

40.7127281

-74.0060152

BRISBANE

Australia

Prestigious exhibition presents "New Garden"

BRISBANE, Australia — Traditional Pacific island bark cloth stenciled with designs depicting a vision of a "New Garden" was one of the artworks commissioned for a prestigious exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery. The sixth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art – APT6 – is now well into its four-month run and features works by some of the best-known artists of the Pacific region. Prominent New Zealand artist Robin White was invited to participate, with organizers mentioning a possible collaboration with a tapa artist from Fiji. Eventually Mrs. White proposed that she work with two Fijians, Leba Toki and Bale Jione. All three artists are Baha'is and used their vision of a future society to inspire their work. "What we wanted to do was to present our vision of what Fiji could be – and what it will be," said Mrs. White. In Fiji, she explained, almost all of the world's great religions are represented by a significant portion of the population – Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, and a small but growing Baha'i community. "That makes it special," she said. "Somehow we wanted to get that idea across." Fijian artists Leba Toki and Bale Jione flank Robin White as the trio poses during a break from their work on the exquisite bark-cloth art commissioned for the exhibition known as "APT6."The tapa – or masi, as the Fijians call the craft of tapa and the plant from which it is made – is traditionally made for a wedding, and the artists indeed used that concept. "The idea was not about a literal wedding between two individuals but rather the idea of a marriage of cultures – namely the indigenous and Indian cultures that constitute contemporary Fijian society – connected by bonds of love and respect," Mrs. White said. In the end, many elements were incorporated into their tapa. For the main piece, a vision of the Shrine of the Bab in the Holy Land and its surrounding terraces was combined with images of importance to Fijians. An unusual collaboration For Mrs. Toki, the mere act of a Fijian like herself collaborating with a New Zealander to create artwork on tapa was a breakthrough. "I knew that only the Fijians can do the tapa," she said, remembering her skepticism when Mrs. White first contacted her for an earlier project. "I was thinking, 'How can we work together?'" For Mrs. White, it was during her travels in the Pacific that she had gotten the idea of a collaboration. Already a well-known artist in other media, she had known about the tapa produced in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. But when she saw a particularly beautiful piece hanging in the transit lounge in the Nadi airport, she decided she must learn the technique for making it. In Fiji, she met Mrs. Toki at a Baha'i gathering and later at the Toki residence noticed some beautiful tapa on the wall. "Who did these?" Mrs. White asked. Materials used to make the "New Garden" tapa The “canvas”: The bark cloth itself comes from the bast, or "skin," of the paper mulberry. The outer bark is discarded, the hard inner stalk is used for firewood or staking plants in the garden, and the skin is dried and stored. When required for making masi, the dry strips are soaked in water and then beaten. The strips are overlaid as they are beaten, as in a felting process. The paint, or kesa: The inner skin of the dogo, or mangrove, provides the raw material for kesa, the liquid paint used for printing the patterns. A stone is used to pound pieces of dogo, which are then boiled to form the kesa. The pigment: The pigment for the paint consists of black soot and brown clay, or umea, that is dried and scraped to make a fine power. To produce the soot, a wick is prepared from scraps of bark cloth. This is dipped into kerosene and burned in an enclosed tin oven. The soot collects on the inside upper surface of the oven and is carefully removed and stored in a tin. The soot is mixed with the kesa and umea to make loloa – black paint. (Source: Robin White) When she discovered that Mrs. Toki herself was the artist, an idea was born. At first Mrs. Toki was reluctant to work jointly – she had never heard of the type of tapa she did being created by anyone other than Fijians. But when she discovered that Mrs. White indeed was an artist, she was willing to give it a go. And when they began collaborating, she found the relationship rewarding. "Working together is very powerful," Mrs. Toki says now. "Different races, both giving ideas." She said a pattern of consultation, action, and reflection - familiar to all three women through their Baha'i activities - became a key part of the creation of their artwork for the APT6 exhibition. The trio completed their new work several months ago and traveled to Brisbane in early December for the opening of APT6 and to participate in stimulating conversations with other artists from throughout the Asian Pacific region. The exhibition runs through 5 April.In Fiji, Mrs. Toki lives in Lautoka, known as Sugar City because of a large sugar mill located in the town. The idea of sugar became one of the starting points for the three artists as they developed concepts for their commissioned work. "Sugar (became) a metaphor for the sweetening of relationships between people," Mrs. White said, explaining how their thinking progressed. "The real Sugar City is the city of God," she continued. This image led the artists to picture the Baha'i gardens and terraces on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel - gardens known for their beauty and perfection and thus symbolic of a transformed society, Mrs. White said. "That seemed like a visual framework," she said. The main tapa they made shows the Baha'i shrine on Mount Carmel with its terraced gardens. At the base is a sugar plantation. Taro – a food staple in the Pacific that is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants – is depicted as growing on the terraces. That tapa is a large wall hanging, 12 by 8 feet, and is accompanied in the exhibition by a second piece for the floor. The artists also created other elements, including the garments for the "wedding," that also will remain part of the collection at the Queensland Art Gallery. They named the work "New Garden" – "Teitei Vou" in the Fijian language – words taken from the writings of Baha'u'llah. The art of the tapa Mrs. White said the artistic decoration of bark cloth remains part of the culture in Fiji. "Young girls in the Lau group of islands in Fiji, where Leba and Bale come from, all do this kind of tapa work," she explained, "and some become skillful at doing specialized aspects of it such as designing and cutting stencils. In the village setting, the women all work together. If someone is getting married, the women get together to make the tapa." "It's a sacred cloth," Mrs. White said. Traditionally it has been used for various occasions and now, with the European influence, is used even more extensively – for tablecloths and other items, for example. For the artwork for APT6, Mrs. Jione acquired the raw material for making the tapa on her native island of Moce and took it to her current home in Suva, the capital of Fiji which is located on the island of Viti Levu. There she and her husband worked together to beat it into sheets before taking it across the island to Lautoka where Mrs Toki lives. Mrs. White then joined them in Lautoka for a few months – Fiji is a four-hour flight from New Zealand – and the three artists worked together to make the designs and do the painting. Mrs. Jione said the stenciling is much easier now than in the old days. Her grandmother, for example, used banana leaves for the stencils, but they were difficult to work with and not very durable. Now the artists use X-ray film, and the stencils can be used over and over. "Because of film, many more people can do the painting," she said. In the early stages of the APT6 project, Mrs. White spent time reading about Fiji as part of her preparation. "I did a lot of research into the history," she said. She discovered how the Fiji of today is a result of indentured laborers being brought from India to work on the sugar plantations, and how Mahatma Gandhi supported efforts to bring the human trafficking to an end. In recognition of this period of history and the suffering associated with it, the size of the main tapa - 12 by 8 feet - was made in the dimensions of the living quarters issued to the Indian laborers who were obliged to live three to a room. "Everything in the artwork has significance," Mrs. White said. More about the APT6 exhibition The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art – now in its sixth edition – runs through early April in the Gallery of Modern Art and the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane. The exhibition includes 313 artworks by some 160 artists from 25 countries. This year's show includes for the first time artists from North Korea, Iran, Turkey, Tibet, Cambodia, and Myanmar - a fact that Mrs. White finds significant. The presence of North Korean artists is particularly interesting, she said. "To see their work included in the APT seems to me a very important thing," she noted. The Triennial, she said, brings together artists from diverse backgrounds living in the world's largest land mass and scattered across the world's largest ocean. "I am fascinated with how culture and belief informs their work," she said of the participating artists. Some of the pieces have a deeply spiritual aspect, she said, and some reflect social or political issues. She noted that a work that is overtly Baha'i perhaps is more accepted and appreciated here than in many other venues. Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said collaboration among artists of different countries was a hallmark of the exhibition. "Much of APT6 draws on the extensive network of relationships, within the region and beyond, that has always been integral to the Triennial's spirit," he said. In addition to the tapa created by the three Baha'is of New Zealand and Fiji, some of the collaborative art projects in APT6 include "The Mekong," a collection of works from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar, and "Pacific Reggae," a selection of Pacific reggae music videos, concert clips, documentaries, and performances. For information on APT6, go to www.qag.qld.gov.au/apt6 For the page about the three tapa artists, go to http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/apt6/artists/robin_white,bale_jione-and-_leba_toki

-27.4689682

153.0234991

PORT-AU-PRINCE

Haiti

Amid wreckage in Haiti, new birth brings hope

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Little Tina Rose Wome came into the world on 28 January in a makeshift clinic, fashioned from a classroom at the Anis Zunuzi Baha'i School on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. An entire team of visiting doctors and nurses was on hand for her arrival – the first birth at the school in the 30 years since its founding. The delivery was poignant in another way, too – Magdalah Wome had been pregnant three times previously but none of her other babies survived childbirth. Tina Rose is the first she has taken home – a home which now is no more than a tent pitched in front of the rubble that at one time was a house. International relief agencies have reported that dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince on 12 January is one of the biggest challenges they have ever faced. As many as 170,000 people are believed dead, and the number of homeless may top one million. Dr. Munirih Tahzib, a pediatrician from Hoboken, New Jersey, treats a child next to a collapsed school in a village outside of Port-au-Prince. At a separate stop at an orphanage, Dr. Tahzib and other volunteers examined 150 children in need of medical attention."Whatever you see on television, it is 10 times worse," said Dr. Munirih Tahzib, a pediatrician from New Jersey who helped organize the medical team. "We would meet people whose entire family had been killed and their house destroyed. Yet they would just pick up and carry on. That is what kept us going." Indeed, the inspiration provided by the Haitian population is a common refrain in reports from the scene. "The Haitians are not just sitting back with their hands out. They're doing a lot of the heavy lifting – so humble in its nature, it seems invisible," Time magazine said. "They dig survivors out of the wreckage by hand, not with big yellow machines." The 18 members of the particular medical team that welcomed Tina Rose into the world were from the United States and Canada. They had come to Haiti to deliver medical supplies and treat as many patients as possible during the week they were able to stay. Additional goals were to teach people how to recognize and treat infection, and assess needs for sustainability. The 18 visitors, many of whom were Baha'is, had made arrangements to set up their tents in the yard at the Anis Zunuzi school and create a temporary clinic in the classrooms that were still standing. Yves and Susanna Puzo, who have long been associated with the school, lost their home in the earthquake but helped arrange for food and logistical support for the medical team, which included two pediatricians, two orthopedic surgeons, four obstetricians/gynecologists, an intensive care specialist, a hospital doctor, a nurse, a respiratory therapist, and a fourth-year medical student. Now back home, members of the group have already had follow-up consultations about how they can provide ongoing assistance to efforts by Haitians – including the local Baha'is – to rebuild their country. "We all learned the power of grassroots action," said Dr. Tahzib. (The collection of 30 photographs accompanying this article provides more information about the efforts of the medical team.)

18.547327

-72.3395928

GENEVA

Switzerland

Baha'i leaders make second court appearance

GENEVA, Switzerland — Seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders appeared in court today in Iran for a second session of their trial. The session was once again closed, and family members were not permitted in the courtroom, the Baha'i International Community has learned. The hearing, which lasted just over one hour, does not seem to have gone beyond procedural issues. No date was given for any future sessions. The seven were arrested nearly two years ago and have been held in Tehran's Evin prison since that time, spending the first year there without formal charges or access to lawyers. After several postponements, their trial officially began on 12 January, when the seven were arraigned in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. That session was also closed to the public, but accounts in government-sponsored news media said the defendants were formally charged with espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and corruption on earth. All the charges have been categorically denied. The defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.

46.2017559

6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Nations rally to defend human rights in Iran

GENEVA, Switzerland — Countries from around the world have voiced strong concern at the United Nations Human Rights Council over Iran's deteriorating human rights record. In speeches yesterday and in documents filed with the Council, nations and human rights groups described the degree to which Iran has failed to live up to its obligations under international human rights law. "The good news is that governments and organizations are rallying to defend innocent Iranians, who have over the last year seen their human rights so gravely violated," said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. "The bad news is that Iran continues to ignore such appeals," she said, speaking after yesterday's session of Council, which specifically focused on Iran's human rights record. Muhammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of the Islamic Republic of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, told the session that there is religious freedom in Iran and that no Baha'i is persecuted for his beliefs. If any Baha'is are imprisoned, he said, it is because of "illegal activities" as a cult. "Put bluntly, Iran once again completely discredited itself before the eyes of the international community," said Ms. Ala'i, noting that last week Iran arrested at least 14 more Baha'is. Among those arrested, she said, was Niki Khanjani, the son of one of the seven Baha'i leaders who are currently on trial on false charges. "As the Nobel laureate Mrs. Shirin Ebadi has recently stated in an open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Iran is now trying to increase pressure on prisoners by taking their relatives hostage," said Ms. Ala'i. "Jamaloddin Khanjani is 76. He has been incarcerated for almost two years – and then they arrested his granddaughter at the beginning of January and now, his son." "These are the desperate acts of a regime that is frantically lashing out to blame others for its troubles and to suppress any viewpoint that is different from its own ideology," she said. The majority of countries who spoke out against Iran focused on the violence following last June's presidential election and also on the situation of the country's religious minorities. Brazil called for Iran to extend rights to all religious groups in the country, saying Baha'is should enjoy the same rights as everyone. Mexico said all minorities – particularly the Baha'i community – must be able to practice their religion. "Romania and Slovenia devoted almost the entire allotment of their time to discussing the increasing repression of Iran's Baha'i community," reported Ms. Ala'i. Human rights groups, in documents filed with the Council, made similar points. "Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, individuals belonging to minorities in Iran are subject to an array of discriminatory laws and practices," wrote Amnesty International in its statement. "Minorities suffering persecution include ethnic and linguistic minorities such as Kurds, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Turkmen and Baluchis, and religious minorities such as Baha'is and the Ahl-e Haq." "The government systematically denies rights associated with freedom of religion to members of the Baha'i faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority. In most cases, including the persecution of the Baha'i community, the government uses 'security' as a pretext for detaining individuals and denying them basic due process rights," said a statement from Human Rights Watch. The session was part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a relatively new procedure that seeks to review the human rights record of all 192 United Nations member states once every four years. This year is the first time Iran has come up for review.

46.2017559

6.1466014

UNITED NATIONS

United States

Baha'is offer decision-making model at UN commission

UNITED NATIONS, United States — A new model of decision-making among peoples of different cultures would contribute to integration "at this time of transition to a new social order," according to a new Baha'i statement. The statement was prepared for the 48th United Nations Commission for Social Development, which concluded on 12 February. The commission is the chief UN body charged with following up on the World Summit on Social Development held in 1995 in Copenhagen, where world leaders outlined principles that would characterize a new "society for all." These principles included respect for diversity and participation of all people. The Baha'i International Community said in its statement that it was offering its experience in the method of consultation used by Baha'i communities around the world – a key component in creating unity among people. The consultative process, the Baha'i statement said, rests on the understanding that all human beings are essentially noble – "they possess reason and conscience as well as capacities for inquiry, understanding, compassion, and service to the common good." Mr. Ming H. Chong of Singapore, a delegate to the commission who presented a summary of the Baha'i statement, said afterward that understanding the nobility of all humans prevents people from dismissing others as needy rather than being in charge of their own development. "If you start with (this) understanding, then you have a different perspective, one that avoids labels like 'marginalized' and 'poor,'" he said. He explained that he was a child of immigrants to Singapore and had learned that such labels create the wrong impression of entire groups of people. "Language shapes the way we think," he said. "It creates mental pictures of how we see the world. Some of these mental pictures are not always positive – those that dehumanize migrants, for example." The Baha'i statement to the UN commission suggested that the human body can serve as a model for comparing the integration of the world's cultures and peoples. "Within this organism, millions of cells, with extraordinary diversity of form and function, collaborate to make human existence possible. Every least cell has its part to play in maintaining a healthy body," the statement said. This image can be used to envision the world's peoples as one human family and understand how each culture plays a part in the functioning of the whole, Mr. Chong explained. In consultation as practiced in Baha'i communities, great value is placed on the diversity of perspectives and contributions that individuals bring to the discussion. "Actively soliciting views from those traditionally excluded from decision-making not only increases the pool of intellectual resources but also fosters the trust, inclusion, and mutual commitment needed for collective action," the Baha'i statement said. A key feature of Baha'i consultation is that ideas belong to the group rather than to individuals. "Detachment from one's positions and opinions regarding the matter under discussion is imperative – once an idea has been shared, it is no longer associated with the individual who expressed it, but becomes a resource for the group to adopt, modify, or discard," the statement said. A diversity of opinions, however, is not sufficient – it "does not provide communities with a means to bridge differences or to resolve social tensions," it continued. "In consultation, the value of diversity is inextricably linked to the goal of unity. This is not an idealized unity, but one that acknowledges differences and strives to transcend them through a process of principled deliberation," the statement said. "It is unity in diversity." The Baha'i International Community participated in or cosponsored several other activities during the Commission for Social Development, which ran from 3 February to12 February. Among other things, Baha'is sponsored a panel discussion on freedom of religion or belief, offered a presentation on "Child Participation for Social Integration" featuring the New York-based Children's Theater Company, and contributed to NGO consultations leading to a Civil Society Declaration to the Commission. The panel discussion – titled "Freedom of religion or belief: A forgotten pillar of social integration?" – was held at Baha'i offices on 5 February. It featured presentations by Brian Grim, a senior researcher at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; Dr. Anupam Ray of the mission of India to the UN; John Mosoti of the mission of Kenya to UN; and Azza Karam, a senior researcher with the United Nations Population Fund. Participants discussed how freedom of religion contributes to social integration, focusing in part on the success of multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies like India and Kenya in achieving relative harmony. "To the extent that efforts towards social integration will reflect the diverse voices and aspirations of the world's people, governments will need to tackle one of the most challenging and neglected issues of our time – ensuring every individual's freedom of conscience, religion or belief," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the UN, who introduced the discussion.

GENEVA

Switzerland

Next court date for Baha'i leaders will be 11 April

GENEVA, Switzerland — A third court date has been announced for seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran, the Baha'i International Community has learned. The trial proceedings – begun on 12 January after the seven had been incarcerated in Tehran's Evin prison for 20 months – will continue on Sunday, 11 April, according to information conveyed orally to their attorneys. Government-sponsored news media reported that at the first hearing, the seven were charged with espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, the establishment of an illegal administration, cooperation with Israel, sending secret documents outside the country, acting against the security of the country, and corruption on earth. The defendants categorically deny all accusations. A second hearing, held on 7 February, was concerned mainly with procedural matters. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. They were responsible for tending to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's 300,000 Baha'is, after formal Baha'i institutions were dissolved in 1983. The court proceedings have come at the same time as more Baha'is have been arrested in Tehran. About 13 individuals were rounded up on 3 January, with 10 of them still in custody, and another 13 were detained last week, with 11 of them still jailed. There are at present about 60 Baha'is in detention in various cities in Iran.

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GENEVA

Switzerland

Court date for Baha'i leaders now announced as 10 April

GENEVA, Switzerland — The third court session for seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran is scheduled for 10 April, a day earlier than originally announced. Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, said attorneys in Iran have now received written notice of the court date, confirming it as 10 April, a Saturday. The earlier notification was oral. The seven defendants have been imprisoned since 2008 and only last month were presented with formal charges – including espionage and "corruption on earth" – which they categorically deny.

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NEW YORK

United States

Media portrayal of women is focus of panel

NEW YORK, United States — When Jan Floyd-Douglass decided to buy a new car, she bypassed suitable models from eight different manufacturers – and then wrote to tell them why. "I love your car but I didn't buy it because I don't like your advertisements because they demean women," wrote Ms. Floyd-Douglass, who is on the board of the Women's National Commission in the United Kingdom. She told the story during a panel discussion titled "Portrayal or Betrayal: How the Media Depicts Women and Girls" held at the UN offices of the Baha'i International Community. The event was planned in conjunction with the annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which began on 1 March. Along with the other panelists, she noted that sexualized images of women in advertising are so commonplace as to seem innocuous. "My message is, if we don't actually do anything about this, we are complicit in it," said Ms. Floyd-Douglass. Michael Karlberg of Western Washington University speaks at a discussion titled "Portrayal or Betrayal: How the Media Depicts Women and Girls." The Baha'i International Community hosted the event at its UN offices in New York.Also on the panel was Sarah Kasule, director of the Mother's Union for Uganda, who said that the way women are portrayed in the African media can be equally negative. "They are depicted as symbols of sex. Or as something to do with making men comfortable, or giving care," she said. This trend in the media is a result of both individual choices and institutional forces, added Dr. Michael Karlberg, who is an associate professor in the department of communications at Western Washington University. "On one hand," he said, "people everywhere are choosing to consume media that feeds base appetites that we have inherited from our animal nature. On the other hand, media institutions have been constructed in ways that purposefully stimulate, reinforce, and exploit these base appetites." The result is a "feedback cycle" that has created a media environment that is "unjust, unhealthy, and unsustainable," observed Dr. Karlberg. He said any effort to address the problem must consider the structure of media institutions. "The assumption is that the media is just another commodity. But the media is not just another commodity. It is a process that facilitates democratic deliberations. It is a process that creates culture." Part of the problem, he said, is that the media's real product is not content but the delivery of an audience to advertisers. The result is that the media strives to manufacture audiences in the cheapest way possible, through a "high-sex, high-violence, high-conflict content. It doesn't take talent or research or investigative journalism. Yet it stimulates the appetites, much the same way that a high-salt, high-sugar, and high-fat junk food diet does." The discussion, held on 3 March, was moderated by Baroness Joyce Gould, chair of the UK Women's National Commission. She said recent studies show that images demeaning to women are increasingly used in the mass media and have an unhealthy impact on the psychological development of both girls and boys. "For girls, it is about being told they need to be more attractive to men. And for boys, it is about looking upon girls as sexual objects," said Baroness Gould. Dr. Karlberg spoke of efforts the Baha'i community is making to try to counter the ill effects of exposure to such images in the media by offering moral education for children and young people. "Baha'is, like people everywhere, are struggling to raise and educate children," he said. "They are trying to do this in a way that cultivates their inherent nobility, that releases their spiritual potential, and that helps them recognize the deep sources of purpose, meaning, and happiness in life. "It is clear that such spiritual education can be a very important factor in making children less susceptible to messages in their media environment. It is also a very important factor in making children more likely to make thoughtful choices about media consumption as they grow older." Some counter trends in Uganda may be helpful, said Ms. Kasule, who described how literacy and education levels of women and girls are rising in that country. "There are many programs for girls to read and write. This is important because they will be able to access information, to access media reports, and then they can respond. "So I believe things are changing for the better," she said.

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-74.0060152

HAIFA

Israel

Two new members elected to Universal House of Justice

HAIFA, Israel — The Universal House of Justice has announced the results of a by-election for two of its nine members. The new members are Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall, elected in balloting in which members of national Baha'i governing bodies around the world serve as electors. The voting was done by mail, and results were conveyed today to all Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies. The Universal House of Justice is the head of the Baha'i Faith. Its permanent seat is at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, and all members reside here for the duration of their service. The regular election of the nine members of the House of Justice occurs every five years at an international convention, held in Haifa. The most recent election was in 2008. The by-election was necessary to fill two vacancies created when the House of Justice approved the request of two members, Mr. Hooper Dunbar and Dr. Peter Khan, to relinquish their positions owing to their advanced age and the heavy burden of work involved in membership.

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HAIFA

Israel

Two members of Universal House of Justice leaving after decades of service

HAIFA, Israel — Two members of the Universal House of Justice, Mr. Hooper Dunbar and Dr. Peter Khan, are leaving Haifa after decades of service at the Baha'i World Centre. The results of a by-election to replace them on the nine-member House of Justice were announced on 20 March, with the change effective immediately. The Universal House of Justice, which has its permanent seat in Haifa, is the head of the Baha'i Faith. The last regular election of the nine members took place in 2008. All have five-year terms, but the House of Justice gave permission to Mr. Dunbar and Dr. Khan to relinquish their positions owing to their advanced age and the burden of work associated with membership. Mr. Dunbar, 72, has served in Haifa since 1973 when he was called to the Baha'i World Centre as a member of the International Teaching Centre. He was first elected to the Universal House of Justice in 1988 and since then has been elected to successive terms. Originally from Los Angeles, as a young man he was an actor on stage, screen and television, making films with Columbia, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Twentieth Century-Fox. In 1958 he began 15 years of residence in Latin America, where he worked as a translator and educator. Mr. Dunbar served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Nicaragua before being named to the Auxiliary Board for Protection. In 1968 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counselors in South America and served in that position five years until moving to the Holy Land. He is an accomplished painter whose works have been shown in Europe and elsewhere. He is the author of a book-length study guide to the Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude), one of the major works of Baha'u'llah, and of "Forces of Our Time: The Dynamics of Light and Darkness," published last year. Mr. Dunbar and his wife, Maralynn George Dunbar, have one son. They will be establishing their new residence in California. Dr. Khan, 73, was first elected to the Universal House of Justice in 1987 and has served as a member since that time. Born in New South Wales, Australia, he earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Sydney and then went to the University of Michigan in the United States as Fulbright postdoctoral fellow before becoming a member of the faculty there. He returned to Australia in 1975 to professorial positions, first at the University of New South Wales and then at the University of Queensland. Dr. Khan has published widely in his profession and from 1978 to 2000 was a member of the editorial board of the journal "IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory." He is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and a senior member of the Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His Baha'i service included membership on the Auxiliary Board, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia, and the Continental Board of Counselors for Australasia before his appointment in 1983 as a member of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa. He served in that capacity until his election to the House of Justice. Dr. Khan has lectured widely on Baha'i subjects and has written numerous articles on the Baha'i Faith. With his wife, Dr. Janet Khan, he is the author of "Advancement of Women: A Baha'i Perspective." They will now make their home in Australia. The next regular election of all nine members of the Universal House of Justice will be at the International Baha'i Convention in Haifa in 2013.

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GENEVA

Switzerland

Next trial session in Iran for Baha'is set for tomorrow

GENEVA, Switzerland — A third session of the court proceedings against seven imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders is scheduled for tomorrow in Tehran. It is unknown whether the hearing – scheduled in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court – will be open to families of the defendants and other observers. The first two sessions were closed. The seven defendants, who have been imprisoned for two years, were responsible for tending to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's 300,000 Baha'is. In January of this year they were finally presented with formal charges, which include espionage and "corruption on earth" – accusations that they categorically deny. For more information, see recent news stories at https://news.bahai.org/story/760 and https://news.bahai.org/story/759. For further background and photographs, see https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/

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6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Court date for Iranian Baha'i leaders is 12 April

GENEVA, Switzerland — The Baha'i International Community has learned that there was a miscommunication as to the date of the trial of seven Iranian Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Tehran. A court session believed to have been scheduled for today is set for Monday, 12 April.

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6.1466014

GENEVA

Switzerland

Third court session held for Baha'i leaders in Iran

GENEVA, Switzerland — The seven imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders were called to court today in Tehran for a third session in their trial. The hearing was again closed, and no details are available. "We know that a session did take place, but we do not have any specific information from reliable sources," said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. "These seven innocent Baha'is will soon enter their third year of imprisonment," she said. "At the very least, they should have been released on bail pending the outcome of the tortuous judicial process they have been subjected to. This is unacceptable in light of international human rights law." The seven have been held in Tehran's Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008. No court hearing was held until 12 January this year when they appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court and charges were read. Accusations include espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and "corruption on earth." A second court session on 7 February was largely procedural. The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008. They have categorically denied all the charges.

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GENEVA

Switzerland

Update on third trial session of Iranian Baha'i leaders

GENEVA, Switzerland — Details are emerging from yesterday's court appearance in Tehran of seven imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders. The Baha'i International Community has learned that when the prisoners arrived at the court, their families were not allowed to enter, signaling a closed hearing. Inside the courtroom, however, the prisoners saw numerous officials and interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence – along with a film crew which had already set up its cameras. Concerned over the presence of non-judicial personnel in a supposedly closed hearing, the Baha'is – with the agreement of their attorneys – declined to be party to the proceedings. The judge adjourned the session and did not announce a date for continuing the trial. "The Islamic Republic of Iran should immediately set free these seven innocent prisoners," said Diane Ala'i, Baha'i representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "The dictates of justice demand no less," she said. "They are now about to enter the third year of their incarceration on baseless charges which they have categorically denied and for which the government has no evidence whatsoever. "At the very least, they should be released on bail and steps be taken to ensure that their trial is conducted fairly, in accordance with international standards of jurisprudence. "If their confinement is to continue, the harsh conditions under which they are being held must be improved," she said. Yesterday's session was the third in the ongoing trial of the seven Baha'is, who have been accused of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and "corruption on earth," among other charges. Their first court appearance was 12 January this year. The seven defendants are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

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6.1466014

HAIFA

Israel

Work advances on restoration of Haifa's golden-domed shrine

HAIFA, Israel — With great care and patience, a dozen trusted workers are going over the entire stone surface of Haifa's renowned Baha'i shrine, mending and cleaning every spot that shows damage from half a century exposed to the elements. The stone restoration of the burial place of the Bab – one of two divine Messengers associated with the Baha'i Faith – is only one part of a four-year project that is bringing the benefits of 21st century engineering and building expertise to a structure whose first rooms were completed in 1909. The initial phase of the work – structural reinforcement to increase resistance to earthquakes – began in 2008 and is virtually finished. "A new concealed steel structure, masonry reinforcements, and concrete work are largely complete," said Saeid Samadi, architect and manager for the project. "The stone restoration should be finished by the end of the summer, and other work is well under way." In addition to stonework and structural reinforcement, the painstaking restoration includes replacing the golden tiles on the dome, gilding anew the elements that feature gold leaf, replacing the red floor tiles inside the shrine, restoring the original ornamental balustrades, refurbishing the wood and metal doors and windows, installing new electrical and environmental control systems, and waterproofing. The entire project is scheduled for completion in April 2012, but the exterior should be finished sooner, Mr. Samadi said. The refurbishing includes both the original one-story building that was completed a century ago and the outside colonnade, superstructure, and golden dome that were finished in 1953. Workers are going over the entire stone exterior of the shrine and repairing every spot that shows signs of damage from 50 years of exposure to the elements. Jubin Nakhai, shown here, is an experienced stone carver from Canada. (Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved.)"The expectation is that by early October 2011, when the Baha'i pilgrimage season begins, visitors will be able to see the shrine in its full beauty and grandeur," Mr. Samadi said. "At the moment much of the exterior of the building is blocked from view." In fact, extraordinary care has been taken to shield the restoration work from the public so that pilgrims and other visitors can continue to enter the shrine for prayer and also experience the beauty and peacefulness of the gardens. Access to the tomb itself is suspended only during three summer months when no formal Baha'i pilgrimages are scheduled. The Baha'i shrine on Mount Carmel is one of the most visited sites in the Holy Land. The building, overlooking Haifa Bay and the Mediterranean Sea, is known for its beauty and for the adjacent gardens that stretch up and down the mountain. In 2008, the Shrine of Baha'u'llah north of Haifa, near Acre, and the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel were chosen for the UNESCO World Heritage list, sites of "outstanding universal value" that should be considered part of the "cultural heritage of humanity." The restoration work will not result in any change in the design or general appearance of the Shrine of the Bab. Behind the massive scaffolding and the custom-fitted mesh that currently shrouds the upper portion of the Shrine of the Bab, members of the stone restoration team are well along in their task. Work actually began five years ago, when experts in Italy were consulted about the stone, its particular qualities, and possible techniques for restoration. Then came laboratory tests, research into the causes of deterioration, experimentation with restoration methods and materials, and commissioning of experts from England, the Netherlands, and the United States to come to Haifa and work with the Baha'is in refining the techniques to be used. The methods were applied first on another restoration project – that of the International Archives Building which stands near the Shrine of the Bab at the Baha'i World Centre. That project, now finished, required 30,000 man-hours for the stone restoration alone. Currently, the staff is gearing up for the replacement of the gilded tiles on the dome of the Shrine of the Bab. Removal of the original tiles has begun, and an agreement has been finalized for the fabrication of new ones. It represents the final stretch of a five-year process involving in-depth studies and laboratory tests on how best to manufacture high-performance ceramics that in appearance resemble the original tiles. (See previous article at https://news.bahai.org/story/513). All aspects of the project have received the same careful scrutiny, Mr. Samadi said. "We have sought the best expertise available, used the most sophisticated methods, and studied and tested every element. It took us two years to find exactly the right red floor tiles – in France – to replace the damaged ones in the shrine. Restoring the balustrades has taken us 2,000 to 3,000 hours of work," he said. "This is a very big project."

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SAN SALVADOR

El Salvador

Latin America marks key anniversary in establishment of Baha’i Faith

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador and 20 other nations in Latin America and the Caribbean are this month electing their national Baha'i assembly for the 50th time. The anniversary not only marks a milestone in the establishment of the Baha'i Faith in the Western Hemisphere, but the formation of those 21 assemblies in 1961 helped pave the way for the election two years later of the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member body that is now the worldwide head of the Baha'i Faith. "To be able to elect the House of Justice, we first had to elect national assemblies," explained Gabriel Torres, who was a member of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of El Salvador. Mr. Torres shared his memories at a special session during El Salvador's 50th national convention, held this past weekend at the new Baha'i center in the capital city of San Salvador. Others who spoke were Quentin and Jeanne Farrand – also among the nine people elected to the first Salvadoran Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly. The first National Spiritual Assembly of El Salvador was elected in 1961. All nine members appear in this official photograph. In back from left are Napoleon Gonzalez, Quentin Farrand, Marcia Steward de Matamoros, Rafael Garcia, Marco Antonio Martinez, and Jeanne de Farrand. In front, Jose Maria Padilla, Marta de Herrador, and Gabriel Torres."It was such an emotional moment when (we learned) that 21 countries in Latin America would all form their national assemblies in 1961," Mrs. Farrand said. At the time, added Mr. Farrand, there were just 24 active Baha'is in El Salvador. "I remember that there were only 11 people at the first summer school we had. Now our Baha'i Institute is too small to hold all the people." There are several thousand Baha'is in El Salvador now, despite upheavals caused by civil war in the 1980s and early '90s that forced many people from their homes and significantly reduced the size of the Baha'i community. More important than numbers, however, is the progress being made at the grassroots level to work with the wider community in contributing to the betterment of society, said Gabriela Velis, 32. "Our work is aimed at raising the capacity of people to take charge of their own spiritual, social, and intellectual development," she said. Activities include gatherings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; classes for children; groups that channel the energies of young people; and study circles where participants explore the application of spiritual teachings to their lives. Festival of Ridvan National Baha'i elections are held during the 12-day Festival of Ridvan, which begins each year on 21 April. Ridvan marks the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in 1863 that He is the Messenger of God for this age, the most recent in a line of divine educators that includes Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed, Moses, Zoroaster, and others. In its annual message for the Ridvan period addressed to the Baha'is of the world, the Universal House of Justice observed the growing ability of National Spiritual Assemblies across the globe to think and act strategically in nurturing community-building processes at the local level. As core activities multiply, the message noted, they will be sustained by "men and women eager to improve material and spiritual conditions in their surroundings." In addition to El Salvador, other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where Baha'is are electing their National Spiritual Assembly for the 50th year include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Historical photographs from the first national Baha'i election in each of these countries may be seen at https://news.bahai.org/story/ridvan2010/photographs.html.

13.6989939

-89.1914249

NEW YORK

United States

Alternatives to consumer culture focus of new Baha'i document

NEW YORK, United States — A new statement challenging the common assumption that human beings are slaves to self-interest and consumerism has been issued by the Baha'i International Community. A more profound look at human nature would reveal the ability to respond to a higher calling, suggests the document – issued this week for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development as it began its annual two-week session. "The culture of consumerism ... has tended to reduce human beings to competitive, insatiable consumers of goods and to objects of manipulation by the market," it says. In fact, "the human experience is essentially spiritual in nature: it is rooted in the inner reality – or what some call the 'soul' – that we all share in common," it states. The document, titled "Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism," challenges the view that there is an intractable conflict between what people want – which supposedly is to consume more – and what humanity needs. "Much of economic and psychological theory depicts human beings as slaves to self-interest," it says. "The faculties needed to construct a more just and sustainable social order – moderation, justice, love, reason, sacrifice and service to the common good – have too often been dismissed as naive ideals. Yet, it is these and related qualities that must be harnessed. ..." Peter Adriance, a member of the Baha'i International Community's delegation to the Commission, said the statement is a contribution to a dialogue on the development of a 10-year framework to encourage new programs that advance sustainable consumption and production. "The document deals with the issue of consumerism by reflecting on the question of what is human nature," he said. "We must look at who we are and what our purpose in life is. "The transition to sustainable consumption and production is one of the great challenges of our times, and to achieve it will require a transformation in both thought and action. The cultural forces at play are powerful and demand re-examination if we are to move forward," he said. The statement can be read at http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/bic-statements/10-0503.htm. Panel discussion As a further contribution to the work this year of the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Baha'i International Community will cosponsor a panel discussion on 10 May on the same topic as the statement. Panelists will include Tim Jackson of the United Kingdom's Sustainable Development Commission; Victoria Thoresen of the Norwegian Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living; Jeff Barber of the U.S.-based International Coalition on Sustainable Production and Consumption; and Luis Flores Mimica of Consumers International, based in Chile. The discussion will be moderated by Duncan Hanks of the Canadian Baha'i International Development Agency. It is cosponsored by UNESCO and the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations.

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NEW YORK

United States

Calls for action as Iranian Baha'i leaders enter third year in prison

NEW YORK, United States — As seven Baha'i leaders in Iran enter their third year of imprisonment, new details about the harsh conditions of their incarceration have emerged, prompting renewed calls for their immediate release. The prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. "These innocent Baha'is have now been locked up for two full years in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, under conditions which clearly violate international standards," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "We call on the Iranian authorities to release them now, and ask the international community to join us in this plea. The dictates of justice demand no less." The prisoners, former members of an informal group known as the Yaran, or "Friends," used to attend to the spiritual and social needs of the several hundred thousand Baha'is of Iran. They have been held in Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008 – six of them on 14 May and one of them two months earlier. No court hearing was held until 12 January this year when they appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. Charges including espionage, propaganda activities and "corruption on earth" were all denied. Further appearances took place on 7 February and 12 April. "In the three trial sessions that have so far taken place, no evidence has been provided whatsoever of wrongdoing – making it all the more obvious that the prisoners are being held only because of their religious belief," said Ms. Dugal. "If their freedom is not immediately granted, at the very least they should be released on bail. Steps should be taken to ensure that their trial is expedited and conducted fairly, in accordance with international standards," she said. Severe prison conditions Friday marks the second anniversary of the group's imprisonment, and details continue to emerge about the severe conditions under which they are being held. It is known, for example, that the two women and five men are confined to two cells which are so small that they restrict adequate movement or rest. "They have neither beds nor bedding," said Ms. Dugal. The place has a rancid smell, and they are permitted to have fresh air for only two hours each week. They have a light that if turned off during the day makes it impossible for them to see anything. "Contact with their loved ones is restricted to one 10-minute telephone call a week, or visits which are mostly conducted through a glass barrier," Ms. Dugal said. "Such inhumane conditions show no regard for the principles outlined in international agreements for the treatment of prisoners, which provide that no one may be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment," she said. "The prisoners' own requests for modest improvements to their conditions remain unaddressed, and as a consequence their health is suffering. "These people are innocent, and there is no reason they should be made to suffer like this," she said. According to the journalist Roxana Saberi – who shared a cell for three weeks with two of the Baha'i prisoners – the women are confined in a small space. "They roll up a blanket to use as a pillow," she said. "The floor is cement and covered with only a thin, brown carpet, and prisoners often get backaches and bruises from sleeping on it. ... When I was with them, we were allowed into a walled-in cement yard four days a week for 20 to 30 minutes." See section below for "Glimpse inside Evin prison." International action The Universal House of Justice – the head of the Baha'i Faith – has called for the worldwide Baha'i community to host special prayer meetings across the globe this Friday, to remember the Baha'is of Iran and all their compatriots who are similarly subject to oppression. "It grieves our hearts to contemplate the passing of yet another year in which the seven former members of the Yaran remain imprisoned on baseless charges for which the authorities have no evidence whatsoever," the House of Justice has written. The second anniversary, they say, calls to mind the "multifarious forms of oppression" being faced by Iran's Baha'i community, including "interrogations, summary arrests and imprisonment, deprivation of the means to a livelihood, wanton destruction of property, and the denial of education to Baha'i students." A collective gesture of solidarity with the imprisoned Baha'i leaders has also been called for by the human rights network United4Iran. They are asking sympathizers worldwide to replicate the dimensions of the cells in Evin prison, and document themselves confined to the space. Photographs and video clips will be then shared on the Internet to bring the international community's attention to the ongoing arbitrary imprisonment being endured by the seven. Details about the United4Iran campaign can be found here. During her time in Iran's Evin prison, journalist Roxana Saberi met a number of fellow women prisoners who gave her strength and inspiration as she faced the interrogations of her keepers and the harsh conditions of the jail itself. Among these were the two women Baha'i leaders, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, with whom Ms. Saberi shared a cell for about three weeks in early 2009. "Fariba and Mahvash were two of the women prisoners I met in Evin who inspired me the most," said Ms. Saberi in a recent interview. "They showed me what it means to be selfless, to care more about community and beliefs than about oneself." Ms. Saberi's description of the conditions facing the two Baha'i women offers considerable insight into what it is like to be unjustly incarcerated in Iran today – a situation experienced not only by Baha'is, but by hundreds if not thousands among the journalists, women's activists, and human rights defenders who are currently held in Iran. According to Ms. Saberi, the two Baha'i women are confined in a small cell, with two little, metal-covered windows and no beds. "They must sleep on blankets," said Ms.Saberi. "They have no pillows, either. They roll up a blanket to use as a pillow. They use their chadors as a bed sheet. "The floor is cement and covered with only a thin, brown carpet, and prisoners often get backaches and bruises from sleeping on it. "The bathroom is down the hall, and prisoners must get permission to use it," she said. Exercise periods were also limited. "When I was with them, we were allowed into a walled-in cement yard four days a week for 20 to 30 minutes," she said. "We were allowed to take a shower and wash our clothes by hand on the other three days of the week." Before she joined them, the two had for a time each been kept in solitary confinement, and they had no access to outside news or books – save for the Qur'an and a few Islamic prayer books. "When I was with Mahvash and Fariba, they tried to keep a routine of reading those books that are allowed in prison, watching the state-run TV news, exercising in place in the cell, and praying," Ms. Saberi said. "I believe they always kept in mind the fact that their behavior in prison could have consequences for the wider Baha'i community. They seemed to feel this was both a responsibility but also a blessing, something that gave them strength to carry on," she said. Comments from Ms. Saberi adapted from an interview in One Country, the newsletter of the Baha'i International Community, Volume 20, Issue 3.

40.7127281

-74.0060152

NEW YORK

United States

'Rethinking Prosperity' is topic for panel at United Nations

NEW YORK, United States — Professor Tim Jackson doesn't hold back when describing today's consumer culture: "We are encouraged to spend money we don't have, on things we don't need, to create impressions that don't last, on people we don't care about." Professor Jackson, a member of the Sustainable Development Commission of the United Kingdom, made his comments at a panel discussion held this week in conjunction with the current session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. The Baha'i International Community cosponsored the discussion, titled "Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism." Countries are being driven further into debt – not to mention potential environmental catastrophe – by levels of consumerism that do not contribute to sustainability, Professor Jackson said. The answer, the panelists proposed, is to reconsider the nature of the consumer culture that relentlessly urges people to adopt a lifestyle based on the acquisition of new and more material goods. A representative of Consumers International, Luis Flores Mimica of Chile, observed that there are many people in the "developing world" who have not yet taken up the consumer-based lifestyle, which he said was largely filled with "empty aspirations." "There is no way they can continue to follow the path of 'development' as labeled that way in the 1950s," he said. 'Redefining progress' Jeff Barber, executive director of Integrative Strategies Forum in the United States, said one place to start "redefining progress" would be to consider the vast research about what really makes people happy. Much of that shows that material consumption does not necessarily lead to a feeling of well-being. Cover of the Baha'i statement issued for the 2010 session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.Victoria Thoresen, of the Norwegian Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living, suggested that a way to help humanity make the shift to a system of sustainable values is to recognize our essential oneness – and to consider that humanity is now collectively moving from an adolescent stage towards maturity. "Constructive change depends upon individuals being able to recognize spiritual principles and to identify patterns and processes of development in society," said Ms. Thoresen, who is a Baha'i. Duncan Hanks, a representative of the Baha'i International Community to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, announced the publication of the new Baha'i statement, also titled "Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism." "At a time when oil spews forth uncontrolled in the Gulf of Mexico, we feel both the immediacy and urgency to rethink what fair and just progress is," he said. "We have been rethinking what true prosperity looks like." What is needed first, Mr. Hanks said, is public discourse on the nature and purpose of human development, along with the recognition that each individual has a contribution to make in building a more just and peaceful social order. Professor Jackson agreed. "We need a better concept of prosperity, a shared prosperity, a lasting prosperity, a prosperity built around the concept of people's capacity to flourish, within the confines of a finite planet," he said. The discussion, held on 10 May at the New York offices of the Baha'i International Community, was cosponsored by UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization - and the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations. The 2010 session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development runs through 14 May. Read more about the statement, "Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism" here.

40.7127281

-74.0060152

GENEVA

Switzerland

Human rights abuses in Iran focus of global campaigns

GENEVA, Switzerland — A global day of action demanding an end to human rights abuses in Iran has been called for Saturday, 12 June. The initiative – coordinated by human rights group United4Iran – is being cosponsored by numerous organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Nobel Women's Initiative, the Baha'i International Community, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, FIDH (Federation Internationale des ligues des Droits de l'Homme), and Pen International. "In our support for this nonpartisan initiative, we are standing together with ordinary citizens throughout the world to draw attention to the continuing and widespread abuse of human rights in Iran," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. The prominent nongovernmental organizations are joining with a wide range of local, student and Internet-based groups to host simultaneous events in cities and on campuses around the globe. Online initiatives include sending messages to specific recipients in support of individual prisoners of conscience. The campaign website can be visited here. An "overwhelming" response Earlier this month, United4Iran marked the second anniversary – on 14 May – of the jailing of seven Baha'i leaders in Tehran's Evin prison, calling for individuals to show support by replicating the size of the small jail cells and taking a photograph. Supporters of the United4Iran campaign on 14 May outlined the cramped dimensions of the cells of the seven Baha'i leaders in Tehran's Evin prison. This photograph is from Liechtenstein."The response was overwhelming," reported the United4Iran website. "Notes, emails, video, old photographs of the leaders, former students, (and) community representatives from all the world participated." As a gesture of solidarity, supporters were asked to mark off the size of the cells shared by the Baha'i prisoners then occupy the space, so as to better appreciate their suffering. The cells of the Baha'is in Evin prison do not have beds, forcing the prisoners to sleep on the concrete floor. A video was posted online to show some of the photos the organization received. View the video here. United4Iran also published an old photograph of one of the jailed Baha'is, Fariba Kamalabadi, with one of her former students. The student sent the picture to United4Iran along with words from a letter she wrote to her teacher: "Now that you are in prison ... for making the world a better place, ... it brings tears to my eyes. And all I can do is pray. The things you taught me I will always know." "We are grateful for this outpouring of sympathy being offered to the people of Iran who are subject to oppression," said Ms. Ala'i. The website of United4Iran can be viewed here. Other initiatives Several other organizations have recently launched campaigns in support of Iran's oppressed Baha'i community. The latest newsletter of the French branch of the organization Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) includes a call for action in support of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, as well as 12 other Baha'is who have been recently detained. On 14 March, Amnesty International requested messages of goodwill be sent to prisoners of conscience in Iran in order to mark the traditional Persian new year holiday. The detained leaders of Iran's Baha'i community were included among seven cases selected by Amnesty International. To date, almost 600 messages have been received for the Baha'i prisoners – both individually and collectively – from as far afield as Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States. More details of Amnesty International's campaign can be found here. The seven Baha'i leaders jailed in Tehran for the past two years are among about 36 Baha'is currently imprisoned in Iran because of their religion.

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6.1466014

DUBLIN

Ireland

Irish President makes historic visit to Baha'i Centre

DUBLIN, Ireland — The President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese, has praised the universality of the Baha'i teachings and the contribution its members make to the life of their nation. "You are marked out as people with values that are worth observing, worth learning from, worth looking at, worth imitating and so never be in any doubt of the value you are every single day in this world," President McAleese told a gathering of some 60 Baha'is during her first ever visit to the national Baha'i Centre in the Irish capital. "Something you probably do not know, and I am sure it is true of many of you, is that in and through your lives, you are extraordinary ambassadors for your Faith," she said in impromptu remarks. During her visit, President McAleese, right, spoke with young Baha'is from the Dublin areaPresident McAleese, first elected as Ireland's President in 1997, made her special visit to the Baha'i Centre on 30 April to mark the Festival of Ridvan, the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in 1863 that He is the most recent in a line of divine Messengers that includes Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed, Moses, Zoroaster, and others. The President also expressed concern about the persecution of Baha'is in other countries. She said it was both sad and remarkable that a Faith with such principles would attract, in any shape or form, violence from others. "And on this evening I think we just keep in our hearts those who are paying such a dear price for their fidelity to that simple human and divine charism that reaches right into the heart of humanity," said President McAleese. "How fortunate all Irish people are to live in a State where followers of all religions or none are free to practice," she added, according to The Irish Times, which covered her visit. During the reception, President McAleese was presented with a specially bound edition of the Baha'i book, The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah, in both English and the Irish language. Brendan McNamara, the Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Republic of Ireland, described the President's visit as "a milestone - a very joyous occasion." "She was very generous and spoke with everybody present," said Mr. McNamara, "particularly taking time to encourage the youth - in whatever they were doing - to make a contribution to the future of Ireland."

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GENEVA

Switzerland

Fourth court date for imprisoned Baha’i leaders set for 12 June

GENEVA, Switzerland — The seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran are scheduled to make their fourth court appearance on 12 June, the Baha'i International Community has learned. The date coincides with the first anniversary of last year's contested presidential election in Iran, as well as a global day of action aimed at calling attention to human rights abuses in that country. The trial of the seven began on 12 January after they had been incarcerated without charge in Tehran's Evin prison for 20 months. At the first hearing, held in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, the Baha'is categorically denied charges of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and "corruption on earth," among other allegations. A second appearance on 7 February was concerned mainly with procedural issues. The third session on 12 April, which was purportedly a closed hearing, was adjourned after the seven – with the agreement of their attorneys – refused to be party to the proceedings because of the presence of nonjudicial personnel. "To have spectators, including a film crew, in a supposedly closed hearing while denying entry to the defendants' families was unacceptable," said Diane Ala'i, Baha'i representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "There would be no objection if the trial were to be open and conducted in accordance with international standards." "In the court sessions held so far, no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented. As their lawyers have confirmed, the defendants are completely innocent and are being persecuted solely for their religious belief," Ms. Ala'i said. "The Iranian government should know that its actions against these innocent citizens are under scrutiny throughout the world," she said. "Once again we call for their immediate release. Failing that, the seven should – at the very least – be released on bail pending a fair trial." The seven defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Before their imprisonment, they attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community, which numbers more than 300,000. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008. There are currently some 38 Baha'is in detention in various cities in Iran.

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6.1466014

NEW DELHI

India

Global call for release of Iranian Baha'i leaders as trial session looms

NEW DELHI, India — On the eve of the fourth court hearing for Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, voices are being raised around the world for them to be freed. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi has addressed Iran's Supreme Leader calling for the release of the seven, "or at the very least for them to be released on bail and await a fair and open trial in accordance with the international standards of jurisprudence." "In the court sessions held so far, no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented, as their lawyers have confirmed," Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao wrote in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dated 5 June 2010. Yesterday, the social activist and spiritual leader, Swami Agnivesh, led a peaceful procession through the streets of New Delhi to Hyderabad House, a government-owned venue used for major events and press conferences. Campaigners – many of them wearing masks – carried banners and placards depicting the seven Baha'i leaders, as well as images of other prisoners currently being held. Swami Agnivesh told the gathering that humanity demands love and respect for all and should allow people of different belief systems and ideologies to co-exist in peace and solidarity, reported The Hindu newspaper. Global initiative One of United4Iran's mobile billboards has been launched in London, England. It features the image of the seven Baha'i leaders and the slogan, "Unjustly jailed for their religion".The march in New Delhi was a prelude to tomorrow's global day of action, which demands an end to human rights abuses in Iran, and marks the one-year anniversary of last year's contested presidential election. The initiative - coordinated by United4Iran - is being cosponsored by numerous organizations including Amnesty International and the Baha'i International Community. Prominent nongovernmental organizations are joining with a wide range of local, student and Internet-based groups to host simultaneous events in cities and on campuses around the globe. The campaign website can be visited here. In the United Kingdom, a mobile billboard depicting the seven Baha'i leaders has been launched in London in order to bring attention to their plight. Meanwhile, in the United States, Representative Frank R. Wolf, yesterday submitted a statement to the Congressional Record calling for renewed support for the seven. "The world cannot turn a blind eye to this regime's brutal repression of its own people," said Mr Wolf. "We must continue to advocate for due process and a fair trial for these seven Baha'i leaders and for basic rights for the community as a whole which according to the recently released report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, "has long been subject to particularly severe religious violations in Iran."" he said. UN Human Rights Council Concerns have also been expressed this week in a debate at the 14th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The situation of Iran's persecuted Baha'i community was raised on Tuesday, 8 June, on behalf of the European Union by Spain. It was also mentioned in contributions made by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States of America. "We fear that the already poor human rights situation in Iran will continue to deteriorate if the international community does not continue to call the Iranian government to account for its actions," said the Canadian representative. In addition to endorsing the statement of Spain, seven member states of the European Union specifically mentioned their own concerns about the persecution of Baha'is. Austria reported how it "remains gravely concerned about the discrimination and harassment of religious minorities, in particular members of the Baha'i and the trial against seven of their leaders, which we follow very closely." The trial of the seven Baha'i leaders began on 12 January after they had been incarcerated without charge in Tehran's Evin prison for 20 months. At the first hearing, held in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, the Baha'is categorically denied charges of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and "corruption on earth," among other allegations. The seven defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Before their imprisonment, they attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community, which numbers more than 300,000. There are currently some 41 Baha'is in detention in various cities in Iran.

28.6138954

77.2090057

BRUSSELS

Belgium

Ongoing trial of Iran's Baha'i leaders highlighted on global day of action

BRUSSELS, Belgium — On a global day of action highlighting human rights abuses in Iran, the European Union and the Prime Minister of Canada issued strong statements calling for Iran to respect international law. In a declaration made on behalf of the European Union, its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton, said, "We call on Iran to respect fair trial rights as enshrined in article 14 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities and women are other areas of concern." "We are disturbed by serious reports of ill-treatment and torture of those detained and imprisoned as well as allegations of forced confessions," the EU declaration said. "The EU will be closely monitoring the ongoing trial of Baha'i leaders in this regard." "We take this opportunity to reassure the people of Iran that they have not been forgotten: the EU will continue to speak out and to call on the Iranian authorities to respect the rights of their citizens in accordance with the international obligations to which they have committed under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties," the statement concluded. The EU declaration was issued on Saturday, 12 June – the same day that the seven Baha'i leaders returned to court in Tehran for the start of the fourth session of their trial, which continues today. Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada The Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, also urged Iran to respect the rights of its Baha'i community and "cease persecuting it, discriminating against it and detaining its members." In Brazil, human rights campaigners carrying masks depicting Iran's seven Baha'i leaders gathered in front of the Brazilian National Congress, Brasilia."We note the trial of the seven leaders of the Baha'i community was to take place today," said Mr. Harper in a statement marking the one year anniversary of Iran's 2009 presidential election, "and we call on the Iranian regime to ensure that due process is respected." "Iran has made absolutely no progress in the last year toward addressing the legitimate aspirations of its people. In fact, its regime has been even more repressive. Iran's continued, blatant disregard for the rights of its citizens must end," he said. Calling upon Iran to uphold its human rights commitments, the Prime Minister urged the Iranian government "to respect diverse social and political groups and their freedom of expression, and to engage these groups in a constructive dialogue that will serve to strengthen the rich fabric of the Iranian nation." United Kingdom appeal In London, the government of the United Kingdom also issued a statement saying, "This trial comes at a time when we are remembering the human rights abuses surrounding the elections in Iran a year ago." "I call on the Iranian Government to ensure, without delay, that the rights of these individuals are fully protected," said the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign Office, Alistair Burt on Friday, 11 June, "that they are given due legal process, including being released on bail and given a fair and transparent trial, in accordance with international standards." The minister also called on the Iranian government "to cease the harassment of, and to also respect the rights, of many members of minority groups who continue to face arrest and lengthy prison sentences, often on vaguely worded charges of acting against national security." Worldwide day of action In more than 80 cities around the world, people took to the streets yesterday to call for an end to human rights abuses in Iran. In South Africa, buses are carrying images of Iranian prisoners of conscience as part of the campaign, organised by human rights group United4Iran. "This is not about party-politics or calls for punitive action," said one campaigner in Johannesburg, "this is a principled call to respect the human rights of every person." In Berlin, Germany, a group erected a replica prison cell at the city's historic Brandenburg Gate. A display depicting the seven Baha'i leaders read, "Ideals cannot be locked up. But people with ideals can be. In Iran, these people need your help." "For more than two years the seven Baha'i leaders have been under arrest without justification," said a supporter. "They are imprisoned only because they are Baha'is. Today it is the Baha'is. Tomorrow it could happen to the Sunnis, Jews, Christians or other minorities." "I hope we are sending a powerful signal of solidarity to the people in Iran," said another. "The Iranian people should know that our thoughts are with them." In Brazil, campaigners carrying masks depicting Iran's seven Baha'i leaders gathered in front of the Brazilian National Congress last Wednesday to call for their release. Congressman Mr. Luiz Couto - a former President of the Commission of Human Rights and Minorities - told the gathering that a person's faith is an intrinsic human right, necessary for the development of an individual and his contribution to society. Referring to the situation of the Baha'is in Iran at a Plenary Session of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, another congressman, Deputy Paulo Delgado, said that human rights policies in the democratic world are "inescapable and do not admit exceptions." Mr. Delgado expressed his hope that the international community realizes that the "anguish and suffering of a religious minority" is something that "can happen to any of us."

50.8465573

4.351697

NEW YORK

United States

Trial of seven Iranian Baha'i leaders appears to have ended

NEW YORK, United States — The trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned for more than two years in Iran seems to have come to a conclusion after three days of successive court hearings. The seven appeared in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on the morning of Saturday, 12 June and returned to Evin Prison shortly after noon. The Court was reconvened the next day, as well as this morning. "We can confirm that a court session was held today in Tehran," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, "and it seems from what we have heard that the trial itself has now concluded. But we have no further information at this time." The defendants are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Before their imprisonment, they attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community, which numbers more than 300,000. They have been held in Evin prison since they were arrested in 2008 - six of them on 14 May and one of them two months earlier. Their trial began on 12 January this year after they had been incarcerated without charge in Evin prison for 20 months. At the first hearing, the seven categorically denied charges of espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and "corruption on earth," among other allegations. A second appearance on 7 February was concerned mainly with procedural issues. The third session on 12 April, which was purportedly a closed hearing, was adjourned after the seven - with the agreement of their attorneys - refused to be party to the proceedings because of the presence of nonjudicial personnel. Read profiles of the seven Baha'i leaders

40.7127281

-74.0060152

WINNIPEG

Canada

Religious leaders call for action on the environment, poverty and peace

WINNIPEG, Canada — World leaders meeting in Canada have been urged to take "inspired leadership and action" to halt poverty, protect the environment, and end violent conflict. The challenge was made in a statement drafted by representatives of the world's religions, who gathered at the University of Winnipeg in advance of this week's G8 and G20 summits in Toronto. "Acknowledging our common humanity and embracing the imperative to treat all persons with dignity, we affirm that no one person is more or less valuable than another," said the statement. "We urge the political leaders to consider first the vulnerable among us, particularly our children, and to work together to address the dehumanizing scourge of poverty and injustice, and practice and promote care for our common environment, the Earth," the statement said. The World Religions Summit 2010 was the sixth in a series of interfaith gatherings associated with the annual G8 meetings. It brought together more than 80 participants from all of the world's major faiths including, for the first time, representatives of the Baha'i community. Religious leaders from more than 20 countries attended, including each of the G8 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Reverend Dr. James Christie, secretary general of the Summit, said the meeting and its output was directed principally at the leaders of the so-called "Group of 8" countries because they represent the nations that have the most power to effect change in the world. "The reality is that these nations have the money, they have the clout, and they make a difference," said Dr. Christie. The 2010 World Religions Summit was addressed by Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, Canadian senator and former Force Commander of UNAMIR, the United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda between 1993 and 1994. Photograph by Louis Brunet.Some participants said it was also important for the religious communities themselves to redouble their own efforts to address the three main topics of their discussions – poverty, the environment, and peace. "We are living in a very critical period in history," said His Holiness Aram I, of the Armenian Orthodox Church. "I believe what is important for us is building community. It is not just living side-by-side, coexisting peacefully. It is a question of building integrated communities, communities of integrated diversity, accepting and respecting the others, but living together." "We have to tell the G8 and the world that we religions not only speak together but that we are working together to build communities of integrated dialogue," he said. Baha'i participation Among the Baha'i representatives at the Summit was Susanne Tamas of Canada, who was joined by Baha'is from five other countries - France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "We believe that spiritual principles need to be brought into the discussion of such challenges as poverty, the environment, and peace and security," said Ms. Tamas. "We want to create a space where the political leaders can reflect and make decisions for the long term, and for the common good, rather than on short-term, national concerns." "We're also here to learn – because these issues are complex and we need to learn what other faiths are saying about them," she said. As a prelude to the Summit, the Baha'i community of Canada sponsored a seminar on human rights and religious freedom. The day-long event – held in Winnipeg on Monday, 21 June – brought together four human rights experts from different religious backgrounds who concluded that the right to freedom of religion must be upheld to ensure that its influence on society is progressive and positive. "Courageous and concrete" actions The statement, issued after three days of deliberation at the World Religions Summit 2010, called upon political leaders to take "courageous and concrete" actions. Regarding poverty, it said more than a billion people are "chronically hungry" and that women, children and indigenous peoples are among those most affected. "The magnitude of poverty would be overwhelming were it not for the knowledge that this global inequity can be transformed into a shared life of human flourishing for all. Together, we have the capacity and the global resources to end extreme poverty and its impacts," the statement said. On the subject of the environment, the statement noted that all faith traditions "call us to careful stewardship of the Earth." It warned of the effects of climate change and said "bold action is needed now." Governments were also called upon to halt the nuclear arms race, and to make new investments to create a "culture of peace." The Summit condemned religiously-motivated terrorism and extremism with the faith leaders committing themselves "to stop the teaching and justification of the use of violence between and among our faith communities." The statement was presented to Steven Fletcher, Canada's Minister of State for Democratic Reform. Mr. Fletcher promised to deliver it to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for presentation to the G8 leaders. Read the Statement from the World Religions Summit 2010, here.

49.8955367

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