{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/54/","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! Check your email to confirm your subscription.","subscribe_error":"Subscribe Error","subscribe_error_p1":"Sorry. An error has occurred with your subscription request to the Bahá’í World News Service. Please try again. If this problem persists, please use our [contact form](https://www.bahai.org/contact/).","subscribe_h1":"Stories via email","subscribe_h2":"Mobile app","subscribe_h3":"Updates via Twitter","subscribe_h4":"Podcast","subscribe_label_email":"Email","subscribe_label_email_fill":"Please enter a valid email address.","subscribe_label_first_name":"First name","subscribe_label_first_name_fill":"Please enter your first name.","subscribe_label_last_name":"Last name","subscribe_label_last_name_fill":"Please enter your last name.","subscribe_missing_fields":"Please fill in all required fields!","subscribe_p1":"Receive emails from the Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) when new articles are published.","subscribe_p2":"Receive updates and notifications from the BWNS app.","subscribe_p3":"Follow the Bahá’í World News Service on Twitter for regular updates and stories.","subscribe_p4":"Subscribe to the BWNS podcast for additional audio content.","subscribe_success_h1":"You have been subscribed to Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe_success_p1":"Your email address has been added to our mailing list.","subscribe_success_p2":"Thanks for becoming a subscriber.","subscribe_to_bwns":"Subscribe to BWNS","subscribe_unknown_error":"Sorry, an unknown error has occurred. Please try again later.","subscribe_unsubscribe_bwns":"Unsubscribe from BWNS","subscribe_unsubscribe_error_client":"Something went wrong, please try again.","subscribe_unsubscribe_error_no_email":"We do not have this email in our database, please try again.","subscribe_unsubscribe_error_server":"Something went wrong on our server, please try again.","subscribe_unsubscribe_h1":"Unsubscribe - Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe_unsubscribe_success_h1":"You have been unsubscribed from the Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe_unsubscribe_success_p1":"Your email address has been removed from the mailing list.","subscribe_unsubscribe_success_p2":"Thanks for having been a subscriber.","subscribe_unsubscribe_success_p3":"(If you unsubscribed by accident and prefer to continue receiving emails from the Bahá’í World News Service, please [click here](./).)","tenth_international_bahai_convention":"Tenth International Bahá’í Convention","the_bahai_faith":"The Bahá’í Faith","thirteenth_international_bahai_convention":"Thirteenth International Bahá’í Convention","twelfth_international_bahai_convention":"Twelfth International Bahá’í Convention","united_nations":"United Nations","unsubscribe":"Unsubscribe","updated_content":"UPDATED CONTENT","updates_via_social_media":"Updates via social media","url_copied_to_clipboard":"URL copied to clipboard","video":"Video","view_all":"View all","view_all_articles":"View all articles","visit_page":"Visit page","watch_next":"Watch next","watch_video":"Watch video","what_bahais_believe":"What Bahá’ís Believe","what_bahais_do":"What Bahá’ís Do","texterify_timestamp":"2023-09-10T10:15:38Z"},"archivePageNumber":54,"archiveTotalPages":80,"totalStories":1596,"archiveList":[{"storyNumber":713,"evergreenUrl":"iranian-bahai-leaders-may-face-new-accusation-anniversary-imprisonment","title":"Iranian Baha'i leaders may face new accusation on anniversary of imprisonment","description":"The seven Baha'i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran are facing the anniversary of their arrest this Thursday, along with new and extremely...","date":"2009-05-12","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568285-63201img93671.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568285-63201img93671.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The seven Bahá'í leaders who have now been held in Tehran's Evin Prison for a full year are, seated from left, 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":"The seven Baha'i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran are facing the anniversary of their arrest this Thursday, along with new and extremely grave accusations, after spending a year in jail without formal charges or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi.\n\n\"Despite their obvious innocence and the call by many for their immediate release, these seven men and women have been in legal limbo for a year now, against all international human rights standards,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"Moreover, their families have recently been told of a possible new charge - 'the spreading of corruption on earth,' which goes by the term 'Mofsede fel-Arz' in Persian and carries the threat of death under the penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"The sequence of events surrounding their detention exposes a shameless travesty of justice. Notwithstanding their having been subjected to intensive interrogations, it took a full seven months before they were given even a single pretext for their detention. On February 10, 2009, the Iranian Student News Agency quoted Tehran deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad as having said that the investigation of these individuals was complete and that 'the case will be sent to the revolutionary court next week' and that these Baha'is are accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' The international protest expressed by governments and civil society was immediate and widespread, causing the Iranian authorities to review their approach.\n\n\"Now a new wrongful accusation reportedly has been added some three months after the investigation was supposed to have concluded. The charge of being spreaders of corruption was used against the Baha'is who were executed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution. That it may now be resorted to in this case is a further demonstration that the authorities have no basis for any allegation against these seven individuals, other than blatant religious persecution. This action against the Baha'i leadership reflects the government's sharply increased persecution of the entire Iranian Baha'i community of more than 300,000 members.\n\n\"The upcoming anniversary of their arrest offers an important milestone and we ask that the international community re-state once again in the strongest terms its demand for their immediate release, or, at least, for a fair and open trial that meets international standards of justice,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\nMs. Dugal also noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frequently emphasized the importance of \"justice and human dignity\" and \"the establishment of a just world system,\" such as when he addressed the UN Durban Review Conference in Geneva last month.\n\n\"How can the calls of the Iranian leadership for justice in the international sphere be taken seriously if they do not grant justice to their own citizens? In Iran, by all accounts universally agreed upon human rights are routinely ignored, not only for Baha'is but also for women, journalists, and others who only seek dignity and justice,\" she said.\n\nThe seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Persian"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Read this story in Persian](http://news.persian-bahai.org/story/131)","relatedLinkDescription":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":712,"evergreenUrl":"australian-national-assembly-marks-75th-year-like-irans-it-was-first-elected-1934","title":"Australian National Assembly marks 75th year; like Iran's, it was first elected in 1934","description":"A congratulatory message from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was read to Australian Baha’is as they celebrated the 75th anniversary of their National...","date":"2009-05-08","customDateline":null,"city":"SYDNEY","country":"AUSTRALIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568240-712005557.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568240-712005557.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney was the site of a devotional program on 26 April in honor of the 75th anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia. The Baha'i choir performs from a balcony. (Photographs by Rachael Dere)","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A congratulatory message from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was read to Australian Baha’is as they celebrated the 75th anniversary of their National Spiritual Assembly at an event in Sydney. Participants remembered the Baha’is in Iran, who would be marking the same anniversary if not for the decades of persecution in that country.\n\nBoth Iran and Australia elected their first national Baha’i governing councils in 1934.\n\nIn Sydney, more than 2,500 people turned out on 25 April for a special anniversary event at the Sydney Convention Centre, followed the next day by a reception on the grounds of the Baha’i House of Worship.\n\nA spokesperson for the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia said at the reception that the Iranian Assembly was dissolved in 1983.\n\nThis occurred after the Iranian Prosecutor General called for the dismantling of the Bahá’í administrative structure. Persecution of the Iranian Bahá’ís had intensified in the years immediately following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. During that time all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran were abducted and disappeared without a trace, assumed to have been killed. Individuals subsequently elected to the same Assembly were then executed along with scores of other Bahá’ís.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"About 40 Baha’is are currently in prison in Iran because of their religion, including seven men and women who had a leadership role in helping see to the needs of the 300,000-member Baha’i community there.\n\nDelegates to the annual Baha’i convention in Australia referred to Iran in a message: “We grieve for the 30 years lost to the Bahá’í administration in Iran and salute those who gave their lives as a result of their service to that institution as well as the selfless dedication of the Iranian friends throughout their long oppression.”\n\n**Prime minister sends greetings**\n\nAustralian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sent a message for the anniversary event, read by Member of Parliament Laurie Ferguson.\n\nIn his own address, Mr. Ferguson complimented the Australian Baha'i community: “Your organization is in the forefront of tolerance, debate, and rationality.\"\n\nHe said he was particularly concerned by the persecution of Baha'is in Iran.\n\nAlso speaking at the reception was Dr. Peter Khan, a member of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Baha’i Faith.\n\nDr. Khan said that since its establishment in 1934, the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia had dedicated itself to fulfilling the central mission of the Baha’i Faith – to be a source of harmony, unity, and understanding among diverse people.\n\nThe National Spiritual Assembly of Australia is one of 180 such Baha’i governing councils in the world. In virtually all countries, elections are held annually during the festival of Ridvan, which runs from 21 April to 2 May.\n\nSome 90 delegates from throughout Australia attended their national convention – held at the Sydney Baha’i Centre from 24-26 April – and voted in the election for the National Assembly. All Baha’i elections are by secret ballot, without nominations or campaigning.\n\nAustralia and New Zealand originally had a joint National Spiritual Assembly, but growth in the number of the Baha’is in both countries led to formation of two separate governing bodies in 1957. New Zealand also celebrated the 75th anniversary during the recent Ridvan period."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568243-712015020.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The anniversary celebration coincided with this year's national Baha'i convention in Australia. Convention participants are shown here during a break."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568241-712025507.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Member of Parliament Laurie Ferguson, right, delivered a message from the prime minister at a reception on 26 April. At left are Dr. Janet Khan and Dr. Peter Khan, a member of the Universal House of Justice who spoke at the reception and also at a large gathering the previous evening at the Sydney Convention Centre."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568246-712035465.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The reception to mark the anniversary was held on the grounds of the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney, followed by a devotional program in the temple itself."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568245-712045568.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A prayer is offered during the devotional service at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney on 26 April."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568241-712055531.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A guest at the anniversary reception, Peter Lalor of the State Emergency Service, talks with Dr. Manijeh Reyhani, a member of the Baha'i Continental Board of Counselors."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568236-712065541.jpg"},"imageDescription":"National Spiritual Assembly member Tessa Scrine chairs the reception, held on the grounds of the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568244-712075025.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Bill Thomas of Sydney was among those who attended the annual Baha'i convention. The main purpose of the convention is to elect the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly for the coming year."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568237-712085062.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Delegates to the national convention pay close attention during the consultation."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568241-712095121.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Events last week marking the 75th anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly in Australia were held in conjunction with the annual convention, where delegates cast ballots for Assembly members for the coming year."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":711,"evergreenUrl":"youth-art-project-brings-citation-nunavut-resident","title":"Youth art project brings citation for Nunavut resident","description":"Beth McKenty moved to sparsely populated northeast Canada – to Iqaluit on Baffin Island – in 1999 to fulfill a pledge, made 45 years earlier,...","date":"2009-04-26","customDateline":null,"city":"IQALUIT, NUNAVUT","country":"CANADA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568196-71100nunatsiaqnews.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568196-71100nunatsiaqnews.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In this file photo from the Nunatsiaq News, Beth McKenty prepares materials for youngsters in Iqaluit who come her sessions to create art. (Photo copyright 2002 Nunatsiaq News. Used by permission.)","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Beth McKenty moved to sparsely populated northeast Canada – to Iqaluit on Baffin Island – in 1999 to fulfill a pledge, made 45 years earlier, to devote part of her life to reducing youth suicide.\n\nWithin two weeks of arriving she had begun a project to help children build self-esteem by exploring their creativity. The Arctic Youth Art Initiative has since grown to involve hundreds of children.\n\nMs. McKenty's efforts were acknowledged this month when she was one of 75 individuals from across Canada named as recipients of the Caring Canadian Awards for 2009. Created in 1996 by the Canadian Governor General, the award is presented to individuals and groups whose unpaid, voluntary contributions over a number of years provide extraordinary help or care to people in their community.\n\nIt has been a long and often surprising road for Ms. McKenty from her birthplace of Snowflake, Manitoba, to Iqaluit, population 7,200 and the capital of the Nunavut territory. In addition to several decades in Wisconsin, where she worked as a freelance journalist and raised a family, she has lived in Japan, China, and Russia, and she has taught at the Navajo College at Tsaile, Arizona, in the United States.\n\n\"I started out on a farm in Manitoba, one of seven children,\" she said. \"My father was from pioneer stock and a veteran who served at Vimy Ridge. My mother, a nurse, was an Icelandic immigrant. We grew up in a home with an openness to the whole world.\n\n\"In 1954, my younger brother took his own life. One way I dealt with the anguish was to make a promise to myself that some day, somehow, I would do something to help reduce youth suicide.\"\n\nIt was the day of her brother's funeral that she first heard of the Baha'i Faith. As she learned of Baha'u'llah's world-embracing principle of unity, she felt it matched the values she had grown up with. A life of Baha'i activity has followed.\n\n\"I was so busy and the years went by, but my plan always included fulfilling my promise to my brother,\" she said. \"Then in 1999, two things happened simultaneously. I read that the rate of youth suicide in newly formed Nunavut was seven times the Canadian average. Around the same time, I attended the Baha'i National Convention in Montreal where I learned of opportunities for service in the Arctic. Here was my chance.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"By October, she had moved into Baha'i House in Iqaluit, located on the Arctic tundra not too far south of the Arctic circle.\n\n**'I came with a purpose'**\n\n\"I came with a purpose but didn't have a method,\" she said. \"Earlier, I had had my own artist's studio for two years and had brought my paints with me to Iqaluit. Two weeks after getting there, I heard some strange sounds and discovered two boys trying to throw stones over the house, but missing. I opened the door and asked if they'd like to come in for hot chocolate.\n\n\"Since I'd been painting, I asked them if they would like to paint, too. I explained that with red, yellow, and blue they could mix any color except white. They were shy but accepted. I was astounded at what they could paint. Their work was so northern. The wonderful heritage of the Inuit was evident in these children. They returned later with one or two friends. That's how this project began.\n\n\"I never really instructed these children. I just facilitated by providing a space and good quality materials. In addition to the painting, the children enjoy games, prizes, lunch, and occasional 'multiple' birthday parties.\"\n\nAlthough located in Baha'i House, the project is separate from Baha'i gatherings and is offered as a service to the community. Little by little, a special format developed with greeting time followed by preparation of palettes, brushes, paper, and paint for each child.\n\n\"I soon learned,\" Ms. McKenty recalled, \"that it matters to give exactly the same amount of materials to each child as they intently watch the preparation. I ask for six or seven minutes of silence at the beginning of painting. I've learned talking disturbs the creative moment. Often, silence continues a long time as the young artists become absorbed in what they are creating.\"\n\n**Saturday morning sessions**\n\nGradually more children came, bringing their friends. Today, the Saturday morning workshops still average five to 20 participants, from 4 to 14 years of age.\n\n\"There are many benefits to the project beyond the art,\" Ms. McKenty said. \"It is also important that children make friends here. A child who has been very unpopular with others can produce something unusual or very beautiful. This changes the others' feelings and the child's sense of worth.\n\n\"I can't say for sure that as an adult they won't take their lives, but I know there is much less chance of it if they have become proud of their work, give and receive praise, and learn more about human relationships.\n\n\"My experience shows me that every human being is an artist. When we recognize it, it helps inform us about our own soul.\"\n\nThe Arctic Youth Art Initiative has steadily expanded, including visits to schools. With the support of other individuals and organizations, workshops have been held in eight other settlements in Nunavut, including the two most northerly, Resolute and Grise Fiord. Participants' work has been shown in the Nunavut Legislature, in Iqaluit's Nunatta Sanukkataangit Museum, as well as the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the Marion Scott Inuit Art Gallery in Vancouver.\n\nThis summer, two especially gifted young artists are being given two weeks of individual instruction and visits to galleries and museums by the Ottawa School of Art, in recognition of the eight years they have regularly come to the workshops.\n\n\"Life is so rich for me as a Baha'i,\" said Ms. McKenty. \"I have learned to look at each human being, quite literally, as family. My hope is that this is part of what children feel here, that we are really united in what we are doing, that I am not a teacher from a different place, just a friend.\n\n\"It was overwhelming to me, returning two years ago from the funeral of my son Jack Jr. in Los Angeles, to answer the doorbell and find an enormous basket of orchids and lilies delivered with a note from 'your friends, the taxi drivers of Iqaluit.' Although this project is aimed at children, apparently it has reached other hearts, and my own continues to be educated by this privilege of living and working in Iqaluit.\"\n\n*Editor's note: This article was first published by the Canadian Baha'i News Service.*"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568196-71102nunatsiaqnews.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The young people are offered space and materials for their work, but Beth McKenty says she \"never really instructed these children.\" (Photo copyright 2004 Nunatsiaq News. Used with permission.)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568196-71101nunatsiaqnews.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Beth McKenty, left, was nearly 70 years old when she started the art program a decade ago. (Photo copyright 2004 Nunatsiaq News. Used with permission.)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568199-71103ooleepeekaipeelieetc.jpg"},"imageDescription":"These works were created by Ooleepeeka Ipeelie and Seepoola Innuaraq during their participation in the Arctic Youth Art Initiative. (Photo courtesy the Baha'i Community of Canada.)"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":710,"evergreenUrl":"british-prime-minister-sends-ridvan-message-bahais","title":"British prime minister sends Ridvan message to Baha'is","description":"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has sent a message to UK Baha'is to mark Ridvan, the most important Baha'i festival. In it he expressed his...","date":"2009-04-24","customDateline":null,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568175-71000ukridvan.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568175-71000ukridvan.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell reads the message from Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the Ridvan reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is on 22 April.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has sent a message to UK Baha'is to mark Ridvan, the most important Baha'i festival. In it he expressed his \"respect and admiration\" for the British Baha'i community which, he said, \"makes a contribution to British life out of all proportion to its size.\"\n\nIn the letter, which was addressed to the annual reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha'is, Mr. Brown welcomed the Baha'is' \"participation in public life\" and described as \"tragic\" the prejudice and discrimination faced by some Baha'is in the world.\n\nHis sentiments were echoed by leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, and the archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, all of whom also sent messages to the reception.\n\n\"The Baha'i emphasis on equality, unity, social justice, and human rights does credit to your faith,\" wrote David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party.\n\nNick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, called Ridvan \"a time to acknowledge and reflect on the valuable social and cultural contribution made by the thousands of Baha'is living in the UK.\"\n\n\"The Baha'i community,\" he said, \"can be very proud of its active role in promoting religious tolerance, peace and unity across the world.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The prime minister's message pointedly addressed the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran:  \"At the forefront of all of our minds this Ridvan is the fate of the seven Baha'i leaders awaiting trial in Iran. We have raised our concerns with the Iranian government and I urge the authorities to ensure that these individuals receive a fair trial and ask them to put an end to discrimination against the wider Baha'i community within Iran.\"\n\nA message written on behalf of the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said he has \"made clear to the Iranian authorities his profound disapproval of the way in which the leadership has been treated since their arrest and detention in harsh conditions and without charge last year. The charges now brought go against all the experience of Baha'is as peaceful people and loyal citizens of their countries.\"\n\nThe prime minister's letter was read by Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell, who attended the reception along with 80 other guests, including leading figures from nongovernmental organizations and different religious communities. The event was held on the terrace of the House of Commons on 22 April.\n\nThe 12-day Festival of Ridvan marks the anniversary of the announcement in 1863 by Baha'u'llah that He is God's Messenger for this age, the latest in a line of divine teachers that includes Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, and others."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568176-71001ukridvan.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Bahar Tahzib, whose father was killed in Iran in the 1980s and whose uncle is currently imprisoned, speaks at the Ridvan reception."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":709,"evergreenUrl":"for-70th-year-buenos-aires-elects-assembly","title":"For 70th year, Buenos Aires elects assembly","description":"This week, for the 70th year, the Baha'is of Buenos Aires gathered to elect their local Spiritual Assembly – one of the two oldest of what are...","date":"2009-04-24","customDateline":null,"city":"BUENOS AIRES","country":"ARGENTINA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568109-70900buenosaires.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568109-70900buenosaires.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha’is of Buenos Aires, Argentina, hold the annual meeting to elect their nine-member local Spiritual Assembly, one of the two oldest such Baha'i councils in South America. The event took place on 20 April.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"This week, for the 70th year, the Baha'is of Buenos Aires gathered to elect their local Spiritual Assembly – one of the two oldest of what are now 600 such Baha'i governing councils throughout South America.\n\nA special program featuring historical photographs was presented at the annual meeting of the Buenos Aires' Baha'is on 20 April, said Behrooz Khomassi, who has researched local Baha'i history and helped prepare the program.\n\n\"The first assembly of Buenos Aires was elected on the 10th of May in 1940,\" he said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Published documents from the period list Buenos Aires and Bahia, Brazil, as being the first two Baha'i assemblies in South America.\n\nBoth cities were visited in 1919 by the famed Baha'i travel teacher Martha Root, known for her journeys around the world to present the Baha'i message to royalty, government officials, civic leaders, newspaper editors, and the public at large.\n\nIn 1940, another prominent Baha'i, May Maxwell, also came to Buenos Aires, but she died within three days of her arrival on 27 February. Mr. Khomassi said her passing served as a catalyst for Baha'i activity in the city – two months later its first Spiritual Assembly was formed.\n\nWorldwide, elections for local Baha'i assemblies are held annually at the beginning of the Festival of Ridvan, which goes from 21 April to 2 May and marks the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in 1863 that He was a new messenger of God. There are thousands of localities around the globe that hold such elections.\n\nAlso during Ridvan, virtually every national Baha'i community holds a convention where delegates elect their National Spiritual Assembly. Some 180 such elections will be held this year.\n\nAssemblies at both the national and local level have nine members, and all Baha'is aged 21 or over who live in the jurisdiction are eligible for election."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568112-70901buenosaires.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Spiritual Assembly of Buenos Aires was first elected in May 1940. This group, and that of Bahia, Brazil, were the first such assemblies in South America. (Photo courtesy of the Baha'is of Buenos Aires)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568111-70902buenosaires1940withpsprague.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is of Buenos Aires pose for a photograph in 1940, the year they elected their first local Spiritual Assembly. (Photo courtesy of the Baha'is of Buenos Aires)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568116-70903buenosaires.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is in thousands of localities around the globe this week cast ballots for the nine members of local Spiritual Assemblies. Pictured here is Buenos Aires."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568111-70904colombiacali.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Cali, Colombia, was one of 600 localities in South America where a local Baha'i election took place between sunset on 20 April and sunset on 21 April."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568113-70905chimbarongo.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The village of Chimbarongo, 140 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile, elects its Spiritual Assembly for only the second time."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568107-70906maracaibo.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An individual in Maracaibo, Venezuela, thoughtfully considers her vote. In Baha'i balloting, there are no nominations and no discussion about whom to vote for."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568116-70907maracaibo.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Voting in Baha'i elections is considered a spiritual responsibility, and communities make an effort to create an appropriate environment."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568106-70908colombiaguajira.jpg"},"imageDescription":"For local and national assemblies, Baha'is aged 21 or older are eligible to vote and be elected. This photo is from a community in the Colombian Guajira."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568117-70909dominrepub.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Eight of the nine members of the newly elected Spiritual Assembly of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, pose for a photograph."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":708,"evergreenUrl":"bahais-rights-groups-say-iranian-president-must-address-discrimination-home","title":"Baha'is and rights groups say Iranian president must address discrimination at home","description":"The Baha’i International Community joined two human rights organizations in calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address discrimination...","date":"2009-04-19","customDateline":null,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha’i International Community joined two human rights organizations in calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address discrimination in his own country when he speaks this week at the conference known as Durban II.\n\nThe statement was issued as a joint news release by the Baha’i International Community, the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI), and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).\n\nIn addition to calling on the Iranian president to address discrimination against ethnic minorities, women, and religious minorities, the three organizations also ask him to redress the problem of incitement to hatred.\n\n“Of particular concern is the manner in which the government-controlled news media has vilified adherents of the Baha’i Faith,” the statement said, citing the hundreds of articles, radio and television programs, Internet postings, and pamphlets containing hate speech that have been disseminated in Iran in recent years.\n\nThe Durban Review Conference is being held under the auspices of the United Nations. The purpose is to evaluate progress towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.\n\n(To read the news release issued by the three organizations, [go here](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/708_PressReleaseBIC-LDDHI-FIDH.pdf).)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Joint news release"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Press Release BIC-LDDHI-FIDH](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/708_PressReleaseBIC-LDDHI-FIDH.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 31KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent articles about Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":682,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'is urge reopening of offices."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":696,"relatedStoryCaption":"Many countries call for release of prisoners."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":691,"relatedStoryCaption":"'Shameful deed' called a sign of intolerance."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":707,"evergreenUrl":"egypt-officially-changes-rules-id-cards","title":"Egypt officially changes rules for ID cards","description":"Egypt’s Ministry of Interior this week published a decree that allows individuals to obtain government documents without identifying themselves...","date":"2009-04-17","customDateline":null,"city":"CAIRO","country":"EGYPT","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Egypt’s Ministry of Interior this week published a decree that allows individuals to obtain government documents without identifying themselves as belonging to a particular religion.\n\nThe decree is the result of a recent Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court ruling – in a case involving Baha’is – that on government ID cards and other documents, individuals may put a dash in the field denoting religious affiliation.\n\n“We are very pleased that the Egyptian government has moved to officially change the regulation that prevented Baha'is and others from realizing their rights of citizenship,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.\n\nThe computerization of ID cards introduced by the government had locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. This had meant that Baha'is were unable to get documents essential to day-to-day life.\n\nThe decree was signed by General Habib al-Adly, Egypt’s Interior Minister, and dated 19 March 2009, and was published on 14 April in the official gazette. According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), which represented Baha’is in many of the recent court cases concerning religious affiliation on government documents, the decree amends the Implementing Statutes of Egypt’s Civil Status Law of 1994. It specifically instructs officials to place a dash (--) before the line reserved for religion in the official documents of citizens who can show that they, or their ancestors, were followers of a religious belief other than the three recognized by the state."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":706,"evergreenUrl":"canadas-parliament-condemns-persecution-bahais-iran","title":"Canada's Parliament condemns persecution of Baha'is in Iran","description":"Canada's House of Commons has unanimously adopted a strongly worded motion condemning the persecution of Baha'is in Iran and calling on the Iranian...","date":"2009-04-02","customDateline":false,"city":"OTTAWA","country":"CANADA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Canada's House of Commons has unanimously adopted a strongly worded motion condemning the persecution of Baha'is in Iran and calling on the Iranian government to release Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Tehran.\n\nThe motion, which was approved on 30 March, stated that the accusations against the Baha'is – espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic – are charges \"frequently used by Iranian authorities to target human rights defenders and religious minorities, and there is nothing in the history or teachings of the Baha'i community to lend any credence to such charges.\"\n\nThe motion was addressed in a debate on the floor of the House of Commons which lasted some 90 minutes. Members of Parliament from all four of Canada's political parties spoke of the long history of persecution suffered by Iran's Baha'is and the current \"campaign of hatred and incitement\" against the Baha'i community there, noting that these current attacks \"constitute a number of warning signs that often foreshadow widespread ethnic, racial or religious cleansing.\"\n\nDecrying the \"persistent and pervasive\" violation of the human rights not only of Iran's Baha'is but of all Iranian citizens who have suffered repression at the hands of extremist elements in that country, members of Parliament also expressed deep admiration for Iran's people and \"the enormous contribution\" that Iran's \"great civilization\" has made to humankind.\n\nThe resolution concludes:\n\n\"Therefore, be it resolved that this House condemns the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i minority of Iran and calls upon the government of Iran to reconsider its charges against the members of the Friends in Iran, and release them immediately or failing this, that it proceed to trial without further delay, ensuring that the proceedings are open and fair and are conducted in the presence of international observers.\"\n\nSeven of the Baha'is imprisoned in Tehran had comprised an ad hoc group called the \"Friends in Iran\" that tended to the minimum needs of the 300,000-member Baha'i community in Iran.\n\nThe seven were rounded up a year ago and have been detained ever since, without access to legal counsel. Accusations against them were only recently announced, but no hearing or trial has yet been held. More than 30 Baha'is are currently jailed in Iran because of their religion.\n\nHere is the wording of the full motion adopted by the Canadian House of Commons:\n\n\"Whereas, the House of Commons recognizes that on 14 May 2008, six members of an informal group known as the Friends in Iran that oversee the needs of the Baha'i community in Iran were arrested and taken to the political prisoners section of Evin prison in Tehran, where the seventh member was already being held, following her arrest in Mashhad in March 2008.\n\n\"And whereas, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in October 2005, uncovered a confidential letter from the Command headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran ordering the identification and monitoring of all Baha'is and their activities.\n\n\"And whereas, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief stated on March 20, 2006, that she 'also expresses her concern that the information gathered as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of and discrimination against, members of the Baha'i Faith, in violation of international standards ... The Special Rapporteur is concerned that his latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating.'\n\n\"And whereas, the Baha'i community of Canada is gravely concerned for the safety of these seven Baha'is, who have been held without formal charges, access to legal counsel or evidence brought against them, and being subjected to harsh treatment and interrogation with very restricted visits from family members for more than nine months.\n\n\"And whereas, Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi - who announced her intention to defend the Baha'is in court - has since been harassed and her offices have been closed.\n\n\"And whereas, the Deputy Prosecutor General has announced that these prisoners will be tried by the Revolutionary court on charges of 'espionage on behalf of Israel', 'insult to the sacredness (of Islam)' and 'propaganda against the regime' - all of which are capital offences.\n\n\"And whereas, such charges are frequently used by Iranian authorities to target human rights defenders and religious minorities and there is nothing in the history or teachings of the Baha'i community to lend any credence to such charges.\n\n\"And whereas, these arrests have taken place in the context of an upsurge of arbitrary arrests, raids on home, expulsion of university students, harassment of school children, destruction of graveyards, virulent attacks in government controlled media.\n\n\"Therefore, be it resolved that this House condemns the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i minority of Iran and calls upon the government of Iran to reconsider its charges against the members of the Friends in Iran, and release them immediately or failing this, that it proceed to trial without further delay, ensuring that the proceedings are open and fair and are conducted in the presence of international observers.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related information"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":705,"evergreenUrl":"web-site-offers-information-visiting-bahai-gardens-shrines","title":"Web site offers information for visiting Baha'i gardens, shrines","description":"A new Web site with information for visiting the Baha'i shrines and gardens in Haifa and Acre was introduced today by the Baha'i International...","date":"2009-03-19","customDateline":null,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568085-70500ganbahaihome.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568085-70500ganbahaihome.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The home page of the new Web site \"The Baha'i Gardens.\" The site offers complete versions in English and Hebrew, with Arabic also planned.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A new Web site with information for visiting the Baha'i shrines and gardens in Haifa and Acre was introduced today by the Baha'i International Community.\n\nThe Web site gives details about tours, hours, and the gardens themselves, as well as information about visiting the Shrine of Baha'u'llah in Acre and the Shrine of the Bab in Haifa. The shrines are the resting places of the founders of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nLetting people know what to expect when they visit the properties is a major aim of the Web site, said Albert Lincoln, secretary general of the Baha'i International Community. The site gives maps and suggestions for visitors, answers frequently asked questions, and also notes when people might find the gardens closed, such as on Baha'i holy days.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The launch of the Web site - called \"The Baha'i Gardens\" - coincides with an expanded array of public tours.\n\nHalf a million people come to the properties each year, making them among the most visited sites in the eastern Mediterranean region. Last year the shrines and gardens were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list as having \"outstanding universal value\" for humanity.\n\nA major impetus for creating the Web site was to make visitor information available in the local languages, Mr. Lincoln said. In addition to English, the site already offers Hebrew, and Arabic will be added as soon as possible. Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of Israel.\n\nPublic tours have changed in that people may check the Web site for the hours of the main \"Panorama Tour\" and the languages in which it is offered. Reservations are no longer required.\n\nMore specialized tours are available for groups, depending on their interests. Such tours must be arranged ahead of time.\n\n\"Organized groups often want a more in-depth experience,\" Mr. Lincoln said. \"They want to learn more, in addition to visiting the gardens.\"\n\nBesides providing practical details for visitors, the new Web site includes information about the Baha'i Faith and also such resource material as extracts from an architectural study of the Baha'i properties in Acre and Haifa.\n\nThe address of the new Web site is www.ganbahai.org.il."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568085-70501ganbahaihaifa.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Details of tours, hours of opening, and information about visiting the Baha'i shrines in Haifa and Acre is available on the Web site."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568085-70502ganbahaiakko.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A new feature of the visitors' program is specialized tours for groups of at least 25 people. The tours are outlined on the new Web site."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":704,"evergreenUrl":"naw-ruz-year-marks-centenary-entombment-bab","title":"Naw-Ruz this year marks centenary of entombment of the Bab","description":"On March 21, Baha'is around the world will mark Naw-Ruz - their new year - a date that this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the...","date":"2009-03-18","customDateline":false,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568049-704004914.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568049-704004914.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel as it appeared in 1909, the year His remains were laid to their final rest. (Photo copyright Baha'i World Centre)","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"On March 21, Baha'is around the world will mark Naw-Ruz - their new year - a date that this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the interment of the remains of the Bab on Mount Carmel.\n\nOn Naw-Ruz in 1909, 'Abdu'l-Baha, then the head of the Baha'i Faith, laid to rest the mortal remains of the Bab. 'Abdu'l-Baha personally placed the precious trust in its place in a building he had had constructed on Mount Carmel in Haifa.\n\nThe original structure was later surrounded by a formal colonnade and crowned with a golden dome to make it a fitting burial site for the Bab, the first of two Messengers of God associated with the Baha'i Faith. Both lived in the 19th century, with the Bab's mission being to announce the imminent coming of Baha'u'llah, considered by Baha'is the long-awaited promised one of all religions.\n\nThe Bab was executed in the public square in Tabriz, Persia (now Iran), in 1850, and His remains were hidden in that country for nearly 50 years until being secretly brought to the Holy Land and hidden another decade before being laid to their final rest."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Baha'u'llah was also from Persia but was banished from His native land and eventually exiled to the Acre-Haifa area. Before His passing in 1892, Baha'u'llah gave instructions to 'Abdu'l-Baha to have the remains of the Bab brought from Persia and interred at a specific site on Mount Carmel.\n\n'Abdu'l-Baha thus arranged for the purchase of the land; the building of an adequate structure for the interment; and a road to the site on what at that time was still a rough, undeveloped mountainside. The Baha'is of Rangoon, Burma, sent a sarcophagus to use for the entombment.\n\nThe circumstances of that significant event 100 years ago are described in the Baha'i history \"God Passes By\":\n\n\"'Abdu'l-Baha had the marble sarcophagus transported with great labor to the vault prepared for it, and in the evening, by the light of a single lamp, he laid within it, with his own hands - in the presence of believers from the East and from the West and in circumstances at once solemn and moving - the wooden casket containing the sacred remains of the Bab. ...\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568050-704017698.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The original building is still visible at the Shrine of the Bab. The colonnade and golden dome were added later, with the work completed in 1953. (Photo copyright Baha'i World Centre)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568049-704026792.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The architectural detail of the Shrine of the Bab can be seen in this early photograph, taken between 1910 and 1919. (Photo copyright Baha'i World Centre)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568050-704036806.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The original walls of the Shrine of the Bab as they appear today. The shrine, on Mount Carmel, is a well-known landmark in Haifa. (Photo copyright Baha'i World Centre)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568056-704046805.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A formal colonnade, shown here, now surrounds the original building of the Shrine of the Bab. The golden dome rises above. (Photo copyright Baha'i World Centre)"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":703,"evergreenUrl":"egyptian-court-removes-barriers-id-documents-bahais","title":"Egyptian court removes barriers to ID documents for Baha'is","description":"A court in Egypt today removed any grounds for preventing Baha'is from receiving proper official identity documents, clearing the way for an...","date":"2009-03-16","customDateline":null,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A court in Egypt today removed any grounds for preventing Baha'is from receiving proper official identity documents, clearing the way for an end to years of deprivation for Egyptian Baha'is - and opening the door to a new level of respect for religious privacy in Egypt.\n\nThe Supreme Administrative Court dismissed an appeal by two Muslim lawyers that sought to prevent implementation of a lower court ruling last year that said Baha'is can leave blank the religious classification field on official documents, including all-important identity cards and birth certificates.\n\n\"We are pleased that the court has finally put this matter to rest, removing any possible excuse that would prevent the government from issuing official documents to Egyptian Baha'is,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"Our expectation now is that the government will move swiftly to bring this ruling into practice and, at long last, grant Baha'is the essential right that all citizens have of possessing proper documents.\"\n\nHossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), said the ruling actually goes far beyond the issue of rights for Egyptian Baha'is.\n\n\"This is the first time that the Supreme Administrative Court has found that any Egyptian has the right to keep their religious convictions private, even if the state does not recognize their belief system,\" said Mr. Bahgat, whose organization handled legal representation for Baha'is in court.\n\n\"The final ruling is a major victory for all Egyptians fighting for a state where all citizens enjoy equal rights regardless of their religion or belief,\" he said.\n\nMr. Bahgat said that because the Supreme Administrative Court is the highest court on such matters, there can be no further appeal to this case - and that, therefore, there should be no delay in the government's implementation of the new policy.\n\n\"The government policy that justified mistreatment of Egyptian Baha'is has now been firmly and finally struck down,\" he said.\n\nFor nearly five years, since the government began introducing a computerized identity card system that locked out all religious classifications except Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, Baha'is have been unable to get documents essential to day-to-day life. Among other things, they have been blocked from obtaining education, financial services, and even health care in government hospitals.\n\nIn April 2006, a lower administrative court upheld the right of Baha'is to be explicitly identified on official documents. But in December that year, the Supreme Administrative Court reversed that decision.\n\nIn a compromise, Baha'is proposed using a dash or the word \"other\" on documents, instead of being forced to list themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, and, on 29 January 2008, a lower court again ruled in their favor. But then two Muslim lawyers, who oppose anything that might be seen as even tacit recognition of the Baha'i Faith, filed an appeal.\n\nIn response, government officials took a \"go slow\" attitude on implementing the lower court ruling, saying they wanted to wait until all legal issues were cleared up.\n\nThe ruling today came in the case of 14-year-old twins Imad and Nancy Rauf Hindi who have been deprived of birth certificates and were unable to legally attend school in Egypt.\n\nIn recent weeks, several other cases involving Baha'is have been likewise resolved in their favor. But the Rauf Hindi twins' case was the final case to be settled."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":702,"evergreenUrl":"bahai-international-community-sends-letter-irans-chief-prosecutor","title":"Baha'i International Community sends letter to Iran's chief prosecutor","description":"The Baha'i International Community has issued an open letter to Iran's prosecutor general outlining the tragic history of the persecution of...","date":"2009-03-06","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha'i International Community has issued an open letter to Iran's prosecutor general outlining the tragic history of the persecution of Baha'is in that country, explaining their innocence in the face of accusations made by the government, and asking for fairness in any upcoming trial of seven Baha'i prisoners.\n\nSent late yesterday by email to Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, the letter also suggests that the government's continued oppression of Baha'is will ultimately have a wide impact on Iranian society as a whole.\n\n\"Your Honor, the decisions to be taken by the judiciary in Iran in the coming days will have implications that extend well beyond the Baha'i community in that land - what is at stake is the very cause of the freedom of conscience for all the peoples of your nation,\" said the six-page letter, dated 4 March 2009.\n\n\"It is our hope that, for the sanctity of Islam and the honor of Iran, the judiciary will be fair in its judgment.\"\n\nThe letter comes after a series of statements from Ayatollah Najafabadi quoted in the Iranian news media leveling charges at the Baha'is and stating that the ad hoc arrangements that tend to the spiritual and social affairs of the Baha'i community of Iran are illegal.\n\n\"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow any movement to harm the national security through illegal and unauthorized organizational activities,\" he said, referring specifically to Baha'is, according to an account published by the Islamic Republic News Agency.\n\nThe seven members of the group that had been coordinating the affairs of the Baha'is at the national level and who have been in prison for some 10 months, responded to the declaration from their prison cell. They stated that if the current arrangements for administering the affairs of the Baha'i community are no longer acceptable to the government, to bring them to a close would not present a major obstacle. They said this is now being done, to further demonstrate the goodwill that the Baha'is have consistently shown to the government for the past 30 years.\n\nThe letter, which was also sent to the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations and published late yesterday on the Web site of the United Nations office of the Baha'i International Community, carefully outlines the facts of the oppression of the Iranian Baha'i community since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.\n\n\"While the harassment and ill-treatment of Baha'is continued uninterrupted during this period, they have been taken to new levels of intensity in recent years as certain elements that have historically been bent on the destruction of the Baha'i community have assumed growing influence in the affairs of the country,\" says the Baha'i International Community in the communication.\n\nIt notes that it was only in response to that persecution that small ad hoc groups were set up to \"tend to the spiritual and social needs\" of Iran's 300,000 Baha'is - and that for more than 20 years the government has worked with those structures.\n\nAt the national level, the group was known as the \"Yaran,\" which means \"Friends\" in Persian. The \"Khademin,\" or \"Those Who Serve,\" performed a similar function at the local level.\n\n\"Then last year the seven members of the Yaran were imprisoned, one of them in March and the remaining six in May. ... The conditions of their incarceration have varied in degree of severity over the course of the past several months, with the five male members confined at one time to a cell no more than ten square meters in size, with no bed,\" the Baha'i International Community points out.\n\nThe seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad.\n\n\"Finally,\" the letter continues, \"after some nine months of imprisonment, during which time not a shred of evidence could be found linking the members of the Yaran to any wrongdoing, they were accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,' and it has been announced that their case will soon be submitted to court with a request for indictment.\n\n\"This announcement was followed almost immediately by news reports which indicated that you had written to the Minister of Intelligence stating that the existence of the Yaran and the Khademin in Iran is illegal, while at the same time raising the question of the constitutional right of Iranian citizens to freedom of belief. You then made an official announcement to this effect.\n\n\"Your Honor, the events of recent years and the nature of the accusations made raise questions in the mind of every unbiased observer as to the intent behind the systematic perpetration of injustice against the Baha'is of Iran. Even if there might have been some misunderstandings about the motives of the Baha'i community during the early turbulent days of the revolution, how can such suspicions persist today? Can it be that any member of the esteemed government of Iran truly believes the false accusations which have been perpetuated about the Baha'is in that country?\"\n\nThe letter also notes that many prominent Iranians have recently arisen to defend Baha'is, linking the overall struggle for human rights in Iran and the situation of the Baha'is.\n\n\"And we hear in the voices raised by so many Iranians in defense of their Baha'i compatriots echoes from their country's glorious past. What we cannot help noting, with much gratitude towards them in our hearts, is that a majority of those coming out in support of the beleaguered Baha'i community are themselves suffering similar oppression as students and academics, as journalists and social activists, as artists and poets, as progressive thinkers and proponents of women's rights, and even as ordinary citizens.\"\n\nTo read the full letter, go to:\n\nhttps://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/prosecutor-general-iran-en.pdf\n\nTo read the letter in Persian, go to:\n\nhttps://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/prosecutor-general-iran-fa.pdf"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Statement from Baha’i International Community"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[English](https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/prosecutor-general-iran-en.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 55KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Persian](https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/prosecutor-general-iran-fa.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 81KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Other stories about the Baha’is in Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":699,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":697,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":696,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":701,"evergreenUrl":"historic-18-week-conference-series-comes-an-end","title":"Historic 18-week conference series comes to an end","description":"The historic series of 41 Baha’i conferences that began four months ago in southern Africa wrapped up last weekend in eastern Europe with a gathering...","date":"2009-03-03","customDateline":null,"city":"KIEV","country":"UKRAINE","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568020-70100.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568020-70100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A total of 77,700 people participated in the 41 conferences, held in cities around the globe. Shown here in Kiev are Zafar Hamraev of Moscow and Eugenia Poluektova of Kiev.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The historic series of 41 Baha’i conferences that began four months ago in southern Africa wrapped up last weekend in eastern Europe with a gathering in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.\n\nSome 730 people – mostly from Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – attended the Kiev event, which like all 41 of the conferences was convened by the Universal House of Justice.\n\nAn estimated total of 77,700 people participated in the series, which began 1 November and continued for 18 consecutive weeks, spanning the globe and attracting Baha’is from the largest Western cities to the smallest villages in South Sea islands.\n\nTwo of the gatherings – in Los Angeles and Sydney – drew more than 5,000 participants, and Frankfurt and Toronto each passed the 4,000 mark."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Baha’is around the world were inspired with stories of sacrifice and dedication as people walked long distances or braved difficult conditions in order to celebrate achievements in community-building activities and consult on future plans.\n\nAttendance at almost all the conferences far surpassed initial estimates, often sending organizers scrambling to find larger venues or additional rooms to accommodate the overflow crowd.\n\nThe conferences came at the half-way point of a five-year plan to establish Baha’i activities in neighborhoods and villages around the world.\n\nFor links to reports of the conferences, go to https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568021-701010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is from eight eastern European countries were among the 730 participants in Kiev."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543568020-701020.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The gathering in Kiev was the last in the series of 41 conferences, called by the Universal House of Justice and held over 18 consecutive weekends."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"41 Conferences"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Reports, photos, and video clips from the regional conferences of the Five Year Plan](https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related content"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":700,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":698,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":693,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":700,"evergreenUrl":"regional-conferences-ghana-azerbaijan-conclude","title":"Regional conferences in Ghana and Azerbaijan conclude","description":"Accra was host this last weekend to the largest of the nine regional conferences held in Africa with 1,700 participants from eight countries....","date":"2009-02-24","customDateline":null,"city":"ACCRA","country":"GHANA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567989-70000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567989-70000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i regional conferences were held last weekend in Accra and Baku, the capitals of Ghana and Azerbaijan respectively. This photo is of a workshop session in Accra.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Accra was host this last weekend to the largest of the nine regional conferences held in Africa with 1,700 participants from eight countries.\n\nThe Accra gathering was held concurrently with the regional conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. They were the 39th and 40th in the series called for by the Universal House of Justice and begun on 1 November in Lusaka, Zambia.\n\nThe conference in Accra included about 950 participants from Ghana itself, 156 from Benin, 140 from Burkina Faso, four from Cape Verde, three from Guinea Bissau, 106 from Niger, 137 from Nigeria, and about 200 from Togo.\n\nThe regional conference for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan drew 360 people to Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, to celebrate achievements in the Baha’i work of the last two and a half years and consult about future goals. A hotel and conference center at the seaside served as the venue for the gathering, which attracted 27 Baha’is from Turkmenistan and 47 from Georgia, along with a large contingent from Azerbaijan and a few participants from other countries.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Reports from participants tell of a sense of invigoration among the attendees, brought to further heights by music, drama, and dances from the many cultures gathered together. “This conference is like rain after an unbearable heat,” said Yegana Farzaliyeva, 20, of Azerbaijan.\n\nNext weekend’s conference in Kiev, Ukraine, is the 41st, the last of the series. Some 77,000 people have attended the conferences, which have been organized to review achievements of the worldwide Baha’i community in the present stage of its growth, and to consider the next steps in moving the community forward."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567988-70001.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In Baku, Azerbaijan, some of the conference participants consult during a workshop. People from Turkmenistan, Georgia, and Azerbaijan attended the gathering, held on 21-22 February."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"41 Conferences"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Reports, photos, and video clips from the regional conferences of the Five Year Plan](https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related content"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":698,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":693,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":692,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":699,"evergreenUrl":"european-union-expresses-deep-concern-over-seven-bahai-prisoners","title":"European Union expresses \"deep concern\" over seven Baha'i prisoners","description":"The European Union yesterday issued a statement expressing its “deep concern” over Iran’s plans to bring seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders to trial...","date":"2009-02-18","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567973-69900.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567973-69900.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The imprisoned individuals whose trial is pending are, top from left, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Mahvash Sabet; bottom from left, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Saeid Rezaie and Afif Naeimi.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The European Union yesterday issued a statement expressing its “deep concern” over Iran’s plans to bring seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders to trial for espionage and other charges soon.  The Baha’i International Community has called for their immediate release, maintaining their innocence and characterizing the regime’s claims as an “escalation of its systematic crackdown on the Baha’is.”\n\nThe EU statement coincided with increasingly sharp anti-Baha'i rhetoric from Iranian officials, who said a trial for the seven might come within a week.\n\nThe seven Baha'i leaders have been imprisoned in Tehran for more than eight months, during which no formal evidence has been brought against them and they have not been given access to their legal counsel, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. Another 30 Baha’is are imprisoned in Iran, while 80 other prisoners have been released on collateral.\n\nThe European Union said it was concerned that, “after being held for so long without due process, the Baha’i leaders may not receive a fair trial.\n\n“The EU therefore requests the Islamic Republic of Iran to allow independent observation of the judicial proceedings and to reconsider the charges brought against these individuals.”\n\nThe document was endorsed by the entire 27-nation membership of the EU, along with Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine, and Moldova.\n\nSeparately, in Brazil yesterday, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies sent an open letter to Iran, asking for the release of the Baha´i prisoners.\n\n“The peace-loving, humanistic principles and practices for which the Baha’is are known in Brazil have earned this community respect and credibility among the country’s human rights supporters,” said Deputy Pompeo de Mattos. “There is therefore no reason to doubt the credibility of their claims.”\n\nOther such strong statements of support have been issued over the past several days from governments and parliamentarians in a number of countries, including Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.\n\nMeanwhile, an official Iranian news agency report yesterday quoted a judiciary spokesman as saying the seven Baha'is “would attend their hearing sessions within one week.”\n\nAccording to an Islamic Republic News Agency story, the spokesman, Ali-Reza Jamshidi, told reporters at his weekly press conference yesterday that the “seven committed criminal acts including spying for foreigners.”\n\nMr. Jamshidi stated that the Baha'is would “definitely be allowed to use legal counsel,\" though they have had no access to their lawyer to date.\n\nHis statement followed a harsh report on Sunday that quoted Iran’s prosecutor general as saying the government plans the “complete destruction” of Baha'i administration in Iran.\n\n“The administration of the misguided Baha’i sect at all levels is unlawful and banned, and their ties to Israel and their opposition to Islam and the Islamic regime are clear,” said Iranian Prosecutor General Ayatollah Ghorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi, according to a report in Fars News.\n\n“The danger they pose to national security is documented and proven and therefore it is necessary that any substitute administration that acts as a replacement for the original be confronted through the law,” said Ayatollah Najafabadi.\n\nDiane Ala’i of the Baha'i International Community said the activities of the Baha’i leaders had to do with meeting the minimum spiritual and administrative needs of the 300,000-member Baha’i community of Iran. She said Ayatollah Najafabadi’s attempt to portray their actions as “dangerous” was baseless and that the government is well aware that there is no truth to such allegations.\n\n“How can the chief prosecutor equate something so harmless as a group of individuals who get together to give spiritual guidance and administer such things as marriages and burials and children’s moral classes with something that threatens Iran’s national security?” said Ms. Ala’i, the Baha'i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\n“After they banned Baha'i administration in Iran in 1983, the government has always been aware of and informed of the activities of these ad hoc groups.\n\n“In the eyes of the government, the only real ‘crime’ of the seven currently in Evin prison – along with the some 30 other Baha'i prisoners currently held in Iran – is that they hold a religious belief that is different from the majority in Iran, and that is something that the current regime finds intolerable,” she said.\n\nMs. Ala’i also discussed remarks made yesterday by Mr. Jamshidi in response to a question about Ayatollah Najafabadi’s statements. Mr. Jamshidi was quoted as saying: “Any acts which could be taken as propaganda against Islam, Iran and its Islamic establishment is definitely considered a crime and its perpetrators would be legally encountered.”\n\n“The fact is that the Baha'i Faith is the only independent world religion other than Islam that accepts the divinity of Muhammad and reveres the Qur’an – along with the holy books of all the world’s great religions. There is nothing anti-Islamic or anti-Iran about the Baha'i Faith, its teachings, or the practices of its followers. The government cannot impose its own interpretation of Islam on the Baha’i Faith and conclude that the Baha’i Faith is anti-Islam,” Ms. Ala'i said.\n\n“Indeed, the lives of the seven leaders currently in prison reflect lifelong efforts to promote the best development of Iranian society as a whole, through the promotion of education, social and economic development, and adherence to moral principle,” she said.\n\nEarlier this week, the British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell issued a statement saying the Iranian government “appears to be increasingly using vaguely worded charges to target human rights defenders and religious minorities.”\n\n“It is hard,” said Minister Rammel on Monday, “not to conclude that these people are being held solely on account of their religious beliefs or their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and association.”"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related documents"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Statement from the European Union(English)](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/699_01_europeanUnionStatement090217_en.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 70KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Statement from the President of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies of Brazil(Portuguese)](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/699_02_brazilStatement090217_pt.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 99KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Fars News story (English translation)](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/699_03_farsNewsStory090215_en.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 40KB)"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Other stories about the Baha’is in Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":697,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":696,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":695,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":698,"evergreenUrl":"istanbul-hosts-38th-series-41-conferences","title":"Istanbul hosts 38th in series of 41 conferences","description":"The 38th conference in the series of Baha’i gatherings occurring around the world was held last weekend in Istanbul, drawing 925 participants,...","date":"2009-02-17","customDateline":null,"city":"ISTANBUL","country":"TURKEY","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567958-69800.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567958-69800.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Photograph of Istanbul circa 1870. Baha’u’llah stayed in the city for about four months in 1863.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The 38th conference in the series of Baha’i gatherings occurring around the world was held last weekend in Istanbul, drawing 925 participants, mainly from Turkey, Cyprus, and Albania.\n\nIstanbul is the only city hosting a conference where Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, set foot.\n\nBaha’u’llah was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1817. In 1853, the Iranian authorities banished Him from His homeland to Baghdad, then part of the [Ottoman Empire](http://www.bahaullah.org/constantinople/) (see The Life of Baha'u'llah Web site). This marked the beginning of 40 years of exile which, after Baghdad, took Him to the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Edirne, and culminated in perpetual imprisonment in Acre, then a remote Ottoman outpost."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Some 75,000 people have participated to date in the conferences, which began on 1 November and will conclude on 1 March. Scheduled for this coming weekend are gatherings in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Accra, Ghana, followed the next week by the last of the series of 41, which will be in Kiev, Ukraine.\n\nTo read a report of last weekend’s conference in Istanbul, go to: https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/\n\nTo see photographs with a narrative about the life of Baha’u’llah, including His exile in Istanbul, go to:\n\nhttp://www.bahaullah.org/"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567959-698010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Map shows the exiles of Baha’u’llah after He left Tehran. Constantinople is now called Istanbul."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"41 Conferences"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Reports, photos, and video clips from the regional conferences of the Five Year Plan](https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related content"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":692,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":690,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":689,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":697,"evergreenUrl":"bahais-express-gratitude-open-letter-support","title":"Baha’is express gratitude for open letter of support","description":"The Baha’i International Community has issued a statement of gratitude to the Iranian intellectuals, scholars, writers, journalists, activists,...","date":"2009-02-15","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567939-69700supportdocuments.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567939-69700supportdocuments.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The open letter signed by more than 240 Iranian academics, writers, activists and others, says “We are ashamed!” of silence in the face of persecution of Baha’is in Iran.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha’i International Community has issued a statement of gratitude to the Iranian intellectuals, scholars, writers, journalists, activists, and artists throughout the world who signed an open letter apologizing for their silence during Iran’s long-running persecution of the Baha’is.\n\nThe open letter from the Iranians – dated 3 February and signed so far by 243 men and women living in 19 countries – had asked Baha’is to forgive them “for the wrongs committed against the Baha’i community of Iran” over the last century and a half.\n\n“We will no longer be silent when injustice is visited upon you,” the letter said after enumerating some of the ways Baha’is have been persecuted, from “barbaric murders” to depriving youth of higher education.\n\nIn response, the Baha’i International Community told the signatories that the letter “brought a degree of solace and relief to the pain that your Baha’i fellow citizens endure.”\n\n“On their behalf and that of the Baha’is throughout the world we convey our profound gratitude and appreciation for a deed of such historical moment,” the Baha’i message said, referring to the publication of the open letter.\n\nThe letter was particularly significant, said the Baha’i response, in that it rejected the milieu of intimidation created by Iranian authorities throughout the decades that served to silence “those fair-minded and informed individuals who had always wished to rise up” in support of the Baha’is.\n\nIndeed, in a press statement yesterday, the organizers behind the letter said that many more people would like to sign.\n\n“We are confident,” their statement said, “that many more individuals, responsible and humane individuals, both inside and outside Iran, will add their seal of approval to it, as they become aware of such a letter, and we hope that the independent and committed Iranian media will join us in disseminating this message.”\n\nThe open letter began with the heading “We are ashamed! A century and a half of oppression and silence is enough!”\n\n“We are ashamed that during the last 30 years, the killing of Baha’is solely on the basis of their religious beliefs has gained legal status and over 200 Baha’is have been slain on this account,” said one clause.\n\n“We are ashamed that a group of intellectuals have justified coercion against the Baha’i community of Iran,” the letter continued.\n\nThe letter ended thus: “We stand by you in achieving all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights. Let us join hands in replacing hatred and ignorance with love and tolerance.”\n\nThe Baha’i response also ended with a statement of hope: “The ardent hope of Iranian Baha’is is to be able to labor, shoulder to shoulder, with their compatriots for the progress and exaltation of their country that it may assume its seat of honor and glory among the family of nations.”\n\nThe open letter was initially signed by 42 people but more than 200 others added their signatures in the 10 days after it was first published. Their countries of residence were listed as Iran, Sweden, Canada, United States, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Malaysia, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Turkey, Switzerland, and Norway.\n\nThe Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights has offered a response, stating that such a letter “by a group of Iranian intellectuals and activists (was) truly inspirational. Change and progress cannot be brought about until mistakes of the past are acknowledged and admitted, and a resolve is made for them to never be repeated.”\n\nThe network answered the “We are ashamed …” clauses of the open letter with declarations of “We are proud …”\n\n“We are proud that after a long period of silence, voices of protest are now being registered,” the network wrote on its Web site. “We are proud that in the face of the increasing attacks against the Baha’is of Iran, the intellectual community refuses to be silent. … We are proud of your speaking out against the painful reality in Iran.”\n\nAnother response came from the Institute on Religion & Public Policy based in Washington, D.C.\n\n“The open letter is a great first step in publicizing and accepting societal responsibility for the way Baha’is have been persecuted over the last 150 years,” said Joseph K. Grieboski, president of the institute. “Now it’s up to the Iranian government to do the same and stop its abuse of the community.”"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Statement from Baha’i International Community"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[English](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/697_01_responseToOpenLetter_en.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 37KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Persian](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/697_01_responseToOpenLetter_fa.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 62KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Open letter from Iranian academics, writers, and others"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[English translation](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/697_02_ApologyOpenLetter_en.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 29KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Persian original](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/697_02_ApologyOpenLetter_fa.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 130KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Other stories about the Baha’is in Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":696,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":694,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":695,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":696,"evergreenUrl":"swift-international-reaction-pending-trial-iranian-bahais","title":"Swift international reaction to pending trial of Iranian Baha'is","description":"International reaction to news that Iran may soon put on trial seven Baha'i leaders for espionage and other charges came swiftly last week as...","date":"2009-02-15","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"International reaction to news that Iran may soon  put on trial seven Baha'i leaders for espionage and other charges came swiftly last week as governments, parliamentary leaders and human rights organizations expressed strong criticism of any such trial. Many called for the immediate release of the Baha'is.\n\nThe group of seven has been imprisoned in Tehran since last spring. Since then, no formal charges had been announced, but the Iranian news agency ISNA reported last Wednesday that the Baha’is would be accused of “espionage for Israel, insulting [Islamic] religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” The Baha’is have had no access to their attorney, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.\n\nIn the United States, the Department of State condemned “the Iranian government’s decision to level baseless charges of espionage against seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community.”\n\n“Authorities have detained these Baha’i for more than nine months without access to legal counsel or making public any evidence against them. The accusations reported in Iranian and international media are part of the ongoing persecution of Baha’i in Iran,” Department of State spokesman Robert Wood said Friday.\n\nIn London, Amnesty International issued an “urgent action” appeal on behalf of the seven,  calling for their “immediate and unconditional release.”\n\nIn Canada, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler spoke in the House of Commons and expressed concern that the trial could lead to the death penalty for the seven Baha'is. He called  the charges “trumped up.”\n\n“The systematic and systemic abuse of the Bahai minority in Iran unfortunately manifested itself again this week as seven members of the Friends of Iran group, already being held for almost a year in the notorious Evin Prison, were charged on Wednesday with spying for Israel, insulting Islam and spreading propaganda against the state,” Mr. Cotler said.\n\nIn Germany, Bundestag member Dr. Peter Ramsauer, leader of the Christian Social Union party, expressed “deep concern” over the fate of the seven. “Our minimum expectation for a fair trial is unconstrained access for the defense attorney, the Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, to her clients and to have a public trial,” he said.\n\nThe U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a statement saying “it is disappointing that the Iranian government is demonstrating that it will use any pretext, however baseless, to harass and detain those whose religious beliefs differ from those enforced by the state.”\n\n“Due process, something to which Iran is committed as a signatory of the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is absent from this case,” commission Chair  Felice D. Gaer said in the statement.\n\nLast week’s report from the ISNA news agency did not specify the names of the accused, but it was assumed to refer to Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.\n\nThey constitute the membership of an informal coordinating body known as the Friends, which – with the knowledge of the government – was established some years ago to see to the minimum needs of Iran’s 300,000-member Baha'i community after its elected governing bodies were banned by government decree in 1983.\n\nA spokeswoman for the Baha'i International Community last week stated emphatically that the seven are innocent of all charges and are being held solely because of their religious belief.\n\n“The accusations are false, and the government knows this,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva. “The seven Baha’is detained in Tehran should be immediately released.”\n\nIn its “urgent action” appeal last Thursday, Amnesty International said it “considers the charges to be politically motivated and those held to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their conscientiously held beliefs or their peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha’i community.\n\n“If convicted, they would face lengthy prison terms, or even the death penalty,” the organization said.\n\nOther human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations made similar statements.\n\nIn Washington, Freedom House published a condemnation of Iran over the possibility of a trial for the seven, saying: “The five men and two women should be released immediately, along with dozens of other Baha'is who are in prison for exercising their human right to religious freedom.”\n\nThe Institute for Religion and Public Policy, also based in Washington, called the charges “absurd.”\n\n“The arrest of Iran’s top Baha’i leaders has simply been another move to intimidate and undermine the faith’s followers. Iran has an especially poor record in respecting the right to worship of non-Shiite Muslims, and we call on them to drop the charges and release the prisoners,” said the institute’s president, Joseph K. Grieboski.\n\n(Note: On 15 February, a correction was made to state that Freedom House is based in Washington.)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Other stories about the Baha’is in Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":632,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":694,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":695,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":695,"evergreenUrl":"lives-service-profiles-seven-imprisoned-bahais","title":"Lives of service: Profiles of seven imprisoned Baha’is","description":"The following are a series of short biographical profiles of the seven Baha'i leaders currently being held in Evin prison in Iran. Six were arrested...","date":"2009-02-12","customDateline":null,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The following are a series of short biographical profiles of the seven Baha'i leaders currently being held in Evin prison in Iran. Six were arrested in their homes in Tehran on 14 May 2008. A seventh had been arrested earlier, on 5 March 2008, while visiting Mashhad.\n\nAs the profiles will show, all have served Iranian society and also the Baha'i community extensively. As well, like most Iranian Baha'is, they have all experienced varying degrees of persecution since the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979.\n\nTheir current imprisonment is particularly alarming because of their leadership position as members of a national-level coordinating group known as the “Friends in Iran.” All Baha’i elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government some 30 years ago, following the Islamic revolution. In the absence of a national governing council (“National Spiritual Assembly”), the “Friends in Iran” was then formed with the full knowledge of the government and since then has served as an ad hoc coordinating body for the 300,000 Baha’is in that country. The various governments in power in Iran since then have always been aware of the Friends in Iran; in fact, over the years the government has routinely had dealings with the members of the Friends, albeit often informally.\n\nThe seven people arrested last spring constitute the entire current membership of the Friends, which is one reason their sweeping arrests are so alarming. All have been held without official charges, although a report this week from the semi-official ISNA news agency said the cases would be sent to the revolutionary courts with accusations of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.”\n\nIn these profiles, there are a number of references to the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). The BIHE was established by Baha'is in the late 1980s as an alternative institution of higher education after Baha'i youth were banned from public and private universities in Iran in the early 1980s. Accordingly, many of the Friends or their family members received education from the BIHE or its adjunct, the Advanced Baha'i Studies Institute (ABSI), or they have contributed to its work as lecturers or instructors.\n\nIn recounting the voluntary service these individuals rendered to the Baha'i community, there are also references to various institutions, such as national or local governing councils, known as Spiritual Assemblies, various committees, or the Auxiliary Board, which comprises a group of individuals appointed to inspire, encourage, and promote learning. Most of these institutions have since been banned or dissolved in Iran because of government persecution.\n\n[Profiles available here »](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/profiles)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Downloads"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Profiles of seven imprisoned Baha’is](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/695_LivesOfServiceProfilesOfSevenImprisonedBahais.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 327KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related news story"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":694,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":694,"evergreenUrl":"jailed-iranian-bahais-should-be-released-not-put-trial-says-bic","title":"Jailed Iranian Baha'is should be released, not put on trial, says BIC","description":"Reports that seven imprisoned Baha’is have been accused of espionage and other crimes and that their case will be referred to the Revolutionary...","date":"2009-02-12","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567910-69400.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543567910-69400.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Reports from Iran say that the case of the Baha’i group arrested in the spring of 2008 will soon be sent to the revolutionary courts. The individuals who form the committee that was imprisoned are, seated from left, 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":"Reports that seven imprisoned Baha’is have been accused of espionage and other crimes and that their case will be referred to the Revolutionary Court next week are deeply concerning, potentially marking a new and dangerous stage in Iran’s persecution of Baha’is, said the Baha’i International Community today.\n\n“The accusations are false, and the government knows this,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “The seven Baha’is detained in Tehran should be immediately released.”\n\nWord of a possible trial against imprisoned Baha’is came yesterday in an Iranian ISNA news agency report quoting Tehran’s deputy public prosecutor, Hassan Haddad. According to the report, a case will be sent to the revolutionary courts next week accusing the seven Baha’is of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.”\n\nIt is presumed that the seven referred to by Mr. Haddad are the group of Baha’i leaders from Tehran who were arrested last year in raids reminiscent of sweeps nearly 30 years ago at the start of the Islamic revolution. Those sweeps led to the execution of dozens of Baha’i leaders at the time.\n\nThe seven Baha’i leaders have been held in prison for over eight months and no evidence against them has been brought to light. Further, at no time during their incarceration have the accused been given access to their legal counsel, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi. Mrs. Ebadi has been threatened, intimidated, and vilified in the news media since taking on their case and has not been given access to their case files. In December, the government moved to shut down the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre, which was founded by Mrs. Ebadi. “The government must now allow Mrs. Ebadi access to the prisoners and to their files,” said Ms. Ala’i.\n\nAll Baha’i elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government in 1983; most of the members of the previous three national governing councils having successively been executed. In the absence of a national governing council (known as a “National Spiritual Assembly”), the ad hoc leadership group, called the “Friends in Iran,” was formed with the full knowledge of the government and since then has served as a coordinating body for the 300,000 Baha’is in that country. The various governments in power in Iran since 1983 have always been aware of this group. In fact, over the years government officials have routinely had dealings with the members of this group, albeit often informally. “To now say that the ‘Friends in Iran’ is an ‘illegal’ group is fallacious,” said Ms. Ala’i.\n\n**Systematic campaign**\n\nThe prosecution of the leaders is just one step in a 30-year-long systematic campaign orchestrated by the government to eliminate the Baha’i community as a viable entity in Iran, the birthplace of the Baha’i Faith. [Documentary evidence](/story/660) has been provided by United Nations agencies on this campaign.\n\nThe arrest of the Baha’i leadership takes place in the context of a severely and rapidly escalating campaign of attacks against the Baha’i community that has included the creation and circulation of lists of Baha’is with instructions that the activities of the members of the community be [secretly monitored (PDF)](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/694_ArmedForcesOrders2007.pdf); dawn raids on Baha’i homes and the confiscation of personal property; a dramatic increase over the past two months in the number of Baha’is arrested; daily incitement to hatred of the Baha’is in all forms of government-sponsored mass media; the holding of anti-Baha’i symposia and seminars organized by clerics and followed by orchestrated attacks on Baha’i homes and properties in the cities and towns where such events are held; [destruction of Baha’i cemeteries](/story/578) throughout the country and demolition of Baha’i holy places and shrines; [acts of arson](/story/645) against Baha’i homes and properties; [debarring of Baha’is](/story/575) from access to higher education and, increasingly, vilification of Baha’i children in their classrooms by their teachers; the designation of numerous occupations and businesses from which Baha’is are debarred; refusal to extend bank loans to Baha’is; sealing Baha’i shops; refusing to issue or renew business licenses to Baha’is; harassment of landlords of Baha’i business premises to get them to evict their tenants; and threats against Muslims who associate with Baha’is.\n\nMs. Ala’i said the nature and timing of the reported accusations against the seven Baha’is and possible trial are ominous.\n\n“The charges of spying for Israel are often used by the Iranian government when it wishes to push forward a false case against Baha’is,” said Ms. Ala’i. “Since the early 1930s, the Baha’i Faith’s antagonists in Iran have insisted that the religion was instead a political sect created by imperialist governments attempting to weaken Islam. Baha’is have successively been accused of being tools of Russian imperialism, British colonialism, American expansionism, and most recently, of Zionism.\n\n“The international headquarters of the Baha’i Faith is based today within the borders of modern-day Israel purely as a result of the banishment of the Faith’s founder, Baha’u’llah, by the Persian and Ottoman empires in the mid-19th century. In 1868, 80 years before the state of Israel was founded, Baha’u’llah was exiled to perpetual imprisonment in the city of Akka.”\n\n“If the Baha’is are accused of spying for Israel, then why do they not hide their identity?  Why were hundreds previously executed for refusing to recant their faith and embrace Islam? Why have thousands been deprived of their jobs, pensions, businesses and educational opportunities? Why have holy places, shrines and cemeteries been confiscated and demolished? All of this demonstrates a concerted attempt to destroy a religious community,” Ms. Ala’i said.\n\n**Other charges **\n\nThe other charges are equally false, she said.\n\n“Accusations of ‘insulting religious sanctity’ are more about the Iranian government’s own intolerance of other religions or beliefs than any imaginary disrespectfulness of Baha’is towards Islam. It is well known that Baha’is recognize the divine origin of Islam and accept Muhammad as a true Prophet.\n\n“As for the idea that the seven have been working against the regime, these people have been under constant surveillance and have been interrogated and detained previously.\n\n“The government knows that the seven, following the principles of the Baha’i Faith, have refrained from involvement in any partisan political activity, whether local, national, or international. Like other Baha’is, they reject violence and any involvement in overthrowing governments.  The Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the worldwide Baha’i community, has recently spoken to this issue in a [message to the Baha’is in Iran (PDF)](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/694_MessageToBahaisInIran31Oct2008.pdf).\n\n“Because the government knows such accusations are false, we can only conclude that this is yet another step in the escalation of its decades-long crackdown on Iranian Baha’is,” said Ms. Ala’i.\n\nAlthough news reports did not specify the names of the accused, the seven who were arrested last year are: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm [(See profiles)](/story/695).\n\nAll but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 while in Mashhad.\n\nMs. Ala’i also noted that at this time, some 30 other Baha’is are imprisoned in Iran solely on account of their religion. Close to 80 more Baha’is are out on bail, having posted deeds of property and business licenses as collateral for bail. They are awaiting trial on similarly false charges. They are also innocent and should be released, she said."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Supporting documents"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Sample of documents showing orchestrated campaign:"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Armed forces orders 2005](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/694_ArmedForcesOrders2005.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 96KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Armed forces orders 2007](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/694_ArmedForcesOrders2007.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 111KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"[Orders to universities](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/694_OrdersToUniversities.pdf)","relatedPdfDescription":"(Adobe Acrobat 45KB) "},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Profiles of those in prison"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":695,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Background"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Other BWNS articles about Iran](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_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Other stories about the Baha’is in Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":632,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":696,"relatedStoryCaption":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":695,"relatedStoryCaption":""}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/54/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}