{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/39/","result":{"pageContext":{"strings":{"about":"About","additional_articles":"Additional Articles","administration":"Administration","africa":"Africa","all_bahaiorg_sites":"All Bahai.org Sites","all_sites":"All sites","all_sites_arising_serve":"Arising to Serve","all_sites_arising_serve_caption":"A film recounting highlights of the 41 regional Bahá’í conferences called by the Universal House of Justice in 2008","all_sites_bahai_org":"The official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_bahai_org_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","all_sites_bahai_org_library_caption":"The authoritative online source of Bahá’í writings","all_sites_bahaullah_org":"The Life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bahaullah_org_caption":"A photographic narrative of the life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bic":"Bahá’í International Community Representative Offices","all_sites_bic_caption":"The official website of the Bahá’í International Community’s Representative Offices. The site contains news and information about recent activity and provides access to BIC statements, reports, and other publications","all_sites_bicentenary":"Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bicentenary_bab":"Bicentenary of the Birth of The Báb","all_sites_bicentenary_caption":"The official international website for the bicentenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_frontiers_learning":"Frontiers of Learning","all_sites_frontiers_learning_caption":"This film captures the insights and experiences of people from four communities across the world whose efforts to build vibrant communities are at the frontiers of learning","all_sites_light_to_the_world":"Light to the World","all_sites_light_to_the_world_caption":"A feature film about the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","all_sites_media_bank_caption":"Photographs available for downloading","all_sites_national_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","all_sites_national_communities_caption":"A page containing links to the websites of many national Bahá’í communities from around the world","all_sites_news_bahai_org_caption":"The official news website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_title":"Official Bahá’í Sites","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org":"The Universal House of Justice","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org_caption":"Information about the Universal House of Justice and selected statements and letters","all_sites_widening_embrace":"A Widening Embrace","all_sites_widening_embrace_caption":"A documentary film about the community-building efforts of the Bahá’í world","americas":"Americas","android":"Android","archive_results_to_of_a":"Results","archive_results_to_of_b":"to","archive_results_to_of_c":"of","asia":"Asia","back_to_story":"Back to Story","bahai_international_community":"Bahá'í International Community","bahai_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","bahai_reference_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","bahai_world_centre":"Bahá’í World Centre","bahai_world_news_service":"Bahá’í World News Service","bahai_world_news_service_bwns":"Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","bahaiorg_home":"Bahai.org Home","bahais_semnan":"The Bahá’ís of Semnan","battambang_cambodia_house_worship":"House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia","battambang_cambodia_temple":"Battambang, Cambodia Temple Inauguration","before_downloading_terms":"Before downloading please refer to the [Terms of use](/legal/).","bic_un_office":"Bahá’í International Community\nUN Office","brief_history":"Brief history","bwns_noTranslation":"BWNS","cdn_documentlibrary_path":"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/","cdn_images_path":"//bwns.imgix.net/","chile_house_worship":"Chile House of Worship","chile_temple":"Chile Temple Inauguration","close":"Close","closed_doors_denial_education_iran":"Closed Doors: Denial of Education in Iran","comma":",","comprehensive_report":"Comprehensive report","contact":"Contact","contact_h1":"Contacting the Bahá’í World News Service","contact_h2":"Contacting Bahá’í institutions","contact_h3":"Reporting technical problems","contact_information":"Contact Information","contact_p1":"General inquiries about BWNS can be directed to [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org). Information regarding news and media contacts is available in the [Media Information](/media-information/) section.","contact_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory around the world. At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are guided by National Spiritual Assemblies, and a list of websites for many national Bahá’í communities can be found at the [National Communities page](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/) on Bahai.org.","contact_p3":"To report a technical problem with this site, please send a detailed description and screenshot of the issue, along with the address of the page where it occurred, to [webmaster@bahai.org](mailto:webmaster@bahai.org). Please note that this email address exists to receive reports of technical problems with the site and it is not possible to respond to other queries through this facility.","copy_link":"Copy Link","did_not_match_any_documents_showing_results_for":"did not match any documents. Showing results for","did_you_mean":"Did you mean:","download":"Download","download_highest_resolution":"Download highest resolution","email":"Email","email_address":"Email Address","enlarge":"Enlarge","error_page":"Error Occurred","error_page_p1":"Sorry. An error has occurred with your request. It would help us if you let us know what you were trying to do when this error occurred by using our [contact form](https://www.bahai.org/contact/).","europe":"Europe","featured_stories":"Featured stories","featured_videos":"Featured videos","follow_updates_via_instagram_twitter":"Follow the Bahá’í World News Service on Twitter and Instagram for regular updates and stories","from_bwns_archive":"From the Bahá’í World News Service archive","get_notified_stories":"Get notified of stories","highest_resolution":"Highest resolution","historical_photographs":"Historical photographs","homepage_feature_audio_h2":"Recent podcast episodes","homepage_feature_audio_h3":"Audio versions of stories","homepage_feature_audio_p1":"Selected audio content from around the globe","homepage_feature_h1":"Subscribe to BWNS Updates","houses_worship":"Houses of Worship","human_rights_iran":"Human Rights in Iran","images":"images","ios":"iOS","iran_news_stories":"Iran News Stories","key_terms_facts":"Key terms and facts","latest_headlines":"Latest headlines","latest_video_category":"Latest","legal":"Legal","legal_h1":"Privacy","legal_h2":"Terms of Use","legal_information":"Legal Information","legal_li_1":"They must at all times be attributed to the Bahá’í World News Service.","legal_li_2":"Photographs and stories cannot be used in any way (including, without limitation, suggesting an association with or endorsement of any product, service, opinion or cause) that conflicts with the intent and premise of the original source.","legal_li_3":"Photographs may be edited for size only. Captions must remain with the photographs at all times.","legal_li_4":"The Bahá’í World News Service will not be responsible to any person or organization for any liability for any direct, incidental,  consequential, indirect, or punitive damages that may result from any access to or use of the stories and/or photographs on our site.","legal_li_5":"Although this blanket permission to reproduce BWNS material is given freely such that no special permission is required, the Bahá’í World News Service retains full copyright protection for its stories and photographs under all applicable national and international laws.","legal_p1_1":"On this Web site we try to ensure your privacy. We collect only personal information provided by you on a voluntary basis, in order to respond to your queries and to send you any additional information and material that you request.","legal_p1_2":"Visitors to this Web site are not tracked, except to produce aggregate statistical data that does not identify individual users. Where we must use cookies to provide essential functionality, these are not used to track your use of the site or to store personally-identifiable information. Steps have been taken to ensure that all information collected from you will remain secure, free from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Please keep in mind that if you leave this site via a link, the other site may have a different policy regarding privacy.","legal_p1_3a":"We occasionally update this privacy policy and encourage you to review it periodically. If you wish to correct your personal information, or have questions regarding this policy, please send an email message to","legal_p1_3b":"or call the Bahá’í World News Service at +972 (4) 835-8412, between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. GMT +2, Sunday through Thursday.","legal_p2_1":"All stories and photographs produced by the Bahá’í World News Service may be freely reprinted, e-mailed, posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization, subject to the following restrictions:","legal_p2_2":"The Bahá’í World News Service is an agency of the Bahá’í International Community, a nongovernmental organization that represents and encompasses the five million members of the Bahá’í Faith.","links_other_websites":"Links to other Web sites","listen":"Listen","listen_bwns":"Listen to BWNS","load_more_results":"Load more results","media_bank":"Media Bank","media_information":"Media Information","media_information_about_bwns":"About BWNS","media_information_administration_h2":"International","media_information_administration_h3":"National","media_information_administration_h4":"Local","media_information_administration_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith is administered by a series of elected bodies at the local, national, and international levels. There is no class of ecclesiastics or clergy.","media_information_administration_p2":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies (see below) around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p3":"At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_administration_p4":"At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_administration_p5":"In addition, the Bahá’í Faith has **counsellors**, appointed to five-year terms by the Universal House of Justice, who serve as advisers in countries and regions around the world. Currently there are 90 such counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and an additional nine counsellors who constitute the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_a":"the Seat of the Universal House of Justice,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_b":"the International Teaching Centre,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_c":"the Centre for the Study of the Texts,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_d":"the International Archives Building.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p1":"The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith is permanently established in the Acre-Haifa area of northern Israel, following the explicit instructions of Bahá’u’lláh.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p2":"The burial place, or shrine, of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and that of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa are the holiest spots on earth for Bahá’ís. Other sites associated with the life of Bahá’u’lláh as well as the burial site of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are revered by Bahá’ís as holy places.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p3":"The shrines are the object of pilgrimage for thousands of Bahá’ís each year.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p4":"The administrative offices are positioned in an Arc across Mount Carmel in Haifa and include:","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p5":"Also in Haifa are the Bahá’í International Community’s Secretariat and Office of Public Information.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p6":"The Bahá’í World Centre is known for the gardens surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre, and also for the gardens and terraces surrounding the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p7":"At this time the Shrine of the Báb is open to the public.","media_information_brief_history_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith traces its origin to 1844 and the announcement by a young man, Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran), that He had been sent by God to prepare humanity for a new age and the imminent appearance of another Messenger even greater than Himself.","media_information_brief_history_p10":"During the 40 years of His exile, Bahá’u’lláh revealed a series of books, tablets, and letters that today form the core of the **holy writings of the Bahá’í Faith**. Comprising the equivalent of some 100 volumes, the writings of Bahá’u’lláh describe the nature of God and the purpose of human existence, give new religious laws, and outline a vision for creating a peaceful and prosperous global society.","media_information_brief_history_p11":"In His will, Bahá’u’lláh named His eldest son, ‘Abbás Effendi (1844-1921), as the head of the Bahá’í Faith and authorized interpreter of His teachings. ‘Abbás Effendi, known to Bahá’ís as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (“Servant of Bahá”), became well-known in the Haifa/Acre area for his charitable works, and he also traveled through Europe and North America to encourage nascent Bahá’í communities and to proclaim Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to the general public. The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are considered part of the sacred scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p12":"‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in 1921. In his will he had designated his grandson **Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) as his successor, with the title of **Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith**. During the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, the religion spread around the world, and its local and national administrative institutions were established. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the line of hereditary leaders of the Bahá’í Faith came to an end.","media_information_brief_history_p13":"Following provisions established by Bahá’u’lláh, in 1963 the **Universal House of Justice** was elected to direct the affairs of the worldwide Bahá’í community. The nine members of the Universal House of Justice are elected every five years by the members of the Bahá’í national administrative bodies around the world.","media_information_brief_history_p2":"Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad took the title of the **Báb** (meaning “Gate” in Arabic) and said the one whose coming He foretold would be the universal Manifestation of God sent to inaugurate an age of peace and enlightenment as promised in all the world’s religions.","media_information_brief_history_p3":"The Báb’s teachings, which spread rapidly, were viewed as heretical by the clergy and government of Persia. More than 20,000 of His followers, known as Bábís, perished in a series of massacres throughout the country.","media_information_brief_history_p4":"The Báb Himself was publicly executed in the city of Tabriz on 9 July 1850.","media_information_brief_history_p5":"Bahá’ís consider the Báb to be both an independent Messenger of God and the forerunner of **Bahá’u’lláh** (“the Glory of God” in Arabic), who is the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p6":"Bahá’u’lláh, whose name was Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí, was born into a noble family in Tehran on 12 November 1817. In His mid-20s, He declined a life of privilege and became one of the leading disciples of the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p7":"In 1852, in the course of the persecution of the Bábís, He was arrested, beaten, and thrown into an infamous dungeon in Tehran. After four months, He was released and banished from His native land – the beginning of 40 years of exile and imprisonment.","media_information_brief_history_p8":"He was first sent to Baghdad, where He and His companions stayed for 10 years. In 1863, on the eve of His further banishment to what is now Turkey and then to the Holy Land, Bahá’u’lláh announced that He was the Universal Messenger of God foretold by the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p9":"In 1868, Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Holy Land with about 70 family members and followers, sentenced by the Ottoman authorities to perpetual confinement in the penal colony of Acre. The order of confinement was never lifted, but because of the growing recognition of His outstanding character, He eventually was able to move outside the walls of the prison city. He lived His final years at a country home called Bahjí, where He passed away in 1892. He was interred there, and His shrine is the holiest place on earth for Bahá’ís.","media_information_description":"Contacts, facts, style guide,\ngeneral information, and photos","media_information_h1":"National and local","media_information_h2":"International","media_information_h2_a":"Bahá’í World News Service","media_information_h2_b":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_h2_c":"Bahá’í International Community - United Nations Offices:","media_information_h2_e":"For languages other than English:","media_information_houses_worship_li_1":"Wilmette, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1953.","media_information_houses_worship_li_2":"Kampala, Uganda. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_3":"Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_4":"Frankfurt, Germany. Opened in 1964.","media_information_houses_worship_li_5":"Panama City, Panama. Opened in 1972.","media_information_houses_worship_li_6":"Apia, Samoa. Opened in 1984.","media_information_houses_worship_li_7":"New Delhi, India. Opened in 1986.","media_information_houses_worship_li_8":"Santiago, Chile. Opened in 2016.","media_information_houses_worship_li_9":"Battambang, Cambodia. Opened in 2017.","media_information_houses_worship_li_10":"Norte del Cauca, Colombia. Opened in 2018.","media_information_houses_worship_li_11":"Matunda Soy, Kenya. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_12":"Tanna, Vanuatu. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_13":"Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Opened in 2023.","media_information_houses_worship_li_14":"Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Opened in 2024.","media_information_houses_worship_p1":"Bahá’u’lláh designated Bahá’í Houses of Worship as spiritual gathering places for prayer and meditation around which will cluster social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific institutions. Eight continental, two national, and four local Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been built.","media_information_houses_worship_p2":"The physical structure of a House of Worship comprises a central building—a House of Worship—along with several dependencies. While the House of Worship forms the focal point of worship in a geographical area, its purpose is not solely to provide a place for prayer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that, through the provision of education, healthcare and other services it is also to support the social and economic progress of the community and afford shelter, relief and assistance to those in need. In this connection, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá anticipated that subsidiary branches—such as a hospital, school, university, dispensary, and hospice—would gradually be added to a House of Worship. Bahá’u’lláh refers to the House of Worship as a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Arabic for “dawning place of the mention of God.”","media_information_houses_worship_p3":"Bahá’í Houses of Worship are located in:","media_information_houses_worship_p4":"Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. A local House of Worship is also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_key_terms_facts_h1":"Name of the religion and of the organization – the Bahá’í Faith","media_information_key_terms_facts_h2":"Founder of the Bahá’í Faith – Bahá’u’lláh","media_information_key_terms_facts_h3":"Year of founding – 1844","media_information_key_terms_facts_h4":"Head of the religion – the Universal House of Justice","media_information_key_terms_facts_h5":"Number of Bahá’ís – more than 5 million","media_information_key_terms_facts_h6":"Description of the religion and key beliefs","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_a":"the unity of the races and elimination of prejudice,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_b":"the equality of women and men,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_c":"universal education,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_d":"the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_e":"a spiritual solution to economic problems,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_f":"establishment of a universal auxiliary language,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_g":"the harmony of science and religion,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_h":"the independent investigation of truth,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_i":"the creation of a world commonwealth of nations that will keep the peace through collective security.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_b":"A member is called a Bahá’í (plural: Bahá’ís). It is also correct to say that someone is a “member of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of Bahá’u’lláh,” or a member of the Bahá’í community of a given locality.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_c":"The term “Bahá’í International Community” refers to the non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p2":"Bahá’ís consider Bahá’u’lláh to be the most recent in a line of great religious teachers, or Messengers of God, that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Muhammad, Moses, Zoroaster, and others. Bahá’u’lláh—the name is Arabic for “Glory of God”—was born in 1817 in Tehran, Iran, and passed away in 1892 in Acre, Israel. The coming of Bahá’u’lláh was announced by the Báb (Arabic for “Gate”), also considered by Bahá’ís to be a divine Messenger.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p3":"There are a number of important dates in the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith, but the first announcement by the Báb of the new religion came in 1844.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p4":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í community, an elected body of nine men. Its seat is at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Around the world, in almost all countries, a National Spiritual Assembly oversees the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in that country, and Local Spiritual Assemblies oversee local affairs.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. Bahá’ís believe that the world’s major religions represent unfolding chapters in God’s teachings for humankind, and that the writings of Bahá’u’lláh represent God’s guidance for this age.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_b":"Bahá’u’lláh’s central teaching is the unity of humanity under one God.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_c":"Among the many Bahá’í principles are the following:","media_information_key_terms_facts_p7":"For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_li_a_1":"Phone (office): +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_li_a_2":"E-mail, for news inquiries: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_li_b_1":"Mr. Saleem Vaillaincourt (London)","media_information_li_b_2":"Senior information officer","media_information_li_b_3":"Phone (office): +1 (212) 803-2544","media_information_li_b_4":"E-mail: [media@bic.org](mailto:media@bic.org)","media_information_li_c_1":"Ms. Bani Dugal (New York)","media_information_li_c_2":"Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_c_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_c_4":"Phone: +1 (212) 803-2500","media_information_li_c_5":"After-hours phone: +1 (914) 329-3020","media_information_li_c_6":"E-mail: [uno-nyc@bic.org](mailto:uno-nyc@bic.org)","media_information_li_d_1":"Ms. Simin Fahandej (Geneva)","media_information_li_d_2":"Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_d_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_d_4":"Phone: +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_d_5":"After-hours phone: +41 (78) 880-0759","media_information_li_d_6":"E-mail: [geneva@bic.org](mailto:geneva@bic.org)","media_information_li_e_1":"Persian – Simin Fahandej, +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_e_2":"French – Rachel Bayani, +32 (475) 750394","media_information_li_e_3":"To arrange other languages +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_media_contacts":"Media Contacts","media_information_p1":"Editors, journalists, and other media professionals are encouraged to contact the National Office of the Bahá’ís of their own country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_p2":"BWNS reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","media_information_p3":"Information about the Bahá’í Faith is available at [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/)","media_information_p_native":"The website for BWNS is located at [news.bahai.org](https://news.bahai.org/)","media_information_photographs_p1":"To arrange for photographs, you are encouraged to contact the office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the  Bahá’ís of your country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_photographs_p2":"For more information, or for international photographs, contact the Bahá’í World Centre:","media_information_photographs_p3":"Phone: +972 (4) 835-8412  \n            E-mail: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_photographs_p4":"Photographs here may be downloaded and published, with photo credit given to the Bahá’í World Centre. [Terms of use](https://news.bahai.org/legal/).","media_information_photographs_p5":"Additional photos are available through the [Bahá’í Media Bank](https://media.bahai.org/). Images attached to articles in the [Bahá’í World News Service](https://news.bahai.org/) main site may also be downloaded.","media_information_photographs_p6":"Photographs of Bahá’ís imprisoned in Iran are available in the [Iran Update](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html) section of this Web site.","media_information_sidecontent_h1":"Bahá’ís in Iran","media_information_sidecontent_li":"Updates, background, photos","media_information_statistics_p1":"There are more than 5 million Bahá’ís in the world.","media_information_statistics_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in virtually every country and in many dependent territories and overseas departments of countries. Bahá’ís reside in well over 100,000 localities. About 2,100 indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups are represented in the Bahá’í community.","media_information_statistics_p3":"There are currently 188 councils at the national level that oversee the work of communities. A network of over 300 training institutes, offering formal programs of Bahá’í education, span the globe.","media_information_statistics_p4":"Of the several thousand Bahá’í efforts in social and economic development, more than 900 are large-scale, sustained projects, including more than 600 schools and over 70 development agencies.","media_information_statistics_p5":"There are currently 14 Bahá’í Houses of Worship – in Australia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Germany, India, Kenya, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Uganda, the United States, and Vanuatu. Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. Local Houses of Worship are also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_statistics_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_statistics_p7":"Bahá’í writings and other literature have been translated into more than 800 languages.","media_information_statistics_p8":"Each year, around one million people visit the Bahá’í Shrine, terraces, and gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.","media_information_statistics_p9":"In Iran, where the Bahá’í Faith originated, there are now about 300,000 Bahá’ís, constituting the largest religious minority in that country.","media_information_style_guide_h1":"Pronunciation guide","media_information_style_guide_h2":"Style guide and glossary","media_information_style_guide_p1":"**Bahá’í:**   Ba-HIGH  \n            **Bahá’u’lláh:**   Ba-ha-ul-LAH  \n            **Báb:**   Bahb (Bob)  \n            **‘Abdu’l-Bahá:**   Abdul ba-HAH  \n            **Naw-Rúz:**   Naw Rooz  \n            **Ridván:**   REZ-vahn","media_information_style_guide_p2_1":"**‘Abdu’l-Bahá** (1844-1921) – The son of Bahá’u’lláh who was the head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1892 to 1921. Bahá’u’lláh in His will had designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá occupies a special station as the authoritative interpreter of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and as the perfect example of how a Bahá’í should live. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá traveled widely through Europe and North America from 1911-1913, explaining his Father’s teachings in talks, interviews, and addresses at universities, churches, temples, synagogues, and missions for the poor. (Bahá’ís capitalize pronouns—for example, “He”—that refers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá out of respect for his special station. Such pronouns are not capitalized in this guide in deference to international journalistic style and also to avoid confusion with Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, who are considered to be divine Prophets.) For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_10":"**Bahá’í Faith** – The correct term for the religion is the Bahá’í Faith. It is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. It is not a sect of another religion. In a list of major religions, it would look like this: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism,  Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_11":"**Bahá’í International Community** – The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York. For more information, see [bic.org](https://www.bic.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_12":"**Bahá’í World Centre** – The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith, comprising the holy places in the Haifa/Acre area in northern Israel and the Arc of administrative buildings on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The Bahá’í World Centre itself uses the spelling “Centre”; elsewhere both “Centre” and “Center” are used, depending on the custom of the country.","media_information_style_guide_p2_13":"**Bahá’u’lláh** – The founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who lived from 1817 to 1892, considered by Bahá’ís to be the most recent divine Messenger, or Manifestation of God, in a line of great religious figures that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Moses, Muhammad, Zoroaster, the Báb, and others. Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tehran in present-day Iran, and passed away near Acre, in what is now Israel. “Bahá’u’lláh” is a title that means the “Glory of God” in Arabic; His name was Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí. His writings, which would equal about a hundred volumes, form the basis of the Bahá’í teachings. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_14":"**Bahjí** – The place near Acre where the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh (His burial place) is located, as well as the mansion that was His last residence and surrounding gardens. It is a place of pilgrimage for Bahá’ís. The word “Bahjí” is Arabic for “delight.”","media_information_style_guide_p2_15":"**children’s classes** – Classes in moral education, open to all, that are provided for children, operated at the community level by the Bahá’í training institute.","media_information_style_guide_p2_16":"**Convention** – See [International Bahá’í Convention](#internationalbahaiconvention) and [National Bahá’í Convention](#nationalbahaicconvention).","media_information_style_guide_p2_18":"**counsellor** – An adviser appointed by the Universal House of Justice who serves in a particular geographic area or at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. At present, there are 90 counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and nine counsellors who form the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the  Bahá’í World Centre. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_19":"**devotional meetings** – Gatherings, often in people’s homes, for prayers and to read the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith and other religions. Usually undertaken as an individual initiative.","media_information_style_guide_p2_2":"**accent marks** – Bahá’í, Bahá’u’lláh, and other names are written with accent marks, but many publications and websites do not have the facility for using such marks.","media_information_style_guide_p2_20":"**fast, the** – A period during which Bahá’ís abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown during the Bahá’í month of ‘Alá’, from 2 March to 20 March. Bahá’u’lláh enjoined His followers to pray and fast during this period. The sick, the traveler, and pregnant women, among others, are exempt.","media_information_style_guide_p2_21":"**feast** – See [Nineteen Day Feast](#nineteendayfeast).","media_information_style_guide_p2_22":"**Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith** – See [Shoghi Effendi](#shoghieffendi).","media_information_style_guide_p2_23":"**Haifa** – The city in northern Israel that, along with nearby Acre, is the location of the Bahá’í World Centre. The international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith (including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice), the Shrine of the Báb, and surrounding terraces and gardens are all located on Mount Carmel in the heart of Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_24":"**Holy days** – Eleven days that commemorate significant Bahá’í anniversaries. The nine holy days on which work is suspended are the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Birth of the Báb, Declaration of the Báb, Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, Martyrdom of the Báb, Naw-Rúz, Ridván (a 12-day festival, of which the first, ninth and 12th days are holy days). The other two holy days are the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. *See names of individual holy days.*","media_information_style_guide_p2_25":"**Holy Land** – The area associated with present-day Israel, which is holy to a number of religions, including to Bahá’ís. The resting places of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and of the Báb in Haifa are, to Bahá’ís, the holiest spots on earth.","media_information_style_guide_p2_26":"**International Archives Building** – One of the buildings at the Bahá’í World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The repository of many sacred relics of the Bahá’í Faith, it is visited by thousands of Bahá’í pilgrims each year.","media_information_style_guide_p2_27":"**International Bahá’í Convention** – A gathering every five years of delegates from around the world to consult on the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith and elect the members of the Universal House of Justice. Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies serve as delegates.","media_information_style_guide_p2_28":"**International Teaching Centre** – One of the institutions at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. The International Teaching Centre has nine members, all counsellors appointed by the Universal House of Justice. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_29":"**Local Spiritual Assembly** – At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_style_guide_p2_3":"**Acre**– English rendering of the name of the city north of Haifa where Bahá’u’lláh was exiled in 1868. He lived in or near the city until His passing in 1892. Bahá’ís often use the Arabic name, ‘Akká, which was the name in general use during the time of Bahá’u’lláh. In Hebrew the name is Akko.","media_information_style_guide_p2_30":"**Mount Carmel** – In Haifa, Israel, site of the Bahá’í World Centre, including several Bahá’í holy places, the most important of which is the Shrine of the Báb, and the buildings housing the administrative offices of the Bahá’í World Centre.","media_information_style_guide_p2_31":"**National Bahá’í Convention** – In each country, the annual gathering of elected delegates to discuss the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in their jurisdiction and to elect the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.","media_information_style_guide_p2_32":"**National Spiritual Assembly** – At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_style_guide_p2_33":"**Nineteen Day Feast** – An administrative gathering at the local level. The term refers to a spiritual “feast” of prayers,  consultation and fellowship. It is held every 19 days, on the first day of each Bahá’í month.","media_information_style_guide_p2_34":"**pilgrimage** – Each year thousands of Bahá’ís undertake pilgrimage, during which they forge a profound and lasting connection with the spiritual and administrative centre of their Faith, located in the Haifa-Acre area of what is now northern Israel. Bahá’í pilgrims pray and meditate at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the Shrine of the Báb, as well as in the beautiful gardens that surround them. They also draw inspiration from the time spent at various historical sites associated with the lives of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, as well as from visits to the edifices dedicated to the worldwide administration of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_35":"**progressive revelation** – The central belief that Manifestations of God have successively provided the guidance necessary for humanity’s social and spiritual evolution.","media_information_style_guide_p2_36":"**Regional Bahá’í Council** – In some countries, the National Spiritual Assembly assigns certain of its functions to Regional Bahá’í Councils, which serve a designated geographical area within the land in question. The responsibilities of a Regional Council may include carrying out policies of the National Spiritual Assembly, supervising progress of particular plans and projects, and taking steps to stimulate and coordinate the growth of the Bahá’í community within the region.","media_information_style_guide_p2_37":"**Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) – The head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921 to 1957. His title is Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. He is the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the great-grandson of Bahá’u’lláh. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_38":"**Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh** – The resting place of the mortal remains of Bahá’u’lláh, located near the city of Acre in what is now Israel. The shrine is the holiest spot on earth to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_39":"**Shrine of the Báb** – The resting place of the mortal remains of the Báb, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. It is a sacred site to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_4":"**‘Akká, Akko** – See entry above for “[Acre](#acre)”.","media_information_style_guide_p2_40":"**study circles** – A study circle is one of the principal elements of the process of distance education offered by the [Bahá’í training institute](https://www.bahai.org/action/response-call-bahaullah/training-institute). It is a small group that meets regularly to study the institute course materials.","media_information_style_guide_p2_41":"**Universal House of Justice** – The international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_5":"**Arc** – An area on Mount Carmel in Haifa, shaped like an arc, where the major international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith, including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, are situated.","media_information_style_guide_p2_6":"**Báb** – The title, meaning “Gate,” assumed by Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, the Founder of the Bábí Faith and the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh. Considered by Bahá’ís to be one of the twin Manifestations of God associated with the Bahá’í Faith. Born on 20 October 1819, the Báb proclaimed Himself to be the Promised One of Islam and said His mission was to announce the imminent coming of another Messenger even greater than Himself, namely Bahá’u’lláh. Because of these claims, the Báb was executed by firing squad in the public square in Tabriz on 9 July 1850. His remains were hidden in Iran for many years before being taken to Haifa/Acre in 1899 and buried on Mount Carmel in 1909. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_7":"**Bábí Faith** – The religion founded by the Báb. After 1863 and the announcement by Bahá’u’lláh that He was the Messenger whose coming had been foretold by the Báb, the Bahá’í Faith gradually became established and most followers of the Báb began to call themselves Bahá’ís.","media_information_style_guide_p2_8":"**Badí‘ calendar** – The Bahá’í calendar, consisting of 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of intercalary days known as Ayyám-i-Há. The number of these intercalary days varies according to the timing of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere in successive years. The first day of the year corresponds to the spring equinox. The Bahá’í era (B.E.) begins with 1844, the year of the Báb’s declaration. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/action/devotional-life/calendar).","media_information_style_guide_p2_9":"**Bahá’í** – (1) A noun referring to a member of the Bahá’í Faith. The plural is Bahá’ís. (2) An adjective describing a person, place, or thing related to the Bahá’í Faith. Examples: a Bahá’í book, the Bahá’í community, a Bahá’í holy day, a Bahá’í holy place.","media_reports":"Media Reports","menu":"Menu","meta_description_bwns":"The Bahá’í World News Service - BWNS - The official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community, reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","minutes_short":"min","mobile_app":"Mobile app","national_bahai_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","news_email":"news@bahai.org","news_service_home":"BWNS Home","no_matches_for":"No matches for","no_results_for":"No results for","number_of":"of","oceania":"Oceania","official_news_site":"Official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community","one_country":"One Country","other_bahai_sites":"Other Bahá’í Sites","other_sites":"Other sites","other_stories":"Other Stories","overview_section":"Overview of this Section","page_link":"Page link","photographs":"Photographs","photographs_download":"Photographs for download","podcast":"Podcast","podcast_available":"Podcast available","podcast_description_bwns":"Reporting on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_p1":"The Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) podcast reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_subscribe":"Subscribe to the BWNS podcast for additional audio content.","print":"Print","privacy":"Privacy","recent_articles":"Recent Articles","recent_headlines":"Recent headlines","recent_media_reports":"Recent media reports","recieve_stories_email":"Receive stories via email","related_stories":"Related Stories","results":"Results","return_top":"Return to top","rss":"RSS","search":"Search","search_bahai_reference_library":"Search the Bahá’í Reference Library","search_bahaiorg":"Search Bahai.org","search_news_service":"Search the News Service","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_description":"Read reports on the progress","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_title":"Coverage of Construction Work of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá","see_all":"See All","seven_bahais_leaders":"The Seven Bahá’í Leaders","share":"Share","share_this_article":"Share this article","share_this_page":"Share this page","show_more":"Show more","sign_up":"Sign Up","slideshow":"Slideshow","social_media_name_instagram":"Instagram","social_media_name_instagram_account":"bahaiworldnewsservice","social_media_name_twitter":"Twitter","social_media_name_twitter_account":"bahainews","special_reports":"SPECIAL REPORTS","special_reports_shrine_construction":"Coverage of construction work for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá","statistics":"Statistics","story_archive":"Story Archive","style_glossary_pronunciation_guide":"Style guide, glossary and pronunciation guide","subscribe":"Subscribe","subscribe-confirmation-message":"Thank you for your interest in Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe-souble-optin-email":"You will receive an email shortly, asking you to confirm your subscription.","subscribe_bot_submission":"This doesn't look like a human submission.","subscribe_check_email":"Please check your email to confirm your subscription!","subscribe_email_exists":"This email already exists! 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The fact that he has in the past made similar overtures to Christians points to a deep longing to promote coexistence in his native land.  Yet he is not alone; multitudes in Iran and throughout the world yearn for peace and harmony; most acknowledge that they themselves do not know how this can be achieved.\n\nAn understanding of the historical circumstances preceding the occasion of this senior cleric's gift provides a point of reference in the recent wave of comments and responses from religious leaders around the world about peaceful coexistence.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"**Historical context**\n\nSince 1844 when the Baha'i Faith was founded, its adherents have suffered, under successive governments, an endless wave of persecutions.  More than 20,000 adherents have been killed for their religious beliefs, and thousands upon thousands have endured unjust imprisonment.   Executions, murders, torture, and violent assaults have been among the more overt forms of persecution.\n\nBut persecution of Baha'is in Iran has taken other forms as well: widespread confiscation of properties, administrative centers, and Holy Places; desecration of some of the community's most holy sites as well as cemeteries; vandalization of homes, including acts of arson; harassment of Baha'i children in their classrooms; dissemination of gross misrepresentations of the Baha'i teachings and history in educational materials studied in schools; exclusion of youth from higher education; random cessation of business licenses; closures of shops; and the list runs on.\n\nTo this day, Baha'is are regularly portrayed as religious heretics, as being associated with immorality and the occult in religious sermons and through state-sponsored media.  At the same time, they are also regularly accused of being spies for various governments.  And religious leaders have repeatedly incited populations to violence against the community with virtual impunity.\n\nSince 1979, more than 200 Iranian Baha'is have been killed and hundreds more have been tortured and incarcerated.\n\nAnd in the years since the revolution, how many of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes have been brought to justice?  The answer is none.\n\nShowing no signs of improvement, the persecution of Baha'is in Iran is a policy of that country's government.  But it is the religious leadership in Iran that has been largely to blame for fomenting in the population prejudice and hatred directed toward the Baha'i community.  Indeed, a [memorandum of the Iranian government](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/feature-articles/the-1991-memorandum-on-the-bahai-question) leaked in 1993, indicating that progress of Baha'is in Iranian society should be effectively \"blocked\", bore the signature of the country's highest ranking religious figure, Ali Khamenei.  And more recently, he issued a fatwa in which the people of Iran were told to avoid all dealings with Baha'is.\n\nIt is against this backdrop of blind religious prejudice fueled by the ecclesiastical leaders that Ayatollah Tehrani became the first cleric of his rank in post-revolutionary Iran to highlight a central Baha'i belief drawn from the most sacred text of the Faith and the right of the community to practice its religion in the country of its origin.\n\nThe months that have followed have revealed how his gesture has resonated with a deep-seated yearning in people of goodwill everywhere, including leaders from a wide range of religions and denominations, as well as academics, journalists, and human rights advocates both in Iran and around the world.\n\nA month after the calligraphic work was gifted, a number of prominent human rights leaders in Iran – for the first time collectively – voiced their public support for the Baha'is and their seven imprisoned former leaders, on the sixth anniversary of their incarceration. Ayatollah Tehrani was present at that meeting, where he stated, \"Perspectives have to change... and I think now is an opportune moment for this.\"\n\nBeyond the boundaries of Iran, Ayatollah Tehrani's initiative has also inspired positive reactions by certain high-ranking officials in the Muslim world, giving further impetus to the conversation regarding religious coexistence taking shape in their countries.\n\nThese outcomes have touched the Baha'i community not because of any particular changes for their circumstances within Iran, as recent reports indicate that persecution of the Baha'i community has actually intensified in recent months, but rather because they relate to one of the most cherished aspirations of the Baha'is from the earliest days of the existence of their religion.\n\nOver 100 years ago, as 'Abdu'l-Baha, son of Baha'u'llah and head of the Baha'i Faith after His passing, stopped for one year in Egypt prior to His historic journey to the West, the theme of religious unity featured often in his interactions with prominent individuals and the media.\n\nAs His journey continued in Europe and North America, He reiterated in many public addresses that, just as mankind is one, religions are likewise one, and that while in outward form religions are many, their reality is one, just as the \"days are many, but the sun is one\".\n\nMore recently, in its letter to the world's religious leaders in 2002, the Universal House of Justice identified religious prejudice as an increasingly dangerous force in the world.\n\n\"With every day that passes, danger grows that the rising fires of religious prejudice will ignite a worldwide conflagration the consequences of which are unthinkable,\" it wrote. \"The crisis calls on religious leadership for a break with the past as decisive as those that opened the way for society to address equally corrosive prejudices of race, gender and nation.\"\n\n**The path ahead**\n\nHistory has demonstrated that even the smallest act can have far-reaching consequences.  Notwithstanding that the incident perhaps most frequently cited in this regard – the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand as having ignited World War I – is a negative one, it is equally true that a single instance of altruism can spark a rise in consciousness that ultimately propels the advancement of a community; a society; a nation; the world.\n\nThose who seek solutions to the havoc being wrought across the Middle East at this very hour readily acknowledge that sectarian prejudice and fanaticism lie at the heart of the intractable problems that beset the people of that region.  The action taken by Ayatollah Tehrani, one act of many by people and groups motivated by a yearning for peace, unveils a parallel unfolding process in contrast to the horrors that religious extremism is inflicting on the world, one that offers the hope of constructive change and the possibility that in such an action can be gleaned a seed which, if tended, may yet become a tree that will in turn propagate a forest."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584691-101701.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An illuminated calligraphic work by Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, containing the words of Baha'u'llah. The quotation reads: Consort with all religions with amity and concord, that they may inhale from you the sweet fragrance of God. Beware lest amidst men the flame of foolish ignorance overpower you. All things proceed from God and unto Him they return. He is the source of all things and in Him all things are ended."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584683-101702.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Influential Iranians, human rights activists, journalists, and a prominent religious leader gathered in an unprecedented show of solidarity to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven former Baha'i leaders in Iran. Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani is seated in the front row, third from right."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584682-101703.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The House of the Bab in Shiraz, Iran, one of the most holy sites in the Baha'i world, was destroyed by Revolutionary Guardsmen in 1979 and later razed by the government."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584683-101704-smaller.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The book, \"Abbas Effendi\", includes an account of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit in January 1913 to the small, market-town of Woking in the south of England where the first purpose-built mosque in Europe outside of Moorish Spain had been built. 'Abdu'l-Baha addressed a gathering of Egyptian, Turkish, Indian and British friends in the mosque's courtyard. \"The religion of God...\" He told them, \"encourages the people to uphold the principle of peace. The great underlying truth of the religion of God is love.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1015,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1007,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1016,"evergreenUrl":"three-top-un-human-rights-experts-call-halt-shiraz-cemetery-destruction","title":"Three top UN human rights experts call for a halt to Shiraz cemetery destruction","description":"Three high-level United Nations human rights experts today called on Iran to halt the ongoing destruction of a historic Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz,...","date":"2014-09-04","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584660-1016000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584660-1016000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"(From left to right) Rita Izsak, the United Nations Independent Expert on minority issues; Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran; Heiner Bielefeldt, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. UN Photos/Jean-Marc Ferre and Paulo Filgueiras.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Three high-level United Nations human rights experts today called on Iran to halt the ongoing destruction of a historic Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz, Iran, saying the action is an “unacceptable” violation of freedom of religion.\n\nIn a [joint news release](http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14990&LangID=E), Heiner Bielefeldt, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and Rita Izsak, the UN Independent Expert on minority issues, said they were “dismayed” at reports that demolition work had resumed in August.\n\n“Cemeteries, like places of worship, are an essential part of how people exercise and manifest their right to freedom of religion or belief. Their significance goes beyond their physical presence,” said Dr. Bielefeldt.\n\n“Attacks on cemeteries are unacceptable and are a deliberate violation of freedom of religion or belief,” he added. “The government of Iran must take urgent action.”\n\nDr. Shaheed said “Baha’is have religious rites and practices for the disposal of the deceased in their own cemeteries and the government has the obligation not only to respect them but to protect them from destruction.”\n\nMs. Izsak urged the Iranian government to take concrete steps to protect religious minorities.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"“The Baha’is have been subjected to persecution and acts of violence,” said Ms. Izsak. “The authorities must protect them from further discrimination and stigmatization.”\n\n“Measures should be put in place to protect and maintain the cultural heritage of religious minorities, including burial grounds and other sites of religious significance,” she added.\n\nThe cemetery is the resting place of some 950 Baha’is, many of whom were historic or prominent figures in the Baha’i community of Iran. Interred at the site, for example, are ten Baha'i women whose cruel hanging in 1983 came to symbolize the government's deadly persecution of Baha'is.\n\nDemolition at the site first began in April, undertaken by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, apparently to make way for the construction of a new sports and cultural center.\n\nAfter the excavation of a large but shallow hole, demolition was halted for several months in the face of international pressure and the expression of outrage on the part of Iranians from all walks of life.\n\nBut in August, reports emerged from Iran saying that the Revolutionary Guards had resumed construction on the site, removing human remains from some 30 to 50 graves and pouring a concrete foundation for the complex, which will reportedly include a library, mosque, restaurant, theatre, child care facility, and sports hall.\n\nMembers of the Shiraz Baha'i community have pleaded with local authorities to enforce a permanent halt in the construction, offering also a compromise in which the sports complex could be built on the site away from areas where Baha'is are buried, while the graveyard itself is turned into a green space.\n\nThe Baha'is have been told, however, that local authorities have no control over the Revolutionary Guards, who acquired the land about three years ago.\n\nDiane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, welcomed the statement of the three UN officials.\n\n“We are grateful for the strong stand that these three independent human rights experts have taken on the situation in Shiraz,” said Ms. Ala’i.\n\n“The statement by Dr. Bielefeld, Dr. Shaheed, and Ms. Izsak is a clear signal to Iran that these acts are completely unacceptable, and that it is the responsibility of the government to uphold and enforce its commitments to human rights law, regardless of who the perpetrators are.”\n\n“The current government has made numerous promises to improve its human rights record but failed to take action. Words must now be followed by deeds,” said Ms. Ala’i."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584660-101300.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Plans to build a sports and cultural complex over a Baha’i cemetery have resumed with concrete being poured into the site where the graves of Baha’is were excavated in order to lay the building foundation. Demolition of the cemetery, which began in late April, had temporarily stopped after the international media reported on the desecration and other governments expressed concern."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Unfulfilled Promises: Iran’s failure to act after its 2010 Universal Periodic Review\"](http://www.bic.org/unfulfilledpromises)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Violence with Impunity: Acts of aggression against Iran's Baha'i community\"](https://news.bahai.org/story/942)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1015,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1013,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1010,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1015,"evergreenUrl":"increase-arrests-highlights-continuing-persecution-bahais-iran","title":"Increase in arrests highlights continuing persecution of Baha'is in Iran","description":"The arrest last week of five Baha'is in Tehran signals a rising tide of detainments and imprisonments of Baha'is in Iran in recent months. Since...","date":"2014-08-19","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584646-101500.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584646-101500.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A photograph of Baha'is from across Iran who were arrested in 2012 and were all tried in Yazd at the same time.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The arrest last week of five Baha'is in Tehran signals a rising tide of detainments and imprisonments of Baha'is in Iran in recent months.\n\nSince June, at least 14 Baha'is have been arrested, a trend that exemplifies a pattern of systematic persecution of Iranian Baha'is by the government, this despite its claims to uphold international standards of human rights.  In Yazd, 20 Baha'is who had originally been acquitted of charges leveled against them in 2012 learned in August 2013 that their cases had been re-opened and all 20 sentenced to prison, notwithstanding the judge’s admission that they were being treated unjustly.  The Baha'is appealed the case and, in a flagrant miscarriage of justice, the sentences against all 20 were upheld.  The deputy head of the Justice Administration told the lawyers of the Baha'is that: “The accused are members of a hostile sect who have no citizenship rights.”\n\nMore than 100 Baha'is are currently in prison on false charges related entirely to their religious beliefs, while thousands more are subjected to various forms of discrimination and harassment, including denial of access to university and increasingly severe economic repression.\n\nThe latest arrests in Tehran, for example, appear to be related to ongoing efforts to prevent Baha'is from earning an adequate living. The five were arrested after agents from the Ministry of Intelligence raided the optical shop where they work on 11 August 2014. In February 2014, an optical shop owned by a Baha'i in Tabriz was closed down by the authorities on the grounds of \"market saturation\", but Muslim owners of optical shops in the same location experienced no such difficulties. It is understood that \"market saturation\" has only been used in the cases of Baha'is. Clearly the government is disallowing Baha'is in some cities to own certain types of business on the grounds that too many Baha'is are engaged in it.\n\nArrested were shop owners Aladdin (Niki) Khanjani and Babak Mobasher, along with three employees, Naser Arshi-Moghaddam, Ataollah Ashrafi and Rouhollah Monzavi. Mr. Khanjani is the son of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of the seven Baha'i leaders who are currently serving 20 year prison sentences on false charges including espionage.\n\nAgents also confiscated their computers and other electronic devices and took a large amount of goods and products from their shop.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A sixth employee, who is not a Baha'i, was also arrested but then released that afternoon.\n\n\"A number of pro-government websites accused the five of smuggling eyeglasses but the fact that agents released the only person who is not a Baha'i taken during the raid proves that their arrest and detention is based solely on religious persecution,\" said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\n\"Altogether, this sudden spike in the arrest and detention of Baha'is highlights the fact that the government continues to persecute Baha'is throughout Iran in a wide range of ways, from blocking their access to higher education, to economic sanctions, to the day-to-day harassment of Baha'is when they seek to worship together.\"\n\nMs. Ala'i said this broad-based oppression ignores all standards of justice.\n\n\"For example, 20 Baha'is who had been arrested two years ago, later tried in Yazd on spurious accusations, and who were out on bail pending an appeal were told in April that their extreme sentences – totaling 58 years for the group – had been upheld.\n\n\"This ruling came despite the fact that the judge who had originally presided over the case expressed sympathy for the defendants in open court, but was then apparently instructed to simply uphold the long sentences for their alleged crime of 'propaganda against the regime'.\n\n\"Indeed, the judge reportedly agreed in principle that the activities in question were simply those required to meet the needs of the community, such as performing marriages and divorces, seeing to children's education, overseeing funerals, and helping the poor and needy.\n\n\"Subsequently, the Baha'is sought redress through the Justice Administration and were told by the Head of that agency, 'This is exactly what you deserve. In fact we were too lenient. You do not even count to be considered for anything, let alone your citizenship rights,'\" said Ms. Ala'i.\n\nOther incidents involving the arrest and detention of Baha'is in recent months include:\n\n• On 5 August, government agents in Shiraz arrested four Baha'is. Vahid Dana, Saeid Abedi, and Bahiyyeh Moeinipour were arrested at their homes, while Adib Haqpazhuh was arrested at his workplace. To date, no information has been received about their whereabouts or status.\n\n• On 27 July, a Baha'i in Vilashahr was arrested and beaten after refusing to work on a secret computer program for the Revolutionary Guards.\n\n• On 8 July, Saghi Fadaie was summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence office in Mashhad. After a few hours she was taken to her home, where agents searched her belongings and took her into detention.\n\n• On 2 June, three Baha'is were arrested in Mashhad. Their names are May Kholousi, Dori Amri, and Shayan Tafazoli."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584646-101501.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A photograph of Baha'is from across Iran who were arrested in 2012 and were all tried in Yazd at the same time."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584646-101502.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A photograph of Baha'is from across Iran who were arrested in 2012 and were all tried in Yazd at the same time."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1013,"relatedStoryCaption":"Destruction of historic Baha'i cemetery by Iran's Revolutionary Guards continues"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1010,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1009,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1014,"evergreenUrl":"religious-representatives-netherlands-respond-iranian-clerics-call-coexistence","title":"Religious representatives in Netherlands respond to Iranian cleric's call for coexistence","description":"Fourteen representatives of faith organizations gathered here on 2 July to study the statement made by Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani...","date":"2014-08-07","customDateline":null,"city":"THE HAGUE","country":"NETHERLANDS","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Fourteen representatives of faith organizations gathered here on 2 July to study [the statement made by Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/987_website-statement-translation-en.pdf) last April on religious coexistence in Iran.\n\nAyatollah Tehrani [gifted an illuminated work of calligraphy](/story/987) to the Baha'is of the world as a \"symbolic action to serve as a reminder of the importance of valuing human beings, of peaceful coexistence, of cooperation and mutual support, and avoidance of hatred, enmity and blind religious prejudice\".\n\nAs a prominent Iranian cleric, Ayatollah Tehrani's courageous act has resonated with individuals and groups throughout the world, inspiring a growing conversation on the need to transcend religious prejudice and intolerance and strive for a harmonious interaction between society's diverse religious adherents.  His action is particularly significant in light of a continued campaign of persecution against Baha'is in Iran, which has witnessed intensification [in recent months](/story/1013).\n\nInspired by Ayatollah Tehrani's statement, the Dutch religious representatives explored related issues within the Netherlands, discussing how they can exert influence within their own communities to promote peaceful religious coexistence and address any existing attitudes of superiority.\n\nIn a [letter](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/1014_00.pdf) of appreciation to the Ayatollah which they composed together, the representatives stated, \"We wish to wholeheartedly support your efforts, by working for the eradication of notions of religious intolerance in our country and to take practical initiatives to eliminate conflict from our society and foster instead love and fellowship, solidarity and altruism.\"\n\n\"We firmly believe that this is the mission called for by our respective religious scriptures and traditions, our prophets and saints,\" they said.\n\n\"We are aware that much patient and persistent work remains to be done, that we should especially accompany the youth of our communities and society at large in their endeavor to serve society...\"\n\n\"We stand ready to work together in this mighty and glorious enterprise – the building of a collective conscience – in which we feel united with you and the many other people of goodwill in Iran and beyond,\" the letter concluded.\n\n**Media coverage**\n\nAyatollah Masoumi-Tehrani's statement has evoked responses from diverse religious figures around the world, including Islamic leaders on three continents, who have raised their voices in support of his gesture and the content of his message.\n\nThe Iranian cleric's significant action was also recently mentioned in a commentary in *The Christian Science Monitor*, on 24 July, which highlighted the efforts of prominent Muslims to promote understanding among religions. Referring to these acts, the article, which was also reprinted in the *Daily Times* in Pakistan on 26 July, stated: \"All these gestures of interfaith understanding may not seem like much during conflict and brutal suppression. Yet they help create the conditions for a change in thinking, in part because they are so startlingly unthinkable...\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1009,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1007,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1003,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1013,"evergreenUrl":"shiraz-cemetery-destruction-resumes","title":"Shiraz cemetery destruction resumes","description":"Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has resumed its demolition of a historic Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz, Iran, after pausing for several months in the...","date":"2014-08-06","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584621-101300.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584621-101300.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Plans to build a sports and cultural complex over a Baha’i cemetery have resumed with concrete being poured into the site where the graves of Baha’is were excavated in order to lay the building foundation. Demolition of the cemetery, which began in late April, had temporarily stopped after the international media reported on the desecration and other governments expressed concern.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has resumed its demolition of a historic Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz, Iran, after pausing for several months in the face of international pressure and the expression of outrage on the part of Iranians from all walks of life.\n\nReports from Iran indicate that the Guard has now removed human remains from some 30 to 50 of the 950 graves of Baha'is in the cemetery, placing them in an open canal to make way for the construction of a new cultural and sports complex.\n\nIn June, the Guards held a public celebration of their progress in clearing the site. In advance of that celebration, to which the media was invited, they used a heavy roller to compact the ground. A carpet was then laid over a number of graves and the commander of the Guards gave a speech attacking Baha'is.\n\n“The manner in which the Revolutionary Guards have gone about destroying these sacred grounds and, now, celebrating its demolition goes beyond the pale in terms of humane behavior,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\n“Clearly, this latest action – a public celebration held upon the graves of innocent people – is an attempt by the Guards to justify to an increasingly outraged Iranian public the desecration of the cemetery and the treatment of Baha'is generally,” she said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"“We call on the government of Iran to immediately put a stop to this desecration, and we ask the international community to likewise voice its concerns about this outrageous development,” said Ms. Ala’i.\n\nAccording to Ms. Ala’i, members of the Shiraz Baha'i community have pleaded with local authorities to enforce a permanent halt in the construction, offering also a compromise in which the sports complex could be built on the site away from areas where Baha'is are buried, while the graveyard itself is turned into a green space.\n\nThe Baha'is have been told, however, that local authorities have no control over the Revolutionary Guards, who acquired the land about three years ago.\n\nDemolition of the cemetery – established in the 1920s – [was first begun in late April](/story/994) with the digging of a large, shallow excavation. That was halted after the international media reported on the desecration and other governments expressed concern.\n\nMore recently, however, concrete has been poured for a foundation, and a number of signs have been posted proclaiming the Guards’ plan to build a sports and cultural complex that will include a library, mosque, restaurant, theatre, child care facility, and sports hall.\n\nOf note, during the public celebration of the demolition’s progress, held 14 June, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards of Fars Province, gave a speech attacking Baha'is and calling the Baha'i Faith a “foul”, “perverse sect”.\n\nAccording to IranWire, this same commander or another high-ranking official in the Revolutionary Guards of Fars Province subsequently stated, “We will use a vehement approach with those who teach about the perverse sect in this province.... Their religion, or sect, is not genuine.”\n\nAt the same time, Baha'is in the province have given voice to their deep anguish over the site’s destruction. In an open letter written to local authorities in May, for example, a 50-year-old Baha'i woman spoke of facing decades of oppression, capped now by this latest attack on a place where the bodies of her father, mother, and sister – who were all killed by the government in the 1980s – had been laid to rest.\n\n“Yesterday…the cemetery where the bodies of my beloved family were buried was dug up and the soil was loaded onto trucks and taken away, so that no trace of evidence would be left of the crimes and atrocities committed by you over the past thirty years,” she wrote.\n\n“End this long-standing rancor and enmity,” she said. “We are your countrymen, your fellow citizens, your neighbors, your family, and your relatives.  We work for the dissemination of love; we adore affection and kindliness; and believe we all have a right to the life which God has bestowed upon us.”"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584620-101301.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A poster at the entrance to the cemetery provides images of the Revolutionary Guards’ planned construction of a sports and cultural complex that will include a library, mosque, restaurant, theatre, child care facility and sports hall."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584621-101302.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A poster at the entrance to the cemetery provides images of the Revolutionary Guards’ planned construction of a sports and cultural complex that will include a library, mosque, restaurant, theatre, child care facility and sports hall."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Unfulfilled Promises: Iran’s failure to act after its 2010 Universal Periodic Review\"](http://www.bic.org/unfulfilledpromises)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Violence with Impunity: Acts of aggression against Iran's Baha'i community\"](https://news.bahai.org/story/942)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1009,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1010,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":994,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1012,"evergreenUrl":"in-luxembourg-president-chamber-deputies-expresses-appreciation-work-bahai-community","title":"In Luxembourg, President of Chamber of Deputies expresses appreciation for work of Baha'i community","description":"The President of Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies has thanked the Baha'i community for its activities to build bridges between different elements...","date":"2014-07-20","customDateline":false,"city":"LUXEMBOURG","country":"LUXEMBOURG","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584609-101200.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584609-101200.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The President of Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo addresses an event, held on 26 June, to mark National Day, the official birthday of His Royal Highness Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The President of Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies has thanked the Baha'i community for its activities to build bridges between different elements of society.\n\n\"For me the efforts carried out by the Baha'is can be summarized by the word 'cohesion,'\" Mars Di Bartolomeo told some 100 guests gathered at a celebration of National Day, the official birthday of His Royal Highness Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.\n\n\"Unity in diversity is more than a slogan for the Baha'i community,\" said Mr. Di Bartolomeo, \"it is the very foundation of their belief and actions.\"\n\nMr. Di Bartolomeo began his speech with a well-known quotation from the Baha'i sacred writings: \"The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.\"\n\n\"This principle of the oneness of humanity, taught by Baha'u'llah, touched my heart from the very first time I heard it,\" he said.\n\n\"Since then, for many years, I have had the opportunity to work together with Baha'is in social projects...and I can testify to the sincerity with which Baha'is are striving to implement these teachings.\"\n\nThe Baha'is, he said, are \"inviting all their fellow citizens to work with them side by side for the betterment of society.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Also present at the event – which took place at Luxembourg's national Baha'i center on 26 June  – were three other Members of Parliament including Viviane Loschetter, President of the Parliamentary Group of the Green Party. Representatives of religious groups and civil society were also among the guests.\n\nOther elements of the program included an introductory speech by Wafa Arzani, chairperson of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Luxembourg, as well as readings of selections from the Baha'i writings and a musical presentation."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584609-101201.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some 100 guests – including politicians, and representatives of religious groups and civil society – gathered at Luxembourg's national Baha'i center on 26 June."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1007,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1011,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1001,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1011,"evergreenUrl":"commemorations-mark-fiftieth-anniversary-european-bahai-house-worship","title":"Commemorations mark fiftieth anniversary of European Baha'i House of Worship","description":"Prominent religious and political figures gathered here at the start of a program of festivities to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Baha'i...","date":"2014-07-11","customDateline":false,"city":"LANGENHAIN","country":"GERMANY","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584593-101100.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584593-101100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The painting, \"Light 2\" by Andrea Seidel is being shown at an exhibition of art celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Baha'i House of Worship in Langenhain, Germany. Twelve artists from Langenhain and the surrounding district are showing paintings and photography inspired by the Temple.","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Prominent religious and political figures gathered here at the start of a program of festivities to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Baha'i House of Worship on the European continent.\n\nIn the opening reception held at Germany's National Bahá'í Center on 3 July, the Minister of State and head of the Chancellery of the state of Hesse, Mr. Axel Wintermeyer, addressed an audience of some 130 people.  In his remarks, he extolled the Bahá'í teachings for promoting \"dialogue that is characterized by a respect and tolerance for all religions\".\n\n\"Many violent conflicts in the world are motivated by religious intolerance,\" Mr. Wintermeyer said, \"and world peace is not possible without religious peace.\"\n\n\"The Baha'i House of Worship, in contrast, is a symbol for religious coexistence and tolerance. Everybody is welcome.\"\n\nThe head of the Round Table of Religions in Germany, Reverend Dr. Franz Brendle, also addressed the audience, expressing his gratitude for the contribution Bahá'ís are making to interreligious dialogue and for their community-building efforts.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"You are characterized by your peaceful attitude towards others,\" said Dr. Brendle.\n\nProfessor Ingo Hofmann, a representative of the Bahá'í community in Germany, explained that worship alone is not sufficient for the establishment of a just and prosperous society.\n\nAn integral concept of each Baha'i House of Worship is that it provides a spiritual center around which agencies and institutions of social, humanitarian, and educational service can be established for the surrounding population.\n\n\"Work conducted in the spirit of service to humanity is true worship of God,\" said Professor Hofmann.\n\nThe House of Worship was dedicated on 4 July 1964 after three-and-a-half years of construction. It was declared a cultural monument for Hesse in 1987 and is considered a major landmark of the Main-Taunus district.\n\nHighlighting the building's distinctive design, Wolfgang Exner, a town councilor from Hofheim am Taunus, emphasized how proud the people of the region are to have \"this jewel of architecture near us\".\n\n\"We love to bring guests here and proudly show them our Baha'i temple,\" he said.\n\nAlso present in the audience was Teuto Rocholl, the architect of the Temple.  Mr. Rocholl attended the reception with his wife and daughter as the guests of honor.\n\nFollowing the reception, those present attended a special devotional program in the Baha'i House of Worship.\n\nThe 50th anniversary festivities continued on Sunday 6 July when the German Baha'i community hosted an annual Sommerfest on the grounds of the Temple. Some 3,000 visitors came from the surrounding neighborhoods as well as further afield. A cultural program included interactive theater and musical performances from The Mood, a local youth choir from Langenhain. Four devotional programs took place within the House of Worship during the day.\n\nAn art exhibition marking the anniversary is also being held throughout the month of July, showing paintings and photography inspired by the House of Worship by 12 artists from Langenhain and the surrounding region."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584594-101101.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Axel Wintermeyer, Minister of State and head of the Chancellery of Hesse, addressed a gathering held at the national Baha'i center in Germany, 3 July 2014, to mark the 50th anniversary of the European Baha'i House of Worship."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584593-101102.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A devotional gathering at the European Baha'i House of Worship, Langenhain, Germany, was held on Thursday 3 July 2014, marking the 50th anniversary of the Temple's dedication. Prominent religious and political figures were among the guests, as was the building's architect, Teuto Rocholl."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584594-101103.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A local choir from Langenhain sang devotional music in the European Baha'i House of Worship, at a special program marking the 50th anniversary of the Temple's dedication, Thursday 3 July 2014. The choir, named the 1844 Gesangsverein Langenhain e.V, was founded in 1844 - the same year as the Baha'i Faith."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584593-101104.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The first European Baha'i House of Worship, in Langenhain, Germany, was inaugurated on 4 July 1964. Six other Baha'i Houses of Worship can today be found in Australia, India, Panama, Uganda, the United States and Western Samoa. Another continental House of Worship is currently under construction in Santiago, Chile."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":982,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":851,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":806,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1010,"evergreenUrl":"threatening-anti-bahai-posters-distributed-yazd-iran","title":"Threatening anti-Baha'i posters distributed in Yazd, Iran","description":"A highly inflammatory and threatening flier calling Baha'is \"godless\" was distributed in the city of Yazd, Iran, last week on the eve of an important...","date":"2014-06-18","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584580-101000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584580-101000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An example of graffiti on the walls of a building in Yazd, Iran. The text reads: \"Death to Baha'ism\". (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Activists News Agency)","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A highly inflammatory and threatening flier calling Baha'is \"godless\" was distributed in the city of Yazd, Iran, last week on the eve of an important Shiite holy day.\n\nThe anonymously authored leaflet was posted on walls and also placed on the homes and cars of Baha'is, said Diane Ala'i, the representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\n\"The distribution of this poster was obviously timed to inflame religious passions against Baha'is, who are a minority in Yazd and throughout Iran,\" said Ms. Ala'i. \"The basic message of the poster is that it is a religious duty to attack Baha'is and to destroy their properties.\n\n\"The targeting of Baha'i homes and vehicles is also equally ominous, sending a message: 'We know who and where you are,'\" she added.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The distribution of the flier in this mid-sized central Iranian city came on 12 June 2014, on the eve of *Shabe-barat* (the \"night of deliverance\"), which honors the birth of Imam Mahdi and is an important holy day for Shiite Muslims.\n\nThe flier claims that according to Sharia law, the \"blood\" of Baha'is \"is worthless,\" and that \"every Muslim individual must stand up against any activity by this movement and combat them even at the cost of his own life.\"\n\nA similar version of the poster had been delivered to at least five Baha'i homes in Yazd last January. That flier was signed by \"Hizbu'llah\" (the Party of God).\n\nMs. Ala'i said it was the government's duty to denounce such acts publically and to find and prosecute the perpetrators of such hateful messages, and to protect Baha'is as citizens of Iran.\n\n\"Unfortunately, the government has for too long allowed the perpetrators of such attacks to act with impunity. In recent years, there have been literally hundreds of attacks or threats against Baha'is and their properties, and no one has been prosecuted for such actions,\" she said.\n\nMs. Ala'i noted, for example, that [three Baha'is were attacked](/story/979) in their home in Birjand in January by an anonymous intruder wielding a knife and that a [Baha'i was shot and killed](/story/966) in Bandar Abbas last August. There have also been a number of incidents of the desecration of Baha'i cemeteries in recent months, such as efforts by the Revolutionary Guard to destroy an [historic Baha'i cemetery in Shiraz](/story/993).\n\n\"Unfortunately, the government has too often been a willing participant in the circulation of hate material against Baha'is. Top officials and government media outlets regularly spew anti-Baha'i propaganda – and the volume of such items has in fact increased dramatically this year,\" said Ms. Ala'i.\n\nIn January, said Ms. Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community had catalogued at least 55 anti-Baha'i articles on Iranian websites. That rose to 72 in February, 93 in March, 285 in April, and 366 in May.\n\n\"The government has created an atmosphere where those who harbor hatred against Baha'is can act with complete impunity,\" said Ms. Ala'i. \"And without fear of prosecution, we are gravely concerned that life-threatening attacks against Baha'is are all too likely to continue.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584580-101001.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Translation of flier: \"Bahaism is a movement that has risen against the true religion of Islam; from the perspective of the sacred Sharia, it is an [apostasy] and is wholly condemned such that Baha’i individuals, from the perspective of Islam, have no right to any form of security, whether pertaining to their lives or their belongings, and their blood is worthless. Thus, in light of the recent blatant activities of this godless faction, every Muslim individual must stand up against any activity by this movement and combat them even at the cost of his own life.\" (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Activists News Agency)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584580-101002.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An example of graffiti on a gate to a residence in Yazd, Iran. The text reads: \"Death to Baha'i\". (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Activists News Agency)"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Unfulfilled Promises: Iran’s failure to act after its 2010 Universal Periodic Review\"](http://www.bic.org/unfulfilledpromises)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Violence with Impunity: Acts of aggression against Iran's Baha'i community\"](https://news.bahai.org/story/942)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1009,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":999,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":994,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1009,"evergreenUrl":"on-three-continents-prominent-muslims-denounce-persecution-irans-bahais-call-religious-coexistence","title":"On three continents prominent Muslims denounce persecution of Iran's Baha'is, call for religious coexistence","description":"In the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, prominent Muslims have spoken out recently against the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, denouncing...","date":"2014-06-17","customDateline":false,"city":"PARIS","country":"FRANCE","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584568-1007041.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584568-1007041.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ayatollah Seyyed Hussein Ismail al-Sadr.","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, prominent Muslims have spoken out recently against the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, denouncing the religious intolerance that is the motivating force behind the oppression of that country's largest religious minority.   Inspired in part by [Iranian Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani](/story/987), who recently issued a call asking specifically for \"coexistence\" with Baha'is, Ayatollah al-Faqih Seyyed Hussein Ismail al-Sadr, the most senior Shi'a cleric in Baghdad, Iraq; the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa; and Dr. Ghaleb Bencheikh, Chair of Religions for Peace in France, have all praised Ayatollah Tehrani's action as both principled and courageous, endorsing his appeal for a fresh discourse on the shared values among different religions as part of an effort to promote harmonious coexistence.\n\nIn Baghdad, in an extended interview [published online](http://www.dinonline.com/detail/News/3671) on 14 May 2014, Ayatollah al-Faqih Seyyed Hussein Ismail al-Sadr, founder of the Humanitarian Dialogue Foundation, said discussions about such shared values can help overcome dogmatism and fanaticism.\n\n\"All of us, before adhering to a certain religion, group, or doctrine, are human beings,\" said Ayatollah Sadr. \"As such, we share many values, thought processes, and natural dispositions, which are the elements that allow us to come together and engage in a discourse that would give us a greater understanding of others, and thus gain a deeper understanding of each other, which, in turn, leads us to establish a harmonious coexistence.\"\n\nIn the interview, Ayatollah Sadr also addressed the question of the Baha'is.  \"The Qur'an addresses us all as 'children of Adam',\" he said, \"and according to Imam 'Ali, peace be upon Him, people are of two kinds – either your religious brother, or your equal in creation.  I might not agree with followers of a certain religion, but that does not mean that I have the right to deprive them of their natural human rights or deny them their rights as citizens of a nation.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Ayatollah Sadr, who is well known for his efforts to promote dialogue among religious and secular groups, called for a \"human discourse\" about religious harmony and coexistence.  His objective, he said, is to \"engage in all discourses that contribute to the formation of a progressive humanity with a new vision that can build a healthy society, which, in turn, contributes to building successful nations.\"\n\nLast October, Ayatollah Sadr issued a religious edict or *fatwa* concerning how Muslims should behave towards Baha'is, in response to a question posed to him by someone who noted that some Muslims believe that they should not have any interactions with Baha'is.\n\n\"God Almighty has ordered us to deal with all our brothers and sisters from other religions and faith with kindness, based in justice, mercy and love,\" he said. \"Therefore, there is no objection to interacting and associating within the general human fundamentals between Muslims and their brothers from other religions and beliefs.\"\n\nOn 16 May 2014, the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa [issued a statement](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/1009_00.pdf) praising Ayatollah Tehrani's \"noble act\" which, it noted, accorded \"due recognition to the Baha'i community\".  The Council also expressed hope that Ayatollah Tehrani's action would lead to \"official recognition of the rights of this religious community whose aims and objectives are solely for peace and tolerance on earth for all\".\n\nAnd in Paris, in a video [posted online](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVtY-uhYfzQ&feature=youtu.be), Dr. Ghaleb Bencheikh, a highly respected Muslim theologian and well-known in France for his promotion of interfaith activities and as the presenter of the weekly television program \"Islam\", commended Ayatollah Tehrani's \"magnificent\" gesture.\n\n\"I hope he will inspire others very soon,\" said Dr. Bencheikh.  \"It would be wonderful if he had ambassadors who spoke in his name.  For the moment he has none, not that I know of in any case.  Well then, we will proclaim ourselves as his ambassadors.\"\n\nCondemning the persecution of Iran's Baha'is as being \"in disdain of law\" and \"an intolerable scandal\", Dr. Bencheikh urged that discourse on religious co-existence be carried forward.  To this end he immediately arranged for a round-table event, jointly hosted by Religions for Peace and the Baha'i Community of France, to be held in Paris on 27 June, under the title:  \"Promoting religious co-existence – shared reflections in tribute to the action of Ayatollah Masoumi-Tehrani\".  Dr. Bencheikh has also raised the possibility of a larger such gathering to be held this coming winter.\n\n\"We should not lose hope,\" said Dr. Bencheikh.  \"The greatest cathedrals begin with a stone.  This stone is laid.  If you want men to fraternise, bring them together to build cathedrals.  Here the cathedral is not a physical edifice.  It is the cathedral of universal fraternity.  So, then, it begins with a word, a gesture, a sign of friendship that we need to know how to build upon.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584568-100901.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A poster featuring images of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1007,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1006,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1003,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1008,"evergreenUrl":"on-eve-world-cup-universal-house-justice-responds-brazilian-presidents-invitation","title":"On the eve of the World Cup, the Universal House of Justice responds to Brazilian President's invitation","description":"In response to an invitation by the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, the Universal House of Justice has released a message to the people...","date":"2014-06-12","customDateline":false,"city":"SAO PAULO","country":"BRAZIL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In response to an invitation by the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, the Universal House of Justice has released a message to the people of that country and beyond for the occasion of the 20th World Cup, which begins today.\n\nPresident Rousseff had written to the Universal House of Justice inviting it to provide a statement regarding the promotion of world peace and harmony among the peoples of the world.  She further expressed her certainty that the message would contribute to the advancement of universal human values.  Leaders of other religions have also been asked to send messages.  The President's letter referred to the Brazilian government's desire to use the occasion of the World Cup to further the cause of peace and combat all forms of racial discrimination.\n\nDated 6 June 2014, the message of the Universal House of Justice can be found [here](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/Message%20From%20The%20Universal%20House%20of%20Justice.pdf)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The message of the Universal House of Justice](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/Message%20From%20The%20Universal%20House%20of%20Justice.pdf)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":985,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":168,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1007,"evergreenUrl":"in-arab-world-new-discourse-religious-coexistence-takes-root","title":"In the Arab world, a new discourse on religious coexistence takes root","description":"Throughout the Arab world, a new discussion on how to live peacefully side by side with the followers of all religions has begun to take shape....","date":"2014-06-04","customDateline":false,"city":"MANAMA","country":"BAHRAIN","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584540-100700.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584540-100700.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A conversation about religious coexistence has recently been taking root in many different Arab countries, including Egypt. (Photo courtesy of Azeem Azeez)","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Throughout the Arab world, a new discussion on how to live peacefully side by side with the followers of all religions has begun to take shape.\n\nThis discourse is inspired partly by the dramatic call of an Iranian Ayatollah for religious coexistence with Baha'is, but has since taken on a life of its own, becoming a heartfelt discussion about the situation of religious freedom in Arab lands.\n\n\"Man was created 'free,' and from the Islamic perspective, 'freedom' is not a mere right, but rather a duty accountable by law,\" wrote 'Abdu'l-Hamid Al-Ansari, an expert on Islamic law in Qatar, writing in the Kuwaiti newspaper *Aljarida* on 26 May.\n\n\"Islam grants 'religious freedom' to those who are at variance with it in belief and worship (as stated in the Qur'an): 'To each among you have we prescribed a law and a system.'\n\n\"Hence,\" wrote Dr. Al-Ansari, a former dean in Islamic studies and law at the University of Qatar, \"what will remain of the meaning of 'freedom' if we prevent the followers of other religions from practicing their religions?\"\n\nProfessor Suheil Bushrui, an authority on religious and interfaith issues in the Arab world, said the region \"is an area where there are without any doubt tremendous forces of fanaticism, but at the same time there is an opening of the mind, and a tremendous desire to create a new way of thinking.\n\n\"Part of this new thinking is that violence is not what religion teaches, and there is an increasing discussion that emphasizes that freedom of worship and freedom of religion are guaranteed by the Qur'an itself,\" said Professor Bushrui, who is director of the George and Lisa Zakhem Kahlil Gibran Research and Studies Project at the University of Maryland.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"This discussion is reflected in a growing number of news articles and commentaries on the theme of religious coexistence that have been published in recent weeks throughout the Arab world.\n\nA number of Arab commentators have indicated they were inspired by the actions of Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, an Iranian cleric who recently created a calligraphic work of Baha'i holy verses and sent it as a gift to the Baha'is of the world, along with a statement on the need for coexistence with Baha'is, who face intense persecution in Iran.\n\nIn Bahrain, respected journalist Es'haq Al-Sheikh published a commentary in the newspaper *Alayam* saying that Ayatollah Tehrani's calligraphic gift offered insights about the need for bold action to promote the principle of religious coexistence in the entire region.\n\n\"The call of this Iranian cleric creates a genuine invitation for a spirit of peaceful and stable religious coexistence, firmly established in tolerance among all religions,\" wrote Mr. Al-Sheikh on 21 April, in an article headlined: \"Allow for the Baha'i Faith amongst us.\"\n\n\"This is a blessed call that must take its path to...the Arabian Peninsula and all the Arab countries, to give Baha'is their rights in practicing their religion, and for those countries to strengthen their own concept of citizenship through justice and equality between all religions and beliefs in our Arab societies,\" wrote Mr. Al-Sheikh.\n\nClovis Maksoud, the former ambassador of the League of Arab States to the United Nations and a renowned author, scholar, and educator, said: \"There is no doubt that there is a trend against dogmatism and intransigence among all religions at this moment.\" Dr. Maksoud added: \"There is a discovery of what is common amongst the religions much more than what distinguishes them from each other.\n\n\"And what the Ayatollah has done, and the gift he has given to the Baha'is, is a testimony (to this) in a very subtle way. And it applies not only to what has happened to Baha'is but also what is happening in many situations between Shiites and Sunnis, and between Christians and Muslims,\" said Dr. Maksoud in an interview.\n\nDr. Maksoud said the need is to go beyond the idea of mere tolerance or even coexistence. \"I want to be in the process of co-discovery to see what unites and what is diverse. I want to enjoy diversity as an exercise in spiritual inclusion and practice.\"\n\nMahmoud Chreih, a noted author, editor, and scholar in Lebanon, also said the new message of coexistence is clearly supported in the Qur'an and in other Islamic texts.\n\n\"The Qur'an is clear – the verses are clear about tolerance – so there is no problem with the text of Islam,\" Mr. Chreih said. \"The problem is how it is applied.\"\n\nAccordingly, he said, the message of Ayatollah Tehrani and others resonates throughout the region.\n\nIn Iraq, one of the most senior Shia clerics, Ayatollah Seyed Hosein Sadr, recently gave a long interview outlining a similar vision of religious coexistence and freedom of belief.\n\n\"I do not believe in dichotomy in God's message, just as I do not subscribe to dichotomy or conflict between God and mankind,\" said Ayatollah Sadr on 14 May in an interview published by *Din Online*. \"I believe that such presumption stems from erroneous understanding by religious fanatics and radicals....\n\n\"Religion should not be used to suppress mankind, or to force him or her, or cause pressure or duress; religion is meant to guide mankind to a more noble life, and to imbue feelings of joy and good fortune, to offer meaning and value to life,\" said Ayatollah Sadr.\n\nAyatollah Sadr was also asked about a recent statement he made, in which he urged Muslims to have cordial relations with Baha'is. \"I might not agree with followers of a certain religion, but that does not mean that I can deprive them of their natural human rights,\" he said. \"Religion has bidden us to treat others with equity and justice, even our enemies. As God has said: 'Collective animosity should not make you cease being just!  You must observe fairness and justice, and that is closer to piety.'\"\n\nAhlam Akram, a prominent Arab activist for peace, wrote on 24 April in *Elaph*: \"Surprisingly, and perhaps hopefully, a number of Muslim clergymen have adopted a new understanding of the teachings and principles of Islam, an understanding that takes a positive stance based on the spirit of the religion, and believes that the Holy Qur'an encourages coexistence between religions; in fact it welcomes it.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584540-100701.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. 'Abdu'l-Hamid Al-Ansari, a former dean in Islamic studies and law at the University of Qatar."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584548-1007020.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Clovis Maksoud, on the right, in a 1982 photograph conferring at the United Nations when he was Ambassador for the League of Arab States. (UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584540-100703.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ms. Ahlam Akram, a prominent Arab activist for peace."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584540-100704.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Professor Suheil Bushrui, director of the George and Lisa Zakhem Kahlil Gibran Research and Studies Project at the University of Maryland."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584540-1007041.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ayatollah Seyed Hosein Sadr."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584541-100705.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A growing number of news articles and commentaries on the theme of religious coexistence that have been published in the Arab world."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":995,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1002,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1004,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"Discourse"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1006,"evergreenUrl":"faith-leaders-call-release-irans-imprisoned-bahais","title":"Faith leaders call for release of Iran's imprisoned Baha'is","description":"Representatives from the United Kingdom's major religious communities have called for the immediate release from prison in Iran of that country's...","date":"2014-06-03","customDateline":null,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584519-100502.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584519-100502.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Reverend Nadim Nassar prays for the release of Iran's seven jailed Baha'i leaders, Westminster Abbey, London, 27 May 2014. Reverend Nassar is the director and co-founder of the Awareness Foundation, which aims to empower Christians to be a counter-force of love and peace to intolerance and aggression.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Representatives from the United Kingdom's major religious communities have called for the immediate release from prison in Iran of that country's seven former Baha'i leaders.\n\nThe call came at an unprecedented commemorative meeting in Westminster Abbey, held on 27 May, to mark the sixth anniversary of their imprisonment. The seven are each currently serving 20-year jail sentences, the longest faced by any of Iran's prisoners of conscience.\n\nThe gathering took place in the Abbey's historic Jerusalem Chamber. Dating from the late 14th century, it is the room where committees translated the Authorized Version of the Bible in 1611, and prepared subsequent revised editions.\n\nWelcoming the guests, the Reverend Andrew Tremlett – Canon of Westminster Abbey – explained how the Abbey \"aspires to be a place that gathers people of all faiths and none, so it is absolutely right that this occasion is happening here.\"\n\nThe program included prayers and reflections delivered by representatives of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian communities. After the contributions, seven of the faith leaders each lit a candle, representing a prisoner.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Parliamentarians, government officials, civil society actors, academics, and representatives of interfaith organizations were also in attendance. Louise Ellman MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is group, said that the event was taking place \"in the context of an ongoing deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran\".\n\nThe Iranian government's treatment of its Baha'i community is the litmus test of its regard for the human rights of all its citizens, Ms. Ellmann added.\n\n\"Today I reiterate the call in urging the Iranian authorities to release the (Baha'i leaders) unconditionally and immediately.\"\n\nTwo prominent faith leaders – a Sunni Muslim and a Coptic Orthodox Christian – also offered remarks. In a video message which was screened to the gathering, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra – who serves as an imam in Leicester – said that \"no religion teaches us to treat others wrongly and oppress them... Iran has the opportunity to demonstrate to the world that Islam is indeed a religion of compassion and peace\".\n\nBishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom said that \"we stand with, and pray for, the Baha'i community, both here and around the world, and pray for the safe return of their leaders to them\".\n\n\"We pray for a change of heart, a change of policy. We pray for a change of thought and understanding,\" said Bishop Angaelos.\n\nSpeaking on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom, Fidelma Meehan said it was \"heartwarming\" to see such a diverse group of people gather in support of the human rights of the Baha'is in Iran.\n\nMs. Meehan also noted that government, interfaith, and civil society support in the United Kingdom was matched by a \"growing awareness\" around the world of the true intentions of the Baha'is to \"strive for the spiritual and material welfare of others\". Even in Iran, she said, a number of \"promoters of justice, artists, statesmen, thinkers, and other enlightened citizens\" have recently \"broken their silence\" in defense of the human rights of Iranian Baha'is.\n\nIn her concluding remarks, Ms. Ellman said, \"Voices calling for change, voices speaking out against oppression must be heard – and after that, action must follow.\"\n\nThe seven Baha'i leaders formed the entire membership of the now-disbanded group known as the \"Yaran\" or \"Friends in Iran\", which operated with the explicit knowledge of the government to tend to the spiritual and social needs of the 300,000-member Baha'i community of that country.\n\nOn 14 May 2008, in a series of early morning raids in Tehran, six of them were arrested: Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. A seventh member of the group, Mahvash Sabet, had been detained two months earlier on 5 March 2008.\n\nAfterwards, the seven were subject to an entirely flawed judicial process. During their first year in detention, they were not told of the charges against them and had virtually no access to lawyers. Their trial, conducted over a period of months in 2010 and amounting to only six days in court, was illegally closed to the public, demonstrated extreme bias on the part of prosecutors and judges, and was based on non-existent evidence."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584519-1005000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Reverend Andrew Tremlett, Canon of Westminster and Rector of St. Margaret's, welcomes participants to the commemorative gathering at Westminster Abbey, 27 May 2014, marking the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584522-1005005.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Member of Parliament Louise Ellman – Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is group – addresses the commemorative gathering in Westminster Abbey's historic Jerusalem Chamber, 27 May 2014, marking the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584520-1005007.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baron Singh of Wimbledon – a prominent British Sikh and member of the House of Lords – shared some reflections from his religious tradition at a special commemorative gathering in Westminster Abbey, 27 May 2014, marking the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584521-100506.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Also offering a prayer was Imam Asim Hafiz, the British Armed Forces' first Muslim chaplain. God, he said, established peace as the norm in the world and for relations between mankind. \"However it is utterly unfortunate that there are sections of humanity that breach this normal state of affairs, that betray the priceless divine bounty of peace.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584520-100508.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Fidelma Meehan, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the UK, said it was \"heartwarming\" to see such a diverse group of people gather in support of the human rights of the Baha'is in Iran."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584519-100509.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Seven candles were lit by the representatives of the UK's major religions at Westminster Abbey, each representing one of Iran's imprisoned Baha'i leaders."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1004,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1003,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1004,"evergreenUrl":"global-outcry-over-continued-imprisonment-bahai-leaders-iran","title":"Global outcry over continued imprisonment of Baha'i leaders in Iran","description":"Around the world, government officials, the news media, and human rights activists have once again raised their voices in protest over the continued...","date":"2014-05-22","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584497-100400.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584497-100400.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A group in Brazil gathers to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the incarceration of the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Around the world, government officials, the news media, and human rights activists have once again raised their voices in protest over the continued imprisonment of the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders.\n\nThe outcry has come on the sixth anniversary of their wrongful imprisonment. Six of the seven were arrested on 14 May 2008, and all are now serving 20-year sentences, the longest terms of any current prisoners of conscience in Iran.\n\nPerhaps the most dramatic commemoration of their arrest and imprisonment was held in Tehran on 12 May when nearly a dozen human rights activists, journalists, and a religious leader gathered with Baha'is at a private home.\n\nShown together in a dramatic photograph widely circulated online, the group included human rights lawyers Nasrin Sotoudeh and Nargess Mohammadi; Masumeh Dehghan, an activist and wife of Abdolfatah Soltani, an imprisoned human rights lawyer;  Muhammad Maleki, the first head of Tehran University following the Islamic Revolution; Jila Baniyaghoob, Issa Saharkhiz, and Muhammad Nourizad, prominent journalists who have also spent time in prison; and Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, a senior Muslim cleric who recently [called for religious coexistence](/story/987) with Baha'is.\n\nOutside Iran, observances, commemorations or other events have been held in Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among other countries.\n\nThese events also coincide with the release of a major new documentary film about the persecution of Iranian Baha'is, \"To Light a Candle\", produced by prominent filmmaker and journalist Maziar Bahari.\n\nAlso noteworthy has been the number of high-profile editorials and commentaries that have been published in major news outlets, including *The Wall Street Journal*, the *Guardian*, the *National Post*, and *The Huffington Post*. A number of commentaries have been published in [Persian-language media](http://www.roozonline.com/persian/opinion/opinion-article/article/-cdd9d21664.html) as well. Virtually all have called for the release of the seven.\n\n\"As Iran approaches the anniversary of Hasan Rouhani's presidential victory, the Islamic Republic's human-rights record, particularly its treatment of religious minorities, remains abysmal\", [wrote Robert George and Katrina Lantos Swett](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304198504579571640839518208?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304198504579571640839518208.html) in *The Wall Street Journal* on 19 May 2014. \"This is especially true for the Baha'is, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Writing for [the *Guardian*'s Tehran Bureau](http://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/may/19/iran-bahai-minority-jail-religion/print) on 19 May, Ramin Ahmadi said the fate of the seven – and all Iranian Baha'is – is \"the fate of all Iranians who do not conform in one way or another.\"\n\n\"Their religious freedom, their human rights are an essential prerequisite for our freedom, our human rights\", wrote Mr. Ahmadi, co-founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.\n\nDr. George and Dr. Swett, who both serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, wrote: \"As with the cases of jailed Christian pastors, such as Saeed Abedini and Farshid Fathi, the Tehran regime shows no signs of wanting to free the so-called Baha'i seven – Baha'i leaders jailed on spurious charges, from espionage to \"spreading corruption on the earth\" – nor of stopping the persecution of its Baha'i population, which numbers more than 300,000.\"\n\nIrwin Cotler, writing in [Canada's *National Post*](http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/05/16/irwin-cotler-criminalizing-the-bahai-faith/), also used the sixth anniversary of the arrest of the seven to call attention to human rights violations generally in Iran.\n\n\nHe called the 20-year sentences \"a virtual death sentence for some, given their advanced age\", adding that \"the Iranian regime has made the very membership in and practice of the Baha'i religion a crime in itself.\" Mr. Cotler is a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.\n\nGovernment officials have also expressed concern.\n\nIn the United Kingdom, the Foreign Office issued [a press release](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-office-calls-for-release-of-7-bahai-leaders-held-in-iran) calling for the release of the seven.\n\n\"Six years ago today, seven leaders of the Baha'i faith in Iran were imprisoned for 20 years each for practicing their religion,\" said Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for the Middle East. \"I call on the Iranian authorities to release them as a matter of urgency. I was also deeply concerned to learn of the recent reports of the desecration of a Baha'i cemetery in Shiraz, where approximately 950 Baha'is are buried.\"\n\nIn Canada, Andrew Bennett, the Ambassador for Religious Freedom, issued a statement on 14 May noting the sixth anniversary of the arrest of the seven and expressing sadness that \"the situation for Iran's religious minorities remains dire, with nothing to show but President Rouhani's empty promises.\"\n\n\"Iran's Baha'is, Christians, Dervishes and Sunni Muslims continue to face harassment, arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and mistreatment by Iranian authorities for practicing their faith and participating in their religious communities,\" said Dr. Bennett.\n\nOthers commemorated the sixth anniversary of the arrest of the seven in diverse ways.\n\nIn the United States, the newly-released [documentary \"To Light a Candle\"](http://vimeo.com/92144770), produced and directed by former *Newsweek* Tehran correspondent Maziar Bahari, premiered in a half-dozen cities in North America in May, including Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, and Chicago.\n\nWriting in [*The Huffington Post*](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omid-memarian/to-light-a-candle-a-testi_b_5327085.html), journalist Omid Memarian called the film \"a turning point in addressing the circumstance of Baha'is in Iran.\n\n\"It unveils decades of repression, persecution and intimidation against a peaceful community of Iranians whose lives have been dramatically undermined by religious intolerance by the Iranian ruling class\", wrote Mr. Memarian.\n\nAlso in the United States, four Members of Congress have drafted a letter to President Barack Obama about the deterioration of human rights in Iran. The letter, which devotes a paragraph to the situation of the seven Baha'i prisoners, is currently circulating Congress, gaining additional signatories.\n\nIn addition, thirteen faith-based organizations in the United States, including the American Jewish Committee, the American Islamic Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, the Baptist World Alliance, and the Hindu American Foundation, have sent [a letter](http://publicaffairs.bahai.us/files/2014/05/2014.05.13-Multifaith-Letter-regarding-Imprisoned-Bahai-Leaders-in-Iran.pdf) to US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying that the treatment of the seven is \"emblematic of a deteriorating human rights situation in Iran.\"\n\n\"We are deeply concerned about religious freedom and human rights in Iran,\" states the letter. \"We ask you to call for the release of the [seven] and all prisoners of conscience in Iran, and to speak out for the fundamental rights of all citizens of Iran.\"\n\nIn Brazil, representatives of the Baha'i community, the National Council of Christian Churches, the Brazilian Spiritualist Federation, and of the United Religions Initiative gathered for prayers in front of the Brazilian Congress building.\n\nThey were joined by Senator Ana Rita, president of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Senate, who called for the immediate release of the seven and an end to the persecution of Iranian Baha'is.\n\nOn that same day, Senator Eduardo Suplicy took the floor in the plenary session of the Brazilian Senate and spoke in defense of the seven.\n\nIn South Africa, SAFM, the largest talk radio station in the country, carried a 30-minute program on 15 May that focused entirely on the systematic and ongoing persecution of Baha'is in Iran.\n\nThe seven Baha'i leaders formed the entire membership of the now-disbanded group known as the \"Yaran\" or \"Friends in Iran\", which operated with the explicit knowledge of the government to tend to the spiritual and social needs of the 300,000-member Baha'i community of that country.\n\nOn 14 May 2008, in a series of early morning raids in Tehran, six of them were arrested: Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. A seventh member of the group, Mahvash Sabet, had been detained two months earlier on 5 March 2008.\n\nAfterwards, the seven leaders were subject to an entirely flawed judicial process. During their first year in detention, the seven were not told of the charges against them and they had virtually no access to lawyers. Their trial, conducted over a period of months in 2010 and amounting to only six days in court, was illegally closed to the public, demonstrated extreme bias on the part of prosecutors and judges, and was based on non-existent evidence.\n\n\"The bill of indictment that was issued against our clients...was more like a political statement, rather than a legal document,\" said one of their lawyers, [Mahnaz Parakand](/story/836). \"It was a 50-page document...full of accusations and humiliations leveled against the Baha'i community of Iran, especially our clients. It was written without producing any proof for the allegations.\"\n\nToday the seven endure harsh conditions in two of Iran's most notorious prisons. The five men are incarcerated at Gohardasht prison in Karaj, and the two women remain at Tehran's Evin Prison. They are all in special wards for prisoners of conscience, where they face added restrictions and heightened surveillance."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584495-100401.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Andrew Bennett, Canada's Ambassador for Religious Freedom."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584494-100402.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Maziar Bahari, a prominent Iranian filmmaker and journalist who produced the documentary film “To Light a Candle”, which explores the systematic persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran. (Photo courtesy of Foreign and Commonwealth Office)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584496-100403.jpeg"},"imageDescription":"A promotional poster for a screening of the documentary film \"To Light a Candle\". The film explores the systematic persecution of the Baha'i community of Iran."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":1003,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":987,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1003,"evergreenUrl":"continuing-praise-ayatollah-tehranis-call-religious-coexistence","title":"Continuing praise for Ayatollah Tehrani’s call for religious coexistence","description":"The dramatic initiative of a senior Iranian religious leader, who last month called for coexistence with Baha'is, continues to stir a global...","date":"2014-05-21","customDateline":false,"city":"SAO PAULO","country":"BRAZIL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584483-1003000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584483-1003000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Chico Alencar, a Federal Deputy in Brazil, who recently delivered a statement to Congress praising Ayatollah Tehrani's gesture.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The dramatic initiative of a senior Iranian religious leader, who last month called for coexistence with Baha'is, continues to stir a global conversation about religious tolerance and freedom of belief.\n\nStatements by prominent religious leaders and other thinkers have recently been made in Brazil, Canada, Spain, and South Africa in response to the actions of Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, who on 7 April 2014 gifted to the Baha'is of the world an illuminated calligraphic work of Baha'i holy verses.\n\nIn Brazil, noted Liberation theologian Leonardo Boff expressed admiration for Ayatollah Tehrani's gesture, saying he is \"serving the cause of peace among religions – the basis for peace among peoples.\"\n\n\"It is impossible not to remember, in this context, the extraordinary experience of seven centuries of peaceful coexistence and profound dialogue between the followers of Allah who lived in the Spain of Averroes and Avicenna, amongst great other poets, living alongside Christians like the Franciscan priest Raimundo Lullo,\" wrote Dr. Boff, who currently serves as Professor Emeritus of Ethics, Philosophy of Religion and Ecology at the Rio de Janeiro State University.\n\nAlso in Brazil, Federal Deputy Chico Alencar recently delivered a statement to Congress praising Ayatollah Tehrani's gesture, calling it a \"symbolic action for us to remember the importance of valuing human dignity and of peaceful coexistence.\"\n\n\"Beyond that, he states that independent of the religion, people should live in cooperation and avoid hatred, enmity and religious prejudice,\" said Deputy Alencar, explaining he was citing Ayatollah Tehrani's actions as a reminder to other Federal Deputies that laws should \"promote educational, social and political practices aligned with ideas of peace and peaceful coexistence among all Brazilians....\"\n\nIn Canada, James Christie, director of the Ridd Institute for Religion and Global Policy at the University of Winnipeg, wrote a letter commending Ayatollah Tehrani's actions.\n\n\"His words and his gift augur a rising tide of reconciliation, peace and hope among religions upon which all people of good will must surely comment and act, not for fortune, but in faith,\" said the Rev. Prof. Dr. Christie.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In South Africa, Gary Eisenberg, chairman of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies, wrote a letter to Ayatollah Tehrani, commending him on his gesture towards the Baha'is, calling it \"a symbol of respect for the innate dignity of human beings, for fellow-feeling and peaceful coexistence regardless of religious affiliation, denomination or belief.\"\n\n\"We pray that the message of tolerance and compassion found in the Koran and repeated in your message to the Baha'i community will spread among the other leaders in your country so that all the peoples of Iran become free to live as equals in your beautiful land,\" wrote Mr. Eisenberg.\n\nAnd in Spain, Eva Borreguero, a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, and Antonio Sanchez Bayon, a professor of law at Universidad Camilo Jose Cela, expressed support for Ayatollah Tehrani and his message."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584484-1003010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Leonardo Boff, who currently serves as Professor Emeritus of Ethics, Philosophy of Religion and Ecology at the Rio de Janeiro State University."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584483-100302.jpg"},"imageDescription":"James Christie, director of the Ridd Institute for Religion and Global Policy at the University of Winnipeg in Canada."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584484-100303.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Gary Eisenberg, chairman of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":987,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":995,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1002,"evergreenUrl":"senior-law-officers-bangladesh-praise-courageous-symbolic-action-coexistence","title":"Senior law officers in Bangladesh praise courageous symbolic action for coexistence","description":"Four leading jurists in Bangladesh have commended the action of a prominent Iranian religious leader who has called for coexistence of all religions,...","date":"2014-05-18","customDateline":null,"city":"DHAKA","country":"BANGLADESH","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Four leading jurists in Bangladesh have commended the action of a prominent Iranian religious leader who has called for coexistence of all religions, [including Baha'is](/story/987).\n\nAdvocate Md. Abdus Salam Mondal, Deputy Attorney General of Bangladesh, wrote that Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani's action \"is a true expression of the spirit and message of Islam that believes in equal coexistence with the followers of all religions.\" He also stated that \"the Baha'is, like the followers of all other religions, have the right to profess their religion unhindered.\"\n\nThree founding members of the Bangladesh Minority Lawyers' Association – Barrister Nikhilesh Dutta, Advocate Cyril Sikdar, and Advocate S. N. Goswami – made similar statements.\n\nBarrister Nikhilesh Dutta, former Deputy Attorney General and social activist, who has been practicing law in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh since 1978, praised Ayatollah Tehrani, \"who has initiated a positive note for the followers of the Baha'i religion through his noble gift of calligraphy to them\". He further expressed hope that the people and the government of Iran would follow suit. Mr. Dutta was the first national who was called to the Bar in Bangladesh, in 1972.  In 2007, in recognition of his services, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II conferred a knighthood on him.\n\nAdvocate Cyril Sikdar, former Ambassador of Bangladesh in Nepal, who has held a law practice in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh since 1976, stated that Ayatollah Tehrani's statement is \"a brave expression of the true feelings of sincere Muslims of the world\". Mr. Sikdar also said that Ayatollah Tehrani's call for religious tolerance is \"in full accord with the beliefs and hopes of the Muslims of Bangladesh who strongly believe that people of all religions should be allowed to coexist and work on the progress of their country.\"\n\nAdvocate S. N. Goswami, who, in addition to co-founding the Bangladesh Minority Lawyers' Association, is Founder-Editor of the monthly journal \"Bangladesh Law Times\", noted that Ayatollah Tehrani's gift of calligraphy to the Baha'is of the world – and particularly to the Baha'is of Iran – \"is a very praiseworthy act fully in line with the Teachings of the Holy Qur'an.\"\n\nThese four senior law officers join a rapidly growing number of individuals in countries across the world, [including within Iran itself](/story/999), who are raising their voices in support of Ayatollah Tehrani's courageous stand for religious tolerance. The resounding call for an end to the relentless persecution of Iran's Baha'is by their government has brought both consolation and reassurance to the Baha'is  throughout the country, who are deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity they are receiving from fellow citizens and other well-wishers further afield."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":999,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":992,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1001,"evergreenUrl":"in-london-uk-secretary-state-praises-bahai-ideals","title":"In London, UK Secretary of State praises Baha'i ideals","description":"At a reception held in the Houses of Parliament here, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has stated...","date":"2014-05-17","customDateline":null,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584461-99800.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584461-99800.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Right Honorable Eric Pickles, UK Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, addresses guests at a reception held in the Houses of Parliament, 30 April 2014, marking the Baha'i festival of Ridvan.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"At a reception held in the Houses of Parliament here, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has stated his admiration for the Baha'i Faith and its ideals.\n\nThe Baha'i principle of the oneness of mankind is one \"which we strive to promote in the UK,\" the Right Honorable Eric Pickles MP told a gathering of more than 100 guests.\n\n\"We all have in common our basic humanity and it's this oneness that inspires the Baha'i Faith.\"\n\nMr. Pickles was speaking at the Houses of Parliament on 30 April at a celebration of the annual Baha'i festival of Ridvan. Among those present were government officials, parliamentarians, representatives of faith communities and civil society organisations, and foreign diplomats.\n\n\"Your message of unity ripples down the ages,\" Mr. Pickles said.\n\nThe activities that Baha'is offer in neighbourhoods and localities, designed to build bonds of community and encourage spiritual renewal, were also singled out for praise from the Secretary of State.\n\n\"Your knack in promoting oneness is inspiring – and a little humbling,\" he said.\n\nWelcoming the guests, Louise Ellman MP – who is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'i Faith – said that 'we want to showcase the Baha'i community' and its contributions to UK society, while also raising awareness about the situation of the persecuted Baha'is of Iran.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Ridvan festival marks the first public declaration by Baha'u'llah – the Faith's Prophet-founder – in a garden in Baghdad, in April 1863. There He informed His friends and family members of His mission to unite the human race and establish universal peace.\n\n\"The Baha'i Faith is associated with a garden,\" said Sahba Besharati, speaking on behalf of the Baha'i community, \"the Garden of Ridvan, and the word Ridvan means Paradise – aptly so, since Baha'u'llah's vision was to transform this troubled world into a heavenly garden, where diversity is celebrated, and where the different colours and shapes of the flowers of the garden serve to further enhance the beauty and the harmony of the whole garden.\"\n\nIn 2012, Mr. Pickles launched the 'A Year of Service' initiative at the National Baha'i Centre in London, and last year he hosted a group of Baha'is to celebrate the centenary of the visit to the United Kingdom by 'Abdu'l-Baha – the eldest son of Baha'u'llah and His appointed successor as head of the Baha'i Faith."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584460-99801.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Among the guests at a reception held in the UK Houses of Parliament, 30 April 2014, marking the Baha'i festival of Ridvan were Lord Hylton – pictured left – and Lord Avebury – second from right."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":988,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":991,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":1000,"evergreenUrl":"honoring-unseen-heroes-promoting-religious-freedom-coexistence","title":"Honoring the \"unseen\" heroes in promoting religious freedom and coexistence","description":"In this world of division and conflict, it takes a special kind of courage for those in a dominant group to break ranks and speak out on behalf...","date":"2014-05-16","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584428-1000003.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584428-1000003.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace International, speaking yesterday at \"Unseen Valor: Acts of Interfaith Courage in the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief\", held 15 May 2014 at the office of the Baha'i International Community in New York.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In this world of division and conflict, it takes a special kind of courage for those in a dominant group to break ranks and speak out on behalf of the oppressed, especially when this comes at great personal risk.\n\nExamples, often overlooked, can be found in many places, such as when Albanians refused to round up Jews during World War II, when two Italian priests sheltered minority Tutsi orphans from genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s,  when Muslim and Christian women negotiated the release of children held hostage by a rebel group in Sierra Leone, or, more recently, when a senior Iranian cleric bravely called for coexistence with Baha'is.\n\nThese and other stories of \"unseen valor\" were highlighted at an event yesterday that brought together United Nations ambassadors, academics, UN officials, and representatives of civil society in a discussion about the importance of citizen action in support of religious freedom and atrocity crime prevention.\n\n\"The people we have heard about should become our role models, our champions, and guide our actions,\" said Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. \"Let us be inspired by them to speak out and to act against intolerance, discrimination, and violence.\"\n\nSponsored by two NGO committees at the United Nations, \"Unseen Valor: Acts of Interfaith Courage in the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief\" was held at the office of the Baha'i International Community in New York.\n\nBani Dugal, President of the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, one of the sponsoring committees, said the event was inspired by [the recent actions](/story/987) of Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, who publicly gifted to the Baha'is of the world an illuminated work of calligraphy highlighting a passage from the writings of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith.\n\n\"This is a very courageous act given the systematic persecution of Baha'is in Iran,\" said Ms. Dugal, who is also Principal Representative of the BIC to the UN.\n\n\"At the UN, discussions about human rights and in particular, freedom of religion or belief, often revolve around the role of Member States and international law.\n\n\"However, we know that citizen action is equally important in upholding freedom, and this event seeks to highlight those individuals who speak out, often at great personal peril, to demonstrate solidarity with those at risk, to inspire and influence others to enrich the environment with unity and harmony,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\nFerit Hoxha, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Albania to the United Nations, told the dramatic story of how Albanians, as a people and a nation during World War II, welcomed and protected Jews from Nazi persecution – despite German occupation and great risk to those who offered shelter.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"There were a handful of countries in Europe that stood up and saved thousands of Jews,\" said Ambassador  Hoxha.\n\nBut what makes the Albanian story unique, he said, is that \"every member of the Jewish community living in Albania survived the Holocaust.\"\n\n\"Like no other occupied country, Albania became a Jewish sanctuary and it had ten times more Jews within its border at the end of the war compared to the beginning.\"\n\n\"There is no need for any imagination or effort to understand that those times and years were dark for Albanians themselves,\" said Ambassador Hoxha. \"Risks were high, threats to life were everywhere, and hiding Jews under Nazi occupation was simply a death threat for the entire family.\"\n\nJacqueline Murekatete told a personal story of how, with the help of two courageous Italian priests at the St. Anthony's orphanage in Nyanza, Rwanda, she survived the 1994 genocide, during which more than a million ethnic Tutsis were killed by members of the Hutu majority. Her parents and all her brothers and sisters, however, did not survive.\n\n\"Many times these two Italian priests were threatened,\" said Ms. Murekatete, who is an internationally recognized human rights activist and founder of Jacqueline's Human Rights Corner, a genocide prevention and education program. \"They were physically abused. But every time they were called by their embassy and told they could be evacuated, they refused.\n\n\"They told the embassy that unless they could bring the children, like myself, they would not leave,\" she said. \"And so over 300 Tutsi children survived.\"\n\nWilliam Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace International, told a number of stories about religious leaders working behind the scenes around the world to quell religious or ethnic conflict.\n\nIn Sierra Leone, during a brutal civil war that lasted from 1991-2002, a group of Muslim and Christian women boldly negotiated the release of 50 child captives held by the Revolutionary United Front, said Dr. Vendley, who is also Chair of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN, which co-sponsored the event.\n\n\"They went into the bush completely unarmed,\" he said. \"And their strength was that they were women and they were all mothers.\"\n\nThat act of courage helped open the door to the peace accords that finally ended the war there in 2002, said Dr. Vendley.\n\n\"I am one who believes that if these women, Muslims and Christians together, hadn't done what they had done, the path would not have been as direct to a final solution,\" he said.\n\nIn the telling of these stories, many of the speakers yesterday said that it is such individual or small-group acts of courage that have broken down the barriers of hatred or intolerance that attempt to strip some groups of their humanity.\n\nIn that context, Special Adviser Dieng said he saluted \"the wisdom and courage\" of Ayatollah Tehrani.\n\n\"I echo his call for 'religious coexistence' with Iranian Baha'is,\" stated Mr. Dieng, saying he \"shows us that Islam's peaceful legacy is not just history: it must also be the future.\n\n\"Courage is like a flower that blossoms in concrete,\" said Mr. Dieng. \"It can foster human dignity by challenging stereotypes and stigma and – in the best cases – save lives.\"\n\nLikewise, Borislava Manojlovic, an expert in conflict analysis and resolution at Seton Hall University, referring generally to such actions, said that when individuals or leaders \"depart from the norm,\" it can lead to \"a variety of transformational outcomes in support of peace.\"\n\nShe had discussed how individuals had given shelter to Muslims in the recent conflict in the Central African Republic. \"Choosing peace in the midst of a conflict can be dangerous,\" said Dr. Manojlovic, noting that members of the majority risk being shunned by their own communities.\n\n\"But a true, sustainable peace comes about when someone in the system is able to imagine a way to create a discontinuity in the vicious cycles of revenge (which often underlie such conflicts) and act upon it,\" said Dr. Manojlovic.\n\n\"This is a choice an individual, a group, or a state makes,\" she said."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584428-1000012.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, speaking yesterday at \"Unseen Valor\"."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584435-100002.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ferit Hoxha, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Albania to the United Nations, told the dramatic story of how Albanians protected Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584428-100003.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Borislava Manojlovic, Director of Research, School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584430-1000040.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, speaking at an event, \"Unseen Valor: Acts of Interfaith Courage in the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief\", held on 15 May 2014."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":999,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":995,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":999,"evergreenUrl":"human-rights-champions-iran-commemorate-sixth-anniversary-imprisonment-bahai-leaders","title":"Human rights champions in Iran commemorate sixth anniversary of imprisonment of Baha'i leaders","description":"In an unprecedented show of solidarity, influential Iranian personalities, human rights activists, journalists, and a prominent religious leader...","date":"2014-05-15","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584398-999000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584398-999000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Influential Iranians, human rights activists, journalists and a prominent religious leader gather in an unprecedented show of solidarity to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven former Baha'i leaders in Iran.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In an unprecedented show of solidarity, influential Iranian personalities, human rights activists, journalists, and a prominent religious leader gathered this week in Tehran to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders and to express support for them.\n\nNews of this highly significant gathering spread rapidly through online and social media yesterday. The centerpiece of the coverage was a photograph of those assembled in a private home around a large photograph of the seven.\n\nThe meeting reflects a growing movement by Iranians inside and outside of the country who stand for the belief that \"Iran must be for everyone\" and who reject the persecution of that nation's Baha'is and oppose the government's stance in oppressing them, as noted [yesterday in a letter](/story/996) from the Universal House of Justice to Iranian Baha'is.\n\n[A detailed account](http://sahamnews.org/1393/02/260149/) of the gathering was published on SahamNews, a reformist Iranian website.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Until last year there would have been no possibility of a gathering such as this and we couldn't even speak about the pain we hold in common,\" said Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer and defender who was recently released from Evin prison. Ms. Sotoudeh was incarcerated with a number of Baha'i women including Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, two of the seven-member group of Baha'i leaders.\n\n\"Mahvash and Fariba have kept up their spirit with extraordinary perseverance and they go forward with an amazing valor,\" she continued. \"We are here together because the Baha'i community was oppressed and our mothers and fathers did not pay attention to this matter.\"\n\n\"We know the Baha'is for their honor and upright qualities,\" said Nargess Mohammadi, a prominent women's rights activist present at the gathering.\n\n\"I hope that one day our society reaches the stage where Baha'is, too, will be able to work and study,\" said Ms. Mohammadi, vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which has defended the seven in court and was founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.\n\nOther prominent activists and leaders present at the gathering included: Muhammad Maleki, the first head of Tehran University following the Islamic Revolution; Masumeh Dehghan, an activist and wife of Abdolfatah Soltani, a well-known lawyer who represented the seven and who is himself currently in prison; and Jila Baniyaghoob and Issa Saharkhiz, two prominent journalists who have also spent time in prison.\n\nMr. Maleki was quoted by SahamNews as saying: \"I know very well that Baha'is are forbidden to go to university.\" He continued, \"All beliefs must be respected. Let us honor one another's beliefs and put divisions aside... We have to work on common principles such as freedom.\"\n\nAyatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, a senior Muslim cleric who recently [called for religious coexistence](/story/987), was also present at the gathering.\n\n\"Perspectives have to change,\" said Ayatollah Tehrani, according to SahamNews. \"And I think now is an opportune moment for this.\"\n\nMuhammad Nourizad, a former journalist with the semi-official Kayhan newspaper, who was himself recently in prison, likewise attended the gathering. He was quoted as saying: \"Before I went to prison, I was weighed down by prejudice. But after I was freed from prison, the heavy weight of prejudice was lifted from me and my outlook has changed.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584399-999011.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Nargess Mohammadi, a prominent women's rights activist and the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584402-999021.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Issa Saharkhiz, a prominent Iranian journalist, signs a photo of the seven former Baha'i leaders in Iran."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584405-99903.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A large photo of the seven former Baha'i leaders signed by those present at the gathering. Some of these read as follows: 1. Dear Yaran of Iran, My dear compatriots, Be steadfast. We stand by you. [signed:] Nasrin Sotoudeh May 20142. In the Name of God, the all-Merciful, the Compassionate, In memory of the imprisoned Yaran, fair-minded men and women of Iran. Although you are in prison, you are amongst the noble-minded and illustrious truly free people of our land. [signed:] Nargess Mohammadi 15 May 20143. In the Name of God, the source of light and knowledge, and in memory of my imprisoned friends, the Yaran, with whom I spent memorable days and nights. Hoping for the release of all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. [signed:] Issa Saharkhiz4. In the hope of the release of these beloved seven and all the prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. Hoping for a better Iran with equality for all Iranians. [signed:] Jila Bani-Yaghoub5. He is the Beloved, In memory of our dear ones who have suffered as the result of our ignorance, and in hope of a day when the light of the mind will illuminate our society. [signed:] Mohammad Nourizad 11 May 20146. On the eve of the celebration of the birth of Imam Ali, peace be upon Him, we gather here with the Bahá’ís to remember the words of Ali who taught: All humans are equal. [signed:] Dr. Maleki 11 May 2014"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584399-999041.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants who gathered on Monday to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven former Baha'i leaders in Iran."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'is of Semnan - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/semnan/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":996,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":995,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":987,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":996,"evergreenUrl":"the-universal-house-justice-applauds-efforts-promote-coexistence","title":"The Universal House of Justice applauds efforts to promote coexistence","description":"In a letter issued yesterday, on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders, the Universal...","date":"2014-05-14","customDateline":false,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584378-preconv.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584378-preconv.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a letter issued yesterday, on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders, the Universal House of Justice has spoken of a growing \"chorus for justice\" inside Iran.\n\nThe letter, addressed to the Baha'is of Iran, praised this development: \"How pleased we are to see that, through the audacious and selfless deeds of individuals who seek progress for their homeland, the culture of peaceful coexistence among peoples and religions characteristic of the bygone traditions of your venerable nation is undergoing a renaissance.\"\n\n\"Promoters of justice, artists, statesmen, thinkers, and other enlightened citizens of Iran—even prisoners of conscience from within their jail cells—are breaking their silence,\" wrote the Universal House of Justice.\n\n[This letter](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/996_00_2.pdf) is issued against a backdrop of ongoing severe repression of the Baha'i community in Iran, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority.\n\n\"This chorus for justice, which began first in the far-flung regions of the world and gradually attracted to itself the voices of Iranians outside their homeland, is now rising to new and unprecedented levels inside Iran,\" said the Universal House of Justice.\n\nThe House of Justice also reminded the Baha'is in Iran that \"beyond recognition of the injustice meted out to you, the enlightened minds of your fellow citizens are more and more attentive to the principles you espouse and live by, and which are the means for the rehabilitation of every society.  Principles such as the sanctity of human dignity; the oneness of humankind irrespective of tribe, race, or belief; the equality of men and women; freedom from prejudice; commitment to knowledge and learning; the abolition of extremes of wealth and poverty; the containment of greed; the harmony of faith and reason—these they increasingly recognize as essential for a progressive future.\"\n\nIt added that the \"awakening\" of consciousness in Iran \"should not be underestimated.\"\n\n\"You know well that, for every reported statement of support for you and for these principles, there are many who voice the same sentiments in private and who are now, in light of the current circumstances, learning how to express their views openly and to join the cohort of those who defend your rights and labour for peaceful coexistence.\n\n\"Consider how that spurious narrative, which the ailing minds of the prejudiced and the limited conceptions of the fanatics have concocted and for whose propagation they have, for 170 years, assiduously striven, has within just a few years become widely recognized to be utterly false.\"\n\nBani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, said the growing call for justice for Iranian Baha'is kindles a light of hope in the hearts of all oppressed people in Iran.\n\n\"The support which has been witnessed over the past several weeks for our Baha'i compatriots in Iran, and which has indeed been growing steadily over the past several years, is unprecedented,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"Moreover, we laud these courageous women and men who are today speaking out, at considerable risk to themselves, for Iranian Baha'is.\"\n\nSix of the seven Baha'i leaders were arrested on 14 May 2008 in a series of early morning raids in Tehran. The seventh had been detained two months earlier on 5 March 2008.\n\nSince their arrests, the seven – whose names are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – have been subject to an entirely flawed judicial process that has completely ignored international requirements for human rights and legal protections.\n\nDuring their first year in detention, the seven were not told of the charges against them and they had virtually no access to lawyers. Their trial, conducted over a period of months in 2010 and amounting to only six days in court, was illegally closed to the public, demonstrated extreme bias on the part of prosecutors and judges, and was based on non-existent evidence.\n\nTheir 20-year sentences are the longest given to any current prisoners of conscience in Iran. The harshness reflects the government's resolve to oppress completely the Iranian Baha'i community, which faces a systematic, \"cradle-to-grave\" persecution that is among the most serious examples of state-sponsored religious persecution in the world today."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":985,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":977,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":953,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":995,"evergreenUrl":"muslim-leaders-embrace-ayatollah-tehranis-call-religious-coexistence","title":"Muslim leaders embrace Ayatollah Tehrani's call for religious coexistence","description":"Muslim leaders in Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, India, and Iran are echoing the call for religious tolerance and \"coexistence\" with...","date":"2014-05-13","customDateline":false,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584359-99500.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584359-99500.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Muslim leaders in Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, India, and Iran are echoing the call for religious tolerance and \"coexistence\" with Baha'is, issued last month by a senior Iranian religious leader.\n\nThe expression of support is significant because many Muslim leaders interpret Islamic teachings as saying that only three faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – are divine in origin and therefore legitimate as systems of religious belief. This has led to restrictions on religious freedom in some countries.\n\nThe statements of these Muslim leaders are all the more noteworthy as they are made against a backdrop of ongoing severe repression of the Baha'i community in Iran, that country's largest non-Muslim religious minority. Among the wide-ranging acts of relentless persecution throughout the country are the imprisonment of infants with their Baha'i mothers, the continued denial to Baha'i students of access to higher education, obstruction of the right to earn a livelihood, and the desecration and destruction of Baha'i cemeteries, most recently [in Shiraz](/story/994).\n\nIn Pakistan, Allama Abulfateh G. R. Chishti, chairman of the Universal Interfaith Peace Mission, wrote that \"Islam in its true nature is a preserver of minority religions under it.... As the Qur'an says: 'There is no compulsion in Religion....'\"\n\nHe said, however, Baha'is have been persecuted in Iran \"because religion today has been misinterpreted by the religio-political, and exploited by them for their vested interest.\"\n\nTherefore, he wrote, Ayatollah Tehrani's \"voice must not be taken lightly,\" saying that he has risked \"his own life by raising the issue of the security of a minority religion in Iran.\n\n\"All the peace loving and believing in freedom religions should support the Ayatollah if they really wish to end religiously motivated violence,\" he said.\n\nIn the United Kingdom last week, the founder of the British Muslim Forum said he hoped Ayatollah Tehrani's initiative would \"result in bringing much needed understanding\" between Muslims and Baha'is in Iran and elsewhere.\n\n\"The Forum congratulates the Ayatollah for his courageous and dignified act and sincerely hopes that it will open the door of constructive inter-faith relations between the two faith communities in Iran,\" wrote Maulana Shahid Raza on 5 May 2014.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Yesterday, Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, an interfaith and anti-extremist organization based in the United Kingdom, published an [article in the Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/fiyaz-mughal/iran-minority-faiths_b_5303350.html) that praised the actions of Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, who in April [bravely gifted to the Baha'is](/story/987) of the world an illuminated work of calligraphy featuring verses from the Baha'i sacred writings.\n\n\"[T]he symbolism of [his] 'reaching out' comes in the wake of several recent statements by religious scholars in the Muslim world who have set out alternative interpretations of the teachings of Islam in which tolerance of every religion is, in fact, upheld by the holy Qur'an,\" wrote Mr. Mughal.\n\nIbrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, likewise summed up this burgeoning global conversation recently, also commenting on the significance of Ayatollah Tehrani's gift to Baha'is.\n\n\"He has reminded us that Islam is a religion of peace that recognizes diversity of every kind as part of God's design for his creation,\" wrote Imam Mogra on 21 April 2014 in [an article ](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/21/ayatollahs-stand-bahai-gives-hope-iran) featured on the website of Britain's The Guardian newspaper.\n\n\"The Ayatollah has done something unprecedented in Iran,\" continued Imam Mogra. \"And he is part of a growing trend in that country; others have also championed the inalienable rights of all Iranian citizens. Islam has a history of defending minorities and protecting their religious rights and freedoms.\"\n\nIn Bahrain, a similar expression of support came from a prominent Muslim journalist: Es'haq Al-Sheikh, who wrote in Alayam that Ayatollah Tehrani's gift to Baha'is was an \"act that reflects a heightened understanding of the Holy Qur'an's call for religious coexistence.\"\n\n\"People are free to decide what should comprise their religious beliefs – all religions with no exception are equal in rank theologically,\" wrote Mr. Al-Sheikh, in [an article headlined](http://www.alayam.com/writers/12171): \"Allow for the Baha'i Faith amongst us.\"\n\n\"Since its inception, the Baha'i Faith has faced persecution, oppression, punishment and disdain – a matter that contradicts the spiritual and intellectual freedom of coexistence amongst all religions, with no exception, including the Baha'i Faith,\" wrote Mr. Al-Sheikh.\n\nAfter Ayatollah Tehrani's gift to the Baha'i world was announced on 7 April, expressions of moral and theological support began to come in from Muslim leaders.\n\nOn 10 April, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, head of the Islamic Centre of India, issued a statement saying: \"This friendliness towards a beleaguered religious minority is an exemplary act. It underscores the principle of the equality of all people before God, irrespective of religious belief.\n\n\"Islam teaches brotherhood and unity with all peoples on earth, and Ayatollah Tehrani's exalted act is in accordance with the fundamental teachings of God,\" said Maulana Khalid Rasheed.\n\nAnd in Iran last week, a high-ranking cleric – while not mentioning Ayatollah Tehrani – declared that interpretations of Islam that hold Baha'is to be impure are incorrect – and that Baha'is should therefore enjoy equal rights.\n\n\"Like all other religious jurists who believe that [all] people are ritually pure, I also believe that Baha'is are pure,\" wrote Hojatoleslam Mohammad Taghi Fazel Meybodi.\n\n\"In accordance with the citizenship rights of all citizens of a country, Muslims, Baha'is, Zoroastrians, or any people holding any set of beliefs should enjoy rights equal to those of any other citizens of the country,\" wrote Hojatoleslam Meybodi in [an essay on Iranwire](http://iranwire.com/blogs/6272/5837/), which has been [translated by Iran Press Watch](http://iranpresswatch.org/post/9898/).\n\n\"There should be no difference between a Baha'i, a Jew and other religious minorities in other situations such as the right to education, the right to earn a living, the right to select one's residence, etc.,\" continued Hojatoleslam Meybodi.\n\nThe public reaction to these ideas has been considerable.\n\nMr. Al-Sheikh's article in Alayam has been shared extensively through social media.\n\nAnd individuals posted some 234 comments to The Guardian's article by Imam Mogra before the discussion page was closed."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584360-99501.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Hojatoleslam Mohammad Taghi Fazel Meybodi, a high-ranking cleric in Iran."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584360-99502.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Allama Abulfateh G. R. Chishti, chairman of the Universal Interfaith Peace Mission."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584360-99503.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, head of the Islamic Centre of India."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584360-99504.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, an interfaith and anti-extremist organization based in the United Kingdom."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":994,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":987,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":992,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/39/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}