{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/48/","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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Their yellow vests read, \"Today we are all Baha'is\" and \"Free the 7 Baha'is imprisoned in Iran\". Vests were also distributed to beach-side traders and passers-by who wished to identify themselves with the cause.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Representatives from government, religious communities and civil society organizations were among the 800 human rights supporters who gathered to call upon Iran to cease its persecution of Baha'is and other religious minorities.\n\nParticipants travelled from all over Brazil to take part in the rally, held at Rio's Copacabana Beach yesterday, some spending up to 15 hours on buses to get there.\n\nAlmost 8,000 images depicting the faces of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders were on display at the beach, corresponding to the number of days of detention the seven had suffered after three years in prison. The photographs were arranged in a large circle, representing the world, and the union of people of all races and nations.\n\nIn his remarks, Brazilian congressman Chico Alencar set the tone for the day's activities, saying, \"Religious freedom is something that cannot be touched.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A Jewish participant, Natan Klabin, agreed. \"We know well what it is to be persecuted because of one's religion, and thus we know how important it is to show solidarity with other repressed minorities,\" he said.\n\nBabalowa Ivanir dos Santos – representing the Afro-Brazilian religion, Candomble – spoke of the persecution his community has often faced. \"This is why we feel that we must protest against all kinds of religious intolerance. I hope one day we will no longer need to promote demonstrations like this one, in any country,\" said Mr. Santos.\n\nOne thousand yellow vests – printed with the phrases \"Today we are all Baha'is\" and \"Free the 7 Baha'is imprisoned in Iran\" – were distributed, along with leaflets about religious freedom. Musicians also contributed to the programme, performing songs on the themes of freedom and solidarity.\n\nBrazilian Baha'i Iradj Eghrari said that demonstrating solidarity among religions is essential to show the Iranian authorities that persecution is not only a matter of concern for Baha'is.\n\n\"If a person does not demonstrate support towards persecuted religious minorities, he or she may well be the next victim of religious intolerance,\" said Mr. Eghrari.\n\nThe seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders were members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community. After an illegal 30 month detention, they were tried on trumped-up charges and each sentenced in August 2010 to 20 years in jail."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575171-bwns83401.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In Brazil, human rights campaigners circle around almost 8,000 images depicting the faces of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, on Rio's Copacabana Beach. The photographs were arranged to represent the world, and the union of people of all races and nations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575171-bwns83402.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Campaigners handed out some 3,000 information leaflets about freedom of religion on Rio's Copacabana Beach, 19 June 2011. Many passers-by were curious and moved to join in the day's activities. \"Religious freedom is a global cause,\" said one of them, a student from Ireland. \"We must show our support to all who need it.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575168-bwns83403.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Almost 8,000 images depicting the faces of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders arranged on Rio's Copacabana Beach, 19 June 2011. The banner in front reads, \"Liberation for the 7 leaders\"."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":833,"relatedStoryCaption":"Iran's human rights record comes under scrutiny at a seminar held in the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":832,"relatedStoryCaption":"Tributes paid to co-founder of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":830,"relatedStoryCaption":"Experts highlight threats to freedom of religion or belief around the world."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":833,"evergreenUrl":"panel-explores-crisis-human-rights-iran","title":"Panel explores crisis of human rights in Iran","description":"Iran's human rights record has come under scrutiny at a seminar held in the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament. The panel discussion – which...","date":"2011-06-17","customDateline":false,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575135-83301.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575135-83301.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A panel discussion held at the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament on 15 June featured contributions from: (left to right) Nazila Ghanea, University of Oxford lecturer and editor of the \"Journal of Religion & Human Rights\"; Shadi Sadr, women's rights activist and lawyer; Louise Ellman MP, who chaired the panel; Mike Gapes MP; Khataza Gondwe of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, an advocacy group for the freedom of religious belief; and Omid Djalili, actor and comedian.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Iran's human rights record has come under scrutiny at a seminar held in the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament.\n\nThe panel discussion – which included members of Parliament, experts and human rights activists – was co-hosted by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is, along with human rights groups United4Iran and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).\n\n\"It is no exaggeration that the human rights situation in Iran is in crisis,\" said Nazila Ghanea, a lecturer at the University of Oxford and an editor of the *Journal of Religion & Human Rights*.\n\nDr. Ghanea charged the Iranian government with being \"the main engine of intolerance, hate and persecution,\" pointing out that the systematic campaign of religious persecution against Baha'is, and the harassment, imprisonment and torture faced by all minorities or vulnerable individuals, are \"instigated and perpetuated\" by the authorities.\n\nThe government is \"continually sending memoranda, laws, instructions and threats to civil servants, to universities, to teachers, to private businesses, instructing them to get rid of staff, students, and other individuals, who belong to 'deviant' groups, who are Baha'is, or who are politically active – who ask the wrong questions,\" said Dr. Ghanea.\n\nChildren are humiliated and bullied in schools, she added, \"not by other children, but under instruction of government authorities and by their teachers.\"\n\nDr. Ghanea noted that this repression is now targeting a \"wider and wider profile of people who are allegedly dissidents.\" In its prejudice against nearly the entire population, she said, \"the Iranian regime had failed...to recognise the rich diversity of Iranian civilisation.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Women's rights activist and lawyer Shadi Sadr, who was imprisoned in Iran, spoke of the grievous situation of women prisoners.\n\nThey are \"deprived of many rights that are given to them...in accordance with international law...and the laws of Iran,\" she said.\n\nMs. Sadr highlighted the extreme violence faced by women prisoners during interrogation which, through the fear it causes, inhibits the activism of women across the country.\n\nRecent years have also witnessed increased persecution against Christians in Iran.\n\nChristian Solidarity Worldwide's Khataza Gondwe referred to the Iranian authorities' practice of using hate speech against minorities, citing a \"prolific outpouring of inflammatory rhetoric\" against the Christian community. According to Dr Gondwe, the rhetoric claims that Christians had \"inserted themselves into Islam like a parasite,\" and were part of \"perverted cults\" and \"foreign conspiracies.\"\n\nRecalling the warmth and hospitality of ordinary Iranians he met during his visits to the country, Mike Gapes MP – a former member of the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee – contrasted the behaviour of the Iranian government in the interests of \"security\" with a \"young, dynamic, vibrant society\" that wants to \"engage with the world.\"\n\nOnly when the Iranian government recognises all of its ethnic and religious groups, and accords them equal rights, will Iran's security be assured, said Mr. Gapes.\n\n\"The biggest security is human security,\" he said.\n\nHeld on Wednesday 15 June, the seminar was the latest in a range of activities taking place around the world to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders. They were detained on baseless charges, convicted without evidence and in violation of due process, and are each serving 20-year jail sentences.\n\nA message sent to the seminar from leading human rights barrister, Cherie Blair QC, said Iran's imprisonment of the seven \"shames the country's leaders.\" Mrs. Blair called for the Iranian authorities to \"free the Baha'i leaders and comply with their commitment to religious freedom.\"\n\nAnglo-Iranian actor and comedian Omid Djalili – who was also on the panel – said that the seven were \"holding on to their personalities and their identities\" by staying true to their principles and faith. Mr. Djalili also praised the fortitude and perseverance of the Iranian Baha'i community as a whole.\n\nKishan Manocha, Director of the Office of Public Affairs of the UK Baha'i community, concluded that the seminar \"underlines the extent of the human rights crisis in Iran, and it reminds us that not only Baha'is but other religious minorities, women, journalists and others are subject to ongoing human rights violations.\"\n\n**Special Report - \"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\"**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders – their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing – and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran's Baha'i community. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575136-83302.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Omid Djalili, actor and comedian, addresses a seminar on human rights in Iran held at the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament on 15 June. Mr. Djalili praised the fortitude and perseverance of the Iranian Baha'i community. Seated beside him is Khataza Gondwe of Christian Solidarity Worldwide."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575135-83303.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Audience members at a seminar on human rights in Iran held at the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament. The seminar on 15 June was the latest in a range of activities taking place around the world to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders. The seven were detained on baseless charges, convicted without evidence and in violation of due process, and are each serving 20-year jail terms."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":832,"evergreenUrl":"exemplary-life-service-face-relentless-oppression","title":"Exemplary life of service \"in the face of relentless oppression\"","description":"Right up until his final moments, Valiollah Toosky's thoughts were in Iran, with his students and colleagues at the Baha'i Institute for Higher...","date":"2011-06-16","customDateline":false,"city":"SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575116-83200.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575116-83200.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Valiollah Toosky, Iranian Baha'i architect and educator, who died in California at the age of 55, after a six-month battle with brain cancer.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Right up until his final moments, Valiollah Toosky's thoughts were in Iran, with his students and colleagues at the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE).\n\nHis sister recalls in particular that, on the last day of his life, he was telephoning Iran from the United States where he had gone for medical treatment.  Foremost on his mind was the arrest of fellow faculty members.\n\n\"Right at noon, the very last phone call he ever made, was to his colleagues in Iran,\" said Bahereh Smith. \"His only concern was about how they were going to continue the BIHE. That was his last concern...\"\n\nA few hours later, 55 year old Mr. Toosky died, after a six month battle with brain cancer.\n\nMr. Toosky was well-known and well-loved for his dedication to his students and to the BIHE. He was a co-founder of the Institute, set up as an informal community initiative to provide for the education of young Baha'is officially barred from higher education. At the time of his death, Mr. Toosky was a coordinating member of the Institute's civil engineering and architecture departments.\n\nIt was no surprise, then, that more than 350 people gathered for his memorial service last weekend – held at the Baha'i Centre in San Clemente – to celebrate the life of a humble man, for whom service to others was the first priority.\n\n\"He believed that education is important,\" said Mr. Toosky's brother, Taraz. \"He was a good architect and knowledgeable person and he had this opportunity to do this type of service and he was good at it.\"\n\n\"He did anything they asked him. He did driving, he did cleaning, he did teaching. His home was open for the classes. He was providing food for the students. He was that type of person. He never said 'I just teach.' He did everything.\"\n\nMessages of condolence were received by Mr. Toosky's family from around the world.\n\nIn its announcement of his passing, the Architects Centre at Tehran University described Mr. Toosky as a \"dear colleague\" and \"beloved individual.\"\n\nThe Universal House of Justice – the head of the worldwide Baha'i community – recalled his \"many years of exemplary, steadfast service...in the face of relentless oppression...\"\n\nHis efforts, \"to educate Baha'i youth have left a rich and enduring legacy for future generations,\" wrote the Universal House of Justice on 10 June.\n\nMr. Toosky died on 31 May, just days after Iranian authorities raided more than 30 homes of Baha'is associated with the BIHE. Twelve staff and faculty members remain in prison, bringing the total number of Iranian Baha'is behind bars to almost 100.\n\nIran's Ministry of Science and Technology has now reportedly declared all activities of the BIHE to be illegal, in a move that attempts to legitimise its persecution of the Baha'is.\n\n*A \"source of courage\"*\n\n\"The experience of Mr. Toosky and his family reflects in many aspects the various methods of persecution that Iran's 300,000 Baha'is have been subjected to since the 1979 Islamic Revolution,\" said Farhad Sabetan, a spokesperson for the Baha'i International Community.\n\nMr. Toosky's father-in-law was the secretary of the local Baha'i assembly in Tehran before being abducted and murdered in 1980.\n\nFollowing an earlier attack by the Iranian government on the BIHE in 1998, Mr. Toosky was arrested and interrogated in prison for a few days.\n\nHis three sons have all been barred from entering higher education because of their beliefs. The eldest passed his university entrance exam with a very high mark but was never permitted to take up his place; the other two also both passed their exams only to be later rejected for having \"incomplete\" files, a common tactic used by the Iranian authorities to block Baha'i students.\n\nMr. Toosky's sister is the wife of Behrouz Tavakkoli, one of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, currently serving a 20-year jail sentence on trumped up charges.\n\n\"Despite enduring many hardships, Mr. Toosky was an extraordinary source of courage and reassurance to others, particularly to Baha'i prisoners and the families of Baha'is executed by the Iranian authorities,\" said Farhad Sabetan.\n\n\"He had a tremendous love for his homeland and longed to return there to assist the Baha'i youth with their education. That was the aspect of his life he cherished the most,\" said Dr. Sabetan.\n\nIn a tribute to Mr. Toosky sent from Iran to be read at his funeral, one of his students wrote, \"Perhaps if he had migrated to the west, he would have been offered a prestigious position in one of the universities there and would have lived a comfortable life. Perhaps if he had not stayed here to be subjected to physical and emotional abuse, he would be in perfect health and would be with his family now.\n\n\"Perhaps if he had not volunteered to undertake a number of stressful tasks, he would not have lost his health so soon.  There are a number of other 'maybes'; however, I am sure that if he had left, he would not have been given the opportunity to partake of a number of great services...\"\n\nAnother tribute read at the funeral, said: \"You left this world too soon; so quickly that we did not have a chance to make up for all the things you did for us in this earthly life. You trained us so well that, if we receive your continuous assistance, each one of us might have the ability to become another architect like Mr. Toosky.\"\n\n**Special Report**\n\nThe Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links.\n\nThe [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran.\n\nThe [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575116-83201.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Behrouz Tavakkoli, one of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders and Valiollah Toosky's brother-in-law, currently serving a 20-year jail sentence. Mr. Toosky had taught Mr. Tavakkoli carpentry skills after he was fired from his job as a government social worker for being a Baha'i."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background materials"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent articles on the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":831,"relatedStoryCaption":"Governments, organisations and educators condemn Iran's latest attack on initiative offering education to young Baha'is."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":827,"relatedStoryCaption":"Raids are element of wider strategy of persecution."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":825,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'is who offer educational programme to youth barred from university arrested in attack on their homes."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":831,"evergreenUrl":"worldwide-outrage-irans-attack-bahai-educators","title":"Worldwide outrage at Iran's attack on Baha'i educators","description":"Governments, organisations and educators have condemned Iran's latest attack on an initiative offering higher education to young Baha'is barred...","date":"2011-06-14","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760338-83100.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760338-83100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The 16 Baha'is detained after Iranian authorities raided homes associated with staff and faculty of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education. Four of them have since been released. They are Vahid Mokhtari – pictured second row, far left; Sadaf Sabetian – second row, third from left; Amir-Houshang Amirtabar – third row, far left; and Soheil Ghanbari – third row, third from left.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Governments, organisations and educators have condemned Iran's latest attack on an initiative offering higher education to young Baha'is barred from university.\n\nThe government of Austria, more than 80 prominent Indians, and top academics from the United Kingdom, are among the latest to voice their support for Iranian Baha'is' right to education. Human rights groups have also joined the call for the release of imprisoned Baha'i educators.\n\nSome 39 homes associated with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) have recently been targeted. Twelve BIHE staff and faculty members remain in prison, three weeks after initial raids. Five others were also arrested and subsequently released, while more Baha'is associated with the Institute were summoned for interrogation by the Ministry of Intelligence.\n\n\"The latest house searches and arrests demonstrate a further effort in order to block access to education for the Baha'i community,\" said Michael Spindelegger, **Austria**'s Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister.\n\n\"The right to education is a fundamental human right for everyone, independent of his or her religion. The restriction of access to education for young Baha'is is unacceptable.\"\n\n\"To persecute people because of their Faith is a clear violation against human rights. Iran must observe its international obligations,\" Dr. Spindelegger said, on 1 June.\n\nIran's Ministry of Science and Technology has now reportedly declared all BIHE activities to be illegal.\n\n\"Barring Baha'is from university exposes the government's own ignorance,\" a group of leading academics in **England** wrote in an [open letter](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/11/iran-bahai-right-higher-education), published in *The Guardian* on 11 June.\n\n\"Young Baha'is who cannot study are denied a basic human right,\" the letter said. \"Their desire to contribute to society is being strangled at the start of their adult lives.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Academics, students and politicians should join common cause for Baha'i students in Iran. The authorities must be taught that human rights are universal,\" wrote the signatories, who included professors from Oxford, Cambridge and other prestigious universities.\n\nIn **India**, more than 80 prominent citizens – representing the judiciary, academics, religious leadership, NGOs, human rights groups and the corporate sector – have signed a [petition to the Iranian Government](http://www.bahai.in/news/national-news-of-the-bahais-of-india/petition-to-the-iranian-government-for-immediate-release-of-the-staff-and-faculty-of-the-bahai-institute-of-higher-education.html) calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the BIHE prisoners.\n\n\"The recent atrocities heaped upon this persecuted community...deserves the strongest condemnation from every upholder of human dignity and honour in India and the world,\" says the petition, whose signatories include Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, a former judge of India's Supreme Court, and Miloon Kothari, a former UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing.\n\n\"The consequences of this policy of disallowing the Baha'i youth to have access to higher education will be detrimental not only for the Baha'i community of Iran, but also for the nation as a whole.\"\n\n**Christian Solidarity Worldwide** (CSW) is also urging Iran to end its discriminatory educational policies. \"Despite being a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), by which countries pledge to uphold international standards of religious freedom for all citizens, Iran is clearly targeting both the Baha'is and certain Christian communities solely on account of their beliefs,\" said CSW's chief executive, Mervyn Thomas.\n\n\"CSW calls on the Iranian government to honour its commitments under the ICCPR and ensure that religious minorities are able to enjoy the freedoms outlined within the covenant.\"\n\nIn the **United States**, Senator Mark Kirk – who earlier this year introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution criticizing Iran's persecution of Baha'is – said the international community must \"strongly condemn\" the latest arrests.  \"I pledge to redouble our efforts in the Senate on behalf of the Iranian Baha'i community and all citizens of Iran who yearn for human rights, freedom and democracy,\" said Senator Kirk.\n\nA seminar – held at the University of California, Berkeley, on 22 April – highlighted the issue of human rights abuses in Iran, including the barring of Baha'is and others from higher education. The audience of academic staff, students and guests included Brazilians, Anglo-Americans, Nicaraguans, Salvadorians, and Afghanis.\n\nFiruzeh Mahmoudi, co-founder and executive director of **United4Iran**, spoke of the courage of a number of recently imprisoned students in Iran.\n\nThe Iranian government has breached its international human rights obligations in many ways, said Ms. Mahmoudi, including \"freedom of expression, freedom of association, belief, religion, privacy, right to participation in public forums, gatherings and protests; freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention; right to due process and fair trials; freedom from torture; from movement – that means being able to leave Iran, right to membership and participation.\"\n\n**The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran** and the **U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom** have also demanded the release of the prisoners. See [https://news.bahai.org/story/827](/story/827).\n\nAmong the articles about the attack on the BIHE in the world's media, reports have appeared in **Brazil**'s *O Globo* newspaper, *The Washington Post* and on **Australia**'s ABC radio, as well as on the websites of CNN International, *University World News*, Radio Free Europe, and *The Huffington Post*.\n\nThe situation of the Baha'is in Iran will further be highlighted on Wednesday 15 June at a seminar to be held in the **United Kingdom**'s Houses of Parliament, and on Sunday 19 June at a major event organized by Rio's Commission for Combating Religious Intolerance, in Rio de Janeiro, **Brazil**.\n\n(Article updated 16 June 2011. The original caption for the lead photograph reported the release of only one of the detainees.)\n\n**Special Report**\n\nThe Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links.\n\nThe [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran.\n\nThe [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760338-83101.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Governments, human rights organizations and people of good will around the world are calling on Iran to release some 15 Baha'i educators, who have now been imprisoned for more than three weeks. Among the articles about the arrests, reports have appeared in Brazil's 'O Globo' newspaper, and on the websites of CNN International and 'University World News.'"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760338-83102.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In the Netherlands, a postcard campaign has been launched to draw attention to the long history of Iran's suppression of Baha'i educational initiatives."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background materials"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related stories from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":830,"relatedStoryCaption":"Experts highlight the degree to which freedom of religion or belief is threatened around the world."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":827,"relatedStoryCaption":"Raids against Baha'is offering higher education are part of wider strategy."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":825,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'is who offer educational programme to youth barred from university, arrested in attack on their homes."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":830,"evergreenUrl":"bahai-question-cited-european-parliament-human-rights-hearing","title":"\"Baha'i Question\" cited at European Parliament human rights hearing","description":"Victims of religious intolerance are not just people deprived of the right to practice their faith – they suffer abuses in every aspect of their...","date":"2011-05-31","customDateline":false,"city":"BRUSSELS","country":"BELGIUM","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575066-83001.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575066-83001.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A hearing held before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, on 26 May 2011, included presentations from: (left to right) Penelope Faulkner – a member of the European Platform on Religious Discrimination and Intolerance (EPRID); Sarah Vader – representative of the Baha'i International Community to the European Union; and Heiner Bielefeldt – United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Victims of religious intolerance are not just people deprived of the right to practice their faith – they suffer abuses in every aspect of their daily lives.\n\nThis observation was made at a hearing held before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights.\n\nPenelope Faulkner – a member of the European Platform on Religious Discrimination and Intolerance (EPRID) – highlighted the degree to which freedom of religion or belief is threatened around the world.\n\nIt is a \"massive problem,\" said Ms. Faulkner. \"Especially in countries where the state...incites hatred, religious minorities are defenceless.\n\n\"They lose their rights, their livelihood and, in many cases, their lives.\"\n\n\"This is the case of the Baha'i in Iran where the authorities implement a systematic plan to deal with what they call the 'Baha'i Question' – with specific directives to block access to education, confiscate property, deny employment and deny citizenship rights to anyone known to be Baha'i,\" said Ms. Faulkner.\n\nHer comments came just days after some 16 individuals were arrested in Iran for trying to operate an informal university to provide education to Baha'is who have been barred from higher education by the government. See [https://news.bahai.org/story/827](/story/827).\n\nMs. Faulkner also noted that recent research has found that 70% of the world's population is living in places where religious freedom is restricted or abused.\n\n\"It is in every continent, every community, including Europe. The devastating toll of the human suffering in recent months shows that EU policies in this area are not only needed but much overdue,\" she said.\n\n*\"Human beings are responsible\"*\n\nThe United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, told the hearing that he sees such violations on a daily basis.\n\n\"And what shocks me most is the degree of hatred against religious minorities between communities – hatred often nourished by a paradoxical combination of fear sometimes bordering paranoia and contempt,\" said Professor Bielefeldt.\n\nBut such hatreds can be overcome, he said.\n\n\"After all, it is human beings who are responsible, human beings who also can change, groups of human beings who can also evolve in their conviction. This is something we must always take into account.\"\n\nProfessor Bielefeldt told the hearing – held on 26 May – that freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, which must be also interpreted to encompass the broadest interpretation of religion.\n\n\"You see lots of countries in various regions of the world that promise freedom of religion or belief in their constitution then say, 'O.K. There are three options – you can be Jewish, Christian, Muslim. Period.'\n\n\"Sometimes it's five options. Sometimes it's six options. Sometimes it's no religions. But the starting point – if you really stick to the universalistic nature of human rights – must be the dignity of human beings and their self-understanding.\n\n\"If you know human beings, their self-understanding is very, very, very diverse,\" he said.\n\nBut, Professor Bielefeldt noted, the United Nations treaties concerning the issue clearly state that freedom of religion or belief  \"protects theistic, non-theistic, atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief...This is the universalistic spirit, and not only spirit but also letter of human rights and freedom of religion. And this is really under threat.\"\n\n*A broader context*\n\nAlso on the panel was the Baha'i International Community's representative to the European Union, Sarah Vader. She suggested that freedom of religion or belief should be considered in a \"broader context of democracy and human rights protection.\"\n\n\"The EU should pay particular attention to being inclusive and fair, enabling the participation of all – including those more vulnerable groups such as women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities,\" said Ms. Vader, who was also speaking on behalf of EPRID, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in support of freedom of religion or belief of which the Baha'i International Community is a member.\n\n\"In relation to the EU's future policy on freedom of religion or belief, it is necessary for the process to be open, transparent and inclusive, and find a way of involving civil society at different levels, whether it be here in Brussels or at the level of capitals and delegations at the EU,\" she said.\n\nMs. Vader offered a series of recommendations by which the EU could improve its overall monitoring and approach to freedom of religion or belief, such as by establishing a special envoy for religious freedom and preparing an annual report on the progress worldwide made towards freedom of religion or belief.\n\n**Special Report**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran. *\n\n*The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Latest Baha'i World News Service stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":829,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'i representatives join call for bold action on the pressing problems facing humanity."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":828,"relatedStoryCaption":"Director General of UNESCO speaks of challenges facing multi-cultural societies."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":827,"relatedStoryCaption":"Raids against Baha'is offering higher education are part of wider strategy."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":829,"evergreenUrl":"religions-unite-urge-g8-leaders-take-bold-action-global-issues","title":"Religions unite to urge G8 leaders to take bold action on global issues","description":"Representatives of the Baha'i Faith have joined a call for the G8 bloc of nations to take bold action on the interconnected crises faced by humanity....","date":"2011-05-31","customDateline":false,"city":"BORDEAUX","country":"FRANCE","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575050-bwns82901.gif"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575050-bwns82901.gif"},"imageDescription":"Some 30 senior religious representatives gathered at the G8 Religious Summit in Bordeaux, 23-24 May 2011, the seventh in a series of interfaith gatherings aimed at identifying areas of moral consensus among religions.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Representatives of the Baha'i Faith have joined a call for the G8 bloc of nations to take bold action on the interconnected crises faced by humanity.\n\nTwo Baha'i delegates gathered with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto and Sikh colleagues, as well as members of interfaith organisations, at the Religious Summit in Bordeaux to deliberate on matters related to the agendas of the G8 Deauville Summit and the G20 Cannes Summit, scheduled for 3-4 November 2011.\n\nSummit Moderator His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis, Co-President of the Council of Churches of France, told participants that they were face-to-face not just as religious leaders but as representatives of humanity, speaking with one voice to the leaders of the G8 and G20 countries.\n\nThat voice was heard in a unanimously agreed statement drafted at the meeting and later presented to the Secretary General of the G8.\n\nIn addition to recommendations on five major themes – reforming global governance, the macro-economic situation, climate change, development, and investing in peace – the statement called for representatives from the African continent and the Middle East to be included in the G8 and the G20 meetings.\n\n\"Our diverse backgrounds and experience enriched our consultation,\" the statement said.\n\n\"The trauma of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster described by our Japanese colleagues, the experience and aspirations of our friends from countries in the Middle East and the deep concern of our African colleagues at the continued marginalization of their voice underlined the urgency of the issues under consideration.\"\n\nThe statement concluded by urging the G8 and G20 \"to continue to expand and strengthen the needed global response to global challenges.\"\n\n\"We – leaders of diverse religious communities throughout the world – re-commit ourselves to working together across religious lines for the common good and with governments and other partners of good will. We remain convinced – each in accordance with the teachings of their tradition – that justice, compassion and reconciliation are essential for genuine peace,\" the statement said.\n\n*Baha'i representation*\n\n\"The participants in this Summit demonstrated a sincere desire to find a way to translate the spiritual principles that inform their worldview into concrete and practical recommendations that would assist G8 leaders to address the challenges facing humanity,\" said Baha'i representative Susanne Tamas from Canada.\n\n\"The genuine respect and keen interest with which people listened to one another and sought to deepen their understanding of complex issues was very impressive,\" said Ms. Tamas.\n\nFellow Baha'i delegate Barney Leith, from the United Kingdom, agreed.\n\n\"The spirit of unity that infused the gathering was deeply moving,\" he said.\n\n\"There was a strong sense in which all those at the Summit understood themselves to be part of a single human family and to be utterly committed to reminding leaders of powerful nations of their moral commitment to reducing human suffering.\"\n\nThe G8 Religious Leaders Summit was held in Bordeaux on the 23-24 May. It was the seventh in a series of interfaith gatherings aimed at identifying areas of moral consensus among religions. Previous Summits were held prior to each G8 Summit in the United Kingdom (2005), Russia (2006), Germany (2007), Japan (2008), Italy (2009) and Canada (2010)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575050-bwns82902.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Representatives of the Baha'i, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto and Sikh faiths, with members of interfaith organisations, at the G8 Religious Summit in Bordeaux, 23-24 May 2011. Baha'i delegates were Susanne Tamas (far right) and Barney Leith (back row, third from right). Photo by Religions for Peace."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Statement from the G8 Religious Summit"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(Download PDF here)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/829_bordeaux-summit-statement.pdf]","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"From the Baha'i World News Service archive"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":779,"relatedStoryCaption":"Global concerns require \"inspired leadership and action.\""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":772,"relatedStoryCaption":"Discussion held for UN Commission on Sustainable Development."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":824,"relatedStoryCaption":"Focusing on material aspects of problem is not long-term solution."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":828,"evergreenUrl":"unesco-chief-inaugurates-square-tolerance-peace-haifa","title":"UNESCO chief inaugurates square for tolerance and peace in Haifa","description":"In the Middle East, Haifa is known as one of the region's most ethnically and religiously diverse cities, including Jews, Christians, Muslims,...","date":"2011-05-30","customDateline":false,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575024-82801.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575024-82801.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, addressing a ceremony held at the entrance plaza to the Baha'i gardens in Haifa, on 29 May 2011. The reception marked the inauguration of the UNESCO for Tolerance and Peace Square, immediately in front of the gardens, at the top of Haifa's historic German Templer colony. \"If wars start in the minds of men; it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed,\" said Ms. Bokova, citing the UNESCO manifesto.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In the Middle East, Haifa is known as one of the region's most ethnically and religiously diverse cities, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze and Baha'is among its residents.\n\nAnd so it was fitting that on her first visit to the Baha'i gardens here, the Director General of UNESCO spoke of the challenges facing multi-cultural societies.\n\n\"Managing diversity raises some of the most difficult questions of this 21st century – inside our societies and outside, with our neighbours and globally,\" said Irina Bokova, formerly the Foreign Affairs Minister for Bulgaria.\n\nMs. Bokova was speaking at a special ceremony held in the Baha'i gardens to inaugurate the UNESCO for Tolerance and Peace Square, situated at the point where Haifa's historic German Templer colony meets the terraced gardens of the Shrine of the Bab.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The newly-named square in Haifa will \"stand for the tolerance and the peace that we seek to build and to deepen – in this region, and across the world,\" she remarked.\n\n\"I am more than convinced that the only ways to build a more peaceful and equitable world are through education and dialogue – to deepen understanding, to strengthen mutual respect and to prepare the ground for reconciliation...\" said Ms. Bokova who, in October 2009, became the first woman to head the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.\n\n\"If wars start in the minds of men; it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed,\" she said, citing the UNESCO manifesto.\n\nThe ceremony also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the official opening in May 2001 of the garden terraces of the Shrine of the Bab. In 2008, a UNESCO committee meeting held in Quebec, Canada – at which Ms. Bokova was present – decided to inscribe the Shrine and terraces, along with the Shrine of Baha'u'llah near Acre, on the World Heritage list, as sites of \"outstanding universal value.\"\n\nFuture development plans for the UNESCO for Tolerance and Peace Square include upgraded stonework and decorative floral plantings in the centre of its traffic circle, establishing a symbolic bridge between the German Templer colony and the Baha'i gardens.\n\nSecretary General of the Baha'i International Community, Albert Lincoln, welcomed Ms. Bokova to the ceremony, along with other invited guests including the Mayor of Haifa, Advocate Yona Yahav; the Most Reverend Dr. Elias Chacour, Archbishop Metropolitan of the Melkite Catholic Church for Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee; and other representatives of Haifa's Arab and Jewish communities.\n\n\"Haifa really is a city of peace and a living example of how the Middle East could and should be,\" said Dr. Lincoln, describing as \"normality\" the wide variety of religious, ethnic and cultural groups who live and work side by side in the city.\n\n\"Normality need not explain itself, but perhaps we do need to remind ourselves and others from time to time of its essential foundations,\" said Dr. Lincoln.\n\n\"The human race, with all its diversity, is one family...\" he said. \"But even in the city of peace, normality cannot be taken for granted. It needs nurturing and defence.\"\n\nThanking Ms. Bokova and her staff for their work, Dr. Lincoln concluded, \"UNESCO plays a leading role in the critical work of nurturing and defending this kind of normality all around the world by promoting peace, education and the recognition of the universal values in the infinite diversity of the world's cultures.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575024-82802.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A road sign, in Arabic, English and Hebrew, for the UNESCO for Tolerance and Peace Square is unveiled in Haifa, Israel, 29 May 2011, in the presence of: (front row, from left to right) the Most Reverend Dr. Elias Chacour – Archbishop Metropolitan of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church for Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee; Dr. Albert Lincoln – Secretary General of the Baha'i International Community; Ms. Irina Bokova – Director General of UNESCO; and Advocate Yona Yahav, Mayor of Haifa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575025-82803.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An artist's rendition of future plans for the UNESCO for Tolerance and Peace Square, in front of Haifa's Baha'i gardens. Proposals to enhance the site include upgraded stonework and decorative floral plantings in the centre of its traffic circle, establishing a symbolic bridge between the German Templer colony and the Baha'i gardens."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543575026-82804.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Albert Lincoln, Secretary General of the Baha'i International Community, addressing a ceremony held at the entrance plaza to the Baha'i gardens, Haifa, on 29 May 2011. \"Haifa really is a city of peace and a living example of how the Middle East could and should be,\" said Mr. Lincoln."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Stories from the Baha'i World Centre"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":816,"relatedStoryCaption":"Golden-domed Baha'i Shrine unveiled after more than two years of restoration work."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":797,"relatedStoryCaption":"Garden offers glimpse into industrial and spiritual life of Acre and environs."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":642,"relatedStoryCaption":"UN committee determines Baha'i Holy Places possess \"outstanding universal value\"."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":827,"evergreenUrl":"arrests-are-part-official-campaign-block-development-iranian-bahais","title":"Arrests are part of official campaign to block development of Iranian Baha'is","description":"The series of raids carried out on some 30 homes of Baha'is, who were offering education to young community members barred by the government...","date":"2011-05-25","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760306-82701.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760306-82701.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Human rights supporters have issued a poster depicting some of those staff of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education who have been arrested in Iran. They were offering education to young community members barred by the government from attending university.","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The series of raids carried out on some 30 homes of Baha'is, who were offering education to young community members barred by the government from university, is the latest action in Iran's ongoing policy to keep its largest non-Muslim religious minority on the margins of society.\n\nSince the 1979 Islamic revolution, Baha'is have been systematically deprived of higher education. With nowhere else to turn, the community initiated its own educational programmes.\n\n\"The Iranian authorities are clearly determined to make it impossible for the Baha'i community to educate its youth whose opportunities are blocked by the state,\" said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"Denying people the right to education is a denial of their right to exist as free and productive human beings – and to make a contribution to their society,\" she said.\n\nSome 16 Baha'is were arrested on, or after, Saturday 21 May. One has since been released. Eight other Baha'is were interrogated by Intelligence Ministry officers and released afterwards.\n\n\"This action demonstrates the lengths to which Iran is willing to go in its campaign to demoralize Baha'i youth, erode their educational hopes and eradicate the Baha'i community as a viable group within their country,\" said Bani Dugal.\n\nShe also pointed out that, in pursuing its policy, the Iranian government is flagrantly abusing international law.\n\nUnder the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, \"everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.\"\n\nArticle 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes \"the right of everyone to education,\" and that, \"higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity.\"\n\n\"Iran ratified both Covenants in 1975,\" noted Ms. Dugal.\n\n*\"Shameless persecution\"*\n\nInitial news of the arrests has provoked condemnation from governments, non-governmental organizations, human rights activists, and others.\n\nThe International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) has called for the immediate release of the prisoners.\n\n\"These attacks on the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education must stop and authorities should immediately release Baha'is recently detained,\" said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the ICHRI.\n\n\"Iran's discrimination against Baha'is in the sphere of education is part of an ongoing policy of religious persecution and a clear violation of its international obligations,\" he added.\n\nThe chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Leonard Leo, said, \"The Iranian government will stop at nothing in its shameless persecution of the Baha'is in Iran.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"It's not enough that authorities already have a policy in place preventing Baha'is from attending Iranian universities – the government is now systematically trying to dismantle the Baha'i community's internal initiative to ensure that its youth have the opportunity to get an education beyond high school.\"\n\nWith these arrests, said Mr. Leo, \"the number of Baha'is currently imprisoned is approaching 100, a number not seen in more than two decades.\"\n\n*\"Progress and development blocked\"*\n\nDuring the years immediately following the 1979 Islamic revolution, large numbers of young Baha'is were expelled from education. At the college-level, the ban was virtually total.\n\nThe brutal targeting of Baha'is by the new regime – including the execution of more than 200 prominent members – was met with widespread international criticism, including a series of UN resolutions condemning Iran's human rights violations.\n\nThe government softened its approach, allowing elementary and secondary schoolchildren back into school. But university students remained excluded.\n\nThat the government's hope through such policies was to see Iran's 300,000 Baha'is vanish into obscurity – while evading international sanctions – was confirmed with the discovery of a secret memorandum that outlined a plan to \"block\" the \"progress and development\" of the Baha'i community.\n\nThat memorandum, signed in 1991 by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, specified a series of repressive measures against Baha'is, including expelling students from universities if they are discovered to be Baha'is.\n\n*The Baha'i Institute for Higher Education*\n\nA simple mechanism was employed to exclude Baha'is from higher education. Everyone who took national university entrance exams was asked to declare their religion. Applicants who were not one of the four officially recognized religions in Iran – Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism – were turned away.\n\nBaha'is sought to mitigate the effects of the ban by initiating their own community education programme in the late 1980s, known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). Baha'i professors and lecturers who had been dismissed from their positions gave freely of their time and experience to teach Baha'i students at home and via correspondence courses.\n\n\"The Iranian government has made repeated attempts to bring to a halt this quiet, peaceful and vital initiative,\" explained Bani Dugal.\n\nIn 1998, government agents arrested at least 36 people after raiding more than 500 homes, and confiscated much of the BIHE's equipment and records. The raids drew considerable international condemnation.\n\nIn an apparent response to the pressure, Iran officially announced in late 2003 that it would drop the declaration of religious affiliation on university application forms.\n\n*Continuing prohibition*\n\nSince that time, Iranian government officials have claimed their educational system is open to Baha'is and free of discriminatory practices.\n\nBut a variety of means have been devised to obstruct Baha'is entering higher education. These have included creating barriers to admission in the national computer system and widespread efforts to expel Baha'is if they manage to enrol in classes.\n\nOne young Baha'i recently told the ICHRI, \"I was barred from education even before enrolling as an undergraduate. Instead of receiving my college entrance exam results, the phrase 'your file is incomplete' was sent to me and thus I never got the chance to enrol.\"\n\nIn 2006, a confidential communication from the director general of the Central Security Office of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology – which oversees all of Iran's state-run universities – instructed 81 universities to expel any Baha'i students.\n\n\"[I]f the identity of Baha'i individuals becomes known at the time of enrolment or during the course of their studies, they must be expelled from university,\" stated the letter.\n\nExpulsions have occurred in the past few months in Tehran, Yazd, Mazandaran and Isfahan. In a number of cases, the action was carried out shortly before Baha'i students were about to take final exams.\n\nA Baha'i who was studying engineering in Yazd was recently denied access to his online student account after his name was deleted from the system. The National Education Measurement and Evaluation Organization in Tehran informed him that Baha'is have no right to higher education. When he requested a written document stating the reason for his expulsion, he was refused.\n\nWith few other options open to them, many young Baha'is continued to carry out their studies with the BIHE.\n\n\"Blocking access to education may superficially appear to be of less concern than physical attacks on the community or the imprisonment of its leaders,\" said Bani Dugal, \"but the consequences of the policy will resonate for generations.\"\n\n\"These injustices are a reflection of the terrible oppression that has engulfed the whole of Iran. Large numbers of young people are being excluded from higher education based on their political or religious beliefs, or the exercise of their freedom of expression,\" she said.\n\n\"Our call is for the Baha'is of Iran – and all who are the victims of such abuse – to be granted their full rights of citizenship so they may fulfil their heartfelt aspiration to contribute to the advancement of their nation.\n\n\"Showing respect now for the rights of the Iranian Baha'is would signal a willingness on the part of the authorities to respect the rights of all their citizens,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\nThe sixteen Baha'is (and their cities of residence) arrested on, or after, Saturday 21 May are Afrouz Farmanbordari (Gohardasht); Foad Moghaddam (Isfahan); Vahid Mahmoudi, Vahid Mokhtari, Farhad Sedghi, and Ramin Zibaie (Karaj); Amir-Houshang Amirtabar, Navid Asadi, and Sadaf Sabetian (Sari); Amanollah Mostaghim (Shiraz); Mahmoud Badavam, Soheil Ghanbari, Noushin Khadem, Kamran Mortezaie, and Shahin Negari (Tehran); and Danial Oji (city of residence unknown). It is understood that Vahid Mokhtari has already been released.\n\n**Special Report**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran. *\n\n*The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760306-82702.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A 2006 confidential communication from the director general of the Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology – which oversees all state-run universities – instructed 81 universities to expel any Baha'i students. \"[I]f the identity of Baha'i individuals becomes known at the time of enrolment or during the course of their studies, they must be expelled from university,\" stated the letter."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760306-82703.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A letter dated 2 November 2006 – issued on the letterhead of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology – in which Payame Noor University's Central Protection Office told its regional branches that it is official policy that \"Baha'is cannot enroll in universities and higher education centres\" and \"if they are already enrolled they should be expelled.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760307-82704.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is who have sought redress from the courts over unjustified dismissal from university or \"incomplete files\", have been met with decisions containing blanket statements such as \"the grievance is not recognized\" and \"the complaint is rejected.\" Both documents shown here conclude with the sentence, \"This court order is final.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ManualContentRecord","inlineHtml":"<div id=\"relateddocuments\">\n<h5>Original documents</h5>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"documentTitle\">2006 letter from Ministry of Science, Research and Technology instructing 81 universities to expel Baha'i students.</li>\n<li class=\"pdf\"><a href=\"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/575/1_LetterFromMinistriesToUniversities.pdf\">Document 1: Persian original</a> (Adobe Acrobat 597KB)</li>\n<li class=\"pdf\"><a href=\"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/575/1_LetterFromMinistriesToUniversities_en.pdf\">Document 1: English translation</a> (Adobe Acrobat 46KB)</li>\n</ul>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"documentTitle\">1991 memorandum, signed by Iran's Supreme Leader, specifying repressive measures against Baha'is</li>\n<li class=\"pdf\"><a href=\"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/575/5_TheISRCCdocument.pdf\">Document 2: Persian original</a> (Adobe Acrobat 58KB)</li>\n<li class=\"pdf\"><a href=\"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/575/5_TheISRCCdocument_en.pdf\">Document 2: English translation</a> (Adobe Acrobat 21KB)</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>Background</h5>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"relatedlink\"><a href=\"/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/\">Special Report: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is</a></li>\n<li class=\"relatedlink\"><a href=\"http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution\">History of persecution of Bah&aacute;&iacute;s in Iran &ndash; 1844 to present: A short summary</a></li>\n</ul>\n</div>\n<div class=\"related-stories sidecontentdotted\">\n<h5>Recent articles on Iran</h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"/story/826/\">Two Iranian Baha'i leaders returned to Evin prison</a>\n<p class=\"small\">The two women amongst Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders have been returned to Tehran's notorious Evin prison. The transfer followed a brief spell at Qarchak prison.</p>\n</li>\n<li><a href=\"/story/825/\">Baha'i educational programme targeted in raids</a>\n<p class=\"small\">Coordinated series of raids carried out on the homes of Baha'is, active in offering higher education programme to young members who are barred from university.</p>\n</li>\n<li><a href=\"/story/823/\">Three years on, Iran's imprisoned Baha'i leaders symbolize the oppression of a nation</a>\n<p class=\"small\">Injustices recalled at special gatherings around the world.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n</div>"}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":826,"evergreenUrl":"two-iranian-bahai-leaders-returned-evin-prison","title":"Two Iranian Baha'i leaders returned to Evin prison","description":"The two women amongst Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders have been returned to Tehran's notorious Evin prison. The Baha'i International Community...","date":"2011-05-25","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760280-82601.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760280-82601.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Fariba Kamalabadi, left, and Mahvash Sabet, right. The Baha'i International Community has confirmed that they have been transported back to Evin prison in Tehran from Qarchak prison.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The two women amongst Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders have been returned to Tehran's notorious Evin prison.\n\nThe Baha'i International Community has confirmed that Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet are now back behind bars in the jail where their incarceration began three years ago.\n\nThe transfer of the two women to Evin followed a brief spell held in reportedly appalling conditions at Qarchak prison, some 45 kilometers from Tehran.\n\nIt is understood that family members of the two prisoners have now been able to visit them at Evin.\n\nMrs. Sabet and Mrs. Kamalabadi – along with five male colleagues – were members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community. After an illegal 30 month detention in Evin, they were tried on trumped-up charges and each sentenced in August 2010 to 20 years in jail.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Following the trial, the seven were sent to Gohardasht prison, where the five men are still being held under close scrutiny in a wing reserved for political prisoners.\n\n*Global support*\n\nAn ongoing series of events is marking the third anniversary of the detention of the seven Baha'i leaders. See [https://news.bahai.org/story/823](/story/823).\n\nIn India, more than 250 supporters gathered for a Solidarity Concert, held at the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi.\n\nEmmy award-winning journalist Rohit Gandhi informed the audience of a campaign in which more than 100 prominent Indians have petitioned the Iranian authorities to release the seven, as well as others in Iran who have been unjustly imprisoned.\n\n\"Today this is the support of those representing the members of parliament, judiciary, members of legislative assemblies, religious leadership, academics, artists, human rights organizations, media and other civil society agencies,\" said Mr. Gandhi, calling upon India and the world community to impress upon Iran to treat all its citizens with justice.\n\nThe Baha'is  in Iran are truly reflecting the face of the Iranian public, he said.\n\nAlso present at the concert, held on 18 May, was Farah Motallebi from Orissa – a niece of Fariba Kamalabadi – who spoke of the 7,734 days spent in jail by the seven, under harsh physical and psychological conditions.\n\n\"They were imprisoned only because they were Baha'is,\" said Mrs. Motallebi.\n\n**Special Report - \"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\"**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders - their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing - and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran's Baha'i community. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760280-82602.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Farah Motallebi – a niece of Iranian Baha'i prisoner Fariba Kamalabadi – addresses an audience of some 250 people at a Solidarity Concert held at the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, India, 18 May 2011, to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of the seven Baha'i leaders, pictured behind her. Mrs. Motallebi called for Iran to uphold human rights and justice for all its citizens, irrespective of their affiliation to any belief, religion or ideology."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760280-82603.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Emmy award-winning journalist Rohit Gandhi was a speaker at a Solidarity Concert held at the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, 18 May 2011, to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders. Mr. Gandhi told the gathering that he believed that the Baha'is in Iran are reflecting the face of the Iranian public."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760281-82604.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Acclaimed dancer Sumina Das was a performer at a Solidarity Concert held at the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, 18 May 2011, to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders. Her performance ended with an invocation from Hindu scriptures which says: \"Whenever there is a rise of unrighteousness or the decline of righteousness, I, the Lord, will come for the protection of good, destruction of wicked and establishment of righteousness from age to age.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760280-82605.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Sitar master, Azeem Ahmed Alvi, pictured right, performing at a solidarity concert held at the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, 18 May 2011, to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report)[http/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent articles on Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":825,"relatedStoryCaption":"Coordinated series of raids carried out on the homes of Baha'is, active in offering higher education programme to young members who are barred from university."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":823,"relatedStoryCaption":"Injustices recalled at special gatherings around the world."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":821,"relatedStoryCaption":"As the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders complete their third year in jail, the two women amongst them are transferred to another prison."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":825,"evergreenUrl":"bahai-educational-programme-targeted-raids","title":"Baha'i educational programme targeted in raids","description":"A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha'is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher...","date":"2011-05-22","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573456-bihe.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573456-bihe.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was established in 1987 as a community initiative to meet the educational needs of young Baha'is who have been systematically denied access to higher education by the Iranian government.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha'is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education programme for young members who are barred from university.\n\nReports indicate that raids took place on Saturday 21 May on as many as 30 homes  in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. It is now understood that some 14 Baha’is have been arrested.\n\n\"All of the targets were homes of individuals closely involved with the operations of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education,\" said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\nThe Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was established in 1987 as a community initiative to meet the educational needs of young Baha'is who have been systematically denied access to higher education by the Iranian government. The BIHE has been described by the *New York Times* as \"an elaborate act of communal self-preservation.\"\n\n\"The Institute has been a remarkably creative – and entirely non-violent – response to the Iranian government's on-going effort to stifle the normal human development of the Baha'i community,\" said Ms. Ala'i.\n\n\"The Iranian authorities – not content with debarring Baha'is from university solely on account of their religious beliefs – are now cruelly seeking to shut down the community's efforts to provide its youth with higher education through alternative means.\n\n\"The government's actions are utterly unjustifiable,\" said Ms. Ala'i.\n\nThis is not the first time that the BIHE has come under attack from Iranian authorities. One of the biggest blows was a series of sweeping raids carried out in 1998 during which some 36 members of the BIHE's faculty and staff were arrested, and much of its equipment and records – located in more than 500 homes – was taken. Other actions against the operations of BIHE were carried out in 2001 and 2002.\n\nThese attacks – and Iran's general policy prohibiting young Baha'is from entering higher education – have been met with strong condemnation by governments, academics, UN agencies, civil society organizations and others.\n\nAmong the numerous actions taken, university professors and chaplains around the world have sent letters of protest to the UN Secretary-General and the leaders of Iran; in 2006, the president of Princeton university in the United States raised the matter with the Iranian representative to the UN; Spain's House of Deputies has passed a strongly-worded resolution on the situation; Wolfson College, Oxford, also voted through a resolution in November 2007, as did the University of Winnipeg in Canada.\n\n\"These latest raids appear to be another concerted attempt to attack the BIHE, which the authorities have long sought to do,\" said Diane Ala'i.\n\n\"We are calling upon governments and educational organizations throughout the world to register with the government of Iran their strong disapproval of its systematic, ongoing efforts to deny to young Baha'is their fundamental human right to access higher education.\"\n\n**Special Report**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is. The Special Report contains a summary of the situation, feature articles, case studies and testimonials from students, resources and links. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran. *\n\n*The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*\n\n(Article updated 23 May 2011. The second and third sentences originally read, \"Initial reports indicate that raids took place yesterday on houses in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. As many as 30 people may already have been arrested.\")"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Special Report: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baha'is in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":823,"relatedStoryCaption":"Injustices recalled at special gatherings around the world."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":821,"relatedStoryCaption":"As the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders complete their third year in jail, the two women amongst them are transferred to another prison."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":815,"relatedStoryCaption":"Swift response to reinstatement of 20-year sentences for Baha'i leaders."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":824,"evergreenUrl":"un-commission-discusses-ethics-behind-environmental-crisis","title":"UN Commission discusses ethics behind the environmental crisis","description":"Focusing solely on the material aspects of the environmental crisis, while ignoring its moral and ethical dimensions, will not ensure humanity's...","date":"2011-05-17","customDateline":false,"city":"UNITED NATIONS","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573422-82400smaller.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573422-82400smaller.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A view inside the United Nations General Assembly Hall as the Commission on Sustainable Development held the fifth meeting of its 19th session, 11 May 2011. On the screens is Laszlo Borbely, Minister of Environment and Forests of Romania and Chair of the Commission. UN Photo by Paulo Filgueiras.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Focusing solely on the material aspects of the environmental crisis, while ignoring its moral and ethical dimensions, will not ensure humanity's long term survival.\n\nThat was among the perspectives under discussion at this year's UN Commission on Sustainable Development, held from 2–13 May.\n\n\"We have passed beyond the global tipping point that we have been anticipating for decades,\" Jeffrey Sachs – director of the Earth Institute and a special adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – told the Commission on 11 May.\n\n\"We are now living on a planet of environmental turmoil,\" observed Professor Sachs, noting an increase in the number of floods, droughts, and food and water shortages around the world.\n\n\"Fundamentally, we have a global ethics crisis,\" he said, because, \"while we need to find a path towards sustainable development, we are scrambling instead for resources and advantage.\"\n\nAshok Khosla, a former director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), also highlighted the need to recognize the values underlying sustainable development.\n\nGross Domestic Product \"measures all the things that don't count in our real lives,\" said Mr. Khosla.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Whatever it is we really care about – happiness and love – doesn't figure in the GDP at all,\" he said.\n\n*\"Making the Invisible Visible\"*\n\nA panel discussion – also held on 11 May and sponsored by the Baha'i International Community – sought to explore ways in which cultural, educational, and spiritual components can be brought into the sustainable development discourse.\n\nTitled \"Making the Invisible Visible: Values and the Transition to Sustainable Consumption and Production\", the panel was moderated by Duncan Hanks of the Canadian Baha'i International Development Agency.\n\n\"There is no doubt of the importance of understanding and getting the material consideration of this discussion right – to adequately address the policy considerations, legal frameworks, financial mechanisms,\" said Mr. Hanks.\n\n\"However, to allow the discussion to focus merely on the material aspects...only covers part of the story.\n\n\"We are hearing new discussions and language about the dynamic coherence between the material and value-based or spiritual dimensions of sustainable consumption and production, between the hardware and the software – the physical and the spiritual – and we are witnessing an increased willingness to explore not only the policy and technical ramifications but the very values that ultimately influence attitudes and transform behaviours,\" he said.\n\nFive other panelists from four continents offered thoughts about ways that the consideration of values can be brought into discussions about sustainable consumption and production, in order to motivate the changes in human behaviour needed to sustain life on the planet.\n\n\"The values debate is at the heart of what our future is going to look like,\" said Vanessa Timmer, co-founder and executive director of the One Earth Initiative, \"Rethinking the Good Life\".\n\nShe noted that values and behaviour are intimately connected, and that a discussion of values also frames the discussion – and the direction – of behaviour.\n\nResearchers, said Ms. Timmer, have found that if the argument is made for buying a hybrid car on the idea that it will save money – instead of also saving the environment – the discussion is kept on material grounds.\n\n\"The idea is to use both – give numbers but embed them within a larger conversation about how this is going to help us move towards a new sense of community and affiliation with others,\" she said.\n\nVictoria Thoresen of the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living in Norway analyzed a series of specific values that have a bearing on sustainable development – including detachment, moderation, trust, justice, and hope.\n\nThe concept of justice, she said, \"provides us with the possibility to move from the self-centeredness that dominates our world to a way of being, a mode of sharing, a way of moving beyond our complicated, confused world where hope barely exists.\"\n\nAlso on the panel were: Luis Flores Mimica, Consumers International, Latin American Office (Chile); Elona Hoover, Researcher, ESDinds Project: Developing Values-based indicators for Sustainable Development, University of Brighton (UK); and Kiara Worth, Sustainable Development Specialist (Papua New Guinea). The meeting was co-sponsored by PERL, One Earth, and Consumers International.\n\nAs another contribution to the discussion at this year's Commission, the Baha'i International Community called further attention to its 2010 statement, \"Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism.\" See [https://news.bahai.org/story/770](/story/770)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573422-82401.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Vanessa Timmer – co-founder and executive director of the One Earth Initiative, \"Rethinking the Good Life\" – speaks at a panel discussion, held at the New York offices of the Baha'i International Community on 11 May as part of the 19th UN Commission on Sustainable Development. The panel brought together specialists from four continents with experience in assessing and promoting the underlying values that could help ensure humanity's long term survival."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573423-82402.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i International Community (BIC) delegation to the 19th UN Commission on Sustainable Development, held in New York from 2–13 May 2011. Back row, from left to right: Julia Berger, BIC; Taraneh Ashraf, BIC; Nadia O'Mara, Ireland; Duncan Hanks, Canada; Peter Adriance, USA; Daniella Hiche, Brazil. Front row, left to right: Ineke Gijsbers, UK; May Akale, Cameroon; Kiara Worth, Papua New Guinea; Nur Shodjai, Canada; Victoria Thoresen, Norway."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573422-82403.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A panel discussion at the Baha'i International Community's New York office, during the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, was opened and closed by Kiara Worth, who currently works in Papua New Guinea. Ms. Worth composed two poems for the occasion which powerfully demonstrated how the arts can also contribute to the ongoing discourse on values and sustainable development."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Baha'i International Community statements at the United Nations"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":809,"relatedStoryCaption":"The education of women and girls should acknowledge the importance of spiritual and moral development."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":808,"relatedStoryCaption":"Initiatives to address poverty must give attention to strengthening the moral, ethical and spiritual capacities of individuals and communities."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":770,"relatedStoryCaption":"Statement challenges common assumption that human beings are slaves to self-interest and consumerism."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":823,"evergreenUrl":"three-years-irans-imprisoned-bahai-leaders-symbolize-oppression-nation","title":"Three years on, Iran's imprisoned Baha'i leaders symbolize the oppression of a nation","description":"The injustice being faced by countless citizens of Iran has been highlighted around the world, as supporters marked three years since the arrest...","date":"2011-05-16","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760255-bwns82301.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760255-bwns82301.jpg"},"imageDescription":"U.S. Senator Mark Kirk speaking at a reception in Washington D.C. on 12 May 2011, about his legislative efforts to support human rights for the people of Iran. Senator Kirk recently introduced a resolution condemning the religious persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, including the unlawful incarceration of the Washington reception's honourees – the seven imprisoned leaders of the Iranian Baha'i community.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The injustice being faced by countless citizens of Iran has been highlighted around the world, as supporters marked three years since the arrest of the country's imprisoned Baha'i leaders.\n\nIn a message dated 14 May, addressed by the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of Iran, the jailed leaders were referred to as true prisoners of conscience. The letter also spoke of the numerous Iranian men and women who have accepted to face hardship for the sake of defending their freedom and human rights.\n\nTheir plight was recalled at special gatherings, which included a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.; a service at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia; and prayer meetings, held in numerous places of worship throughout the Netherlands.\n\n*Reception in Washington D.C.*\n\nIn the United States, some 300 congressional staff, representatives from human rights groups, media personnel and community members, attended a meeting at Washington's Hart Senate Office building on 12 May, while a worldwide audience logged on to a live [webcast](http://www.livestream.com/senkirklivestream/video?clipId=pla_ea9607a5-2c6a-4ad5-bf44-ad087af1e1fb&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb) of the event.\n\nThe event was hosted by U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, who spoke about a resolution he recently introduced condemning the persecution of the Baha'is.\n\n\"I have been very focused on the condition of Baha'is in Iran,\" said Senator Kirk. \"Especially thinking about the seven Baha'i leaders, I think we need to begin to memorize their names.\n\n\"They are serving 20 years in prison on baseless charges and I am here today, as I have been for many months now, showing my support for them, and more importantly introducing their individual names to the American people,\" said Senator Kirk, who recited aloud the names of the seven prisoners to the audience.\n\nThey are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. They were formerly members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of the country's 300,000-strong Baha'i community.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Kathleen Fitzpatrick told the reception that, while democratic evolution, change and reform is under way in the Middle East, \"the Iranian authorities continue to use the brutal tactics of repressing their citizens, even as at times they applaud protesters in other areas...\"\n\n\"Baha'i and other religious minorities...continue to be subject to arbitrary arrest, persecution and unjust sentences,\" said Ms. Fitzpatrick. \"These circumstances typify not only the life of religious minorities in Iran but also of all Iranians and reflect the oppression that has engulfed the nation at the hands of its leaders.\"\n\nIn his remarks, Kenneth E. Bowers – Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States – noted that those \"languishing in Iranian prisons\" include not only Baha'is but \"lawyers who do nothing more than represent their clients, journalists attempting to ensure that the public receives accurate information, and others such as students and bloggers who express views that the regime does not see as supportive of their policies.\"\n\nIn other speeches, U.S. Representative Michael Grimm praised the resilience of the Iranian Baha'i community; actor Eva LaRue shared stories about the two women in the group; and Iraj Kamalabadi, brother of Fariba Kamalabadi, delivered closing remarks.\n\nGrammy-award winning musician KC Porter performed a new song, titled *Yaran*, which he composed after learning about the prison conditions and the overwhelming evidence of the Baha'i leaders' innocence.\n\n*Events in Australia and the Netherlands*\n\nMore than 500 people also observed the third anniversary at a special interfaith service on the theme of justice, held yesterday at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia. Among the special guests in attendance was the convener of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organizations, Professor Abd Malak, an Egyptian Coptic Christian.\n\nThe Australian government among many others has been active and vocal in their support of the seven Baha'i leaders – and human rights in Iran more broadly – said Natalie Mobini-Kesheh, Director of the Australian Baha'i community's Office of External Affairs.\n\n\"It's important that we, as the public, continue to voice our concern, so that the Iranian government knows that the world is watching,\" she told a reception held in the House of Worship's information centre.\n\nAlso in attendance was Mehrzad Mumtahan, a nephew of Saeid Rezaei, who spoke of the hope the prisoners feel, knowing that total strangers are thinking of them.\n\nIn the Netherlands, 24-hour vigils and other prayer gatherings were held throughout the country to mark the anniversary. In Amsterdam, special prayers were said at the Roman Catholic Salvator church. At the city's Russian Orthodox church, the names of the seven prisoners – as well as Christian and Jewish victims of religious persecution in Iran – were read aloud.\n\nA Protestant church in Veldhoven, the Sisters of Charity congregations in Hertme and Eindhoven, and the Hindu Shree Raam mandir in Wychen, also joined the commemoration. In Utrecht and the Hague, prayers were said in Jewish synagogues.\n\n\"I stay connected in prayer with those brave ones,\" said Awraham Soetendorp, Rabbi of the Reform Jewish community of the Hague. \"May all the prayers together open the door to freedom.\"\n\nThe human rights group, United4Iran, launched a [poster campaign](http://united4iran.org/2011/05/7734-days-of-injustice-support-iran%e2%80%99s-7-baha%e2%80%99i-leaders/) drawing attention to the fact that by 14 May, the seven had suffered 7,734 days in prison. The campaign calls upon supporters to make their own posters indicating the number of days of imprisonment, or to take a picture or video holding the pre-prepared poster, pictured above.\n\nFurther events marking the anniversary are being planned around the world, including a \"Solidarity Concert\" in New Delhi, India, this Wednesday.\n\n**Special Report - \"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\"**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders - their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing - and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran's Baha'i community. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760254-bwns82302.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A poster, issued by the United4Iran campaign, showing the total days spent in prison by Iran's seven Baha'i leaders at the conclusion of their third year. The campaign calls upon supporters to make their own posters indicating the number of days of imprisonment, or to take a picture or video holding this pre-prepared poster."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760254-bwns82303.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Grammy award-winning musician KC Porter sings his new composition, titled \"Yaran\" – dedicated to the seven Baha'i leaders – at a reception marking the third anniversary of their arrests, held on 12 May in Washington D.C."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760256-bwns82304.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Mehrzad Mumtahan – a nephew of Baha'i prisoner, Saeid Rezaei – reading a prayer at a special service in the Baha'i House of Worship, Sydney, Australia. The programme, held on Sunday 15 May, included extracts from diverse religious scriptures on the theme of justice."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760255-bwns82305.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The choir of the Sydney Baha'i House of Worship, performed at a special service marking the third anniversary of the arrests of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders. The service, on Sunday 15 May, included extracts from diverse religious scriptures on the theme of justice."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report)[/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent articles on Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":821,"relatedStoryCaption":"As the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders complete their third year in jail, the two women amongst them are transferred to another prison."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":815,"relatedStoryCaption":"Swift response to reinstatement of 20-year sentences for Baha'i leaders."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":814,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'i International Community's dismay at restoration of original jail terms."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":822,"evergreenUrl":"burundi-elects-national-bahai-assembly-after-17-years","title":"Burundi elects national Baha'i assembly after 17 years","description":"The Baha'is of Burundi are celebrating after their National Spiritual Assembly was elected for the first time in 17 years. The Baha'i Faith was...","date":"2011-05-11","customDateline":false,"city":"BUJUMBURA","country":"BURUNDI","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760227-bwns82201.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760227-bwns82201.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The new National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Burundi, elected for the first time in 17 years.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha'is of Burundi are celebrating after their National Spiritual Assembly was elected for the first time in 17 years.\n\nThe Baha'i Faith was first established in the landlocked, Eastern African republic in the 1950s. But civil war and unrest during recent decades made it difficult for the Baha'i community to administer its affairs.\n\n\"Everyone is very, very happy that after such a long time, the Baha'is in Burundi have been able to re-elect their National Assembly,\" said Ahmad Parsa, who attended the election on behalf of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa.\n\n\"And it is not only the Baha'is in Burundi who are happy,\" said Mr. Parsa. \"In neighbouring countries, they are all rejoicing to know their sister country has its National Spiritual Assembly again.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"All 19 delegates – themselves elected by the wider Baha'i community of Burundi – participated in the election, held from 29 April to 1 May, at the national Baha'i centre in the Nyakabiga neighbourhood of the capital, Bujumbura.\n\nAmong the delegates were three members of the Batwa, an ancient pygmy people who have traditionally suffered ethnic prejudice and general exclusion from society. One of them, Delphin Sebitwa, was among the nine people elected to serve on the new National Spiritual Assembly.\n\n\"I don't think we yet understand the importance of this moment,\" said Mr. Parsa. \"Hopefully, this new light that has been turned on will illuminate the whole country.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760228-bwns82202.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Three Batwa people who attended the first national convention in 17 years of the Baha'is of Burundi. From left to right: Delphin Sebitwa – who was among the nine people elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, Christine Ndayikengurutse, and Cyriaque Mpawentmana."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760228-bwns82203.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Christine Ndayikengurutse, right, a member of the Batwa people, who attended the national Baha'i convention in Burundi as one of 19 elected delegates. Mrs. Ndayikengurutse, who is illiterate, was accompanied by a young girl, pictured left, who is able to go to school and assisted her to fill out her ballot."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760228-bwns82204.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Consultation sessions were often accompanied by singing and dancing at the first national Baha'i convention to be held in Burundi in 17 years."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760229-bwns82205a.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is from throughout Burundi gathered at the national Baha'i center in Bujumbura to elect the first National Spiritual Assembly for 17 years, 29 April - 1 May 2011."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent stories from Africa"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":818,"relatedStoryCaption":"Discussions among Egyptians a century ago about their country's future are vividly brought to life in new book."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":817,"relatedStoryCaption":"As a contribution to Egypt's sweeping changes, Baha'is call for a \"new, truly progressive approach.\""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":806,"relatedStoryCaption":"Chief Justice praises House of Worship's contribution to social transformation."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":821,"evergreenUrl":"third-anniversary-prison-irans-bahai-leaders","title":"Third anniversary in prison for Iran's Baha'i leaders","description":"As seven Baha'i leaders in Iran complete their third year in jail, the Baha'i International Community has confirmed that the two women amongst...","date":"2011-05-10","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573290-82100.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573290-82100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The seven Baha'i prisoners, photographed several months before their arrest, are, in front, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"As seven Baha'i leaders in Iran complete their third year in jail, the Baha'i International Community has confirmed that the two women amongst them have been transferred to another prison.\n\nThe seven were all members of a national-level ad hoc group that helped attend to the needs of Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community.\n\nThis Saturday, 14 May, six of them – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm – will begin their fourth year behind bars. The seventh member of the group – Mahvash Sabet – was arrested three months earlier than her former colleagues, on 5 March 2008.\n\nAfter an illegal 30-month detention in Tehran's Evin prison, they were tried on trumped-up charges and sentenced in August 2010 to 20 years in jail. They have been held at Gohardasht prison since that time.\n\n\"We now know that Mrs. Kamalabadi and Mrs. Sabet were transported on Tuesday 3 May to Qarchak prison, some 45 kilometres from Tehran,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"We understand that they are incarcerated with up to 400 other prisoners in a large warehouse-type room with minimum facilities,\" she said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"It is not clear if this is to be a long term arrangement, but any amount of time held in any prison is too long for these innocent people.\"\n\nThe five men are still being held under close scrutiny in a wing of Gohardasht prison, reserved for political prisoners.\n\n*Anniversary observations*\n\nEvents are taking place around the world over the next few days to mark the third anniversary of the arrest of the seven.\n\nIn the **U.S.A.** on Thursday 12 May, a special reception will be opened in Washington D.C. by U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, who recently introduced bipartisan resolutions in the House of Representatives and Senate calling attention to the continued plight of Iran's Baha'is.\n\nIn the **Netherlands**, members of religious communities and interreligious networks are being invited to offer prayers – on Friday and Saturday in the country's places of worship – for freedom of religion or belief in Iran.\n\nA special \"Solidarity Concert\" is being planned in **India** to remember all victims of human rights abuses. The concert will be held at the auditorium of the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi on Wednesday 18 May.\n\n*Global outcry*\n\nThe imprisonment of the Baha'i leaders has provoked widespread protests from governments throughout the world. The **European Union** and the President of the **European Parliament** have also joined the condemnation, along with numerous human rights organizations and other groups, religious leaders, and countless individuals.\n\nRecently, the Prime Minister of the **United Kingdom**, David Cameron, reiterated his deep concern about the \"ongoing plight of the seven Baha'i leaders and the continued attacks on the Baha'i Faith in Iran.\n\n\"Your dignity and patience is admirable in the face of such severe discrimination and intimidation for simply staying true to your faith,\" Mr. Cameron wrote last month in a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom.\n\nMr. Cameron expressed his hope that the recent appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur –  to monitor Iran's compliance with international human rights standards – and the imposition by the European Union of sanctions would \"convey to Iran the strength of international concern over its human rights record and demonstrate that continued rights violations will not go unnoticed.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573289-82101.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Fariba Kamalabadi, left, and Mahvash Sabet, right. The Bahai International Community has confirmed that they were transported on Tuesday 3 May from Gohardasht prison - where they have been since August 2010. They are now being held at Qarchak prison, some 45 kilometres from Tehran."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573290-82102.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Fariba Kamalabadi, left, and Mahvash Sabet, right, pictured together in happier times. 57-year old Mrs. Sabet has been imprisoned since 5 March 2008. She is a teacher and school principal who was dismissed from public education for being a Baha'i. She and her husband have two grown children. 48-year old Mrs. Kamalabadi was arrested on 14 May 2008. She is a developmental psychologist and mother of three who was arrested twice previously because of her involvement with the Baha'i community."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"\">(\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(BWNS Iran Update)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent articles on Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":815,"relatedStoryCaption":"Swift response to reinstatement of 20-year sentences for Baha'i leaders."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":814,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'i International Community's dismay at restoration of original jail terms."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":813,"relatedStoryCaption":"Special investigator will monitor Iran's compliance with international human rights standards."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":820,"evergreenUrl":"historic-landmark-elections-european-bahai-communities","title":"Historic landmark elections for European Baha'i communities","description":"Along with 10 other European countries, the Baha'is of Spain have elected their National Spiritual Assembly for the 50th time. Elections for...","date":"2011-05-04","customDateline":false,"city":"LLÍRIA","country":"SPAIN","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573221-bwns82001.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573221-bwns82001.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Delegates and visitors gathered at the national convention of the Spanish Baha'i community, held in Llíria, Valencia, 29 April – 1 May 2011. The convention included the 50th election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Spain, consultation on the present-day concerns of the Baha'i community, and the sharing of memories of earlier elections from those who participated in them, including former National Spiritual Assembly members – Miguel Medina, Rouhollah Mehrabkhani, and Parvin Vahid-Tehrani.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Along with 10 other European countries, the Baha'is of Spain have elected their National Spiritual Assembly for the 50th time.\n\nElections for national Baha'i institutions throughout the world take place at conventions during the 12-day festival of Ridvan, which begins each year on 21 April and ends on 2 May.\n\nAs part of Spain's 50th national convention programme, delegates and visitors heard recollections of earlier elections from those who participated in them.\n\nRouhollah Mehrabkhani – now 90 years old – arrived from Iran in the 1950s to help establish a Baha'i community in Spain. He was among the nine members elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly in 1962.\n\n\"Those early Baha'is had qualities that I believe we can learn a lot from today in our work to help others,\" said Mr. Mehrabkhani.\n\n\"They were willing to sacrifice their material comfort to promote the best interests of their community and fellow-citizens, some of them even suffering imprisonment and expulsion from the country for their Baha'i service during Franco's authoritarian regime,\" he said, recalling life under Spain's then leader.\n\nThe convention also viewed a video message sent by Charles Ioas from the United States, who left his homeland in 1954 to become one of the first Baha'is to settle in the Balearic Islands. Along with Mr. Mehrabkhani, Mr. Ioas is the only member of the first National Spiritual Assembly still living.\n\n\"The 1962 election was exhilarating,\" said Mr. Ioas. \"It was a milestone, a very significant development for us. We formed and started to function. Then, after a period, the official recognition came.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"*A \"yearning to transform society\"*\n\nToday there are more than 4,000 Baha'is in Spain. Their activities include the hosting of gatherings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; classes for children; groups that channel the energies of young people; and study circles where participants explore the application of spiritual teachings to their lives and develop skills to serve the community.\n\nOne delegate to the national convention expressed his belief that the desire shown by youth in North African countries in recent months to be protagonists in their own development was not limited to those nations.\n\n\"Young people in Spain also show that longing for change because they just don't see what the future holds for them,\" said Manuel Melgarejo from Toledo. \"They also have that exact same yearning to transform society and influence their own collective destiny.\"\n\nIn its annual message for the Ridvan period, addressed to the Baha'is of the world and studied at all national conventions, the Universal House of Justice celebrated the fact that a longing to contribute to societal development, especially from the young, \"is able to find such eloquent expression in the work the Baha'i community is carrying out to build capacity for effective action amongst the diverse populations of the planet.\"\n\nAnother delegate to the convention, Diana Jiménez – whose late father Antonio served as a member of Spain's first National Spiritual Assembly – remarked how the services of the early Spanish Baha'is were inspired by Baha'u'llah's vision for the development of a united, global society.\n\n\"It is my hope that this convention will likewise become a similar catalyst to enable the Baha'i community to share that vision with society to an even greater extent over the next 50 years,\" said Mrs. Jiménez.\n\n*11 new institutions*\n\nIn addition to Spain, Baha'is have just elected their National Spiritual Assembly for the 50th time in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland.\n\nAt the 1962 convention in Spain, a Baha'i prayer book in Spanish was put on sale for the first time, with the approval of the governmental authorities.\n\nPreparing Baha'i introductory literature was also an important early task for the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Netherlands.\n\nGunter Vieten was a 32-year old journalist when he was elected to that institution. \"We had nearly no printed material – maybe one or two pamphlets,\" he recalled. \"The first Baha'i literature I received was such a simple piece of paper – the kind of thing I would never usually have looked at – that I was astonished that I was so taken by the content of it.\n\n\"I was born in Germany, so Dutch was not my first language. But, with the help of friends, we managed to write new materials. For years I participated in the writing, printing, distributing – it was a lot of organizing.\"\n\nThe anniversaries not only mark a milestone in the establishment of the Baha'i Faith in Europe, but the formation of those 11 assemblies in 1962 helped pave the way for the election the following year of the Universal House of Justice.\n\nIn April 1963, Gunter Vieten joined members of National Spiritual Assemblies from throughout the world to take part in that first international election.\n\n\"I don't know if I completely understood what I was part of and it is still difficult for me to really understand it,\" he said. \"As a journalist, I used my eyes, I used my senses, but still it was something beyond my normal observation.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573226-bwns82002.jpg"},"imageDescription":"90-year old Rouhollah Mehrabkhani attended the 50th national convention of the Spanish Baha'i community, held in Llíria, Valencia, 29 April – 1 May 2011. Mr. Mehrabkhani arrived from Iran in the 1950s to help establish a Baha'i community in Spain. He was among the nine Baha'is elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly in 1962."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573220-bwns82003a.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Delegates and visitors gathered at the 50th national convention of the Spanish Baha'i community, held in Llíria, Valencia, 29 April-1 May 2011."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573228-bwns82003b.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The newly-elected National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Spain, pictured with a group photograph of the first national Baha'i convention in Spain, held in Madrid in April 1962."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573227-bwns82004.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A group photograph of the first national convention of the Baha'is of Spain, held in Madrid, in April 1962. For the first time, a Baha'i book published in Spain – with government approval – was placed on sale. That convention also received a congratulatory message from Virginia Orbison, an American woman who, 15 years earlier, was the first Baha'i to settle in Spain."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573227-bwns82005.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Spain, elected in Madrid, in April 1962. One of its members, Rouhollah Mehrabkhani – now 90-years old – attended the 2011 national convention as a delegate. He is seen standing far left. Charles Ioas – who sent a video message of greeting to the 2011 convention from the United States – is seen standing far right."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573220-bwns82005a.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Netherlands, elected along with 10 other European Assemblies for the first time in April 1962. Gunter Vieten, one of two members of that Assembly still living, is pictured standing far right."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573228-bwns82005b.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Norway, also elected for the first time in April 1962. Participants at that national convention paid homage at the grave of Johanna Shubarth, the \"mother of the Norwegian Baha'i community.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573220-bwns8205c.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Belgium, elected in April 1962. The national convention was held in the newly-renovated Baha'i center in Brussels. A highlight of the convention was the collection of a sum of money to contribute to the completion of the first Baha'i House of Worship in Europe, then under construction near Frankfurt, Germany."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573221-bwns8205d.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The nine members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Denmark, elected April 1962. A contemporary report of the national convention described how \"everyone present was stirred by the feeling of these remarkable hours in the evolution of mankind.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573222-bwns82014.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Italy, elected April 1962. The national convention was held in Rome. Discussions included the spread of the Baha'i Faith to Sardinia and San Marino. $1,000 was also raised towards the completion of the first Baha'i House of Worship in Europe, then being built near to Frankfurt, Germany."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"From the Baha'i World News Service archive"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":769,"relatedStoryCaption":"50th elections for 21 national Baha'i assemblies in Latin America and Caribbean."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":712,"relatedStoryCaption":"Prime Minister's message read to Australian Baha’is as they celebrated anniversary."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":617,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'i convention in 2008 was the first since unification of North and South Vietnam in 1975."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":819,"evergreenUrl":"dignitaries-launch-silver-jubilee-year-lotus-temple","title":"Dignitaries launch silver jubilee year for Lotus Temple","description":"Prominent political figures praised the impact made by the Baha'i House of Worship on Indian society, as the building's 25th anniversary year...","date":"2011-04-26","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW DELHI","country":"INDIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573178-81901.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573178-81901.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Kalam addressing a gathering marking the inauguration of the 25th anniversary year of the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi. Dr. Kalam described the House of Worship as \"a temple of peace, a temple of happiness and a temple of spirituality.\"","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Prominent political figures praised the impact made by the Baha'i House of Worship on Indian society, as the building's 25th anniversary year got underway in New Delhi.\n\nMore than 400 guests – including government officials, along with representatives of the diplomatic community and non-governmental organizations – gathered at the House of Worship for the festive inauguration of its silver jubilee year.\n\n\"When I am in this beautiful Baha'i temple environment,\" the former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Kalam told the gathering, \"I see everywhere around me harmony in thinking, harmony in action and harmony in every way of life.\"\n\nDescribing the House of Worship as \"a temple of peace, a temple of happiness and a temple of spirituality,\" Dr. Kalam extended his best wishes to the Baha'i community in its efforts to eradicate prejudice, disharmony and conflicts in society.\n\n\"One of the greatest missions of this temple of harmony is to transmit the message to give and give to the entire humanity,\" he said.\n\nIndia's current President, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil sent her \"warm greetings and felicitations,\" in a special message to the celebration, held on 20 March.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A traditional Indian-themed dance performance, titled *Rainbow*, led by renowned dancer and choreographer Swagatha Pillai, was also part of the evening's programme.\n\nAfter the speeches and performances at the Temple's Information Center, guests attended a special service in the House of Worship, which included prayers from the children's choir of the Little Angels School of Gwalior.\n\nAn *\"iconic structure\"*\n\nThe Baha'i House of Worship, popularly referred to as the \"Lotus Temple\", is one of the most visited monuments in the world.  Completed in 1986, it has received an average of 4.3 million visitors every year – from all nations, religions and walks of life.\n\nKumari Selja, Indian Minister of Culture, described the House of Worship as \"certainly one of the many facets that make India incredible.\"\n\n\"The Temple itself stands as an iconic structure reflecting the true essence and cultural ethos of our great nation which has welcomed people of all Faiths to its shores and sheltered them,\" Ms. Selja wrote in a message for the occasion.\n\n\"Like the lotus which blossoms pure above muddied waters, we too can rise above differences of caste, creed, class, community, nationality and gender and put forth our best efforts towards making the world a beautiful place,\" she wrote.\n\n*Communal harmony*\n\nThe promotion of communal harmony as a prime focus of the Baha'i community was highlighted by Nazneen Rowhani, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India.\n\n\"While the edifice of the Temple is dedicated to the worship of God,\" Ms. Rowhani said, \"it should not become divorced from the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits which shall in the fullness of time afford relief and sustenance to the poor, solace to the bereaved, and education to those who suffer from lack of it.\"\n\nIndia's Minister for Tourism, Subodh Kant Sahai, highlighted Baha'i social and educational activities in his message to the gathering. \"As its contribution to the advancement of Indian society,\" he wrote, \"the Baha'i House of Worship serves as a venue for non-denominational activities such as the spiritual and moral education for children and young people, as well as gatherings where adults systematically study spiritual principles and their application in daily life.\"\n\nThe House of Worship symbolizes India, wrote Mr. Sahai, \"combining eternal and universal values with a forward looking approach.\"\n\nFurther events are planned throughout the year in every state of India to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the House of Worship."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573178-81902.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A traditional Indian-themed dance performance, titled \"Rainbow\", led by renowned dancer and choreographer Swagatha Pillai, was also part of the program to mark the inauguration of the 25th anniversary year of the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573182-81903.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some 400 dignitaries gathered in the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi for a prayer service to mark the inauguration of its 25th anniversary year."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573178-81904.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The children's choir of the Little Angels School of Gwalior sang prayers for dignitaries gathered at the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, during a program marking the inauguration of its 25th anniversary year."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573178-81905.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Kalam, pictured front right, returning from a prayer service marking the inauguration of the 25th anniversary year of the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573185-81906.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Completed in 1986, the spectacular Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, India is one of the most visited buildings in the world, receiving an average of 4.3 million visitors per year. It has won numerous architectural awards. Inspired by the lotus flower, its design is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad \"petals.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"More Baha'i House of Worship stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":800,"relatedStoryCaption":"Ground work gets under way for Santiago temple."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":611,"relatedStoryCaption":"Every day, thousands of people of all faiths come to the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":218,"relatedStoryCaption":"Great sacrifices made to build Baha'i House of Worship near Chicago recalled at commemorative ceremonies."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":818,"evergreenUrl":"abdul-bahas-legacy-egypt-recalled-100-years-on","title":"'Abdu'l-Baha's legacy to Egypt recalled, 100 years on","description":"As the open letter from the Baha'is of Egypt, calling for a national conversation about the future of their country, begins to generate widespread...","date":"2011-04-20","customDateline":false,"city":"COLLEGE PARK, Maryland","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760198-bwns80100.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760198-bwns80100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Place Mohammed Ali, Alexandria, pictured in a postcard from the period that 'Abdu'l-Baha stayed in the Egyptian city. Today the square is known as Midan Tahrir.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"As the [open letter](http://www.bahai-egypt.org/2011/04/open-letter-to-people-of-egypt.html) from the Baha'is of Egypt, calling for a national conversation about the future of their country, begins to generate widespread interest, similar discussions among Egyptians 100 years ago have been vividly brought to life in a new book.\n\nIn *Abbas Effendi* – recently released by Al-Kamel publishers in Beirut – University of Maryland Professor Suheil Bushrui explores in particular the contribution made by 'Abdu'l-Baha Abbas Effendi, eldest son of Baha'u'llah. The book is available in a printed edition and also for [download](http://www.bahai-egypt.org/2011/04/abbas-effendi-egypt.html) from the *Baha'i Faith in Egypt* blog.\n\nIt is the first time that 'Abdu'l-Baha's story has been told for a modern Arabic-speaking readership, largely unaware of His legacy to their society.\n\nDuring His stay in Alexandria, between September 1910 and August 1911, 'Abdu'l-Baha conversed with Egyptians from all walks of life about the fundamental principles required for the building of a peaceful and prosperous society.\n\n\"I thought it was important to present 'Abdu'l-Baha, not necessarily as a religious leader,\" says Professor Bushrui, \"but more as a great mind who was able to convey an understanding of the importance of religion at a time when materialistic civilization was prevailing in Europe and America, and the Muslim world was overcome with political and other ambitions.\"\n\n\"I have to say – even for me as a lifelong Baha'i – through the writing of this book I have come to be far more aware of the unique personality of 'Abdu'l-Baha and His immense achievement in promoting cultural and religious dialogue between the worlds of the East and the West,\" says Professor Bushrui.\n\nThe book has already garnered high praise from contemporary Arab thinkers, whose appreciation of 'Abdu'l-Baha echoes that of their counterparts a century ago.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Internationally-recognized Middle East expert Edmund Ghareeb has described the book as \"a pioneering and highly informative work.\"\n\n\"Abbas Effendi is a superbly careful and informative piece of scholarship,\" wrote Dr. Ghareeb, \"which makes a major contribution to knowledge of the Middle East at a crucial period of its modern history, and adds considerably to our knowledge of this unique reformer...\"\n\nIn a review, published in the Lebanese daily newspaper *As-Safir*, author Mahmud Shurayh remarked how 'Abdu'l-Baha \"found no embarrassment in teaching the messages of Christ and Muhammad in the Jewish synagogues, the message of Muhammad in Christian churches and the message of religion in atheist assemblies, because He saw in the union of east and west a portal to a new world where justice, unity and peace reign.\"\n\nThe distinguished Lebanese poet Henri Zoghaib commented that 'Abdu'l-Baha was the first to initiate a serious dialogue among religions.\n\n\"With this book...\" wrote Mr. Zoghaib, \"I discovered the nature of the teachings that 'Abdu'l-Baha had disseminated concerning the oneness of east and west, and of His message calling for the oneness of religions.\"\n\n*Prominent admirers*\n\nAt the age of 66 - and free to travel after a lifetime spent as a prisoner and exile - 'Abdu'l-Baha arrived in Egypt for one month's rest, but stayed for an entire year because of concerns for His health. See [news.bahai.org/story/792](/story/792)\n\nYet He believed He had a particular mission to accomplish in Egypt, notes Professor Bushrui.\n\n\"Firstly, to revive the truth and purity of religious faith – whether Muslim or Christian – and, secondly, to bring East and West together.\"\n\nNumerous prominent Egyptians, including the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan – Abbas Hilmi Pasha – exhibited particular reverence towards the Head of the Baha'i Faith.\n\n\"The jurist and scholar Muhammad Abduh also admired 'Abdu'l-Baha greatly and wrote Him a letter,\" recounts Professor Bushrui. \"When you read it, you can see it's from someone who recognized that 'Abdu'l-Baha had a special divine light in his heart and mind.\"\n\nMay Rihani – niece of Ameen Rihani, the founding father of Arab-American literature and another of 'Abdu'l-Baha's admirers – has acclaimed the book, *Abbas Effendi*, as a \"gift to humanity.\"\n\n\"We need 'Abdu'l-Baha's voice more than ever before in these present turbulent times of religious fanaticism, misunderstandings among the cultures of the world, and an easy readiness for confrontation,\" says Ms. Rihani, who is the Senior Vice President and Director of the Global Learning Group at the Academy for Educational Development, based in Washington D.C.\n\nA century later, echoes of 'Abdu'l-Baha's voice can be heard throughout the open letter from today's Egyptian Baha'is to their fellow citizens.\n\nThe letter states that acceptance of the principle of the oneness of humanity \"calls for a profound re-examination of each or our own attitudes, values and relationships with others – ultimately, for a transformation in the human heart.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760198-bwns801010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The cover of Suheil Bushrui's book, titled \"Abbas Effendi\", depicting a historic view of Alexandria."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760198-bwns80103.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A map of 'Abdu'l-Baha's route taken 100 years ago, from the Holy Land to Egypt."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760198-bwns80104.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The admiration felt for 'Abdu'l-Baha by Kahlil Gibran, the author of \"The Prophet\", is also described in Professor Bushrui's book. Gibran was deeply impressed by 'Abdu'l-Baha and sketched his portrait, pictured, when they met in New York. Professor Bushrui – who is the founder and Director of the University of Maryland's Kahlil Gibran Research and Studies Project - recounts how Gibran told friends that 'Abdu'l-Baha provided the template for his portrayal of Christ in \"Jesus, The Son of Man\"."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760199-bwns80105.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...\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760198-bwns80106.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Professor Suheil Bushrui, author of \"Abbas Effendi\", says that researching and writing the book was a profoundly moving and enlightening experience. \"I have to say - even for me as a lifelong Baha'i - through the writing of this book I have come to be far more aware of the unique personality of 'Abdu'l-Baha and His immense achievement in promoting cultural and religious dialogue between the worlds of the East and the West,\" he says."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Links to Baha'i Faith in Egypt blog"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Open letter to the people of Egypt)[http://www.bahai-egypt.org/2011/04/open-letter-to-people-of-egypt.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Download of \"Abbas Effendi\" book)[http://www.bahai-egypt.org/2011/04/abbas-effendi-egypt.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Baha'i World News Service stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":817,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'is of Egypt call for a far-reaching consultative process about the country's future."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":816,"relatedStoryCaption":"After more than two years of restoration, Haifa's Baha'i Shrine is unveiled to the delight of visitors, pilgrims and residents of the city."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":814,"relatedStoryCaption":"Outrage at reinstated sentences six months after appeal court reduced them to 10 years."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":817,"evergreenUrl":"egyptian-bahais-seize-opportunity-discuss-their-nations-future","title":"Egyptian Baha'is seize opportunity to discuss their nation's future","description":"In a contribution to the sweeping changes now under way in their society, Egyptian Baha'is are calling for a far-reaching consultative process...","date":"2011-04-14","customDateline":false,"city":"CAIRO","country":"EGYPT","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573123-817010.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573123-817010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In an open letter to their fellow citizens, the Baha'is of Egypt share perspectives on the prerequisites for \"walking the path towards lasting material and spiritual prosperity.\" The letter says, \"Egypt's stature in the international order – its intellectual tradition, its history, its location – means that an enlightened choice on its part could influence the course of human development in the entire region, and impact even the world.\"","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a contribution to the sweeping changes now under way in their society, Egyptian Baha'is are calling for a far-reaching consultative process about their country's future.\n\nIn an unprecedented open letter, the Baha'is of Egypt say the nation must look beyond expedient solutions and existing models in other societies, and seek instead \"a new, truly progressive approach.\" [Read the open letter here.](https://bahai-egypt.blogspot.com/2011/04/open-letter-to-people-of-egypt.html)\n\nMaking an \"enlightened choice\" could influence the course of human development in the entire region, and even impact the world, the letter says.\n\nSuch an approach would include engaging all concerned people – especially the young – in a national conversation, by which they would become protagonists of their own development. Emphasis is also placed on identifying and applying fundamental guiding principles, and avoiding the temptation of moving too quickly to deals and decisions about the distribution of power.\n\nSince its release earlier this month, the letter has been distributed to prominent figures in Egyptian public life – including religious leaders, politicians, legal practitioners, human rights activists, writers and artists. It has also been circulated to the press and media, and is being widely disseminated via websites and \"blogs.\"\n\nOnline publication of the letter is already generating positive responses.\n\nOne reader has described it as a \"very deep, humanitarian, civil, and progressive statement.\"\n\n\"The letter I've just read is like a very good guidebook for many years to come,\" another commented.\n\n\"Let us take every single step in building up our new Egypt with lots of care, patience, consultation, trust...\" wrote yet another.\n\n*A process of consultation*\n\nIn the letter, the Baha'is of Egypt suggest that the challenge before their country is to initiate a process of consultation about the principles that are to inform the reshaping of society.\n\nEgyptians will avoid the risk of falling into the pattern of any existing models – which see no advantage in empowering people – to the extent that all can be enabled to participate in the consultative processes.\n\n\"The ongoing and wide-scale involvement of the population in such a consultative process will go a long way towards persuading the citizenry that policy-makers have the creation of a just society at heart. Given the opportunity to participate in such a process, we will be confirmed in our newly awakened consciousness that we have ownership of our own future and come to realize the collective power we already possess to transform ourselves,\" the letter says.\n\n*Essential principles*\n\nThe letter also suggests that Egyptians carefully consider a series of principles, essential to inform the reshaping of their society.\n\n\"Too often, change brought about by popular protest eventually results in disappointment...That is why it is vital that we endeavor to achieve broad consensus on the operating principles that are to shape a new model for our society,\" write the Baha'is of Egypt.\n\n\"This is a painstaking task. To fashion from divergent conceptions a coherent set of principles with the creative power to unify our population will be no small accomplishment.\"\n\nSuch principles include: the equality of men and women; universal education – offering the best means to safeguard the freedom that the people have won; and the fostering of a new spirit  that combines respect for scientific enquiry and the values of religion as the best path to material progress.\n\nA \"mature society demonstrates one feature above all others: a recognition of the oneness of humanity,\" the letter states. \"How fortunate, then, that the most abiding memory of recent months is not of religious divisions or ethnic conflict, but of differences being put aside in favour of a common cause.\"\n\n*A \"national conversation\"*\n\nBeginning the \"national conversation\" called for by the letter, online readers have been sharing their comments on websites. Here is a sample of some of the remarks:\n\n\"Forging a new path along the lines outlined in this powerful letter...would not only benefit all the people of Egypt but also inspire all countries of the world. We pray that Allah will guide the decision makers to weigh carefully such principles proposed so thoughtfully by the Baha'is.\"\n\n\"The choice we have is to embrace [these principles] and make the transition relatively painless, or resist them and make it infinitely more difficult.\"\n\n\"I am very hopeful that the political leaders and leaders of thought in Egypt would take this mighty prescription into account. They do not have much choice, when it comes to social order, harmony, and respect of the rights of minorities...\"\n\n\"This amazing statement...is both lofty and practical. Would that all Egyptians were required to read and discuss it at length before making any decisions about the future of their glorious country.\"\n\n*Critical juncture*\n\nThe open letter is the first opportunity that Egyptian Baha'is – who have faced repression for more than 50 years – have had to communicate directly with their countrymen.\n\n\"This chance is one for which we have longed,\" the Baha'is write, rejoicing that \"at such a critical juncture in our nation's history, we are able to make a humble contribution to the conversation which has now begun about its future and to share some perspectives, drawn from our experience and that of Baha'is throughout the world, as to the prerequisites for walking the path towards lasting material and spiritual prosperity.\"\n\nA presidential decree, issued in 1960 and subsequently enforced by subsequent governments, dissolved Baha'i administrative institutions and banned organized activities. Arrests, investigations, police surveillance, house searches and the destruction of Baha'i literature followed.  Moreover, as Baha'is could not legally marry, they had no recourse before the courts regarding family allowances, pensions, inheritance, divorce, alimony and child custody.\n\nIn recent years, Egyptian Baha'is suffered discrimination under national laws that required government documents to list an individual's religion – and which also limited that listing to one of three official religions. After a prolonged campaign in which numerous human rights campaigners and people of goodwill supported the Baha'i community, the courts ultimately ruled in their favour, a decision that was widely seen as an important victory for freedom of thought and conscience.\n\nDespite these and other examples of oppression, Egyptian Baha'is maintained their positive outlook and – as a fundamental tenet of their faith – have continued to commit their energy to the betterment of their society.\n\n\"I hope that all the efforts combine together for a better Egypt for all of us and not for the interest of one group of people at the expense of others,\" an online reader of the open letter remarked."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Read the open letter here"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[The Baha'i Faith in Egypt blog](https://bahai-egypt.blogspot.com/2011/04/open-letter-to-people-of-egypt.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent articles on social development"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":758,"relatedStoryCaption":"Decision-making model would contribute to integration \"at this time of transition to a new social order.\""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":808,"relatedStoryCaption":"Initiatives to address poverty should give attention to strengthening the moral, ethical and spiritual capacities of individuals and communities."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":770,"relatedStoryCaption":"Statement challenges the assumption that human beings are slaves to self-interest and consumerism."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":816,"evergreenUrl":"beauty-restored-shrine-set-dazzle-visitors-pilgrims","title":"Beauty of restored Shrine set to dazzle visitors and pilgrims","description":"After more than two years of extensive restoration work, Haifa's golden-domed Baha'i Shrine has been unveiled, to the delight of visitors, pilgrims...","date":"2011-04-12","customDateline":false,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573007-18601.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573007-18601.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel, newly unveiled after more than two years of extensive restoration and conservation work. In 2008, the Shrine was inscribed – along with the Shrine of Baha'u'llah near Acre – as a site of \"outstanding universal value\" on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"After more than two years of extensive restoration work, Haifa's golden-domed Baha'i Shrine has been unveiled, to the delight of visitors, pilgrims and residents of the city.\n\nEarly this morning, the final set of covers was removed from the Shrine's dome, revealing almost 12,000 new, gilded tiles, crowning the immaculately restored building on Mount Carmel.\n\n\"Today the 'Queen of Carmel', concealed from the gaze of the public for the larger part of the project, is unveiled and resplendent again...\" announced the Universal House of Justice, after visiting the Shrine to offer prayers of thanksgiving.\n\nHaifa's Mayor, Advocate Yona Yahav, later joined civic dignitaries and guests at a celebratory reception, held in the city's historic German Templar colony with its spectacular view of the Shrine and its terraced gardens.\n\n\"I am the first Mayor of Haifa who was actually born here,\" said Mr. Yahav. \"In 1954, I witnessed the Shrine's superstructure being built. To see these renovations is very touching. They are of the utmost importance.\"\n\nThe Shrine of the Bab and its gardens are renowned the world over for their beauty and tranquillity. In 2008, it was inscribed – along with the Shrine of Baha'u'llah near Acre – as a site of \"outstanding universal value\" on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Last year alone some 760,000 tourists and 7,500 Baha'i pilgrims and visitors were welcomed here.\n\n\"The Shrine affects the whole set up of Haifa,\" said Mayor Yahav. \"It is the core and symbol of this tolerant and multi-cultural city.\"\n\n*Two years ahead of schedule*\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a message sent to the worldwide Baha'i community, the Universal House of Justice recounted how the \"restoration of this majestic edifice was preceded by three years of preparations, entailing comprehensive studies to assess its condition, to analyse the impact of the environment upon it, and to determine approaches and materials for the renovation that would remain faithful to the original design as well as withstand the rigours of time.\"\n\nMore than 50 years of exposure to Haifa's climate and environmental conditions had taken their toll on the superstructure's stonework and dome when work began in 2008.\n\nSaeid Samadi, project architect and manager, says experts estimated such a restoration would normally take five to six years. \"We originally targeted April 2013 for its completion. It is a tribute to the total dedication and unity of everyone involved that the project has been completed in less than three years.\n\n\"The team truly appreciated the importance of the place and never forgot where they were working,\" says Mr. Samadi. \"We were all inspired by the Baha'i principle that everything should be created to the highest state of perfection.\"\n\nThe project required the restoration and conservation of the interior and exterior of the original 1909 structure, as well as measures to strengthen the Shrine against seismic forces. An entirely new retrofit design – combining concrete, steel and carbon fibre wrap technology – was needed for the whole building, from its foundation and original masonry to its octagon, drum and dome. More than 120 rock anchors were fixed into the mountain behind newly fortified retaining walls.\n\n\"Some 80,000 man-hours were spent on significantly improving the Shrine's resistance to earthquakes\" says Mr. Samadi. \"but it is all concealed from view and does not affect the beauty and grandeur of the original architecture at all.\"\n\n*Restoring the stone and dome*\n\nProgress on the Shrine restoration was significantly helped along by an earlier two-year project on the nearby International Baha'i Archives building, says Mr. Samadi.\n\n\"We studied the Shrine and researched materials and techniques while still working on the Archives. That experience generated a lot of momentum. We knew the experts; we perfected the skills and techniques. With the Shrine, we did not finish one job before starting another. We were working on the structure, carrying out the stone restoration, doing many things at the same time.\"\n\nMore than 50,000 man-hours were spent on the stonework by the staff of the restoration office and volunteers - including many young people - from Australia, Canada, China, Ecuador, Germany, India, Kenya, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Vanuatu, all trained by expert conservators.  Every square centimetre of the building's exterior was checked and restored.\n\n\"For the original superstructure, Carrara marble was wanted but it was not easy to come by after the Second World War,\" says Mr. Samadi. \"The only stone available was Chiampo marble. When we were researching to see how it has been restored in Europe, we discovered that – because of its nature – it has not been used anywhere else for exterior cladding, just for flooring. There was no background knowledge on how to do it.\"\n\nNew techniques also had to be developed to replace the Shrine's golden tiles. For two years, efforts were made to see if the badly eroded old tiles could be restored. \"We checked the condition of every single tile but, as a result of their exposure to the elements, many were broken beyond repair and the rest could not be restored back to their original beauty,\" says Mr. Samadi.\n\nAfter several years of research, a Portuguese firm was contracted to produce new tiles in more than 120 different shapes and sizes. Leading-edge technology was employed to manufacture each tile from pure porcelain, covered with layers of glazing and gold solution, and finished with a highly durable final coating.\n\n\"The company had never done anything like this before,\" says Mr. Samadi. \"They are renowned for museum-quality porcelain artefacts. But the result is perfect. Not only are the tiles beautiful, they are five to six times more abrasion-resistant than the originals.\"\n\nAn expert mason and tile setter from New Zealand – Bruce Hancock – was flown in to supervise the work to be carried out by the staff of the restoration office. \"We had to learn as we went,\" Mr. Hancock says. \"Ordinarily, you lay tiles but they are usually square. These tiles are all shapes and sizes. Every row is curved.\n\n\"Initially, I was concerned how we were going to create that curve, but these tiles were designed and detailed in such a way that they just did it themselves. They seemed to have a life of their own.  If *we* did the right thing – getting the two corners right – *they* did the right thing. It was just amazing.\"\n\nThe dome of the Shrine of the Bab \"now shines in the plenitude of its splendour,\" observed the Universal House of Justice in its message.\n\n\"This is really something unique,\" Haifa's Mayor Yona Yahav told guests celebrating the completion of the restoration project, \"in this city, in Israel - in fact in the world.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573008-18602.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Mayor of Haifa, Advocate Yona Yahav, addressed guests at a celebratory reception to mark the completion of the restoration of the Shrine of the Bab. \"This is really something unique,\" said Mr. Yahav. \"in this city, in Israel - in fact in the world.\" Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573019-18603.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab as seen from its western gardens, early in the morning of Tuesday 12 April 2011, shortly after its unveiling. The building's interior capacity has now almost doubled with the preparation of three new rooms to receive pilgrims and visitors for worship. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573014-18604.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab viewed from the complex of Baha'i administrative buildings on Mount Carmel. New techniques had to be developed to replace the Shrine's 11,790 golden tiles, in more than 120 different shapes and sizes. Master mason Bruce Hancock from New Zealand described the restored Shrine as \"an awesome sight.\" Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573014-18605.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab was originally built in 1909. The golden-domed superstructure was completed in 1954. More than 50,000 man-hours were spent on the restoration of the Shrine's stonework alone. Every square centimetre of the building's exterior was checked and restored. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573014-18606.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Restoration of the Shrine of the Bab’s original balustrades involved remaking many pieces that were beyond repair, protecting them against moisture, regilding, and developing a system for sectional removal for future repairs. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573018-18607.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A detail showing the Shrine of the Bab's exquisite finials, newly repaired and gilded. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573005-18608.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An interior view of the drum of the Shrine of the Bab, showing elements of the new structure designed to strengthen the building against earthquakes. New heavy steel bracings connect the reinforced ringbeam to the original concrete piers of the superstructure. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573004-18609.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Volunteers were specially chosen for the meticulous stone restoration work at the Shrine of the Bab. One member of the team said restoring the Shrine was a unique, even spiritual, experience. \"Sometimes I wondered whether we were working on the building or whether it was working on us,\" he said, recalling the unity of the workers. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573011-18610.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Workers went over the entire stone exterior of the Shrine and repaired every spot that showed signs of damage from 50 years of exposure to the elements. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573017-18611.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab as seen from its southern terraced gardens, early in the morning of Tuesday 12 April 2011, shortly after its unveiling after two years of restoration and conservation work. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573017-18612.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab is flanked above and below by majestic terraced gardens. In 2008, the Shrine was inscribed – along with the Shrine of Baha'u'llah near Acre – as a site of \"outstanding universal value\" on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573008-18613.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A night view of the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel, Haifa, 12 April 2011. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543573012-18614.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A night view of the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel, Haifa, from its western gardens, 12 April 2011. Photo credit: Baha’i World Centre photo. All rights reserved."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"More about the Shrine restoration"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Photographs for download](https://news.bahai.org/story/shrine-restoration/photographs)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Historical interest articles from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":797,"relatedStoryCaption":"Garden offers glimpse into industrial and spiritual life of Acre and environs."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":792,"relatedStoryCaption":"Centenary of 'Abdu'l-Baha's embarking on journeys to the West."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":642,"relatedStoryCaption":"UN committee determines Baha'i Holy Places possess \"outstanding universal value\"."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":815,"evergreenUrl":"governments-condemn-irans-reversal-jail-terms","title":"Governments condemn Iran's reversal on jail terms","description":"Governments and human rights organizations have been swift to condemn the reinstatement of 20-year jail sentences for Iran's seven Baha'i leaders....","date":"2011-04-06","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543572987-april-montage-2011-04-05.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543572987-april-montage-2011-04-05.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Examples of the widespread protest being made by governments and organizations around the world at the reinstatement of the 20-year prison sentences for Iran's seven Baha'i leaders.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Governments and human rights organizations have been swift to condemn the reinstatement of 20-year jail sentences for Iran's seven Baha'i leaders.\n\nThe seven were informed last month by prison authorities that the 10-year sentences – imposed after an appeal court revoked three charges against them in September last year – have now reverted to the lower court's ruling of 20-year jail terms. Nothing has been seen in writing by the prisoners or their attorneys.\n\nThe development has provoked immediate and widespread response – both publicly and privately. Statements have been made by the **European Union** and **European Parliament**, as well as by governments, institutions and individuals, in **Brazil**, **France**, **Germany**, **India**, the **United Kingdom** and the **United States**.\n\nAll of these voices of support are combining throughout the planet to give this clear message to the Iranian authorities: Whether or not you intentionally took this action when global attention was focused on the drama unfolding in other parts of the Middle East, you cannot fail to appreciate that the world is closely watching your actions towards your own people, including the Baha'is in your country. You cannot hide this systematic abuse of innocent citizens.\n\n*Diplomatic support*\n\nIn a statement dated 1 April, Baroness Catherine Ashton – the High Representative of the **European Union** for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – said she was \"disturbed\" by the latest news concerning the Baha'i leaders. \"I call on the Iranian authorities to clarify the legal situation of the seven individuals concerned,\" she said. \"They and their lawyers should be given the requisite access to all relevant documentation regarding their cases.\"\n\nBaroness Ashton called for the immediate release of the seven and an end to the persecution of religious minorities in Iran.\n\nThe President of the **European Parliament**, Jerzy Buzek, also expressed his \"grave concern\" at developments. \"I appeal to the Iranian authorities to stop the unjustified detention of these religious leaders and provide more clarity and legal explanations in a transparent manner regarding their case,\" said Mr. Buzek, in a statement on 4 April.\n\n\"The freedom of religion or belief is one of the most fundamental human rights,\" he said.\n\nThe **United Kingdom**'s Foreign Secretary, William Hague, stated that he was \"deeply disturbed\" to learn that the 20-year prison sentences have been reinstated.\n\n\"In August last year, I made clear that we believe the leaders are fully entitled to practice their faith,\" said Mr. Hague on 4 April. \"I stand by what I said then, and once again call on the Iranian judiciary to review the case and to cease persecution of the Baha'i Faith.\"\n\n\"I am also concerned by the reports that the seven are facing physical threats from other inmates and guards in the prison they have been moved to,\" Mr. Hague added.\n\n\"This is yet another example of the Iranian authorities' disregard of the legitimate rights of the Iranian people. While restating that I do not believe there are adequate grounds to detain the leaders, I urge the Iranian authorities to ensure their safety while in custody, and provide them with full legal rights under Iranian law.\"\n\n**Germany**'s Foreign Office Commissioner for Human Rights policy, Markus Löning, described the prison sentence as \"scandalous.\"\n\n\"The fact that this decision is taken in secret shows once more that Iran is not prepared to be transparent and respect fundamental constitutional principles,\" said Mr. Löning, on 5 April.\n\nIn its statement, dated 1 April, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of **France** strongly condemned \"the violence, discrimination and harassment against the Baha'is in Iran which prohibit them from exercising their freedom of religion or belief...\"\n\nThe **United States** described the sentencing as an \"unprecedented step\" and a violation of Iran's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.\" A Department of State press briefing – in Washington D.C. on 31 March – was told that the United States was \"deeply troubled\" by reports of the reinstatement of the former prison sentence.\n\nIn **Brazil**, Federal Deputy Luiz Couto – former President of the Human Rights and Minorities Commission – addressed a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and called upon the National Congress, Brazilian society and other countries to express their support to the Baha'i community.\n\n\"The accusations that keep the Baha'i leaders imprisoned are completely false, invented with the intention to justify the unacceptable, purely religious persecution,\" said Deputy Couto on 4 April.\n\nAn open letter, already signed by some 90 prominent citizens from throughout **India**, has attracted more high-level signatories since news broke of the restoration of the 20-year sentence.\n\nSenior members of the judiciary – including a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India – as well as prominent figures in education, have now joined the campaign.\n\n\"As citizens of India, a country that has rightfully prided itself in exemplifying for the world the spirit of coexistence and tolerance, we express our deep concern for the imprisoned Baha'is and their families\" the statement says.\n\n*\"Deeply entrenched discrimination\"*\n\nA number of human rights organizations have also reacted strongly to reports of the 20-year jail terms.\n\n**Amnesty International** has described Iran's latest move as \"vindictive\" and \"outrageous.\"\n\n\"Yet again, the Iranian authorities are manipulating their own justice system to persecute members of a religious minority,\" said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty's director for the Middle East and North Africa.\n\n\"Instead of doubling their sentences, the authorities should be setting the Baha'i leaders free, right now, and guaranteeing their freedom to practice their religion free from threat or persecution.\n\n\"Such arbitrary and vindictive acts are a salutary reminder of why the UN Human Rights Council voted recently to create a Special Rapporteur on Iran. The Council's decision came not a moment too soon,\" said Mr. Smart.\n\n\"This is the latest example of the deeply entrenched discrimination faced by the Baha'i minority in Iran,\" he observed, adding that it \"is also a reminder to the international community of how little regard the Iranian authorities pay to international human rights standards on freedom of belief, association, expression and the right to a fair trial.\"\n\n\"The reinstatement of such a severe sentence on the Baha'is is a further blow to the group,\" said Stuart Windsor, National Director of **Christian Solidarity Worldwide**, who added \"it is clear that both the Baha'is and certain Christian communities are being targeted solely on the grounds of their faith.\n\n\"The international community must press Iran to release all detainees who are held solely on account of their religion,\" said Mr. Windsor. \"The Iranian government must also ensure that the members of the Church of Iran...receive due process, and are acquitted of all charges that have no legal bearing under Iranian law.\"\n\nThe seven Baha'i leaders – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm – were all members of a national-level ad hoc group that attended to the needs of Iran's Baha'i community. They are incarcerated in Gohardasht prison - about 50 kilometers west of Tehran.\n\n**Special Report - \"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\"**\n\n*The Baha'i World News Service has published a [Special Report](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/) which includes articles and background information about the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders - their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing - and the allegations made against them. It also offers further resources about the persecution of Iran's Baha'i community. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page of the Baha'i World News service is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals. The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Further information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran- update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(List of BWNS articles)[http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(History of persecution of Baháís in Iran – 1844 to present: A short summary)[http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecution]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"(Photos)[http://www.news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html]","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Latest Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":814,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'i International Community's shock and dismay at restoration of original jail terms."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":813,"relatedStoryCaption":"UN Human Rights Council appoints special investigator to monitor Iran's compliance with international standards."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":812,"relatedStoryCaption":"Authorities arrest Baha'is involved in kindergarten."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/48/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}