{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/62/","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":62,"archiveTotalPages":80,"totalStories":1596,"archiveList":[{"storyNumber":506,"evergreenUrl":"bahai-girls-bring-message-hope-un-meeting-women","title":"Baha'i girls to bring a message of hope to UN meeting on women","description":"Among the hundreds of girls coming to the United Nations this week to discuss the problems facing girl children around the world will be a dozen...","date":"2007-02-25","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477471-bwns7939-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477471-bwns7939-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Anisa Andrade de Araujo (foreground, in jeans) of Brazil joins other delegates on the stage at the meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Among the hundreds of girls coming to the United Nations this week to discuss the problems facing girl children around the world will be a dozen with a distinctive viewpoint: their religion teaches that they are equal to boys.\n\n\"For Baha'is, it is a basic element of their faith that we must establish equality between women and men, not to mention girls and boys,\" said Fulya Vekiloglu, a representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"In a world where religious traditions often stand at the heart of discriminatory practices, this is a rather unique perspective, and one that ought to be a pattern for the future,\" said Ms. Vekiloglu, who also directs the Community's Office for the Advancement of Women.\n\n\"So we are hopeful that the 12 young Baha'i girls who are coming to New York for the Commission on the Status of Women next week can bring concrete examples of equality and empowerment in action.\"\n\nGirl delegates will be coming from Baha'i communities in Brazil, Canada, India, Italy, Sweden, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States to the UN Commission on the Status of Women meeting, which this year will address as its priority theme: \"The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child.\"\n\nMany of the delegates have experience helping other girls or in teaching principles of equality to their peers, added Ms. Vekiloglu, who is also a member of the Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee of UNICEF.\n\n\"In their own communities, young as they are, they have taken a leading role in advocating for equality and in teaching that concept to other young people,\" said Ms. Vekiloglu. Among those coming to New York are:\n\n-- Anisa Andrade de Araujo, 17, from Brazil. Born into a Baha'i family, Anisa has been engaged in teaching moral education classes for children in Brasilia. Among other things, these emphasize the equality of the sexes.\n\n\"Kids are the ones who will lead humanity,\" Anisa said of her teaching efforts. \"If you nourish in them some virtues and spiritual manners, for a significant number of people this world would be a decent place to live.\"\n\n-- Ahenliema Koijam, 16, of India. A Baha'i since 2001, Ahenliema has been working with children and youth groups in her native city of Imphal since 2003. She has also participated in a public hearing on human rights there, and is especially concerned about the rights of girls in the province of Manipur, which surrounds Imphal.\n\n\"The children of Manipur are facing many forms of discrimination,\" said Ahenliema. \"In most of the rural areas, children, especially girls, are not allowed to go to school. They are considered as private property and made to do all the household work. Many girl children come to sell vegetables in the market places right from the early morning and go back late in the afternoon.\"\n\n-- Holly May Smith, 13, from the United Kingdom. Born into a Baha'i family, Holly grew up in Zambia but has lived in the United Kingdom for the last two years, where she is part of a Baha'i youth group that meets every week to discuss topics on spiritual and moral principles, including the equality of women and men.\n\n\"While I was in Zambia I noticed that a lot of women got a raw deal,\" said Holly. \"I was surprised to come here [to the UK] and find that women here have it pretty bad too. Women here have to worry about what they wear, how they look, how much they weigh. That is not liberating! Here, women are exploited by advertising and the media. I think it is so unfair that a woman and a man can do the same job and the man will get more money.\"\n\nThe Commission on the Status of Women meets this week, from 26 February to 9 March 2007. Baha'i girls will also participate in several important side events.\n\nOn Wednesday, 28 February, they will participate in an event titled \"Eliminating Violence Across Generations\" at 1:15 to 2:45 pm at Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium in the UN Building. The event is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and co-sponsored by the Baha'i International Community.\n\nOn Thursday, 1 March, Ahenleima Koijam will participate in a panel discussion on the topic of \"Gender-Based Violence: Consequences Across the Life Span,\" held 10 to 11:45 am at the UN Church Center, Boss Room, 8th floor."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":505,"evergreenUrl":"fabrication-begins-components-bahai-temple-south-america","title":"Fabrication begins on components for Baha'i temple in South America","description":"After months of testing a key computer model for the unique Baha'i house of worship to be built in Chile, architects have announced that fabrication...","date":"2007-02-19","customDateline":false,"city":"TORONTO","country":"CANADA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1547986119-7885-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_VideoRecord","videoUrl":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/199817757","videoStyle":"large-right","videoDescription":"Video: The Baha'i temple to be built in Santiago, Chile, will be the first Baha'i house of worship in South America."}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"After months of testing a key computer model for the unique  Baha'i house of worship to be built in Chile, architects have announced that fabrication of components for the structure is now beginning.\n\nThe milestone comes just as the design for the building received a coveted architectural award - a citation from Architect magazine in its annual Progressive Architecture competition. The awards, established in 1954, are among the most prestigious honors for projects that have not yet been built.\n\nThe Baha'i temple in Chile is one of eight projects from around the world that received an award or citation in the program this year.\n\n\"For architects, it's the award that recognizes designs that go in a new direction,\" said Siamak Hariri of Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto, the firm that designed the house of worship and is overseeing its construction. Representatives of the firm traveled to New York last month for the awards ceremony.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":1},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Mr. Hariri describes the building as a \"temple of light.\" The structure will be created by nine translucent alabaster and cast-glass \"wings,\" which during the day will allow sunlight to filter through. At night the temple will emit a warm glow from the interior lighting.\n\nThe huge segments that will form the sides and dome of the building are being fabricated in Toronto and then will be transported to Chile.\n\n\"It's a little bit unorthodox, but it's the most cost effective way to do it,\" Mr. Hariri said of doing part of the work off-site. Five countries, including Chile, were considered for the fabrication, but the Canadian bid turned out to be the least expensive, he said.\n\nExtensive and detailed testing, now in its final stages, has proved that a key computer model for the temple \"was 100 percent accurate,\" he said. This was exciting news to the architects because it means the project now proceeds to actual fabrication without significant adjustments, he said.\n\nPart of the testing involved fabrication of a one-sixth scale model of one of the steel frames that will form the sides of the temple.\n\nThe engineering software used for the model is often employed in the aerospace industry but rarely has been used by architects, Mr. Hariri said.\n\nIt will take two to three years to complete the pieces of the temple that are being fabricated in Canada. At the actual site in Chile, construction of the foundation is tentatively set to begin next October.\n\nThe temple in Santiago will be the eighth such Baha'i house of worship. All have a dome and nine sides but otherwise differ greatly in appearance. The other temples are located in India, Germany, the United States, Australia, Panama, Uganda and Samoa.\n\nThe house of worship in Chile, like the others, will be financed entirely by voluntary contributions from Baha'is around the world. The cost of the Chile project has been estimated at US$27 million.\n\nIn the Baha'i scriptures Baha'u'llah designates the houses of worship as gathering places for prayer and meditation, which in the future are envisioned to be the center of a group of buildings housing social, humanitarian, educational and scientific institutions."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477460-bwns7886-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto have two full-time teams, one in Canada and one in Chile, working on the temple project."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477459-bwns7887-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Fabrication is set to begin on components for the house of worship."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":504,"evergreenUrl":"ethiopian-giraffe-captures-childrens-hearts","title":"Ethiopian giraffe captures children's hearts","description":"The marriage of a local schoolteacher and an American software developer has resulted in the birth of a young giraffe that has captured the imagination...","date":"2007-02-11","customDateline":false,"city":"ADDIS ABABA","country":"ETHIOPIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1547985923-7884-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_VideoRecord","videoUrl":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/199817437","videoStyle":"large-right","videoDescription":"Video: On the show, Tsehai works on learning the Amharic alphabet, with the help of Mr. Turtle."}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The marriage of a local schoolteacher and an American software developer has resulted in the birth of a young giraffe that has captured the imagination of children in Ethiopia.\n\nTsehai, a hand puppet and star of a new television show in the Amharic language, is the brain-child of Bruktawit and Shane Etzenhouser.\n\nStyled after classic children's programs like \"Sesame Street,\" \"Tsehai Loves Learning\" is designed to help youngsters with reading and also develop other skills, including interacting responsibly with the environment. Indeed, the curious and adventurous Tsehai lives in a world of computer graphics fashioned to resemble the Ethiopian outdoors.\n\n\"The show is performing well so far,\" said Seifu Seyoum, head of program services for ETV, the national TV station. \"I myself have two children, and every morning they want to watch Tsehai. There are many children and parents who like this show.\"\n\n\"Tsehai\" is the first TV program in Ethiopia to use puppets and animation to teach letters, numbers and shapes, with all instruction in the dominant language of the country. The program also offers social and moral lessons, and introduces issues such as stress, the loss of a parent, even something as serious as the child slave trade in Africa.\n\nThe show airs on weekends, with each eight- to 10-minute episode running for two weeks before a new show debuts. Children who want to see it more often can watch reruns on DVDs, which the Etzenhousers sell.\n\nFor the couple, even the production of the show represents a love story. \"We do it because we love the children of Ethiopia,\" Mr. Etzenhouser said.\n\nHe and his wife, both members of the Baha'i Faith, met while teaching in Addis Ababa at the Two Wings Academy, a school inspired by Baha'i principles.\n\nMr. Etzenhouser, 35, had studied multimedia in university and hoped to work in television. \"I came to Ethiopia to volunteer at Two Wings and to explore avenues of making an Ethiopian children's TV show,\" he said.\n\nFor his wife, who is 25, the idea of a television program was something new.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":1},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"I have always wanted to do something big in education but never thought it would be a TV show,\" she said. \"But when I met Shane I thought there was something great in this idea he had.\"\n\nThe two were married in May 2004 and joke that Tsehai is their first child.\n\n\"Tsehai really is what we feel for each other,\" Mrs. Etzenhouser said. \"It is our personal love story. A lot of people ask us why we don't have kids. It's been more than two years, and in Ethiopia a lot of couples would have had a child by now. We say, 'We do. Look -- we have Tsehai!'\"\n\nEthiopia, a country of 74 million people, has a literacy rate of 41 percent among people over the age of 15, according to the United Nations Development Programme. The Etzenhousers hope \"Tsehai Loves Learning\" will contribute to improving reading among children.\n\n\"Unless children are sent to private kindergartens, most will not receive the type of education they will need to become good students,\" Mrs. Etzenhouser said. \"Without this attention being given to these children at an early stage of their development, most will suffer during the rest of their school careers.\"\n\nShlomo Bachrach, an economic and educational adviser to the Ethiopian government who lives in Washington, D.C., recently discussed \"Tsehai Loves Learning\" with the Associated Press. \"The show is perfectly pitched to the Ethiopian audience,\" Bachrach was quoted as saying. \"In a culture where TV is still pretty much a novelty, it has a great impact. When kids watch it, they watch it with an intensity you wouldn't believe.\"\n\nDagmawit Eshetu, the mother of children ages four and six, is among the many parents who have written letters to the Etzenhousers.\n\n\"This program really engages them,\" she wrote. \"They learn to think and participate in the program. We see a change of character in them, especially in applying simple but very important rules such as washing with soap and water before and after eating and the need to drink pure water.\"\n\nThe Etzenhousers noted that the Baha'i teachings place great importance on the education of children.\n\n\"My inspiration is from the Baha'i Faith,\" Mrs. Etzenhouser said. \"It helps me remember that we are all connected and that it is important for us to care for each other.\"\n\nThe couple did their homework before launching the program.\n\n\"We did a lot of internet research,\" Mr. Etzenhouser said. \"We got a lot of data from universities. We watched lots of shows like 'Sesame Street,' 'Blues Clues,' 'Oobi' and 'The Wiggles.' We tested the shows at local schools so we could see what material worked with the children.\"\n\n\"Tsehai Loves Learning\" is designed primarily for children aged three to six - children too young for government schools in Ethiopia. The couple felt their combined skills - his as a software developer and hers as a teacher of young children -- were right for the project.\n\n\"The show addresses the needs of children at a critical age,\" Mrs. Etzenhouser said. \"It helps them see the value in academic accomplishment. It also helps them to have a positive attitude and to see giving back to their communities as a good thing.\"\n\nNine episodes of \"Tsehai Loves Learning\" have been aired since its premier last September.\n\n\"We are working on our 10th episode right now,\" Mr. Etzenhouser said. \"We are stepping up production and have hired three more people. We have created stories for the next four episodes and have outlined the stories for episodes 15 through 18.\"\n\nUNESCO provided a grant to help with the first four programs. A private company, Jolly Jus, provides support in the form of advertisements, and  DVD sales also generate revenue.\n\nThe couple said they hope to announce soon the details of a new grant from an international nongovernmental organization that will help keep their dream moving forward.\n\n\"It's so cute to see the kids in our neighborhood being proud of us and saying 'We know them!'\" Mrs. Etzenhouser said. \"I just really want to keep it going. I can't imagine doing anything else.\"\n\n\"To see it out there is super rewarding -- to see kids singing the songs,\" her husband added. \"We go around town and people ask us what we do. When we tell them that we work on the show it feels as though parents and children change in the way they see us.\"\n\nBut Mrs. Etzenhouser said much work remains.\n\n\"We are still at the baby stage of 'Tsehai,'\" she said. \"We still need to get to the remote areas. We need to get it on radio. We are on the road though. We are watching our baby grow.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477441-bwns7881-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Bruktawit and Shane Etzenhouser pose with puppets Tsehai, the yellow giraffe, and Tsehai's younger brother, Fikir."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477441-bwns7882-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Etzenhousers film a scene where the puppets are having a discussion."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477441-bwns7883-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Tsehai practices her numbers as Mr. Turtle looks on."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":503,"evergreenUrl":"congo-republic-issues-stamp-world-religion-day","title":"Congo Republic issues stamp for World Religion Day","description":"The Congo Republic this month became the second country to issue a postage stamp for World Religion Day, an annual event commemorated in dozens...","date":"2007-01-31","customDateline":null,"city":"BRAZZAVILLE","country":"CONGO REPUBLIC","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474127-bwns7879-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474127-bwns7879-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Congo Republic stamp issued in 2007.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Congo Republic this month became the second country to issue a postage stamp for World Religion Day, an annual event commemorated in dozens of cities and towns around the globe.\n\nThe stamp was presented here on 20 January 2007 at a World Religion Day program that drew more than 250 participants from eight religious communities. Agents were on hand to sell both the stamps and first-day covers.\n\nWorld Religion Day was first celebrated in 1950, when the national governing body of the Baha'i Faith in the United States established it to call attention to the essential oneness of the world's religions and to show that religion is the motivating force for world unity.\n\nThe day is celebrated with interfaith discussions, conferences and other events that foster understanding among the followers of all religions. World Religion Day, which always falls on the third Sunday in January, is traditionally commemorated a day early in Brazzaville.\n\nThe new stamp from the Congo pictures a globe surrounded by the symbols of 11 religions. Across the top it says, in French, \"God is the source of all religions.\"\n\nSri Lanka issued a World Religion Day stamp in 1985 that pictured symbols of eight religions.\n\nIn 1999, Singapore issued a postage stamp that listed the names of nine major religions along with the words \"Unity in Diversity\" and a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Inter-Religious Organization of Singapore. The release of the stamp coincided with World Religion Day, although it did not actually carry those words.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In Entebbe, Uganda, organizers of the World Religion Day commemoration there announced that they had requested their national postal service to issue a stamp for the occasion next year.\n\nAt their celebration this year, hosted by the Entebbe Municipal Council, participating religious leaders signed a declaration to form the Entebbe Inter-Faith Coalition. The signers pledged to use \"the unifying power of religion to instill in the hearts and minds of all people of faith the fundamental facts and spiritual standards that have been laid down by our Creator to bring them together as members of one family.\"\n\nCommunities across Canada and the United States also held observances for this year's World Religion Day, as did Hong Kong and towns in Australia, Bulgaria, France, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and a number of other countries."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474127-bwns7880-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Sri Lanka stamp issued in 1985"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":502,"evergreenUrl":"iranian-bahais-facing-another-cycle-repression-says-report","title":"Iranian Baha'is facing another \"cycle of repression,\" says report","description":"The Iranian government appears to be laying the foundation for a new cycle of persecution against Iranian Baha'is, said a human rights organization...","date":"2007-01-24","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474108-bwns7878-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474108-bwns7878-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"\"A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'i of Iran\" is a new report by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. The report expresses concern that Iranian Baha'is \"may soon face another cycle of repression and violence.\"","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Iranian government appears to be laying the foundation for a new cycle of persecution against Iranian Baha'is, said a human rights organization specializing on Iran.\n\nThe Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) said in a report released last week that recent events in Iran, especially when viewed through the long history of religious persecution against Iranian Baha'is, is cause for alarm.\n\n\"Given the Islamic Republic's history of implacable hostility towards the Baha'is, and the (Islamic Republic of Iran) leadership's personal animus towards the faith, the IHRDC is greatly concerned that the Baha'i community in Iran may soon face another cycle of repression and violence,\" states the report.\n\nThe 60 page study, titled \"A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'i of Iran,\" outlined a number of trends that bode ill for Iranian Baha'is.\n\nThese trends include the \"return of populist conservative politicians,\" \"growing tensions between the Islamic Republic and the international community over Iran's nuclear program,\" the blatant collection of intelligence on Baha'is, and increased anti-Baha'i articles in the news media.\n\nReleased on 15 January 2007, the report also catalogs the long history of persecution directed against Iranian Baha'is, seeking to show how recent events \"are consistent with the decades of implacable hostility displayed by the clerical establishment prior to the Islamic Revolution and identifies many of these same clerics who today hold positions of political power,\" according to an IHRDR press release.\n\nThe report also said that:\n\n-- The Shi'a clerical establishment in Iran has long regarded the Baha'i Faith as a heretical deviation from Islam. The Baha'i community has suffered most severely when the clerical influence in national affairs has been strongest.\n\n-- Earlier campaigns against Baha'is, such as in the 1950s and early 1980s, saw the use of propaganda to cultivate and justify social persecution, creating negative stereotypes. These stereotypes continue to have repercussions today.\n\n-- Despite its wide recognition outside Iran as an independent world religion, the Faith has been effectively criminalized in Iran, through efforts to categorize it as a political threat. This categorization has been reinforced by frequent accusations of espionage or other anti-revolutionary criminal activity.\n\n\"Practicing members of the Baha'i faith are subjected in the Islamic Republic of Iran to a level of social exclusion and harassment that shocks the conscience,\" said Tom Parker, Executive Director of the IHRDC. \"Community leaders have been murdered and sites of irreplaceable religious significance destroyed.\n\n\"Ordinary Baha'is are refused access to education and employment opportunities and cannot openly worship. They have become third class citizens in the country in which their faith was born. It is difficult to imagine a more clear-cut case of religious persecution,\" said Mr. Parker.\n\nEstablished in March 2003 by an international group of human rights advocates, scholars, and lawyers, the IHRDC seeks to \"objectively and systematically document human rights violations committed in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution,\" according to its website.\n\nThe full report can be read there at [http://www.iranhrdc.org](http://www.iranhrdc.org)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":501,"evergreenUrl":"young-adults-seek-spiritual-enlightenment","title":"Young adults seek spiritual enlightenment","description":"Joseph Fradella is a civil engineer from the United States. Joanna Portillo is a recent college graduate from El Salvador. Ndiitah Nghipondoka...","date":"2007-01-19","customDateline":false,"city":"HLUBOKÁ NAD VLTAVOU","country":"CZECH REPUBLIC","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760043-bwns7876-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_VideoRecord","videoUrl":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/199817115","videoStyle":"large-right","videoDescription":"Video: Some 250 young professionals from 33 countries attended the December 2006 Changing Times conference. These participants are from Namibia and Italy."}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Joseph Fradella is a civil engineer from the United States. Joanna Portillo is a recent college graduate from El Salvador. Ndiitah Nghipondoka is an agricultural development consultant from Namibia.\n\nFrom 25 to 31 December 2006, these three and 247 other young professionals from 33 countries chose to spend their precious December holiday in a sleepy medieval village in the Czech Republic. Their aim was to explore ways to pursue careers in a world dominated by material concerns and still have spiritual authenticity and balance in their lives.\n\n\"I wanted to find a way to be a Baha'i in all that I do,\" said Ms. Nghipondoka. \"There is no time to retreat into a cave to try and be spiritual. And there is no time to neglect my spirituality to find ways to meet the material demands of modern living. I had to find balance -- this is why I came.\"\n\nThe village of Hluboka was the venue for the fifth year running of a conference called Changing Times. The gathering has become a highlight in the year for many young adults who are members of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nOrganizers said the idea behind the conference is to provide interaction between up-and-coming professionals and people who are established in careers and still maintaining spiritually rewarding lives.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":1},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Translating religious issues from theory to practice was a focus, said Ms. Nghipondoka - \"real life issues like economics, practical emotional issues like how to have a healthy marriage and even issues like how one can use the Internet for the betterment of mankind.\"\n\nMs. Portillo added: \"The conference showed me how people can live spiritually powerful lives while doing everyday careers.\"\n\nGiuseppe Robiati, managing director of an industrial group based in Milan, Italy, who made a presentation at the gathering, said the event addresses a wide range of issues to help young people.\n\n\"This year the participants were able to look into the relationships between spirituality, psychology and the modern economy,\" he said.\n\nA major goal was to empower participants to go back to their own communities and be of service to others.\n\n\"I get so much inspiration from seeing the people that are successful because of their dedication to their Faith,\" said Ms. Nghipondoka. \"And that encourages me to be as excellent as I can be -- both in my work and in the Faith. I have seen that it can be done and I know that I can do it, too. But to do it, means to do it.  ...At the end of the day it comes down to me implementing these ideas in my own life.\"\n\nParticipants also said they gained a better appreciation for their religion.\n\n\"I feel that Changing Times helped me in my general understanding of spiritual truths - and in particular the Baha'i spiritual teachings of our time,\" said Mr. Fradella. \"The conference helped me to gain a very broad understanding of how to apply Baha'i principles to activities as diverse as being a fine artist to working in a board room.\"\n\nSome of the speakers at the conference included:\n\n- Mary K. Radpour, a licensed clinical social worker in private practice who said she believed most mental health problems could be resolved through taking care of one's spiritual needs.\n\n- Fariborz Sahba, an architect who designed and built what CNN has called one of the most visited buildings in the world - the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, India. In a presentation titled \"The Architecture of Life,\" he compared life to water, saying that one can view water in different ways -- from something that simply takes the form of its container to something as lofty as a beautiful rainbow. He asked his listeners to look at life through their higher vision and see the rainbows that exist everywhere.\n\n- Mark Bamford, an award-winning film writer and director whose first short film, \"Hero,\" played at international film festivals and was sold worldwide for television use. He pointed out that people in the entertainment world often can offer lessons to those seeking to balance spiritual and material needs."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760043-bwns7876-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants engage in conversation between sessions."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760043-bwns7874-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Architect Fariborz Sahba gives a presentation at Changing Times 2006."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543760042-bwns7877-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants at the 2006 Changing Times conference take a tea break."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":500,"evergreenUrl":"systematic-social-development-investigated","title":"Systematic social development investigated","description":"In recent years, Baha'is around the world have been engaged in an increasingly systematic approach to community development through what they...","date":"2007-01-17","customDateline":null,"city":"ORLANDO","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474033-bwns7872-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474033-bwns7872-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Presenter Jordan van Rijn, center, listens as participants discuss concepts of sustainability during his workshop on grassroots community banking in Nicaragua.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In recent years, Baha'is around the world have been engaged in an increasingly systematic approach to community development through what they regard as \"core activities\" – classes for children and junior youth, study circles, and devotional meetings.\n\nAt the annual Baha'i Conference on Social and Economic Development, participants sought to understand how these core activities also can lead to larger programs of social and economic development.\n\n\"Providing spiritual education for children is a fundamental part of social development,\" said Rebequa Murphy, a Baha'i counselor. Her comments came in a talk titled \"The Preservation of Human Honor,\" explaining how human progress will organically spring from core activities.\n\nSome 685 Baha'is and like-minded individuals from more than 20 countries gathered in Orlando, Florida, for the conference, which had the theme \"Addressing the Challenges of a World at Risk.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Held 20 to 23 December 2006, the conference was the 14th such event sponsored by the Rabbani Trust, a Baha'i-inspired foundation.\n\n\"This conference is a demonstration of the strong desire on the part of a multitude of Baha'i believers to address the social and material ills of the world, effectively and sustainably as a means of alleviating the suffering of much of the world's population,\" said Douglas W. Paik, a member of the board of trustees of the Rabbani Trust.\n\nThe gathering focused on how individual Baha'is, their communities, and Baha'i-inspired organizations can address the problems faced by humanity.\n\nMs. Murphy, who is a member of the Baha'i Continental Board of Counselors for the Americas, which plays an international advisory role in Baha'i community development, said the primary development task at this time for Baha'is is to lay the foundation for world unity.\n\n\"Baha'u'llah says the well being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established,\" said Ms. Murphy. \"So nothing we do, no amount of money, no amount of research is going to guarantee the security of mankind unless its unity is firmly established. So that's what our job is – to lay the foundation (for development), which is the unity of the world.\"\n\nWilliam E. Davis, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, gave a talk titled \"Key Values That Shape a Community for Growth and Development.\" He said Baha'is should place particular emphasis on work focused on assisting young people.\n\n\"No activity is more vital ... than the spiritual education of children and junior youth,\" said Mr. Davis.\n\nIn addition to plenary sessions, the conference featured two days of workshops that focused on specific topics such as racism and its relation to materialism, sustainable development, the importance of service to humanity, and the critical role of education in development.\n\nAlso at the conference, a new Baha'i publication titled \"In Service to the Common Good\" was released.\n\nThe 20-page monograph, subtitled \"Aligning Development with the Forces of Progress,\" takes readers through a discussion of why traditional social and economic development projects have fallen short and why recognition of the oneness of humankind will help people act as partners in their own development."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474032-bwns7871-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Workshop participant Susan Tower outlines the Heart of Humanity Gardening Game she has used at various events in the Columbus, Ohio, area."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474032-bwns7870-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"John A. Grayzel, who holds the Baha'i Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland, gives a talk called \"The Human Conscience as Both an End and a Means for Social and Economic Development.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":499,"evergreenUrl":"message-bahais-egypt-from-universal-house-justice","title":"Message to the Baha'is of Egypt from the Universal House of Justice","description":"The Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body of the Baha'i Faith, has addressed a message to the Baha'is of Egypt in the wake of...","date":"2006-12-26","customDateline":null,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474020-bwns7869-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474020-bwns7869-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Seat of the Universal House of Justice, Baha'i World Centre, Haifa, Israel","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body of the Baha'i Faith, has addressed a message to the Baha'is of Egypt in the wake of a 16 December Supreme Administrative Court decision in Cairo that upheld a discriminatory government policy regarding the Baha'is and their identification cards.  The policy places the Baha'is in the untenable position of either having to make a false statement about their religious beliefs or give up their state identification cards.  The cards are essential to accessing most rights of citizenship, including education, financial services, and even medical care.\n\nSee the entire letter (will open in a new window):\n\n[ENGLISH](https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20061221_001/1#427254437)\n\n[ARABIC](https://info.bahai.org/pdf/21-12-06_uhj_lettertoegypt_arabic.pdf)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":498,"evergreenUrl":"bahais-help-found-interfaith-forum-iceland","title":"Baha'is help found Interfaith Forum in Iceland","description":"The Baha'i community of Iceland joined with twelve other faith groups and collaborative partners here to form the country's first national interfaith...","date":"2006-12-24","customDateline":null,"city":"REYKJAVIK","country":"ICELAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474010-bwns7868-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474010-bwns7868-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The President of Iceland, Mr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson (front row - third from the left), with the founding members of the Iceland Forum for Interfaith Dialogue.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha'i community of Iceland joined with twelve other faith groups and collaborative partners here to form the country's first national interfaith forum last month.\n\nThe Iceland Forum for Interfaith Dialogue was officially founded on 24 November 2006 in ceremonies at the Reykjavik City Hall.\n\n\"The object of the Forum is to promote tolerance and respect between persons of different religions and religious organizations with differing outlooks on life as well as to protect religious freedom and other human rights,\" said Ingibjorg Danielsdottir, secretary of the Baha'i community of Iceland.\n\nThis initiative was put together by the Intercultural Center in Reykjavik. The Center is a human rights advocacy organization based in Iceland. One of this organization's main areas of focus is in facilitating exchange between different cultures and groups. The Forum took some 18 months of patient negotiations to create.\n\nThe president of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, was present at the City Hall ceremonies that launched the Forum, as were representatives of the thirteen founding faith and belief communities.\n\nThe founding groups drafted and signed an \"Interfaith Dialogue Policy Statement.\" The document calls for the building of understanding and respect, as well as the upholding of religious freedom between persons and religious organizations.\n\n\"As Baha'is we feel that we have a unique perspective to offer this type of dialogue,\" said Bridget McEvoy, a member of the Baha'i community who worked closely on the Forum's creation. \"A central feature in the Baha'i Faith is the unity of religion and we want to be involved in any activity that promotes this idea.\n\n\"Understanding different cultures has become an important issue in Iceland during recent times,\" said Ms. McEvoy. \"With the inclusion of Iceland into the European Economic Area and the European Single Market many people have chosen to move to Iceland to work. We have lots of cross border work opportunities, a good standard of living and have traditionally thought of ourselves as being an open society.\"\n\nMs. McEvoy said that the creation of this Forum would help ensure that Iceland's traditional openness to different cultures would be maintained.\n\n\"As Baha'is this process is important to us and we see a lot of value in it,\" said Ms. McEvoy. \"Therefore we were very happy to have been invited to participate in the creation of the Forum for Inter Faith Dialogue.\"\n\nIn addition to the Baha'i community of Iceland, founding members of the Forum are: The Cross, Reykjavik Free Church, The Buddhist Association of Iceland, The Lutheran State Church of Iceland, The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, The Church of the Seventh Day Adventists, The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWU), The Muslim Association of Iceland, The Icelandic Asatru Society , The Parish of St. Nicholas of the Russian Orthodox Church, The Roman Catholic Church, and The Way Free Church."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543474010-bwns7867-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Bridget McEvoy signing the \"Forum for Interfaith Dialogue Policy Statement\" on behalf of the Iceland Baha'i community."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":497,"evergreenUrl":"un-general-assembly-approves-resolution-expressing-concern-human-rights-iran","title":"UN General Assembly approves resolution expressing concern on human rights in Iran","description":"The United Nations General Assembly yesterday adopted a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation in Iran, including...","date":"2006-12-20","customDateline":null,"city":"UNITED NATIONS","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 United Nations General Assembly yesterday adopted a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation in Iran, including the escalation of violations against Iranian Baha'is.\n\nThe resolution, which had been initially approved on 21 November by a committee of the Assembly, passed on 19 December 2006 by a vote of 72 to 50, with 55 abstentions.\n\nPut forward by Canada and co-sponsored by 43 countries, the resolution calls on Iran to \"eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination based on religious, ethnic or linguistic grounds, and other human rights violations against persons belonging to minorities, including Arabs, Azeris, Baha'is, Baluchis, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Sufis, and Sunni Muslims.\"\n\nThe resolution takes particular note of the worsening situation facing Iran's 300,000-member Baha'i community, noting \"reports of plans by the state to identify and monitor Baha'is,\" \"an increase in cases of arbitrary arrest and detention,\" and \"the denial of freedom of religion or of publicly carrying out communal affairs.\"\n\nThe resolution also expresses concern over the \"destruction of sites of religious importance\" to Baha'is and \"the suspension of social, educational and community-related activities and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, adequate housing and other benefits\" for Baha'is."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":496,"evergreenUrl":"un-declaration-religious-tolerance-commemorated-prague","title":"UN Declaration on religious tolerance commemorated in Prague","description":"Although it was negotiated at the height of the Cold War, a 25-year-old international agreement on freedom of religion or belief remains as relevant...","date":"2006-12-19","customDateline":null,"city":"PRAGUE","country":"CZECH REPUBLIC","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543473984-bwns7866-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543473984-bwns7866-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Nazila Ghanea of the UK-based Centre for International Human Rights, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, was one of the event's organizers. Photograph by Hamid Jahanpour","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Although it was negotiated at the height of the Cold War, a 25-year-old international agreement on freedom of religion or belief remains as relevant today -- and perhaps even more so -- said speakers at a major United Nations-sanctioned observance here in late November.\n\nSome 350 participants representing more than 60 governments, UN agencies, and various international non-governmental organizations -- including the Baha'i International Community -- gathered on 25 November 2006 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.\n\nThe commemoration was marked by speeches, workshops, and an end-of-the-conference statement. They echoed a common theme: that the 1981 Declaration remains a critical document for the protection of freedom of religion or belief, especially at a time when religious conflict seems on the rise.\n\n\"These days, we live in a globalized world,\" said Piet de Klerk, Ambassador-at-Large of the Netherlands on Human Rights. \"This means that different cultures, including different faiths, meet each other more frequently and in a more intense manner than during previous periods of time.\"\n\nMr. de Klerk said that although it was initially negotiated at a time when issues of freedom of religion or belief concerned the ideological struggle between Communism and the West, the Declaration is nevertheless today helpful in addressing the challenges posed by global diversity because it is \"based on the conviction of many that the freedom of religion or belief itself offers a way forward for fighting intolerance.\"\n\nAsma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, said the principles of the Declaration remain \"pivotal\" in the current \"polarized climate.\"\n\n\"We all need to join our efforts to disseminate the principles contained in the 1981 Declaration among lawmakers, judges and civil servants but also among non-state actors,\" said Ms. Jahangir. \"We need to eliminate the root causes of intolerance and discrimination and to remain vigilant with regard to freedom of religion or belief worldwide.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Ms. Felice Gaer, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, also said the Declaration has become more important over time.\n\n\"The right of everyone to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is universal, as the unanimous adoption of the Declaration on Religious Intolerance showed - even in 1981,\" said Ms. Gaer. \"Regrettably, violations of this universal right continue to be committed across the globe.\n\n\"The occasion of the 25th anniversary is a call to all governments to intensify their efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief at home and to advance respect for religious freedom abroad. The ability of people throughout the world to live in peace and freedom depends on it.\"\n\nOther speakers included Diane Alai, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva, who co-presented at a workshop on the right to \"change\" one's religion, along with Ms. Jahanghir.\n\nIn that workshop, Ms. Jahanghir noted that although the Declaration does not specifically mention the word \"change,\" it is clearly implied in an article that says everyone has the \"freedom to have a religion or belief of his choice.\" As well, Ms. Jahangir said, other UN treaties and statements have clearly upheld this right.\n\nMs. Alai said upholding the right to change one's religion is of \"practical importance\" overall in the regime of religious freedom, in that the denial of such a right also essentially denies all of the other rights guaranteed in the Declaration, as well as rights guaranteed in other international treaties, such as the right to freedom of association, the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and minority rights.\n\nYet the right to change one's religions is not always upheld, said Ms. Alai, because some governments today want \"to preserve the popularity stemming from a particular state-religion relationship\" and so they restrict the right to change one's religion through particular laws and policies.\n\nThis is of critical importance, said Ms. Alai, because there are some countries where the right to \"change\" one's religion is consider apostasy, which is punishable by death under some interpretations of religious law.\n\nMs. Alai pointed specifically to the situation of the Baha'i communities of Iran and Egypt, which currently face persecution and discrimination over religious belief, and where Baha'is have indeed been labelled as apostates, a \"crime\" which is punishable by death in Iran.\n\n\"People are known and respected for risking imprisonment, torture and even death because they uphold a certain political ideology, however, this is not yet fully recognized when it comes to a religious belief,\" said Ms. Alai.\n\nOther workshops at the commemoration considered issues relating to freedom of religion versus freedom of expression, freedom of religion for the individual versus society at large, and freedom of religion in the context of the propagation of religion.\n\nA final statement, titled the \"Prague Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief,\" was announced by the gathering. \"We consider it essential for governments and international organizations, such as the UN and various regional organizations, to give priority to the protection of the freedom of religion or belief and to the eradication of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief,\" said the Prague Declaration.\n\nAdopted by the United Nations on 25 November 1981, the 1981 Declaration spells out and delineates the right to freedom of religion or belief, which was initially recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights.\n\nThe 1981 Declaration indicates, for example, that the right to freedom of religion or belief includes the right to \"establish and maintain\" places of worship; to \"write, issue and disseminate\" religious publications; to \"observe days of rest and to celebrate holidays\"; and to \"establish and maintain communications with individuals and communities in matters of religion and belief at the national and international levels.\"\n\nThe Prague commemoration was sanctioned as the official, international commemoration of the adoption of the 1981 Declaration by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.  It was organized by Mr. Jan Ghanea Tabrizi of Tolerance 95, an NGO based in the Czech Republic, and Dr. Nazila Ghanea of the UK-based Centre for International Human Rights, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. Funding was provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543473985-bwns7865-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, speaking at the evening plenary on 25 November 2006. Photograph by Hamid Jahanpour"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543473984-bwns7864-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Piet de Klerk, Ambassador-at-Large of the Netherlands on Human Rights, was among the featured speakers at the Prague commemoration on 25 November 2006. Photograph by Hamid Jahanpour"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543473987-bwns7863-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, center, and Diane Alai, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the UN in Geneva, both spoke at a workshop on the right to \"change\" one's religion at the Prague commemoration. Photograph by Hamid Jahanpour"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":495,"evergreenUrl":"egyptian-court-rules-against-bahais-upholding-government-policy-discrimination","title":"Egyptian court rules against Baha'is, upholding government policy of discrimination","description":"In a closely watched case that has become the focus of a national debate on religious freedom, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court today ruled...","date":"2006-12-16","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":"In a closely watched case that has become the focus of a national debate on religious freedom, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court today ruled against the right of Baha'is to be properly identified on government documents.\n\nThe decision upholds current government policy, a policy which forces the Baha'is either to lie about their religious beliefs or give up their state identification cards. The policy effectively deprives Egyptian Baha'is of access to most rights of citizenship, including education, financial services, and even medical care.\n\n\"We deplore the Court's ruling in this case, which violates an extensive body of international law on human rights and religious freedom to which Egypt has long been a party,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"Since this was the last avenue of appeal in this particular case, the Court's decision threatens to make non-citizens of an entire religious community, solely on the basis of religious belief,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"Our hope now is that the public debate over this issue will cause the Egyptian government to rectify its discriminatory policies,\" said Ms. Dugal. \"This could be accomplished either by allowing Baha'is to be listed on government documents, by abolishing the religious affiliation listing entirely or, simply, by allowing the word 'other' to be legally included on state identification forms.\"\n\nThe case stems from a lawsuit filed against the government by a married couple, Husam Izzat Musa and Ranya Enayat Rushdy, who had their identification cards and passports confiscated after they applied to have their daughters added to their passports, which listed the Baha'i Faith as their religion.\n\nIn Egypt, all citizens must list their religious affiliation on state ID cards and other documents, and current policy requires that they choose from one of the three officially recognized religions - Islam, Christianity or Judaism.\n\nIn April, a lower administrative court ruled in favor of the couple, saying the state must issue them ID cards that properly identified their religion. The ruling said that even if the government did not recognize the Baha'i Faith, adherents should still have their religious status properly stated on official documents.\n\nThat ruling provoked an outcry among extremist elements in Egyptian society, who objected to any official mention of a religion other than the three mentioned in the Qur'an, opening a vigorous debate over issues of religious freedom and tolerance here.\n\nSince April, more than 400 articles, stories, commentaries and programs have appeared in the Egyptian and Arabic news media about the case or its fallout. As well, independent human rights organizations here and abroad have closely followed the issue.\n\nIn May, the government appealed the lower court's ruling, which brought the case before the Supreme Administrative Court.\n\nOn 2 December, a final hearing was held on the case, at which Bahai lawyers argued for rejection of the government's appeal, on the basis that the lower court's ruling is fully supported by Egyptian law. The Court said at that time that it would release its final ruling today.\n\nTo download this news release in Arabic [click here](http://info.bahai.org/doc/egypt-12-16-06-arabic.doc)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":494,"evergreenUrl":"award-highlights-moral-education-junior-youth","title":"Award highlights moral education for junior youth","description":"Before he became a vegetable seller in this down-and-out ethnic Chinese village about 55 kilometers southwest of Kuala Lumpur, Lim Jia Chin was...","date":"2006-12-06","customDateline":false,"city":"JENJAROM","country":"MALAYSIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543949469-bwns7837-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_VideoRecord","videoUrl":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/199815618","videoStyle":"large-right","videoDescription":"Video: Mr. Lim leads a song during a class in his home village of Jenjarom. He teaches classes for both children and young teens, sponsored by the local Baha'i community."}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Before he became a vegetable seller in this down-and-out ethnic Chinese village about 55 kilometers southwest of Kuala Lumpur, Lim Jia Chin was a local gangster.\n\n\"I used to be quite notorious,\" said Jia Chin, who is now in his late teens. \"I was involved in cheating and fighting.\"\n\nBut Jia Chin decided to give up on his life of crime after participating in a moral education program sponsored by the local Baha'i community here.\n\n\"One day I was attending a Baha'i-inspired program with my friend and I saw that I can live differently,\" said Jia Chin. \"I decided to join the classes. Now my life is different. I am happy and glad now because I have transformed.\"\n\nThe moral education classes that made such a difference in Jia Chin's life were started here two years ago.  And one of the main promoters of these classes has been a young Baha'i named Lim Soon Kam.\n\nNow 28 years old, Mr. Lim was recently honored for this work in a ceremony on 4 November 2006, when he was named the Young Outstanding Malaysian for Moral or Religious Leadership by the Junior Chamber Kuala Lumpur Mandarin, a community service organization affiliated with Junior Chamber International.\n\nThe award, and Mr. Lim's record of volunteer service, offer a window on the efforts Baha'is are making to provide moral and spiritual education to junior youth populations. Such efforts are considered a \"core\" activity for local Baha'i communities around the world.  In Malaysia, for example, Baha'i communities sponsor more than 150 moral education classes for young people aged 11-15, serving more than 1,000 junior youth.\n\nMost of these young people are not Baha'is, and the aim of the classes is youth empowerment and community transformation. The classes stress the importance of virtues like honesty, trustworthiness, courtesy, and service to the community at large.\n\n\"We believe that each human being is endowed with the capacity to understand that they have the power to make moral and upright decisions and to use their skills and knowledge to promote social transformation in their society,\" said Mr. Lim, explaining that children and junior youth especially have the capacity to change for the good.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":1},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Mr. Lim focused his efforts on Jenjarom, his home town, which has in recent years become infamous for various social ills, including gangsterism, gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking.\n\nJenjarom is one among many of the so-called \"new Chinese villages,\" which were created in the mid-1950s, when the country was a British colony. The original purpose for the rural relocation program was to segregate the villagers from Communist insurgents. Today many of these villages have deteriorated into slums or shanty towns.\n\nFor young people, especially, unemployment is high in villages like Jenjarom, and opportunities for education are limited. In response, many youth have turned to crime and other vices as a means of survival.\n\n\"A few of my childhood friends were killed in gang fights,\" said Mr. Lim. \"Some indulged themselves in drugs. Many were school drop-outs who, in their pursuit for wealth and status, resorted to selling drugs and ecstasy pills, smuggling and gambling. Due to the disintegration of social and moral values, pre-marital sex was a common practice in the village and girls are being forced into marriages due to teen pregnancies.\"\n\nUnlike many of his peers, Mr. Lim did well academically in high school and college. He was the top student as an undergraduate at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). And he completed his master's degree at Queensland University of Technology in Australia six months early.\n\nIn 2004, Mr. Lim returned home and started a junior youth program in Jenjarom, hoping to address the social problems that he had witnessed growing up. Since that time, more than 150 young people have completed the program, and many today say that their lives have been transformed by it, like Chin the vegetable seller.\n\nThe Junior Chamber award recognizes young Malaysians between 18 and 40 \"whose dedication to their profession or life undertakings has resulted in exceptional achievement, in the form of significant contributions to the progress or welfare of the community at large.\"\n\nThe national administrative body of the Baha'i community of Malaysia, in nominating Mr. Lim for the Junior Chamber award, wrote this about him:\n\n\"Growing up in one of the most notorious Chinese New Villages in the country, where the negative forces of society find its predominance, Soon Kam was undeterred by the destructive elements of his environment.\n\n\"Instead, he rose up with a strong sense of dedication to contribute significantly to the social well-being of his community by holding on strongly to his belief that social transformation can take place when individuals realize they have the capacity to serve humanity and make the world a better place.\"\n\nOthers, similarly, have praised Mr. Lim for his efforts to help children and youth.\n\nOmar Bin Munir, one of Mr. Lim's professors at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), said: \"His constant and tireless focus on virtues and service oriented community development work has raised his group of young people to shine out with moral and academic excellence. This is highly noticeable in view of the unhealthy society in which they are living in. His concerted social work is truly remarkable and praiseworthy.\"\n\nAnother professor, Razali Adul Hamid said that except for Mr. Lim, none of his students \"has ever achieved to this high level of personal and social excellence, meaningfully contributing to the material and spiritual advancements in the society.\"\n\nMr. Lim attributes the success he has had in organizing the moral education program to his practice of the Baha'i Faith. \"My work is strongly based on a principle that Baha'u'llah states as, the betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds and through commendable and seemly conduct,'\" said Mr. Lim.\n\nMr. Lim said the Baha'i scriptures provide clear guidance for parents and communities on how to raise children in a nurturing and unambiguous environment.\n\n\"Therefore,\" said Mr. Lim \"this program encourages children and youth to develop a strong sense of purpose, empowering their own transformation and leading them to contribute to the advancement of society. Baha'is believe that people's spiritual capacity, as the basis for their own happiness and sense of well-being, is a powerful force for social change.\"\n\nTony Liew Voon Fun, a program director at Taylor's College in Petaling Jaya, where Mr. Lim worked as a lecturer in the school of architecture, building and design after receiving his master's degree, agreed that it is the Baha'i Faith that has motivated Mr. Lim.\n\n\"He seeks people's virtues, not their faults, as the common uniting factor, regardless of race, creed and religion,\" said Mr. Fun.  \"I strongly believe that his multi-cultural experience and his religious belief, the Baha'i Faith has molded him into a character that is humble, respectful of authority, able to embrace change and circumstances with a multi-ethnic outlook.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543949469-bwns7837-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477219-bwns7841-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Junior youth perform a skit called \"Mom, I love you,\" which illustrates the virtues of obedience to one's parents."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477219-bwns7840-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Children in Jenjarom get ready to make a presentation on a series of virtues they had studied in one of the classes sponsored by the local Baha'i community."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477219-bwns7838-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Mr. Lim (holding award) stands with a group of supporters from Jenjarom who went to Kuala Lumpur to celebrate his receiving the Young Outstanding Malaysian Award for his work with youth."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543477220-bwns7842-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Mr. Lim (back left) facilitates a class for young teens in Jenjarom."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":493,"evergreenUrl":"egyptian-bahai-case-final-arguments-heard-judgment-due-two-weeks","title":"Egyptian Baha'i case final arguments heard; judgment due in two weeks","description":"Lawyers representing a Baha'i couple seeking to have their religious affiliation properly identified on state documents presented arguments yesterday...","date":"2006-12-03","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":"Lawyers representing a Baha'i couple seeking to have their religious affiliation properly identified on state documents presented arguments yesterday at a full hearing before the Supreme Administrative Court here in a case that has become the focus of a national debate on religious freedom.\n\nThe hearing was short, and the court adjourned until 16 December, when it is expected to render a judgment in the case, which is being closely watched by international human rights groups.\n\nThe case stems from a lawsuit filed by a married couple, Husam Izzat Musa and Ranya Enayat Rushdy, who had their identification cards and passports confiscated after they applied to have their daughters added to their passports, which listed the Baha'i Faith as their religion.\n\nIn Egypt, all citizens must list their religious affiliation on state ID cards and other documents, and current policy requires that they choose from one of the three officially recognized religions -- Islam, Christianity or Judaism. As such, Baha'is are being forced to go without ID cards, which are the key to accessing most rights of citizenship, such as education, financial services, and even medical care.\n\nIn April, a lower administrative court ruled in favor of the couple, saying the state must issue them ID cards that properly identified their religion. The ruling said that even if the government did not recognize the Baha'i Faith, adherents should still have their religious status properly stated on official documents.\n\nThat ruling provoked an outcry among fundamentalist elements in Egyptian society, who objected to any official mention of a religion other than the three mentioned in the Qur'an, opening a vigorous debate over issues of religious freedom and tolerance here. Since April, more than 400 articles have appeared in the Egyptian and Arabic news media about the case or its fallout.\n\nThe government appealed the lower court's ruling in May, which brought the case before the Supreme Administrative Court."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":492,"evergreenUrl":"egypt-court-sets-date-full-hearing-bahai-case","title":"Egypt court sets date for full hearing on Baha'i case","description":"The date for a full hearing on a closely watched court case over the right of a Baha'i couple here to have their religion properly identified...","date":"2006-11-25","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":"The date for a full hearing on a closely watched court case over the right of a Baha'i couple here to have their religion properly identified on state identification cards has now been set.\n\nAt a procedural hearing on 20 November, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court continued the case to 2 December 2006, when it is now scheduled to be heard by the entire three-member court in a plenary session.\n\nThe decision comes a few days after the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a press release urging the Egyptian government to end its current policy on identification cards, which requires citizens to list one of three officially recognized religions, even if they are members of a minority religion like the Baha'i Faith or another belief system.\n\n\"Current Egyptian policy essentially turns Baha'is into non-citizens because without an identity card they cannot gain access to government services like education and employment, or engage in basic financial transactions, such as opening a bank account or obtaining a driver's license,\" said Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer in a press release issued on 16 November. \"It is even illegal to be in public without a card.\n\n\"This policy is highly discriminatory and is incompatible with international standards.  The current court case provides the Egyptian government with an opportunity to change its policy and omit mention of religious affiliation from identity documents or to make optional any mention of religious affiliation,\" said Ms. Gaer.\n\nIn April, a lower administrative court ruled that the Baha'i couple should be identified as Baha'is on official documents, a decision that if upheld will essentially overturn the government's policy of allowing people to choose from only from Islam, Christianity or Judaism on state documents.\n\nThe lower court's ruling provoked an outcry among fundamentalist elements in Egyptian society and the case has since gained international attention in the news media and from human rights groups.\n\nBecause they are unwilling to lie about their religion on government documents, Baha'is in Egypt are increasingly unable to gain legal access to basic citizenship rights, including employment, education, medical and financial services.\n\nThe government appealed the lower court's ruling in early May, and a court hearing was set for 19 June. Subsequent postponements were made to 16 September, 20 November, and now to 2 December."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":491,"evergreenUrl":"un-expresses-serious-concern-over-human-rights-iran-including-situation-bahais","title":"UN expresses \"serious concern\" over human rights in Iran, including the situation of Baha'is","description":"A committee of the United Nations General Assembly yesterday passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation...","date":"2006-11-22","customDateline":null,"city":"UNITED NATIONS","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":"A committee of the United Nations General Assembly yesterday passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation in Iran, including the escalation of violations against Iranian Baha'is.\n\nThe resolution passed the Assembly's Third Committee by a vote of 70 to 48 on 21 November 2006. It will now go to the General Assembly plenary for vote, in December. The Third Committee considers human rights issues for the Assembly.\n\nPut forward by Canada and co-sponsored by 43 countries, the resolution calls on Iran to \"eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination based on religious, ethnic or linguistic grounds, and other human rights violations against persons belonging to minorities, including Arabs, Azeris, Baha'is, Baluchis, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Sufis, and Sunni Muslims.\"\n\nThe resolution takes particular note of the worsening situation facing Iran's 300,000-member Baha'i community, noting \"reports of plans by the state to identify and monitor Baha'is,\" \"an increase in cases of arbitrary arrest and detention,\" and \"the denial of freedom of religion or of publicly carrying out communal affairs.\"\n\nThe resolution also expresses concern over the \"destruction of sites of religious importance\" to Baha'is and \"the suspension of social, educational and community-related activities and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, adequate housing and other benefits\" for Baha'is.\n\n\"We are extremely grateful to the international community for this significant show of support for the Baha'is of Iran,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"The level of persecution and discrimination facing the Baha'i community of Iran has steadily worsened over the past year. The Government has stepped up its covert monitoring of Baha'is, and at present more than 129 Baha'is are awaiting trial on false charges, targeted solely because of their religion.\n\n\"The General Assembly and its Third Committee deserve special praise for stepping into the gap created by the slow start of the new UN Human Rights Council, which has not yet made fully operational its mission of upholding the international human rights regime,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\nIf approved by the General Assembly, which is likely given yesterday's vote, the resolution will be the nineteenth expressing concern over human rights in Iran since 1985. All of these resolutions have taken particular note of Iran's systematic persecution of the Baha'i community.\n\nOver the last two years, Baha'is have been arrested, released on bail, and are now awaiting trial throughout the country. The bail demands have been high, in most cases requiring the Baha'is to hand over considerable sums of money, deeds to property, business or work licenses.\n\nAs well, evidence has emerged over the last year that the Government has established a program to monitor and identify Baha'is. That program, documented in secret government memoranda that have been made public by human rights defenders, has been the focus of considerable outcry.\n\nEarlier this month, for example, the Baha'i International Community obtained a letter from Iran's Ministry of Interior that ordered officials throughout the country to step up the surveillance of Iranian Baha'is.\n\nThe 19 August 2006 letter requested provincial officials to complete a detailed questionnaire about the circumstances and activities of local Baha'is, including their \"financial status,\" \"social interactions,\" and \"association with foreign assemblies,\" among other things. It specifically asked \"relevant offices to cautiously and sensitively monitor and supervise\" all Baha'i social activities."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":490,"evergreenUrl":"village-women-work-establish-medical-post","title":"Village women work to establish medical post","description":"On this remote island some 30 kilometers off Papua New Guinea's northern coast, a group of villagers have begun taking their destiny into their...","date":"2006-11-12","customDateline":null,"city":"MOM VILLAGE","country":"Papua New Guinea","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471843-bwns7834-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471843-bwns7834-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A typical home in Mom village on Karkar Island, Papua New Guinea.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"On this remote island some 30 kilometers off Papua New Guinea's northern coast, a group of villagers have begun taking their destiny into their own hands.\n\nInspired by the teachings of the Baha'i Faith on women's equality and community participation, a circle of mothers in Mom Village on Karkar Island have successfully initiated the construction of their own village medical aid post.\n\n\"The Baha'is of Mom Village decided to arise and do something for their community because the government infrastructures like medical aid posts, schools and roads have deteriorated or have been completely closed due to lack of funds for maintenance,\" said Abegul Bodick, a frequent visitor to the island.\n\nThe project was initiated in 2002, said Mr. Bodick, when the villagers launched a fund-raising campaign, which resulted in the dedication of a new aid post in July 2006.\n\n\"Now the entire community of Mom can benefit from this service initiated by the Baha'is -- especially the Baha'i women who have taken the leading role in the establishment of the aid post,\" said Mr. Bodick.\n\nHome to about 50,000 people, Karkar Island has few of the services available on the mainland. Residents have to walk long distances to collect water from human-powered groundwater pumps. Electricity is a luxury, typically coming from expensive solar panels or gasoline-powered generators.\n\nMedical services are also scarce. Although Mom Village is the third largest town on the island, with about 3,500 residents, residents nevertheless had to travel more than 10 kilometers -- usually on foot -- to reach the nearest aid station before the new post was built.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"It was this need for access to medical care that spurred the group of Baha'i mothers here to initiate the aid post project four years ago.\n\n\"Both the Baha'is and the members of a wider community within Mom village realized that there was a need to create a medical aid post that was accessible to the community,\" said Mr. Bodick.\n\nThe Baha'i women in the village were inspired by teachings on women's equality and participation to address the problem, said Mr. Bodick, who is an auxiliary board member, a Baha'i with a special responsibility for educating, motivating and encouraging Baha'i communities and individuals at the regional and local level.\n\n\"Baha'i teachings brought new values,\" he said, explaining that the women realized they could take a bigger role in decision-making.\n\nThe idea of constructing an aid post was brought up by the women to the Local Spiritual Assembly, the elected governing council for the Baha'i community here. An action plan was conceived, said Mr. Bodick, and the women began a fund-raising drive.\n\n\"In fact, the Baha'i women put forward ideas of fund-raising by way of 'bring and buy,' as well as a practice known as 'exchange basket,'  meaning that they would ask the women from other villages to come with a certain amount of money and other gifts while the women in Mom provide the feast,\" said Mr. Bodick. \"This is a common reciprocal activity throughout Papua New Guinea.\"\n\nHe said Baha'is also established a special fund for the aid post, and donations were collected at Baha'i feasts and holy days.\n\n\"From the start of the project Baha'is of Mom recognized the importance of being united in thoughts and followed by unity in action seen to be a force to driving them achieve what they wanted to achieve,\" said Mr. Bodick.\n\nHe said the women continued this activity for four years and raised 3,048 PNG Kina, the equivalent of more than US$1,000. In January 2006 they decided they had enough money to start building their medical aid post.\n\nSince completion of the aid post, the government's district health office has allocated a trained nurse to work there.\n\nThe villagers were proud of their accomplishment.\n\n\"If Christian churches can establish aid posts and schools to serve the general public, why should we not do the same as Baha'is?\" said Nang Kubulan, an elder in the community.\n\n\"Although they get support from their mother churches in Europe or America, we have the support of each other, and can start from scraps if we work together,\" she said.\n\nDuring a meeting with some Baha'is from Port Moresby, the circle of women who initiated the aid post project announced that they are now working on their next goal: They have decided to create a water supply system for the village.\n\n(Editor's note: Alterations were made to the article and headline on 9 September 2008.)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471843-bwns7833-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The children of Mom village, photographed here, will be among the main beneficiaries of the establishment of the medical aid post they are standing in front of."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471842-bwns7832-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Perspective of the foot path leading up to the recently completed medical aid post in Mom village on the Island of Karkar, Papua New Guinea."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471842-bwns7831-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i mothers of Mom village Papua New Guinea, proudly standing in front of their newly built medical aid post."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":489,"evergreenUrl":"looking-beyond-short-term-profits","title":"Looking beyond short-term profits","description":"Participants from 28 countries gathered in this small Dutch town in September to consider how businesses can look beyond short term profits towards...","date":"2006-11-08","customDateline":null,"city":"GROESBEEK","country":"NETHERLANDS","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471829-bwns7830-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471829-bwns7830-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The board of EBBF, including nominated members, from left to right: Faramarz Ettehadieh, Zarin Buckingham, Daniel Truran, George Starcher, Elisa Mallis, Ruediger Fox, Wendi Momen, and Arthur Dahl. Beppe Robiati is not in the photograph.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Participants from 28 countries gathered in this small Dutch town in September to consider how businesses can look beyond short term profits towards moral and spiritual practices that can create meaningful wealth for all.\n\nThe 16th annual conference of the European Baha'i Business Forum (EBBF), held 21-24 September 2006, focused on \"The Purpose of Business, from Vision to Action.\"\n\nThe program addressed a wide range of topics on that theme. Presentations included \"Competing in the New Capitalism,\" \"Redefining Success: Applying Spiritual Values in the Workplace,\" and the \"Ramifications of Global Interdependence.\"\n\n\"The conference was attended by people of different cultures and beliefs with a common interest, and often a passion for the universal values of the Baha'i Faith,\" said Daniel Truran, Secretary General of EBBF.\n\nMr. Truran said the presentations made at the conference reflected the efforts of EBBF members to translate those \"values\" into \"tools\" that can be used to improve business practices around the world.\n\nHe cited, for example, the work of Larry Miller, who gave a presentation on \"Competing in the New Capitalism,\" which is based on his 2006 book of the same title.\n\nMr. Miller was one of 25 other presenters who offered their views on how businesses can move beyond broad visions to specific actions -- especially as they relate to the ethics of business in the modern context -- that can be implemented Monday morning in the workplace.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Other speakers included Jan Willem Kirpestein, co-founder of the Encounter of World Views foundation; Beppe Robiati, CEO of SCAC Italy; Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist of the World Economic Forum; and Parag Gupta, of the Schwab Foundation\n\nThe conference was characterized by a determined spirit of seeking new and innovative strategies to create wealth for all.\n\nMr. Gupta, for example, made a presentation highlighting different ways in which the business world can help to effect social change, titled, \"Innovative Strategies from Social Entrepreneurs.\"\n\nHe defined social entrepreneurship as business with a heart, (explaning) that social enterprise employs innovative business methods that aim at maximizing social value rather than financial value.\n\n\"There are around 3 billion people out there that have not been reached by capital markets,\" said Mr. Gupta. \"Social entrepreneurs are proving capable of penetrating these groups.\"\n\n\"They are doing this by harmonizing issues like 'consumers versus profit.' They take risks in unproven markets and create services and goods for this population that has not been reached yet. Microfinance is an example of this,\" said Mr. Gupta.\n\nIn his presentation, Mr. Miller explained how Baha'i principles offer insights into ethical issues in the workplace. By focusing on spiritual principles, he said, it would be possible to create systems with \"just rules to govern behavior.\"\n\n\"The perceived 'evil' of capitalism may be the imbalanced focus on financial capital and ignoring a more holistic understanding of wealth,\" said Mr. Miller.\n\nDr. Lopez-Claros explored how more \"corporate social responsibility\" -- a recognized set of ethical business principles -- can contribute to better competitiveness of increasing global integration.\n\n\"Corporate social responsibility makes business sense as it can be an important aid to recruitment and retention,\" said Dr. Lopez-Claros. \"It helps to build reputations that take decades to build up. In crowded marketplaces it provides companies with that 'X Factor' which can separate them from the competition in the minds of consumers.\"\n\nMany of the participants said that they learned much at the conference.\n\n\"This is the fourth annual EBBF conference that I have attended, and it was the best one yet,\" said Douglas Henck, retired President of Sun Life Financial Asia.\n\nMr. Henck said that these EBBF meetings are a means for the world to identify a real way for the business sector to contribute meaningfully to progress.\n\n\"EBBF is often challenged from both ends of the spectrum;\" said Mr. Henck. \"From business executives who feel EBBF is too idealistic and non-business professionals who assume business is permanently tainted with evil intentions.\n\nGary Hogenson, a senior financial officer at the Baha'i World Center, said the annual event reaffirms his view that business is an important part of the progress of world culture.\n\n\"Increasingly after attending this conference each year, I walk away with the feeling that I can take pride in calling myself a 'business person.' Meeting with like-minded individuals gives me renewed hope that we as business men and women have a great deal to offer society; and through ethical commerce, avenues of global understanding and the universal advancement of mankind can evolve,\" said Mr. Hogenson."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471829-bwns7829-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Conference participants engaged in a session at the EBBF 16th Annual Conference, which took place at the DePoort Conference Center in the Netherlands."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471830-bwns7828-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"George Starcher (back left), EBBF co-founder, and Larry Miller (back right) actively engaged in conversation with each other, while Arthur Dahl (front right), an EBBF governing board member, explains a concept to Cornelia Raportaru of AIESEC International."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":488,"evergreenUrl":"iran-steps-up-secret-monitoring-bahais","title":"Iran steps up secret monitoring of Baha'is","description":"In an ominous move, Iran's Ministry of Interior has ordered officials throughout the country to step up the surveillance of Iranian Baha'is focusing...","date":"2006-11-02","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471822-bwns7826-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471822-bwns7826-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Image of original 19 August 2006 letter from Iran's Ministry of the Interior ordering the stepped up monitoring of Baha'is. To see the entire letter, [click here](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/488_01.pdf).","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In an ominous move, Iran's Ministry of Interior has ordered officials throughout the country to step up the surveillance of Iranian Baha'is focusing in particular on their community activities.\n\nThe Ministry has requested provincial officials to complete a detailed questionnaire about the circumstances and activities of local Baha'is, including their \"financial status,\" \"social interactions,\" and \"association with foreign assemblies,\" among other things.\n\nThe Ministry's order came in a letter dated 19 August 2006 and addressed to provincial deputies of the Department of Politics and Security in Offices of the Governors' General throughout Iran.\n\nThe 19 August letter, which was recently obtained by the Baha'i International Community, asks these deputies to order \"relevant offices to cautiously and sensitively monitor and supervise\" all Baha'i social activities.\n\nThe letter is the latest in a series of threatening documents that outline a secret national effort to identify and monitor Baha'is in Iran.\n\n\"The emergence of this new letter highlights the gravity of the situation facing Iranian Baha'is,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"This letter further confirms that Iran's government has targeted the Baha'is for covert surveillance,\" said Ms. Dugal. \"It also reveals for the first time the type of information the government strives to collect on both individuals and the Baha'i community as a whole -- information that in most societies would be considered private and highly sensitive.\n\n\"The letter also contains elements of misinformation. For example, the letter asks for information on the 'socio-political activities' of Baha'is -- even though it is well known to authorities that Baha'is are entirely non-political in their activities, inasmuch as the Baha'i sacred writings stress the importance of non-involvement in politics, as well as non-violence.(MB1)\n\nThe 19 August letter follows the release earlier this year of a secret 29 October 2005 letter from the Iranian military headquarters to various Revolutionary Guard and police forces instructing them to \"identify\" and \"monitor\" Baha'is around the country.\n\nNews of the 29 October letter, first publicized by Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in March 2006, stirred alarm among international human rights groups. Ms. Jahangir herself expressed concern that \"the information gained 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.\"\n\nAnother letter, dated 2 May 2006, showed the degree to which the government has sought to implement such surveillance at the local level. That letter, from the Trades, Production, and Technical Services Society of Kermanshah to the Iranian Union of Battery Manufacturers, asked the Union to provide a list of members of \"the Baha'i sect\" in their membership.\n\nSome observers have compared the government's effort to identify and monitor Baha'is to the situation facing Jews at the beginning of the Nazi era. In April, for example, the Anti-Defamation League said the orders issued in the 29 October letter were \"reminiscent of the steps taken against Jews in Europe and a dangerous step toward the institution of Nuremberg-type laws.\"\n\nIranian authorities have continued to arrest and detain Baha'is throughout Iran in recent months, subjecting them to a \"revolving door\" sequence of imprisonment and release that is apparently designed to harass and oppress the Baha'i community.\n\nOver the last two years, at least 129 Baha'is have been arrested, released on bail, and are now awaiting trial throughout the country. The bail demands have been high, in most cases requiring the Baha'is to hand over considerable sums of money, deeds to property, business or work licenses.\n\n[To read the full text of the 19 August 2006 letter in an English translation, along with a link to the original letter in Persian, go to [http://bahai.org/persecution/iran/19-08-06](http://bahai.org/persecution/iran/19-08-06)]"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":487,"evergreenUrl":"families-youth-identified-keys-reducing-poverty","title":"Families and youth identified as keys to reducing poverty","description":"Strengthening families and empowering youth are two key factors in poverty reduction, said experts at a one-day symposium held here on 21 October...","date":"2006-11-01","customDateline":null,"city":"DAR ES SALAAM","country":"TANZANIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471808-bwns7822-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471808-bwns7822-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Panelists and Baha'is, from left to right: Ms. Mitra Deliri, Director of the Office of External Affairs; Ms. Shalli Tumaini, Minister of Gender and Women's Empowerment for the University of Dar es Salaam student government; Ms. Stella M. Manyanya, member of Parliament; Mr. Bryan Tribble, Office of External Affairs; Dr. Adeline Kimambo, Christian Social Services Council (CSSC); Mr. Killian Nangu, Youth of United Nations Association of Tanzania (YUNA); Ms. Elieshi Lema, publisher & author of \"Parched Earth\"; Ms. Sohaila Loftus, Baha'is of Tanzania; Dr. J. Mwami, senior lecturer of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Dar es Salaam; and Mr. Mlongetcha Mkuku, Chairman for the event from the Baha'is of Tanzania.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Strengthening families and empowering youth are two key factors in poverty reduction, said experts at a one-day symposium held here on 21 October 2006.\n\nOrganized by the Dar es Salaam Union Student Organisation (DARUSO) and the Baha'i community of Tanzania, the symposium examined the theme \"The Role of Family and Youth in Establishing Brighter Communities.\"\n\nThe event, held on United Nations Day, focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of targets in the fight against poverty, which were adopted by the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000.\n\n\"Basically everybody comes from the family,\" said Stella M. Manyanya, a member of Parliament. \"It is at the family whereby the true reflection of the MDGs achievement can be observed in individual basis instead of generalization.\"\n\nYouth, especially, will provide new ideas and are a potential labor resource, said Ms. Manyanya.\n\nShalli Tumaini of DARUSO said the MDGs \"are a recognition that over half a century after the end of WW II, the world remains very far from the ideals of harmony, prosperity and peace inspired by the end of the war.\n\n\"For Africa, particularly, the MDGs provide an impetus to reverse deterioration in human development,\" said Ms. Tumaini.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Other panelists included Adeline Kimambo of Christian Social Security Council; J. Abunuwasi Mwami, senior lecturer of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Dar es Salaam; and Killian Nango of the Youth of United Nations Association of Tanzania (YUNA).\n\n\"Family is the foundation of society,\" said Mr. Nango, echoing the theme of the symposium. \"Having strong families means that you will have strong leaders.\"\n\nElieshi Lema, another panelist and author of the book \"Parched Earth,\" presented a paper that outlined some of the problems facing families and youth in the region. Those challenges include rural-to-urban migration for jobs, increased drug abuse, domestic violence, and the lack of entrepreneurship, she said.\n\nHowever, strong families can help overcome these problems by promoting integrity, education, and effective interpersonal leadership, she said.\n\n\"Families have to join up and improve societal undertakings like educational, social economic, environmental, cultural, healthy even religious undertakings in their society or community for a bright future of communities,\" Ms. Lema said.\n\nMore than 100 people attended, including representatives from the academic and diplomatic communities, nongovernmental organizations, and faith-based groups.\n\nSohaila Loftus, a representative of the Baha'i community of Tanzania, stressed the importance of the education of women in achieving the goals of reducing poverty, improving health, and promoting education.\n\nIt is, she said, \"essential for the child to interact face-to-face with an educated, intelligent, loving, caring mother who will give this child the moral and spiritual grounding it needs in order to grow into an effective adult.\"\n\nMs. Loftus also stressed the importance of religion and spirituality as the keys to creating a strong family.\n\n\"Families should strive to raise children who will choose education and good-will,\" she said. \"Children should be brought up to bend their wills to the service of the human race, seeing their roles as contributors to communities. These are faith-based concepts.\"\n\nBoth the participants and the organizers felt that the symposium was rewarding.\n\n\"There was a high level of thought-provoking discussion and commentary from members of the audience, particularly the university students,\" said Bryan Tribble, a member of the Office of External Affairs of the Baha'i community of Tanzania.\n\nOne outcome of the event was the formation of a team of some two dozen students, young professionals, journalists, and NGO representatives, who pledged to join in an effort led by the Baha'i s of Tanzania and DARUSO to achieve the Millennium goals.\n\n\"They will continue the dialogue, refine ideas about the contributions that youth and families can make and present their findings to the government,\" Mr. Tribble said.\n\nMitra Deliri, director of the Office of External Affairs of the Baha'i community of Tanzania added: \"The gathering brought together various organizations who realized that the only way to achieve a meaningful development and fight poverty is to unite and combine efforts by different groups. And that this unity will strengthen the community and society at large.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471808-bwns7821-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"One of the conference participants gives comments on the panelists' presentations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471808-bwns7820-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Sohaila Loftus, representing the Baha'is of Tanzania, delivers her presentation, which focused on the role of families and youth in building brighter communities from a faith perspective."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471808-bwns7819-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants listen to the presentation of Dr. J. Mwami, senior lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543471808-bwns7818-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Hon. Stella M. Manyanya, member of Parliament, delivers her presentation on \"The Role of the Family and Youth in Establishing Brighter Communities.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/62/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}