{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/65/","result":{"pageContext":{"strings":{"about":"About","additional_articles":"Additional Articles","administration":"Administration","africa":"Africa","all_bahaiorg_sites":"All Bahai.org Sites","all_sites":"All sites","all_sites_arising_serve":"Arising to Serve","all_sites_arising_serve_caption":"A film recounting highlights of the 41 regional Bahá’í conferences called by the Universal House of Justice in 2008","all_sites_bahai_org":"The official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_bahai_org_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","all_sites_bahai_org_library_caption":"The authoritative online source of Bahá’í writings","all_sites_bahaullah_org":"The Life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bahaullah_org_caption":"A photographic narrative of the life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bic":"Bahá’í International Community Representative Offices","all_sites_bic_caption":"The official website of the Bahá’í International Community’s Representative Offices. The site contains news and information about recent activity and provides access to BIC statements, reports, and other publications","all_sites_bicentenary":"Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bicentenary_bab":"Bicentenary of the Birth of The Báb","all_sites_bicentenary_caption":"The official international website for the bicentenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_frontiers_learning":"Frontiers of Learning","all_sites_frontiers_learning_caption":"This film captures the insights and experiences of people from four communities across the world whose efforts to build vibrant communities are at the frontiers of learning","all_sites_light_to_the_world":"Light to the World","all_sites_light_to_the_world_caption":"A feature film about the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","all_sites_media_bank_caption":"Photographs available for downloading","all_sites_national_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","all_sites_national_communities_caption":"A page containing links to the websites of many national Bahá’í communities from around the world","all_sites_news_bahai_org_caption":"The official news website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_title":"Official Bahá’í Sites","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org":"The Universal House of Justice","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org_caption":"Information about the Universal House of Justice and selected statements and letters","all_sites_widening_embrace":"A Widening Embrace","all_sites_widening_embrace_caption":"A documentary film about the community-building efforts of the Bahá’í world","americas":"Americas","android":"Android","archive_results_to_of_a":"Results","archive_results_to_of_b":"to","archive_results_to_of_c":"of","asia":"Asia","back_to_story":"Back to Story","bahai_international_community":"Bahá'í International Community","bahai_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","bahai_reference_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","bahai_world_centre":"Bahá’í World Centre","bahai_world_news_service":"Bahá’í World News Service","bahai_world_news_service_bwns":"Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","bahaiorg_home":"Bahai.org Home","bahais_semnan":"The Bahá’ís of Semnan","battambang_cambodia_house_worship":"House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia","battambang_cambodia_temple":"Battambang, Cambodia Temple Inauguration","before_downloading_terms":"Before downloading please refer to the [Terms of use](/legal/).","bic_un_office":"Bahá’í International Community\nUN Office","brief_history":"Brief history","bwns_noTranslation":"BWNS","cdn_documentlibrary_path":"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/","cdn_images_path":"//bwns.imgix.net/","chile_house_worship":"Chile House of Worship","chile_temple":"Chile Temple Inauguration","close":"Close","closed_doors_denial_education_iran":"Closed Doors: Denial of Education in Iran","comma":",","comprehensive_report":"Comprehensive report","contact":"Contact","contact_h1":"Contacting the Bahá’í World News Service","contact_h2":"Contacting Bahá’í institutions","contact_h3":"Reporting technical problems","contact_information":"Contact Information","contact_p1":"General inquiries about BWNS can be directed to [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org). Information regarding news and media contacts is available in the [Media Information](/media-information/) section.","contact_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory around the world. At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are guided by National Spiritual Assemblies, and a list of websites for many national Bahá’í communities can be found at the [National Communities page](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/) on Bahai.org.","contact_p3":"To report a technical problem with this site, please send a detailed description and screenshot of the issue, along with the address of the page where it occurred, to [webmaster@bahai.org](mailto:webmaster@bahai.org). Please note that this email address exists to receive reports of technical problems with the site and it is not possible to respond to other queries through this facility.","copy_link":"Copy Link","did_not_match_any_documents_showing_results_for":"did not match any documents. Showing results for","did_you_mean":"Did you mean:","download":"Download","download_highest_resolution":"Download highest resolution","email":"Email","email_address":"Email Address","enlarge":"Enlarge","error_page":"Error Occurred","error_page_p1":"Sorry. An error has occurred with your request. It would help us if you let us know what you were trying to do when this error occurred by using our [contact form](https://www.bahai.org/contact/).","europe":"Europe","featured_stories":"Featured stories","featured_videos":"Featured videos","follow_updates_via_instagram_twitter":"Follow the Bahá’í World News Service on Twitter and Instagram for regular updates and stories","from_bwns_archive":"From the Bahá’í World News Service archive","get_notified_stories":"Get notified of stories","highest_resolution":"Highest resolution","historical_photographs":"Historical photographs","homepage_feature_audio_h2":"Recent podcast episodes","homepage_feature_audio_h3":"Audio versions of stories","homepage_feature_audio_p1":"Selected audio content from around the globe","homepage_feature_h1":"Subscribe to BWNS Updates","houses_worship":"Houses of Worship","human_rights_iran":"Human Rights in Iran","images":"images","ios":"iOS","iran_news_stories":"Iran News Stories","key_terms_facts":"Key terms and facts","latest_headlines":"Latest headlines","latest_video_category":"Latest","legal":"Legal","legal_h1":"Privacy","legal_h2":"Terms of Use","legal_information":"Legal Information","legal_li_1":"They must at all times be attributed to the Bahá’í World News Service.","legal_li_2":"Photographs and stories cannot be used in any way (including, without limitation, suggesting an association with or endorsement of any product, service, opinion or cause) that conflicts with the intent and premise of the original source.","legal_li_3":"Photographs may be edited for size only. Captions must remain with the photographs at all times.","legal_li_4":"The Bahá’í World News Service will not be responsible to any person or organization for any liability for any direct, incidental,  consequential, indirect, or punitive damages that may result from any access to or use of the stories and/or photographs on our site.","legal_li_5":"Although this blanket permission to reproduce BWNS material is given freely such that no special permission is required, the Bahá’í World News Service retains full copyright protection for its stories and photographs under all applicable national and international laws.","legal_p1_1":"On this Web site we try to ensure your privacy. We collect only personal information provided by you on a voluntary basis, in order to respond to your queries and to send you any additional information and material that you request.","legal_p1_2":"Visitors to this Web site are not tracked, except to produce aggregate statistical data that does not identify individual users. Where we must use cookies to provide essential functionality, these are not used to track your use of the site or to store personally-identifiable information. Steps have been taken to ensure that all information collected from you will remain secure, free from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Please keep in mind that if you leave this site via a link, the other site may have a different policy regarding privacy.","legal_p1_3a":"We occasionally update this privacy policy and encourage you to review it periodically. If you wish to correct your personal information, or have questions regarding this policy, please send an email message to","legal_p1_3b":"or call the Bahá’í World News Service at +972 (4) 835-8412, between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. GMT +2, Sunday through Thursday.","legal_p2_1":"All stories and photographs produced by the Bahá’í World News Service may be freely reprinted, e-mailed, posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization, subject to the following restrictions:","legal_p2_2":"The Bahá’í World News Service is an agency of the Bahá’í International Community, a nongovernmental organization that represents and encompasses the five million members of the Bahá’í Faith.","links_other_websites":"Links to other Web sites","listen":"Listen","listen_bwns":"Listen to BWNS","load_more_results":"Load more results","media_bank":"Media Bank","media_information":"Media Information","media_information_about_bwns":"About BWNS","media_information_administration_h2":"International","media_information_administration_h3":"National","media_information_administration_h4":"Local","media_information_administration_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith is administered by a series of elected bodies at the local, national, and international levels. There is no class of ecclesiastics or clergy.","media_information_administration_p2":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies (see below) around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p3":"At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_administration_p4":"At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_administration_p5":"In addition, the Bahá’í Faith has **counsellors**, appointed to five-year terms by the Universal House of Justice, who serve as advisers in countries and regions around the world. Currently there are 90 such counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and an additional nine counsellors who constitute the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_a":"the Seat of the Universal House of Justice,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_b":"the International Teaching Centre,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_c":"the Centre for the Study of the Texts,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_d":"the International Archives Building.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p1":"The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith is permanently established in the Acre-Haifa area of northern Israel, following the explicit instructions of Bahá’u’lláh.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p2":"The burial place, or shrine, of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and that of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa are the holiest spots on earth for Bahá’ís. Other sites associated with the life of Bahá’u’lláh as well as the burial site of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are revered by Bahá’ís as holy places.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p3":"The shrines are the object of pilgrimage for thousands of Bahá’ís each year.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p4":"The administrative offices are positioned in an Arc across Mount Carmel in Haifa and include:","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p5":"Also in Haifa are the Bahá’í International Community’s Secretariat and Office of Public Information.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p6":"The Bahá’í World Centre is known for the gardens surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre, and also for the gardens and terraces surrounding the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p7":"At this time the Shrine of the Báb is open to the public.","media_information_brief_history_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith traces its origin to 1844 and the announcement by a young man, Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran), that He had been sent by God to prepare humanity for a new age and the imminent appearance of another Messenger even greater than Himself.","media_information_brief_history_p10":"During the 40 years of His exile, Bahá’u’lláh revealed a series of books, tablets, and letters that today form the core of the **holy writings of the Bahá’í Faith**. Comprising the equivalent of some 100 volumes, the writings of Bahá’u’lláh describe the nature of God and the purpose of human existence, give new religious laws, and outline a vision for creating a peaceful and prosperous global society.","media_information_brief_history_p11":"In His will, Bahá’u’lláh named His eldest son, ‘Abbás Effendi (1844-1921), as the head of the Bahá’í Faith and authorized interpreter of His teachings. ‘Abbás Effendi, known to Bahá’ís as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (“Servant of Bahá”), became well-known in the Haifa/Acre area for his charitable works, and he also traveled through Europe and North America to encourage nascent Bahá’í communities and to proclaim Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to the general public. The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are considered part of the sacred scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p12":"‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in 1921. In his will he had designated his grandson **Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) as his successor, with the title of **Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith**. During the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, the religion spread around the world, and its local and national administrative institutions were established. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the line of hereditary leaders of the Bahá’í Faith came to an end.","media_information_brief_history_p13":"Following provisions established by Bahá’u’lláh, in 1963 the **Universal House of Justice** was elected to direct the affairs of the worldwide Bahá’í community. The nine members of the Universal House of Justice are elected every five years by the members of the Bahá’í national administrative bodies around the world.","media_information_brief_history_p2":"Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad took the title of the **Báb** (meaning “Gate” in Arabic) and said the one whose coming He foretold would be the universal Manifestation of God sent to inaugurate an age of peace and enlightenment as promised in all the world’s religions.","media_information_brief_history_p3":"The Báb’s teachings, which spread rapidly, were viewed as heretical by the clergy and government of Persia. More than 20,000 of His followers, known as Bábís, perished in a series of massacres throughout the country.","media_information_brief_history_p4":"The Báb Himself was publicly executed in the city of Tabriz on 9 July 1850.","media_information_brief_history_p5":"Bahá’ís consider the Báb to be both an independent Messenger of God and the forerunner of **Bahá’u’lláh** (“the Glory of God” in Arabic), who is the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p6":"Bahá’u’lláh, whose name was Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí, was born into a noble family in Tehran on 12 November 1817. In His mid-20s, He declined a life of privilege and became one of the leading disciples of the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p7":"In 1852, in the course of the persecution of the Bábís, He was arrested, beaten, and thrown into an infamous dungeon in Tehran. After four months, He was released and banished from His native land – the beginning of 40 years of exile and imprisonment.","media_information_brief_history_p8":"He was first sent to Baghdad, where He and His companions stayed for 10 years. In 1863, on the eve of His further banishment to what is now Turkey and then to the Holy Land, Bahá’u’lláh announced that He was the Universal Messenger of God foretold by the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p9":"In 1868, Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Holy Land with about 70 family members and followers, sentenced by the Ottoman authorities to perpetual confinement in the penal colony of Acre. The order of confinement was never lifted, but because of the growing recognition of His outstanding character, He eventually was able to move outside the walls of the prison city. He lived His final years at a country home called Bahjí, where He passed away in 1892. He was interred there, and His shrine is the holiest place on earth for Bahá’ís.","media_information_description":"Contacts, facts, style guide,\ngeneral information, and photos","media_information_h1":"National and local","media_information_h2":"International","media_information_h2_a":"Bahá’í World News Service","media_information_h2_b":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_h2_c":"Bahá’í International Community - United Nations Offices:","media_information_h2_e":"For languages other than English:","media_information_houses_worship_li_1":"Wilmette, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1953.","media_information_houses_worship_li_2":"Kampala, Uganda. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_3":"Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_4":"Frankfurt, Germany. Opened in 1964.","media_information_houses_worship_li_5":"Panama City, Panama. Opened in 1972.","media_information_houses_worship_li_6":"Apia, Samoa. Opened in 1984.","media_information_houses_worship_li_7":"New Delhi, India. Opened in 1986.","media_information_houses_worship_li_8":"Santiago, Chile. Opened in 2016.","media_information_houses_worship_li_9":"Battambang, Cambodia. Opened in 2017.","media_information_houses_worship_li_10":"Norte del Cauca, Colombia. Opened in 2018.","media_information_houses_worship_li_11":"Matunda Soy, Kenya. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_12":"Tanna, Vanuatu. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_13":"Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Opened in 2023.","media_information_houses_worship_li_14":"Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Opened in 2024.","media_information_houses_worship_p1":"Bahá’u’lláh designated Bahá’í Houses of Worship as spiritual gathering places for prayer and meditation around which will cluster social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific institutions. Eight continental, two national, and four local Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been built.","media_information_houses_worship_p2":"The physical structure of a House of Worship comprises a central building—a House of Worship—along with several dependencies. While the House of Worship forms the focal point of worship in a geographical area, its purpose is not solely to provide a place for prayer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that, through the provision of education, healthcare and other services it is also to support the social and economic progress of the community and afford shelter, relief and assistance to those in need. In this connection, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá anticipated that subsidiary branches—such as a hospital, school, university, dispensary, and hospice—would gradually be added to a House of Worship. Bahá’u’lláh refers to the House of Worship as a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Arabic for “dawning place of the mention of God.”","media_information_houses_worship_p3":"Bahá’í Houses of Worship are located in:","media_information_houses_worship_p4":"Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. A local House of Worship is also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_key_terms_facts_h1":"Name of the religion and of the organization – the Bahá’í Faith","media_information_key_terms_facts_h2":"Founder of the Bahá’í Faith – Bahá’u’lláh","media_information_key_terms_facts_h3":"Year of founding – 1844","media_information_key_terms_facts_h4":"Head of the religion – the Universal House of Justice","media_information_key_terms_facts_h5":"Number of Bahá’ís – more than 5 million","media_information_key_terms_facts_h6":"Description of the religion and key beliefs","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_a":"the unity of the races and elimination of prejudice,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_b":"the equality of women and men,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_c":"universal education,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_d":"the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_e":"a spiritual solution to economic problems,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_f":"establishment of a universal auxiliary language,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_g":"the harmony of science and religion,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_h":"the independent investigation of truth,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_i":"the creation of a world commonwealth of nations that will keep the peace through collective security.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_b":"A member is called a Bahá’í (plural: Bahá’ís). It is also correct to say that someone is a “member of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of Bahá’u’lláh,” or a member of the Bahá’í community of a given locality.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_c":"The term “Bahá’í International Community” refers to the non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p2":"Bahá’ís consider Bahá’u’lláh to be the most recent in a line of great religious teachers, or Messengers of God, that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Muhammad, Moses, Zoroaster, and others. Bahá’u’lláh—the name is Arabic for “Glory of God”—was born in 1817 in Tehran, Iran, and passed away in 1892 in Acre, Israel. The coming of Bahá’u’lláh was announced by the Báb (Arabic for “Gate”), also considered by Bahá’ís to be a divine Messenger.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p3":"There are a number of important dates in the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith, but the first announcement by the Báb of the new religion came in 1844.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p4":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í community, an elected body of nine men. Its seat is at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Around the world, in almost all countries, a National Spiritual Assembly oversees the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in that country, and Local Spiritual Assemblies oversee local affairs.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. Bahá’ís believe that the world’s major religions represent unfolding chapters in God’s teachings for humankind, and that the writings of Bahá’u’lláh represent God’s guidance for this age.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_b":"Bahá’u’lláh’s central teaching is the unity of humanity under one God.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_c":"Among the many Bahá’í principles are the following:","media_information_key_terms_facts_p7":"For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_li_a_1":"Phone (office): +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_li_a_2":"E-mail, for news inquiries: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_li_b_1":"Mr. Saleem Vaillaincourt (London)","media_information_li_b_2":"Senior information officer","media_information_li_b_3":"Phone (office): +1 (212) 803-2544","media_information_li_b_4":"E-mail: [media@bic.org](mailto:media@bic.org)","media_information_li_c_1":"Ms. Bani Dugal (New York)","media_information_li_c_2":"Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_c_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_c_4":"Phone: +1 (212) 803-2500","media_information_li_c_5":"After-hours phone: +1 (914) 329-3020","media_information_li_c_6":"E-mail: [uno-nyc@bic.org](mailto:uno-nyc@bic.org)","media_information_li_d_1":"Ms. Simin Fahandej (Geneva)","media_information_li_d_2":"Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_d_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_d_4":"Phone: +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_d_5":"After-hours phone: +41 (78) 880-0759","media_information_li_d_6":"E-mail: [geneva@bic.org](mailto:geneva@bic.org)","media_information_li_e_1":"Persian – Simin Fahandej, +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_e_2":"French – Rachel Bayani, +32 (475) 750394","media_information_li_e_3":"To arrange other languages +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_media_contacts":"Media Contacts","media_information_p1":"Editors, journalists, and other media professionals are encouraged to contact the National Office of the Bahá’ís of their own country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_p2":"BWNS reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","media_information_p3":"Information about the Bahá’í Faith is available at [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/)","media_information_p_native":"The website for BWNS is located at [news.bahai.org](https://news.bahai.org/)","media_information_photographs_p1":"To arrange for photographs, you are encouraged to contact the office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the  Bahá’ís of your country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_photographs_p2":"For more information, or for international photographs, contact the Bahá’í World Centre:","media_information_photographs_p3":"Phone: +972 (4) 835-8412  \n            E-mail: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_photographs_p4":"Photographs here may be downloaded and published, with photo credit given to the Bahá’í World Centre. [Terms of use](https://news.bahai.org/legal/).","media_information_photographs_p5":"Additional photos are available through the [Bahá’í Media Bank](https://media.bahai.org/). Images attached to articles in the [Bahá’í World News Service](https://news.bahai.org/) main site may also be downloaded.","media_information_photographs_p6":"Photographs of Bahá’ís imprisoned in Iran are available in the [Iran Update](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html) section of this Web site.","media_information_sidecontent_h1":"Bahá’ís in Iran","media_information_sidecontent_li":"Updates, background, photos","media_information_statistics_p1":"There are more than 5 million Bahá’ís in the world.","media_information_statistics_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in virtually every country and in many dependent territories and overseas departments of countries. Bahá’ís reside in well over 100,000 localities. About 2,100 indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups are represented in the Bahá’í community.","media_information_statistics_p3":"There are currently 188 councils at the national level that oversee the work of communities. A network of over 300 training institutes, offering formal programs of Bahá’í education, span the globe.","media_information_statistics_p4":"Of the several thousand Bahá’í efforts in social and economic development, more than 900 are large-scale, sustained projects, including more than 600 schools and over 70 development agencies.","media_information_statistics_p5":"There are currently 14 Bahá’í Houses of Worship – in Australia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Germany, India, Kenya, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Uganda, the United States, and Vanuatu. Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. Local Houses of Worship are also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_statistics_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_statistics_p7":"Bahá’í writings and other literature have been translated into more than 800 languages.","media_information_statistics_p8":"Each year, around one million people visit the Bahá’í Shrine, terraces, and gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.","media_information_statistics_p9":"In Iran, where the Bahá’í Faith originated, there are now about 300,000 Bahá’ís, constituting the largest religious minority in that country.","media_information_style_guide_h1":"Pronunciation guide","media_information_style_guide_h2":"Style guide and glossary","media_information_style_guide_p1":"**Bahá’í:**   Ba-HIGH  \n            **Bahá’u’lláh:**   Ba-ha-ul-LAH  \n            **Báb:**   Bahb (Bob)  \n            **‘Abdu’l-Bahá:**   Abdul ba-HAH  \n            **Naw-Rúz:**   Naw Rooz  \n            **Ridván:**   REZ-vahn","media_information_style_guide_p2_1":"**‘Abdu’l-Bahá** (1844-1921) – The son of Bahá’u’lláh who was the head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1892 to 1921. Bahá’u’lláh in His will had designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá occupies a special station as the authoritative interpreter of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and as the perfect example of how a Bahá’í should live. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá traveled widely through Europe and North America from 1911-1913, explaining his Father’s teachings in talks, interviews, and addresses at universities, churches, temples, synagogues, and missions for the poor. (Bahá’ís capitalize pronouns—for example, “He”—that refers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá out of respect for his special station. Such pronouns are not capitalized in this guide in deference to international journalistic style and also to avoid confusion with Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, who are considered to be divine Prophets.) For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_10":"**Bahá’í Faith** – The correct term for the religion is the Bahá’í Faith. It is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. It is not a sect of another religion. In a list of major religions, it would look like this: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism,  Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_11":"**Bahá’í International Community** – The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York. For more information, see [bic.org](https://www.bic.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_12":"**Bahá’í World Centre** – The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith, comprising the holy places in the Haifa/Acre area in northern Israel and the Arc of administrative buildings on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The Bahá’í World Centre itself uses the spelling “Centre”; elsewhere both “Centre” and “Center” are used, depending on the custom of the country.","media_information_style_guide_p2_13":"**Bahá’u’lláh** – The founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who lived from 1817 to 1892, considered by Bahá’ís to be the most recent divine Messenger, or Manifestation of God, in a line of great religious figures that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Moses, Muhammad, Zoroaster, the Báb, and others. Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tehran in present-day Iran, and passed away near Acre, in what is now Israel. “Bahá’u’lláh” is a title that means the “Glory of God” in Arabic; His name was Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí. His writings, which would equal about a hundred volumes, form the basis of the Bahá’í teachings. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_14":"**Bahjí** – The place near Acre where the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh (His burial place) is located, as well as the mansion that was His last residence and surrounding gardens. It is a place of pilgrimage for Bahá’ís. The word “Bahjí” is Arabic for “delight.”","media_information_style_guide_p2_15":"**children’s classes** – Classes in moral education, open to all, that are provided for children, operated at the community level by the Bahá’í training institute.","media_information_style_guide_p2_16":"**Convention** – See [International Bahá’í Convention](#internationalbahaiconvention) and [National Bahá’í Convention](#nationalbahaicconvention).","media_information_style_guide_p2_18":"**counsellor** – An adviser appointed by the Universal House of Justice who serves in a particular geographic area or at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. At present, there are 90 counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and nine counsellors who form the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the  Bahá’í World Centre. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_19":"**devotional meetings** – Gatherings, often in people’s homes, for prayers and to read the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith and other religions. Usually undertaken as an individual initiative.","media_information_style_guide_p2_2":"**accent marks** – Bahá’í, Bahá’u’lláh, and other names are written with accent marks, but many publications and websites do not have the facility for using such marks.","media_information_style_guide_p2_20":"**fast, the** – A period during which Bahá’ís abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown during the Bahá’í month of ‘Alá’, from 2 March to 20 March. Bahá’u’lláh enjoined His followers to pray and fast during this period. The sick, the traveler, and pregnant women, among others, are exempt.","media_information_style_guide_p2_21":"**feast** – See [Nineteen Day Feast](#nineteendayfeast).","media_information_style_guide_p2_22":"**Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith** – See [Shoghi Effendi](#shoghieffendi).","media_information_style_guide_p2_23":"**Haifa** – The city in northern Israel that, along with nearby Acre, is the location of the Bahá’í World Centre. The international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith (including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice), the Shrine of the Báb, and surrounding terraces and gardens are all located on Mount Carmel in the heart of Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_24":"**Holy days** – Eleven days that commemorate significant Bahá’í anniversaries. The nine holy days on which work is suspended are the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Birth of the Báb, Declaration of the Báb, Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, Martyrdom of the Báb, Naw-Rúz, Ridván (a 12-day festival, of which the first, ninth and 12th days are holy days). The other two holy days are the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. *See names of individual holy days.*","media_information_style_guide_p2_25":"**Holy Land** – The area associated with present-day Israel, which is holy to a number of religions, including to Bahá’ís. The resting places of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and of the Báb in Haifa are, to Bahá’ís, the holiest spots on earth.","media_information_style_guide_p2_26":"**International Archives Building** – One of the buildings at the Bahá’í World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The repository of many sacred relics of the Bahá’í Faith, it is visited by thousands of Bahá’í pilgrims each year.","media_information_style_guide_p2_27":"**International Bahá’í Convention** – A gathering every five years of delegates from around the world to consult on the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith and elect the members of the Universal House of Justice. Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies serve as delegates.","media_information_style_guide_p2_28":"**International Teaching Centre** – One of the institutions at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. The International Teaching Centre has nine members, all counsellors appointed by the Universal House of Justice. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_29":"**Local Spiritual Assembly** – At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_style_guide_p2_3":"**Acre**– English rendering of the name of the city north of Haifa where Bahá’u’lláh was exiled in 1868. He lived in or near the city until His passing in 1892. Bahá’ís often use the Arabic name, ‘Akká, which was the name in general use during the time of Bahá’u’lláh. In Hebrew the name is Akko.","media_information_style_guide_p2_30":"**Mount Carmel** – In Haifa, Israel, site of the Bahá’í World Centre, including several Bahá’í holy places, the most important of which is the Shrine of the Báb, and the buildings housing the administrative offices of the Bahá’í World Centre.","media_information_style_guide_p2_31":"**National Bahá’í Convention** – In each country, the annual gathering of elected delegates to discuss the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in their jurisdiction and to elect the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.","media_information_style_guide_p2_32":"**National Spiritual Assembly** – At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_style_guide_p2_33":"**Nineteen Day Feast** – An administrative gathering at the local level. The term refers to a spiritual “feast” of prayers,  consultation and fellowship. It is held every 19 days, on the first day of each Bahá’í month.","media_information_style_guide_p2_34":"**pilgrimage** – Each year thousands of Bahá’ís undertake pilgrimage, during which they forge a profound and lasting connection with the spiritual and administrative centre of their Faith, located in the Haifa-Acre area of what is now northern Israel. Bahá’í pilgrims pray and meditate at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the Shrine of the Báb, as well as in the beautiful gardens that surround them. They also draw inspiration from the time spent at various historical sites associated with the lives of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, as well as from visits to the edifices dedicated to the worldwide administration of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_35":"**progressive revelation** – The central belief that Manifestations of God have successively provided the guidance necessary for humanity’s social and spiritual evolution.","media_information_style_guide_p2_36":"**Regional Bahá’í Council** – In some countries, the National Spiritual Assembly assigns certain of its functions to Regional Bahá’í Councils, which serve a designated geographical area within the land in question. The responsibilities of a Regional Council may include carrying out policies of the National Spiritual Assembly, supervising progress of particular plans and projects, and taking steps to stimulate and coordinate the growth of the Bahá’í community within the region.","media_information_style_guide_p2_37":"**Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) – The head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921 to 1957. His title is Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. He is the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the great-grandson of Bahá’u’lláh. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_38":"**Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh** – The resting place of the mortal remains of Bahá’u’lláh, located near the city of Acre in what is now Israel. The shrine is the holiest spot on earth to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_39":"**Shrine of the Báb** – The resting place of the mortal remains of the Báb, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. It is a sacred site to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_4":"**‘Akká, Akko** – See entry above for “[Acre](#acre)”.","media_information_style_guide_p2_40":"**study circles** – A study circle is one of the principal elements of the process of distance education offered by the [Bahá’í training institute](https://www.bahai.org/action/response-call-bahaullah/training-institute). It is a small group that meets regularly to study the institute course materials.","media_information_style_guide_p2_41":"**Universal House of Justice** – The international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_5":"**Arc** – An area on Mount Carmel in Haifa, shaped like an arc, where the major international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith, including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, are situated.","media_information_style_guide_p2_6":"**Báb** – The title, meaning “Gate,” assumed by Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, the Founder of the Bábí Faith and the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh. Considered by Bahá’ís to be one of the twin Manifestations of God associated with the Bahá’í Faith. Born on 20 October 1819, the Báb proclaimed Himself to be the Promised One of Islam and said His mission was to announce the imminent coming of another Messenger even greater than Himself, namely Bahá’u’lláh. Because of these claims, the Báb was executed by firing squad in the public square in Tabriz on 9 July 1850. His remains were hidden in Iran for many years before being taken to Haifa/Acre in 1899 and buried on Mount Carmel in 1909. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_7":"**Bábí Faith** – The religion founded by the Báb. After 1863 and the announcement by Bahá’u’lláh that He was the Messenger whose coming had been foretold by the Báb, the Bahá’í Faith gradually became established and most followers of the Báb began to call themselves Bahá’ís.","media_information_style_guide_p2_8":"**Badí‘ calendar** – The Bahá’í calendar, consisting of 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of intercalary days known as Ayyám-i-Há. The number of these intercalary days varies according to the timing of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere in successive years. The first day of the year corresponds to the spring equinox. The Bahá’í era (B.E.) begins with 1844, the year of the Báb’s declaration. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/action/devotional-life/calendar).","media_information_style_guide_p2_9":"**Bahá’í** – (1) A noun referring to a member of the Bahá’í Faith. The plural is Bahá’ís. (2) An adjective describing a person, place, or thing related to the Bahá’í Faith. Examples: a Bahá’í book, the Bahá’í community, a Bahá’í holy day, a Bahá’í holy place.","media_reports":"Media Reports","menu":"Menu","meta_description_bwns":"The Bahá’í World News Service - BWNS - The official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community, reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","minutes_short":"min","mobile_app":"Mobile app","national_bahai_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","news_email":"news@bahai.org","news_service_home":"BWNS Home","no_matches_for":"No matches for","no_results_for":"No results for","number_of":"of","oceania":"Oceania","official_news_site":"Official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community","one_country":"One Country","other_bahai_sites":"Other Bahá’í Sites","other_sites":"Other sites","other_stories":"Other Stories","overview_section":"Overview of this Section","page_link":"Page link","photographs":"Photographs","photographs_download":"Photographs for download","podcast":"Podcast","podcast_available":"Podcast available","podcast_description_bwns":"Reporting on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_p1":"The Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) podcast reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_subscribe":"Subscribe to the BWNS podcast for additional audio content.","print":"Print","privacy":"Privacy","recent_articles":"Recent Articles","recent_headlines":"Recent headlines","recent_media_reports":"Recent media reports","recieve_stories_email":"Receive stories via email","related_stories":"Related Stories","results":"Results","return_top":"Return to top","rss":"RSS","search":"Search","search_bahai_reference_library":"Search the Bahá’í Reference Library","search_bahaiorg":"Search Bahai.org","search_news_service":"Search the News Service","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_description":"Read reports on the progress","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_title":"Coverage of Construction Work of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá","see_all":"See All","seven_bahais_leaders":"The Seven Bahá’í Leaders","share":"Share","share_this_article":"Share this article","share_this_page":"Share this page","show_more":"Show more","sign_up":"Sign Up","slideshow":"Slideshow","social_media_name_instagram":"Instagram","social_media_name_instagram_account":"bahaiworldnewsservice","social_media_name_twitter":"Twitter","social_media_name_twitter_account":"bahainews","special_reports":"SPECIAL REPORTS","special_reports_shrine_construction":"Coverage of construction work for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá","statistics":"Statistics","story_archive":"Story Archive","style_glossary_pronunciation_guide":"Style guide, glossary and pronunciation guide","subscribe":"Subscribe","subscribe-confirmation-message":"Thank you for your interest in Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe-souble-optin-email":"You will receive an email shortly, asking you to confirm your subscription.","subscribe_bot_submission":"This doesn't look like a human submission.","subscribe_check_email":"Please check your email to confirm your subscription!","subscribe_email_exists":"This email already exists! 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(Photograph courtesy of and copyright by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2005.)","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Representatives of the Baha'i Faith were invited recently to address Scotland's Parliament as part of the body's weekly proceeding that allows people from different faiths to share their perspectives on the challenges facing the country. It was the first time an invitation had come from a Member of Parliament.\n\nCarrie Varjavandi, a Baha'i from Dundee, addressed the body on 18 January 2006 during its \"Time for Reflection.\"\n\nMs. Varjavandi invited Parliament members to consider the current world situation. \"The world today faces apparently intractable problems, which governments and peoples are striving courageously to solve: climate change, poverty and religious fanaticism to name but a few,\" she said.\n\nShe then suggested that the spiritual teachings of Baha'u'llah not only identified disunity as the underlying cause of these problems, but also offered a solution.\n\n\"'The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established'\" she said, quoting Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nMs. Varjavandi also said that Baha'u'llah's story was one of \"the great untold stories of our time.\"\n\n\"Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, was born into a noble family in Iran more than 180 years ago,\" said Ms. Varjavandi. \"He forsook his life of wealth and comfort for one of imprisonment, torture and exile in order to share his unique insights into the condition of the world with those around him. His life and teachings are the inspiration for the 5 million Baha'is in the world today.\"\n\nCommenting on Ms. Varjavandi's address, Presiding Officer George Reid MSP (Member Scottish Parliament) made a direct connection between the fundamental principles of the Baha'i Faith and the words of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796).\n\n\"The Baha'i belief in the unity of mankind matches our commitment to build an inclusive society in Scotland,\" said MSP Reid. \"It recalls the words of Robert Burns (which were quoted) at the Opening of the Parliament in 1999:  'That man to man, the wor'l ower shall brithers be...'\"\n\nThe invitation to contribute to the \"Time for Reflection\" came from a member of the Green Party, Chris Balance, MSP.\n\nThe reading by Ms. Varjavandi is historic in that it marks the first time a Baha'i has been specifically asked by a Member of the Scottish Parliament to deliver the \"Time for Reflection,\" said Allan Forsyth, the chair of the Baha'i Council of Scotland.\n\nIn May 2001, Baha'i Alex Reid was invited to give the \"Time for Reflection,\" at the behest of a group of religious leaders who usually organize the event. \"Also at the time, the Parliament was in a temporary location and not in its magnificent new building,\" said Mr. Forsyth.\n\n\"It is hoped that the success of this occasion will lead to further invitations and a strengthening of the contribution that the Baha'i community can make to the inclusiveness of the Scottish Community,\" Mr. Forsyth added.\n\nThe Time for Reflection is a weekly event, lasting four minutes, when speakers are invited to share their thoughts with the members of Parliament. When the Scottish Parliament began in 1999, members voted to make it inclusive of all faiths. The majority of speakers have been Christian, but Jews, Muslims, and others have also taken part.\n\nIn the closing section of her reading, Mrs. Varjavandi said Scotland \"has always been an outward-looking nation with a great tradition of helping others; our contribution to the world is far out of proportion to our size.\n\n\"I hope that reflection on these words will help us all to continue this practice in ways that will help the world's people transform our lives on this planet,\" Ms. Varjavandi said.\n\nA video of the presentation in the Parliament is available until about 15 February 2006 on the internet at: [http://www.holyrood.tv/library.asp?title=Time%20For%20Reflection&section=29](http://www.holyrood.tv/library.asp?title=Time%20For%20Reflection&section=29)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469393-bwns7527-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the Right Honorable George Reid MSP, left, listens to Ms. Carrie Varjavandi of the Scottish Baha'i Community give her \"Time for Reflection\" address on 18 January 2006. (Photograph courtesy of and copyright by Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2005.)"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":428,"evergreenUrl":"government-officials-visit-bahai-book-display-senegal","title":"Government officials visit Baha'i book display in Senegal","description":"The Minister of Culture and Historical Heritage visited a display by the Baha'i community of Senegal at an international book fair, held in the...","date":"2006-02-05","customDateline":null,"city":"DAKAR","country":"SENEGAL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469383-bwns7526-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469383-bwns7526-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In Dakar, Senegal, Mr. Mame Birame Diouf, minister of Culture and Historical Heritage, at right with hat, visits the Baha'i display at an international book fair in December. Others, from left, all Baha'is, are Steve Pathe, Sandrine Toukam, Tchassanty Ouro-Gbeleou, and Jeanne Toukam.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Minister of Culture and Historical Heritage visited a display by the Baha'i community of Senegal at an international book fair, held in the West African capital city of Dakar in December 2005.\n\nHis Excellency Mame Birame Diouf, head of the Ministere de la Culture et du Patrimoine Historique Classe, represented Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade at the fair. Minister Diouf accepted a gift of Baha'i books.\n\nOther government visitors to the display included three officials from the Department of Books and Reading of the Ministry of Culture (Direction du Livre et de la Lecture).\n\nThe book department bought 30 copies of the book, *Baha'u'llah and the New Era*, in order to place them in public libraries throughout the country, said Shahnaz R. Ardekani, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Senegal.\n\nMs. Ardekani said the Baha'i display was visited by many of the publishers, authors, librarians, students, intellectuals and others interested in publishing, who came from many countries to attend the fair, which was held 6-11 December 2005.\n\n\"The Baha'is manning the stall met a wide variety of people including school pupils, university students, teachers, government officials, artists, members of different religious orders, writers, and business people,\" Ms. Ardekani said.\n\nSeveral of those who visited the Baha'i display attended a subsequent public meeting at the Baha'i Centre where the topic \"Unity of the human race -- utopia or reality?\" was discussed.\n\nBaha'is reside in 382 localities in Senegal, and there are 34 Local Spiritual Assemblies. Social and economic development projects include classes for junior youth.\n\nThe Baha'is of Senegal, along with the other National Baha'i communities of former French West Africa, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003. [see [https://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=283](/story.cfm?storyid=283)]"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":427,"evergreenUrl":"two-bahai-musicians-receive-grammy-nominations","title":"Two Baha'i musicians receive Grammy nominations","description":"Two Baha'i musicians have received separate nominations for a 2006 Grammy Award, the music industry's best known and most prestigious awards....","date":"2006-02-02","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469370-bwns7521-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469370-bwns7521-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Composite image of Tierney Sutton and Red Grammer, two Baha'i musicians who are up for 2006 Grammy Awards.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Two Baha'i musicians have received separate nominations for a 2006 Grammy Award, the music industry's best known and most prestigious awards.\n\nSinger songwriter Red Grammer received a nomination for \"best musical album for children\" for his 2005 album, *BeBop Your Best*.\n\nJazz singer Tierney Sutton received a nomination in the \"jazz vocal album\" category for her 2005 album *I'm With the Band*.\n\nThe nominations were announced in New York on 8 December 2005. Winners in each category will be announced at the 48th annual Grammy Awards live television ceremony, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles on Wednesday, 8 February 2006.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"*BeBop Your Best* is Mr. Grammer's sixth album for children. Its songs focus on the development of moral character, with titles like \"Truthfulness,\" \"Responsibility,\" \"Kindness,\" and \"Integrity.\" The songs on the album were co-written with veteran song writer Pamela Phillips Oland.\n\n\"One of the really cool things about getting a Grammy nomination for an album like this is that it is all about character, which is somewhat unusual for a popular album,\" said Mr. Grammer, who has been a Baha'i for 33 years.\n\nMr. Grammer said the nomination was also personally significant because \"it reflects recognition of excellence by the music industry.\"\n\n\"It isn't a nomination by your listeners,\" he said. \"It is a nomination by your colleagues.\"\n\nLong known for his upbeat and inspiring songs for young people, Mr. Grammer has won considerable recognition for his previous albums, many of which also touch on Baha'i themes, such as the need to treat all people with equality. His album *Teaching Peace* was recognized as one of the \"top five\" children's recordings of all time by the \"All Music Guide.\"\n\nMs. Sutton's *I'm With the Band* album was recorded live in March 2005 at Birdland in New York. Produced by Elaine Martone, *I'm With the Band* is Ms. Sutton's first live recording and her sixth album.\n\nMs. Sutton, who has been a Baha'i since 1981, said she was deeply gratified to be nominated for the award.\n\n\"The way we arrange our music is based on the principle of consultation, and our band is very much run on Baha'i principles,\" said Ms. Sutton. \"So there is very much a sense with everybody in the band that what we do is essentially a spiritual thing.\"\n\nIn June 2005, Tierney won JazzWeek's Vocalist of the Year Award. An active educator, she has taught in the Jazz Studies Department at the University of Southern California.\n\nThe Grammy Awards are the music industry's best known and most prestigious award. They are granted by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc., an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals, who each year choose the nominees and final award winners."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469369-bwns7520-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The cover to Tierney Sutton's Grammy nominated album, *I'm With the Band*."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469370-bwns7519-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The cover to Red Grammer's Grammy nominated album, *BeBop Your Best*."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469370-bwns7514-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Singer songerwriter Red Grammer in a recent publicity photograph. Mr. Grammer has been nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for \"Best Musical Album for Children\" for his recent album *BeBop Your Best*."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469370-bwns7513-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Jazz singer Tierney Sutton, in a recent publicity photograph. Ms. Sutton has been nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for best Jazz Vocal Album for her recent album *I'm With the Band*."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":426,"evergreenUrl":"journalists-win-awards-human-rights","title":"Journalists win awards for human rights","description":"Six prominent Brazilian journalists and three media organizations received \"world citizenship awards\" at a Baha'i-sponsored event here. The awards...","date":"2006-01-30","customDateline":null,"city":"BRASÍLIA","country":"BRAZIL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Six prominent Brazilian journalists and three media organizations received \"world citizenship awards\" at a Baha'i-sponsored event here.\n\nThe awards for media coverage promoting human rights were presented at a ceremony at the Ministry of Justice in the federal capital on 13 December 2005.\n\nBaha'i spokesman,Washington Araujo said the jury selected the award winners from among hundreds of candidates.\n\nThe purpose of this year's theme was to acknowledge the media that paid close attention to vulnerable sectors of society and who highlighted the challenges facing civil society, said Mr. Araujo.\n\nAmong those attending the ceremony were representatives of the Brazilian National Federation of Journalists, the Brazilian Press Association, the Ambassadors of Guyana, Israel, and the Philippines, members of civil society organizations, and representatives of the Baha'i community of Brazil.\n\nIn his acceptance speech, award recipient Marcelo Canellas of TV Globa, Brazil's biggest broadcaster, said that receiving the award reinforced for him the importance of the humane side of journalism\n\n\"It confirms for me that journalism is a vocation,\" Mr. Canellas said.\n\nAnother award winner, Gilberto Dimenstein, a columnist for the newspaper \"Folha de Sao Paulo,\" said that the award showed that the media's role is much more than just reporting bad news.\n\nThe president of the Brazilian government news agency, Radiobras, said in his acceptance speech that the media should deliver to the public information that will help to create solutions that have yet to be imagined.\n\nThe nine-person jury comprised representatives of human rights and legal groups and two members of the Baha'i community of Brazil.\n\nThe winners were presented with a sculpture created by Yone Di Alerigi.\n\nThe journalists who won the awards were Angela Bastos of the newspaper \"Diario Catarinense\"; Eugenio Bucci, present of Radiobras, the Brazilian government news agency; Marcelo Canellas of TV Globa, Brazil; Gilberto Dimenstein, columnist for the newspaper \"Folha de Sao Paulo\"; Alberto Dines, director and newscaster of the \"Press Observatory,\" an organization that discusses the role of the media in Brazil; and Ziraldo, a cartoonist and writer.\n\nThe media organizations to win the awards were \"Educativa de Sao Paulo,\" a State educational television channel; \"Rede de Direitos Humanos e Cultura - DHNet,\" a Web site portal for human rights organizations; and \"Viracao,\" a Brazilian magazine produced by young people.\n\nThe Brazilian Baha'i community instituted the world citizenship awards in 1994."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":425,"evergreenUrl":"orlando-conference-focuses-service-humanity","title":"Orlando conference focuses on service to humanity","description":"Baha'is responded quickly and efficiently to Hurricane Katrina because of the decentralized structure of Baha'i communities, and the Faith's...","date":"2006-01-30","customDateline":null,"city":"ORLANDO, Fl.","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469355-bwns7522-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469355-bwns7522-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Singer songwriter Red Grammer was among the entertainers who performed at the 13th annual Baha'i Conference on Social and Economic Development for the Americas, held 15-18 December 2005 in Orlando, Florida.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Baha'is responded quickly and efficiently to Hurricane Katrina because of the decentralized structure of Baha'i communities, and the Faith's emphasis on individual initiative, a keynote speaker said here this month.\n\nIndividual Baha'is and Baha'i institutions, on the spur of the moment and without pre-planning, undertook a variety of relief activities, said William Davis at the annual Baha'i Conference on Social and Economic Development for the Americas held 15-18 December 2005.\n\nThe address by Mr. Davis exemplified the theme for the conference, which this year was \"Make a Beginning: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Service.\"\n\nThe Baha'is did not become a relief agency during the hurricane disaster in August 2005, said Mr. Davis, the chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.\n\n\"We're not equipped to do that. We don't have the resources to do that. But we became a community responding to the human needs that we saw.\"\n\nBaha'is and Baha'i institutions organized the delivery of truckloads of supplies to the disaster area, provided temporary housing to displaced survivors, and established communications centers or informational websites, Mr. Davis said.\n\nThese initiatives were of a small scale, and in no way matched those of traditional disaster relief agencies, such as the Red Cross, he said.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Nevertheless, local Baha'i institutions like the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of New Orleans and the Baha'i Regional Council of the South were able to contribute.\n\n\"The Baha'is responded in a remarkable way,\" said Mr. Davis. \"No one asked, 'how many of us are we?' and 'can we can do this?' They simply said, 'this is a need, we must do it, that's who we are as Baha'is, we respond to the human needs.'\"\n\nOther speakers similarly emphasized the possibilities for individual and collective action in the service of humankind.\n\nDorothy W. Nelson, a judge with the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, said she used the principles of Baha'i consultation in her work as a law school dean and later in the founding of the Western Justice Center Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes the peaceful resolution of conflict among young people in schools and in the courts.\n\nEloy Anello, president of Nur University in Bolivia, told the conference that individual initiative is the \"key that unlocks the potential of the Baha'i teachings to transform the world.\"\n\nMr. Anello related how a group of indigenous Baha'is in the Bolivian village of Puka Puka had, through principle-driven individual action, gradually established a primary school, and then a high school, for their children.\n\nOther speakers provided case studies for successful development projects and also led discussions of development theory aimed at helping Baha'is and Baha'i institutions launch new projects.\n\nRandie Gottlieb presented a session entitled \"Raising Up Indigenous Teachers and Schools in Rural Panama.\" Dr. Gottlieb discussed the efforts of Baha'is among the  Ngobe-Bugle people that have led to the establishment of a cultural center, community radio station, a rural school system serving hundreds of students, a government-accredited teacher training program, and a solar-powered computer laboratory.\n\nDan Vaillancourt of Canada spoke about the Maxwell International Baha'i School in British Columbia, which has been in operation for almost 17 years. His workshop session explored the growth and development of the school, examining the nine guiding principles used to make decisions about curriculum, instruction, and administration.\n\nMore than 700 people from some 25 countries registered for the Conference, said Doug Paik, program director and a trustee of the Orlando-based Rabbani Trust, which has organized the event for the last 13 years.\n\nThe Conference was preceded by three pre-conference seminars designed to afford more in-depth study of select topics.\n\nThe Baha'i Justice Society conducted a 40-hour training session on Mediation, Consultation, and Conflict Resolution and the Baha'i Business Forum for the Americas sponsored a seminar on Spiritual Ethics Training.\n\nThe International Environment Forum and Educators for Social and Economic Development, with support from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, offered a 2-day workshop on Education for Sustainable Development."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469355-bwns7511-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"William Davis speaks about the Baha'i response to Hurricane Katrina at the annual Baha'i Conference on Social and Economic Development for the Americas, held 15-18 December 2005. Mr. Davis is chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha?is of the United States."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":424,"evergreenUrl":"new-film-bahai-pilgrimage-debuts","title":"New film on Baha'i pilgrimage debuts","description":"A new film about Baha'i pilgrimage to the Holy Land is now available as a DVD. Commissioned by the Universal House of Justice, \"Pilgrimage --...","date":"2006-01-23","customDateline":null,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469347-bwns7510-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469347-bwns7510-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The cover of the DVD of the new film about Baha'i pilgrimage.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A new film about Baha'i pilgrimage to the Holy Land is now available as a DVD.\n\nCommissioned by the Universal House of Justice, \"Pilgrimage -- A Sacred Experience\" is intended to stimulate increasing numbers of Baha'is to make their nine-day pilgrimage to the Shrines of Baha'u'llah, the Bab, and 'Abdu'l-Baha.\n\nThe film gives glimpses of the different experiences of pilgrims through personal testimonies by Baha'is from a wide range of countries, including Australia, Bolivia, Ethiopia, France, Jamaica, Mauritius, Russia, and the United States.\n\nFilmed mainly in the gardens in the vicinity of the Shrines of Baha'u'llah and the Bab, the 28-minute film is available in English,  French, and Spanish.\n\nDue to the demand for the limited places for pilgrims, Baha'is apply by writing to the Baha'i World Centre.\n\nCurrently there is a waiting list of several years but plans are under way to reduce that period while at the same time boosting the number of pilgrims.\n\nTo see a two-minute clip of the movie and to order a DVD,[click here](http://info.bahai.org/pilgrimage)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":421,"evergreenUrl":"global-governance-needed-counter-terrorism","title":"Global governance needed to counter terrorism","description":"The challenges that terrorism throws at governments can only be countered by global governance deeply grounded in unity, a keynote speaker told...","date":"2006-01-09","customDateline":null,"city":"GROESBEEK","country":"NETHERLANDS","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469316-bwns7509-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469316-bwns7509-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Nicola Towfigh at the European Baha'i Conference on Law.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The challenges that terrorism throws at governments can only be countered by global governance deeply grounded in unity, a keynote speaker told the European Baha'i Conference on Law.\n\nDr. Wendi Momen said that the challenges to the law that terrorism poses are not only in the area of balancing safety with human liberty but in the creation of new law to fit a new system of governance that is better adapted to the present globalized world.\n\n\"While the terrorist fires are burning, states and governments around the world are struggling with 19th century legal frameworks and notions of state sovereignty that prevent them from turning on the water hose -- this has to change, and quickly,\" Dr. Momen said.\n\nDr. Momen, who holds a doctorate in international relations from the London School of Economics, is an editor and author, and the former chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom.\n\nDr. Momen was delivering the Dr. Aziz Navidi Memorial Lecture, which is named after a prominent Baha'i lawyer renowned for his courage and skill in the area of human rights.\n\nThe conference, held 1-4 December 2005, attracted participants from seven countries and was organized by the Law Association of the Tahirih Institute, an educational institute of the Dutch Baha'i community."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In her address, Dr Momen said new responses are needed at the international level that enable, and even require, governments to work together, the strengthening of international bonds, and steps towards an international federal government.\n\nAmong other papers delivered at the conference were: \"Consultation in a Multilateral Setting,\" by Joachim Monkelbaan; \"Human Cloning -- Current Legal and Ethical Considerations seen from a Baha'i perspective,\" by Tinia Tober; \"The Ethical Consciousness,\" by Eltjo Poort; \"Some Thoughts on the Future of Crime and Punishment implied in the Baha'i Writings,\" by Shirin Milani-Ansinger.\n\nOther presentations were made by Dr. Nicola Towfigh, Dr. Frank Dignum, and Dr. Virginia Dignum.\n\nWorkshop topics included \"The denial of the right to education for Baha'is in Iran,\" \"Freedom of Speech,\" and \"Jury versus Judge.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469315-bwns7508-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Joachim Monkelbaan at the European Baha'i Conference on Law."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469315-bwns7506-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Wendi Momen at the European Baha'i Conference on Law."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469316-bwns7505-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants in the European Baha'i Conference on Law."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":420,"evergreenUrl":"bahais-honor-champion-human-rights","title":"Baha'is honor champion of human rights","description":"A former British parliamentarian, Sydney Chapman, received the inaugural Blomfield Award for Human Rights at a ceremony organized by the United...","date":"2006-01-03","customDateline":null,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469300-bwns7504-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469300-bwns7504-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Blomfield Award recipient Sir Sydney Chapman, right, with Baha'i representatives, the Hon. Barney Leith (left) and Dr. Kishan Manocha.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A former British parliamentarian, Sydney Chapman, received the inaugural Blomfield Award for Human Rights at a ceremony organized by the United Kingdom Baha'i community's national governing council and the Barnet Baha'i community.\n\nThe Baha'is of the United Kingdom have established the  Blomfield Award -- named after Lady Blomfield, a prominent early British Baha'i -- to present to individuals in British public life who have offered consistent and exceptional support towards the defence of Baha'is in countries where they are persecuted for their religious faith, notably in Iran.\n\nAt the ceremony held in Barnet, North London, on 6 December 2005, Baha'i spokesman, the Hon. Barney Leith, praised the efforts of Sir Sydney to speak out for the Baha'is in Iran.\n\n\"Sir Sydney repeatedly defended the human rights of the Baha'is by tabling Parliamentary questions and motions and speaking in debates,\" said Mr. Leith, secretary for external affairs of the United Kingdom Baha'i community.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In reply, Sir Sydney spoke of his admiration for the Baha'i community. \"I should like to thank the Baha'is, not only the 6,000 here in the UK, but the five to six million Baha'is around the world, for all that you do to promote human unity,\" he said.\n\nSir Sydney said that he attached great importance to the struggle for human rights and to efforts to reduce the damage to the earth's natural environment.\n\nSir Sydney admired the artistic design of the award itself, which was conceived and crafted by Switzerland-based artist Myriam Bargetze. Ms. Bargetze used a quotation from the Baha'i writings as her inspiration for the alabaster and turquoise piece: \"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value.\"\n\nBarnet Deputy Mayor, Victor Lyon, and the Deputy Mayoress attended the ceremony, representing the borough.\n\nA musical group, Gye Nyame, performed a Baha'i prayer set to their own choral melodies.\n\nSir Sydney retired from Parliament in 2005 having served the people of Barnet since 1979. Members of the Barnet Baha'i community also honoured Sir Sidney, presenting him with a commemorative certificate to mark his retirement from public life.\n\nClosing the ceremony Dr. Kishan Manocha, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom, said the Baha'is had gathered to acknowledge Sir Sydney's contribution and to honor him.\n\n\"There should be no doubt that Sir Sydney's distinguished record of defending the Iranian Baha'is is of great value in the ongoing efforts to emancipate that community,\" Dr. Manocha said."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469299-bwns7503-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Sir Sydney Chapman (fourth from left) and Barnet Deputy Mayor Victor Lyon and Mrs. Lyon (fifth and seventh from left) with others at the award ceremony."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469301-bwns7502-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Sir Sydney Chapman (right) receives the Blomfield Award from Baha'i representative, the Hon. Barney Leith."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":419,"evergreenUrl":"free-computer-courses-lead-jobs","title":"Free computer courses lead to jobs","description":"A graduation ceremony last month has boosted the number of computer graduates from classes offered free by the local Baha'i community to more...","date":"2006-01-01","customDateline":null,"city":"BANJUL","country":"GAMBIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469267-bwns7501-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469267-bwns7501-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A graduation ceremony last month has boosted the number of computer graduates from classes offered free by the local Baha'i community to more than 900.\n\nSince 1998, the Baha'is have arranged the classes to help people who cannot otherwise obtain computer skills to get a job.\n\nStudents have ranged from teenagers to the middle-aged, and include both men and women, said local Baha'i spokesman Faramarz Shams.\n\nMany graduates use their newly-gained skills in jobs that they have obtained after completing the courses, Mr. Shams said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"The students come from the Islamic, Christian, and Baha'i communities and include teachers, students, and business people,\" he said.\n\nThe courses, offered at basic and advanced levels, usually involve two sessions of two hours per week for three months. The teachers are Gambian Baha'is and Baha'i youth volunteers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.\n\nThe country's only television station and both its major newspapers regularly cover the graduation ceremonies. On 18 December 2005, 56 students received their graduation certificates.\n\nIn a speech at the ceremony, one of the graduates, Fatou Cham, 24, expressed her gratitude for the courses.\n\n\"I would like to thank the entire Baha'i community for their tireless efforts to disseminate knowledge in The Gambia at no cost,\" said Ms. Cham, a Muslim.\n\n\"I can remember back in 2000 when I attended the basic Baha'i computer training I could not even move a mouse, but after the course I built up a lot of interest in computing,\" she said.\n\n\"I hope that other institutions will emulate (the Baha'i) efforts and empower people with more 'IT' knowledge.\"\n\nThe  computers used in the training were donated by  Baha'is of The Gambia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.\n\nClasses were initially held in a rental property but they have moved to a specially designed room in the new national Baha'i centre, which opened last year.\n\n(For another story about the Baha'is of Gambia see [https://news.bahai.org/story/346](/story/346))"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469270-bwns7498-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Computer classes at basic and advanced levels are held at the Baha'i center in Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469268-bwns7497-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Graduates of the advanced computer course offered by the Baha'i commmunity of The Gambia receiving their certificates from the teacher, Eric Michell, at a ceremony in the Baha'i center."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469267-bwns7496-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants in the advanced computer course organized by the Baha'is of The Gambia using donated machines at the Baha'i center, where the courses are held."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469267-bwns7495-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants in the advanced computer class offered by the Baha'is of The Gambia are holding their graduation certificates. The teacher, Eric Michell, is in the second row, fourth from right."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469267-bwns7494-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some graduates of the advanced computer class offered by the Baha'i community of The Gambia."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":418,"evergreenUrl":"counsellors-meet-discuss-plans","title":"Counsellors meet to discuss plans","description":"Pictured at the Baha'i World Centre are members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors together with members of the Universal House of Justice,...","date":"2005-12-28","customDateline":null,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469255-bwns7493-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469255-bwns7493-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Gathered on the steps of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel are members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors together with members of the Universal House of Justice, the International Teaching Centre, and, at front, centre, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Pictured at the Baha'i World Centre are members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors together with members of the Universal House of Justice, the International Teaching Centre, and, at front, centre, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr Ali-Muhammad Varqa.\n\nThe Continental Boards of Counsellors, an institution charged with promoting the propagation and protection of the Baha'i Faith, meet in Haifa every five years to discuss development plans for the worldwide Baha'i community.\n\nThere are 81 Counsellors worldwide. The conference (December 27 - 31) is being followed by five days of meetings of the individual boards from the various continents."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":416,"evergreenUrl":"prolific-author-hailed-his-penetrating-insights","title":"Prolific author hailed for his penetrating insights","description":"The internationally eminent scholar, William S. Hatcher, who passed away last month, has been described as \"one of the brightest minds\" of the...","date":"2005-12-27","customDateline":null,"city":"STRATFORD, ONTARIO","country":"CANADA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469248-bwns7491-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469248-bwns7491-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"William S. Hatcher","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The internationally eminent scholar, William S. Hatcher, who passed away last month, has been described as \"one of the brightest minds\" of the worldwide Baha'i community.\n\nIn a message of condolence, the Universal House of Justice said that Dr. Hatcher will long be remembered for his \"stalwart faith, forceful exposition, and penetrating insights which characterized nearly half a century of ceaseless service to the Baha'i Faith.\"\n\n\"The Baha'i world has lost one of its brightest minds, one of its most prolific pens,\" the Universal House of Justice said.\n\nDr. Hatcher, 70, died of an illness on 27 November 2005, having made substantial contributions in mathematics, logic, philosophy, religion, and ethics.\n\nHis popular and scholarly writings and talks were infused with a characteristic clarity of expression, wit, and warmth.\n\nDr. Hatcher enrolled in the Baha'i Faith in 1957. He spent the decades that followed in dedicated service to the Baha'i community and its administrative development, at the local and national level, in the United States, Switzerland, Russia, and Canada.\n\nHe served on National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Canada (1983-91) as well as on the inaugural National Spiritual Assemblies of Switzerland (1962-65) and the Russian Federation (1996). He lived in Russia from 1993 to 1998.\n\nDr. Hatcher traveled extensively to teach the religion in Central and West Africa and Russia, and he played a vital role in the founding of the Association for Baha'i Studies in North America.\n\nBorn in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Hatcher received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and his doctorate in mathematical logic from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland.\n\nDr. Hatcher settled with his wife, Judith, in Canada in 1968, serving as professor of mathematics at the Universite Laval in Quebec City until 1995.\n\nHe wrote 50 articles, books, and monographs, including \"The Logical Foundations of Mathematics\" (1982), and \"Logic and Logos: Essays on Science, Religion and Philosophy\" (1990).\n\nAmong his major publications are \"Love, Power, and Justice: The Dynamics of Authentic Morality\" (1998), in which he argues for the existence of an authentic and universal moral standard.\n\n\"The Baha'i Faith: The Emerging Global Religion\" (1985), co-authored with Douglas Martin, was named by Encyclopedia Britannica in 1986 as book of the year in religion.\n\nOne of his most acclaimed essays, \"A Logical Proof of the Existence of God,\" was the subject of his popular speaking tour of Canadian university campuses in the late 1990s.\n\nIn 2003, his book \"Minimalism: A Bridge Between Classical Philosophy and the Baha'i Revelation\" was published to critical acclaim for its innovative philosophical approach, and the development of his logical proof for the existence of God.\n\nDr. Hatcher is one of the eight Platonist philosophers listed in the section devoted to the latter half of the 20th century in the Encylopedie Philosophique Universelle.\n\nWilliam Hatcher is survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.\n\n(The Canadian Baha'i News Service contributed to this report).\n\nFor a review of Dr. Hatcher's book \"Minimalism: A Bridge Between Classical Philosophy and the Baha'i Revelation,\" see\n\n[https://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=226](/story.cfm?storyid=226)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":415,"evergreenUrl":"wrongly-imprisoned-bahai-dies-iranian-jail","title":"Wrongly imprisoned Baha'i dies in Iranian jail","description":"A Baha'i who was wrongly jailed in Iran for 10 years died in his prison cell of unknown causes on Thursday, 15 December 2005, the Baha'i International...","date":"2005-12-19","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469240-bwns7490-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469240-bwns7490-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dhabihu'llah Mahrami.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A Baha'i who was wrongly jailed in Iran for 10 years died in his prison cell of unknown causes on Thursday, 15 December 2005, the Baha'i International Community has learned.\n\nMr. Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, 59, was held in a government prison in Yazd under harsh physical conditions at the time of his death.\n\nHis death comes amidst ominous signs that a new wave of persecutions of Baha'is has begun. This year so far, at least 59 Baha'is have been arrested, detained or imprisoned, a figure up sharply from the last several years.\n\nArrested in 1995 in Yazd on charges of apostasy, Mr. Mahrami was initially sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after an international outcry and widespread media attention.\n\n\"The worldwide Baha'i community mourns deeply the passing of Mr. Mahrami, who was unjustly held for a decade on trumped-up charges that manifestly violated his right to freedom of religion and belief,\" said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.\n\n\"While the cause of his death is not known, Mr. Mahrami had no known health concerns,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"We also know that Mr. Mahrami was forced to perform arduous physical labor and that he had received death threats on a number of occasions.\n\n\"In this light, there should be no doubt that the Iranian authorities bear manifest responsibility for the death of this innocent man, whose only crime was his belief in the Baha'i Faith,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"In our mourning, we nevertheless hope that Mr. Mahrami's unexplained passing will not go unnoticed by the world at large and, indeed, that his case might become a cause for further action towards the emancipation of the Baha'i community of Iran as a whole,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\nBorn in 1946, Mr. Mahrami served in the civil service but at the time of his arrest was making a living installing venetian blinds, having been summarily fired from his job like thousands of other Baha'is in the years following the 1979 Iranian revolution.\n\nAlthough Iranian officials have asserted that Mr. Mahrami was guilty of spying for Israel, court records clearly indicate that he was tried and sentenced solely on charge of being an \"apostate,\" a crime which is punishable by death under traditional Islamic law.\n\nAlthough Mr. Mahrami was a lifelong Baha'i, the apostasy charge apparently came about because a civil service colleague, in an effort to prevent Mr. Mahrami from losing his job, submitted to a newspaper an article stating that he had converted to Islam.\n\nWhen it later became clear to Iranian authorities that Mr. Mahrami remained a member of the Baha'i community, they arrested him and charged him with apostasy for allegedly converting from Islam to the Baha'i Faith. On 2 January 1996, he was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, a conviction that was later upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court.\n\nThe death sentence against Mr. Mahrami stirred an international outcry. The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution on human rights abuses in Iran, making reference to Mr. Mahrami's case. The governments of Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States also registered objections.\n\nThere was also significant media coverage of the case, in Le Monde and Liberation in France, as well as reports by the BBC, Reuters and Agence France Presse.\n\nAlthough the authorities did not publicly bow to international pressure calling for Mr. Mahrami's release, in December 1999 they took the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad to declare an amnesty and commuted his sentence to life imprisonment.\n\nSince 1978, more than 200 Iranian Baha'i have been killed, hundreds more have been imprisoned, and thousands have been deprived of jobs, pensions and education as part of a widespread and systemic religious persecution by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.\n\nAs of October, Mr. Mahrami was one of nine Baha'is being held in Iranian prisons. However, all of the others had been arrested in 2005.\n\nMr. Mahrami is survived by his aged mother, his wife, his four children, and his grandchildren.\n\nMr. Mahrami's funeral was held on Friday, 16 December 2005, the same day that the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation in Iran, making specific mention of the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i community there.\n\n(See [https://news.bahai.org/story/413](/story/413))"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":413,"evergreenUrl":"un-calls-iran-stop-persecution-bahais","title":"UN calls on Iran to stop persecution of Baha'is","description":"For the 18th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights...","date":"2005-12-17","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":"For the 18th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation in Iran, also making specific mention of the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i community there.\n\nThe resolution, which had been put forward by Canada and co-sponsored by 46 countries including Australia, the European Union, and the United States, passed by a vote of 75 to 50 on 16 December 2005.\n\nAmong other things, it called on Iran to \"eliminate, in law or in practice, all forms of discrimination based on religious, ethnic or linguistic grounds, and other human rights violations against minorities, including Arabs, Kurds, Baluchi, Christians, Jews, Sunni Muslims and the Baha'i....\"\n\nThe resolution quite specifically takes note of the upsurge in persecution against Iran's 300,000-member Baha'i community, noting the \"escalation and increased frequency of discrimination and other human rights violations against the Baha'i, including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of freedom of religion or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational and community-related activities and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, adequate housing and other benefits....\"\n\nThe resolution also encourages various agencies of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to continue to work to improve the human rights situation in Iran, and at the same time it calls on the government of Iran to cooperate with these agencies.\n\nMs. Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, said the worldwide Baha'i community is thankful for the support of the international community in expressing its concern about human rights in Iran.\n\n\"It has been a year when human rights violations against Baha'i and other groups in Iran have strikingly worsened, and the scrutiny and support of the international community remains virtually the only tool for the protection of innocent people in Iran,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"For Baha'is, who are persecuted solely for their religious beliefs, it has been a very difficult year in Iran,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n\"At least 59 Baha'is have been subject to various forms of arbitrary arrests, detention and imprisonment, and Baha'i young people have once again been denied the chance to attend college and university.\"\n\nMs. Dugal said that although the majority of those Baha'is who have been arrested were released, nine remained in prison as of late October.\n\nAs well, said Ms. Dugal, \"Baha'is face a wide and growing range of severely oppressive measures, including continued restrictions on religious assembly, the confiscation and destruction of holy sites, the denial of admission to Baha'i students into university, and various economic restrictions.\"\n\n\"Not only do the revolving door arrests and imprisonments seek to intimidate the Baha'i community, but the stringent economic and educational restrictions are part of Iran's stated policy clearly aimed at eliminating Iran's Baha'i community as a viable entity in society,\" said Ms. Dugal."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":412,"evergreenUrl":"professor-prince-participate-seminar","title":"Professor and prince participate in seminar","description":"Suheil Bushrui, the holder of the Baha'i Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland, participated in a seminar on \"Faith and Social...","date":"2005-12-15","customDateline":null,"city":"WASHINGTON","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469224-bwns7489-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469224-bwns7489-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Another meeting of the Professor and the Prince. HRH The Prince of Wales, left, with Suheil Bushrui, foreground, right, at a special Temenos Academy function at Highgrove, the Prince's estate, in July 2002. In the background are Nicholas Parson, left, and David Cadman, right, both of the Temenos Academy. (Photo courtesy Suheil Bushrui.)","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Suheil Bushrui, the holder of the Baha'i Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland, participated in a seminar on \"Faith and Social Responsibility\" with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales last month.\n\nHeld at Georgetown University on 3 November 2005, the seminar brought together 40 senior religious leaders and scholars from various faiths.\n\nThe purpose of the event was for faith leaders to discuss best practices on faith-based practical initiatives on employment, education, and community regeneration.\n\nThe seminar featured a round table discussion in the presence of Prince Charles, who was visiting the United States. Seminar moderators were Dr. Jane McAuliffe, Dean of Georgetown College, and Professor John Esposito of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.\n\nDuring the exchange of ideas, Professor Bushrui said that although beliefs and social ordinances differ among faith traditions, all the religions are fundamentally united.\n\n\"Many spiritual practices, regardless of the particular religion, are categorically similar -- such as prayer, contemplation, meditation, and the recitation of scripture,\" Prof. Bushrui said.\n\n\"In fact, all the religions are united in the central role they ascribe to universal virtues such as love, empathy, humility, truthfulness, compassion, mercy, altruism, wisdom, justice, honesty, detachment, forgiveness, sincerity, righteousness, and doing good,\" he said.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"The teaching that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated, an ethic enshrined in every world religion, clearly demonstrates the standard by which all interactions among the religions and their followers should be guided.\"\n\nFrom within a framework of unity in diversity, Professor Bushrui likened the religions to different spiritual paths representing an outward expression of an underlying unity.\n\nHe also emphasized that faith is more than just belief; it also entails a way of life that includes social responsibility and action in the world.\n\n\"There is no true faith without a sense of responsibility toward others,\" he said.\n\nProf. Bushrui further noted that believers of all faiths have a duty to lay aside theology and ideology in favor of developing a unity of vision and a spirit of cooperation.  Only in this way can religion and faith serve the best interests of humanity as a whole.\n\n\"In the Baha'i Faith, social responsibility can best be understood as service to humanity,\" he said. \"In fact, within the Baha'i Faith such service is viewed as worship.\"\n\nParticipants had been invited to attend by the Prince of Wales, who is the heir to the British throne, or by one of the following institutions: the British Embassy, the Dean of the Georgetown College, the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, the Office of the President at Georgetown University.\n\nIn addition to Prof. Bushrui as a Baha'i representative, seminar participants represented a broad spectrum of religious faiths and traditions, including Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and many others. Additionally, broad geographical representation on a national level was attained thanks to the fact that the participants hailed from many different regions of the United States.\n\nProf. Bushrui has held the Baha'i Chair for World Peace since 1992, when the Chair was founded. He will retire on 31 December 2005. John Grayzel, an international development specialist, has been selected to become the next holder of the Chair, in January 2006.\n\nGeorgetown University, the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, was founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll.\n\n(For a story on Professor Bushrui, see [https://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=282](/story.cfm?storyid=282))"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469224-bwns7488-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Professor Suheil Bushrui. Photo courtesy of Courosh Mehanian"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":411,"evergreenUrl":"children-conduct-service-house-worship","title":"Children conduct service in House of Worship","description":"A devotional service conducted by children was held in the Baha'i House of Worship here to celebrate Universal Children's Day. The children,...","date":"2005-12-08","customDateline":null,"city":"SYDNEY","country":"AUSTRALIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7481-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7481-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A pupil from a Sydney primary school, Chloe Maclean, reads a prayer at the service held in the House of Worship on Universal Children's Day. Photo by Saba Rouhani.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A devotional service conducted by children was held in the Baha'i House of Worship here to celebrate Universal Children's Day.\n\nThe children, many of whom do not come from Baha'i families, read from the scriptures of the Baha'i Faith and other religions.  An unaccompanied choir -- with members aged between five and twelve years old -- provided the music.\n\nAll the children participating in the event regularly attend Baha'i classes conducted either in government schools or after school hours.\n\nAbout 6,000 primary school children in Australia are attending Baha'i classes in more than 300 state-run schools. Offered mainly to provide religious instruction to Baha'i children, the classes are also attracting many children from families who are not members of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nThe annual service, now in its 16th year, was held on 23 October 2005. It attracted 800 people, who filled the Temple to capacity. Some traveled many kilometers for the occasion.\n\n\"We believe that it is important that children participate in the service as much as possible,\" said one of the organizers of the service, Mrs. Pouneh Sedghi.\n\n\"They feel honored to be contributing in this way and practise for weeks leading up to the service.  We believe that all children have wonderful qualities latent within them.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Positive comments came from many parents, including those who are not members of the Baha'i community, such as Jack Smoot and Alan Dickinson.\n\n\"The focus on the children was excellent,\" said Mr. Smoot, the father of Morgan, a Year Four (fourth year of primary school) pupil who was one of the readers.\n\nMr. Dickinson, the father of Daniel, a classmate of Morgan's, praised the inclusion of scriptures from all the world religions.\n\n\"I think the thing we probably need most in this world is religious tolerance,\" Mr. Dickinson said.\n\n\"All religions are supported and honored. I think that's the right way to go.\"\n\nAngela and Gary Cowan traveled with their three young children from Gosford, a town just north of Sydney. After attending the service last year, they were keen to come back again.\n\n\"I think it's really special for my children to see other children taking the service,\" said Mrs. Cowan, a Baha'i.\n\nHer husband, Gary, who is not a Baha'i, said he is encouraged by the development of his seven-year-old son since he started attending Baha'i classes.\n\n\"I think that since he has been participating, he has become such a level-headed kid -- it's amazing,\" Mr. Cowan said. \"He is just really enjoying [being] part of the Baha'i culture and religion.\"\n\nIn the grounds of the National Baha'i Centre adjacent to the House of Worship after the service there was a variety of activities including performances by dance and music groups, face painting, story telling, and a display of children's art on the theme of respect for the environment, and for people of different races, cultures, and religions.\n\n\"This day is an opportunity for children to show their capacity and to feel the love and encouragement of the community around them.\" said Mrs. Sedghi. \"So we organized activities which the entire family can enjoy.\"\n\n(Report by Yvonne Perkins.)\n\n(All photos, except of the House of Worship, by Saba Rouhani.)\n\n(For a story on Baha'i classes in state-run schools in Australia see see [https://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=361](/story.cfm?storyid=361))"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7486-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Angela and Gary Cowan of Gosford with their children during face-painting and other recreational activities held in the grounds of the National Baha'i Centre adjacent to the House of Worship after the children's service."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7485-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"One of the readers at the children's service at the Baha'i Temple in Sydney, Lachlan Bartrop, of Beecroft Public School."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469209-bwns7484-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Varun Rao reads a prayer at the children's service at the Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7483-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i House of Worship in Sydney. Photo by Herald Derakhshan."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7482-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the children who read at the devotional service in the Baha'i Temple in Sydney (background): (front row, left to right) Morgan Smoot, Holly Waters, Daniel Dickinson. Among the family members in the back row are Jack Smoot (second from left), and Alan Dickinson (right)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469204-bwns7487-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":410,"evergreenUrl":"head-state-visits-bahai-world-centre","title":"Head of state visits Baha'i World Centre","description":"The president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Kessai Note, and his wife, Mrs Mary Note, paid an official visit to the Baha'i World Centre...","date":"2005-12-07","customDateline":null,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469184-bwns7475-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469184-bwns7475-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A member of the Universal House of Justice, Dr. Peter Khan, second from right, presenting President Kessai Note of the Marshall Islands with a book illustrating the Shrine of the Bab and its surrounding terraces. At left is Mrs. Mary Note and, at right, Dr. Janet Khan.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The  president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Kessai Note, and his wife, Mrs Mary Note, paid an official visit to the Baha'i World Centre on 1 December 2005.\n\nThe president and first lady were welcomed by a member of the Universal House of Justice, Dr. Peter Khan, and his wife, Dr. Janet Khan. Also in the welcoming party were a counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre, Mr. Stephen Hall, and his wife, Mrs. Dicy Hall.\n\nAmong those in the presidential entourage were the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Marshall Islands, Mr. Gerald Zackios, and Mrs. Zackios, and Bikini Atoll senator Tomaki Juda and Mrs. Juda.\n\nAt a reception in the seat of the Universal House of Justice, Dr. Khan discussed with President Note the history of the Baha'i community in the Marshall Islands and the contributions the Baha'is have made to development in that country.\n\nPresident Note and his party then visited the Shrine of the Bab and its surrounding Terraces.\n\n\"I enjoyed the visit very much,\" said President Note."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"It was the second visit to the Baha'i World Centre by a head of state of the Marshall Islands, the first being in 1990 by President Amata Kabua.\n\nPresident Note was on state visit to Israel, said the deputy secretary-general of the Baha'i International Community, Murray Smith.\n\nMr. Smith said the visit came about at the suggestion of Mr. Zackios.\n\n\"Through his frequent contact with the representatives of the Baha'i community, the Foreign Minister, Gerald Zackios, was aware that the international headquarters of the Baha'i Faith, with its beautiful gardens, was located in Haifa and he encouraged the officials in the office of the President to request inclusion of the Baha'i World Centre in the itinerary,\" Mr. Smith said.\n\nThe National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Marshall Islands was established in 1977. There are currently 13 Local Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'i Faith in the country."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469185-bwns7478-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"President Kessai Note of the Marshall Islands, right, and the deputy secretary-general of the Baha'i International Community, Murray Smith, near the Shrine of the Bab."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469184-bwns7477-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"President Kessai Note and Mrs. Note before entering the Shrine of the Bab."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469184-bwns7476-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"President Kessai Note of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, left, escorted by the deputy-secretary of the Baha'i International Community, Murray Smith, leaving the Seat of the Universal House of Justice for a visit to the Shrine of the Bab and its surrounding terraces."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469185-bwns7479-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":409,"evergreenUrl":"devotional-meeting-pulses-with-energy","title":"Devotional meeting pulses with energy","description":"The sounds of African drums and soaring voices burst out over a normally quiet lower Manhattan Street lined with antique dealers and four-story...","date":"2005-11-28","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469175-bwns7469-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469175-bwns7469-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Drummers send out energy and inspiration during a Hush Harbor devotional meeting at the New York Baha'i Center. (Photograph by Mike Relph)","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The sounds of African drums and soaring voices burst out over a normally quiet lower Manhattan Street lined with antique dealers and four-story apartment buildings.\n\nIt was a recent Sunday morning and the pulsating energy was coming from the New York Baha'i Center where a drum circle was being led by African-American men, with people from a variety of  ethnic backgrounds joining in.\n\nThe gathering was a striking example of a new and growing feature of Baha'i community life: community devotional meetings designed to engage the world at large through uplifting and inspirational prayers, music, readings and more.\n\nIn this case, the monthly event also offers a striking antidote to the sometimes subtle, sometimes overt sense of racial segregation that still pervades American society.\n\nCalled the \"Hush Harbor Devotional,\" the gathering takes its name from meetings held by slaves who hung wet fabric on tree branches to stop their voices carrying while they were praying and planning escapes.\n\n\"The whole idea is to extend that idea of a safe place, not just for black folks but for everyone that comes to the devotional,\" said Lloyd Lawrence, one of the organizers.\n\n\"I think we free people up from their own cultural limitations,\" Mr. Lawrence said.\n\nWilliam Roberts, a keen observer of the progress of the devotional, said many newcomers are surprised that they feel so comfortable in an environment that is led by African-American men.\n\n\"In the larger society, people are made to fear black men,\" said Dr. Roberts, who himself is African-American and serves as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.\n\nDr. Roberts said that at the Hush Harbor Devotional gathering people are helped to feel at ease, to feel welcomed and embraced.\n\n\"Many people want to have a conversation with God, feel the spirit of the Almighty,\" said Dr. Roberts.\n\n\"They want to have their souls quickened with that spirit -- and coming into this kind of devotional allows them to feel that spirit.\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Participants are welcomed with refreshments and invited to stay for lunch. In addition to drumming and singing, the Hush Harbor Devotional also features the chanting of prayers in a wide range of languages, including Arabic, Persian, Mandarin, and Spanish.\n\nThe Hush Harbor Devotional began about three years ago. The idea came from participation by New York City Baha'is in the Black Men's Gathering, which are regular events that were founded by Dr. Roberts in 1987 and have continued ever since.\n\nThe aim of that gathering, which has proved an ongoing success,  is to change the conditions of men of African descent and help them to achieve spiritual transformation.\n\nThe use of the drumming combined with prayers began with the Black Men's Gathering and became the model for the Hush Harbor Devotional.\n\n\"The purpose [of Hush Harbor] is not to perform, it's not to read perfectly, but to pray,\" said Dr. Roberts.\n\nKenneth Ray, who organizes the event with Mr. Lawrence, said he thought it had helped the community to understand its wonderful diversity.\n\n\"When we first started, Hush Harbor was mainly attracting the African-American community, but now it is inclusive of people from all backgrounds, Baha'is and non-Baha'is alike,\" Mr. Ray said.\n\nMr. Ray said the question the organizers attempt to answer is this: \"How many different ways can we present the [Baha'i] Faith to as many different backgrounds?\"\n\nOne of those attracted is P.J. Sanchez, a law student, who learned of the Baha'i Faith initially from her mother and  then read some Baha'i material online. She came to realize the New York City Baha'i Center was within walking distance from her apartment, and so she decided to attend a devotional gathering there.\n\n\"I was struck with the inclusive nature of the worship,\" Ms. Sanchez said.\n\n\"I felt as if everyone was actively participating, rather than just listening or responding by rote as I have felt in other forms of worship,\" she said.\n\n\"The lack of clergy and the lack of a script or plan -- the lack of ritual, I suppose -- for the devotional made the worship feel much more self-directed and organic, as if it was springing up naturally from the hearts and minds of the participants.\"\n\nMs. Sanchez said she was also struck by the diversity of the participants. \"There seemed to be a much wider variety of race and class than I have usually found in various religions, and everyone mingled together without the formation of cliques,\" she said.\n\n\"Everyone participated in the devotional in a way that felt comfortable to them -- shouting out or not, moving around or not, praying in English or in Spanish -- and this was respected by all of the other participants.\n\n\"The musical nature of the Hush Harbor Devotional seemed very unique to me.  Instead of music being an interlude from prayer, it was the mode of prayer itself. I found this to only enhance the words being said.\"\n\nMs. Sanchez attended a discussion about the Baha'i Faith that followed the lunch and was able to ask about the various forms of worship in the Faith. She says she is interested in learning more.\n\nOne of the core activities of Baha'is around the world is to increase the efforts made to host devotional gatherings and to enhance their quality.\n\nThe Hush Harbor Devotional is now seen as an example of how to reflect on positive aspects of one's culture and to bring that to the rest of the Baha'i community and the population at large.\n\n\"Really what's happened is we've witnessed men who have been marginalized in their community step forward,\" Dr. Roberts said.\n\n\"It allowed them to know that being a Baha'i does not mean you have to put aside your culture, your way of doing things,\" he said.\n\nMr. Ray said that the devotional provides many with a different understanding of diversity and worship.\n\n\"It's a way for everyone to express his or her spirit -- it's about the full participation of everyone in the room,\" he said.\n\n\"We seek to touch people's hearts. If people's hearts are affected then Hush Harbor is serving its purpose.\"\n\n(Report by Stephanie Vaccaro.)\n\n(Photographs by Mike Relph.)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469175-bwns7473-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Organizers of the Hush Harbor devotional meetings: Lloyd Lawrence (left) and Kenneth Ray."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469175-bwns7472-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Inspirational prayers, music, and readings create an uplifting atmosphere at the Hush Harbor devotional meetings in the New York Baha'i Center."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469175-bwns7471-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"People from diverse backgrounds are attracted by the spirit of the Hush Harbor devotional meetings at the New York Baha'i Center."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469175-bwns7474-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants in the Hush Harbor devotional meetings at the New York Baha'i Center."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":408,"evergreenUrl":"fijis-first-lady-visits-temple","title":"Fiji's First Lady visits Temple","description":"The First Lady of Fiji, Leba Qarase, visited the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, India on 10 October 2005. A prayer service held specially...","date":"2005-11-22","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW DELHI","country":"INDIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469156-bwns7467-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469156-bwns7467-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In the Information Centre of the Baha'i House of Worship in India, the First Lady of Fiji, Leba Qarase (left) listened to an explanation of a display by Shatrughun Jiwnani, the Temple's public relations general manager (right).","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The First Lady of Fiji, Leba Qarase, visited the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, India on 10 October 2005.\n\nA prayer service held specially for the occasion included chants in both Hindi and English of prayers from the Baha'i, Christian, and Hindu scriptures.\n\nMrs. Qarase then visited the Information Centre where she viewed panels on Baha'i history and those displaying socio-economic development projects.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"She met Nalina Jiwnani, Director for the Baha'i Office for the Advancement of Women in India.\n\nIn the visitors' book, Mrs. Qarase wrote: \"I already feel at peace. Glory be to God! It is a great experience going through the temple. May God Almighty bless the Baha'i Faith!\"\n\nFor another story about other prominent visitors to the Temple, see [https://news.bahai.org/story/344](/story/344)\n\nFor a story about the Baha'i faith in Fiji, see [ https://news.bahai.org/story/366](/story/366)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469157-bwns7466-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The First Lady of Fiji, Leba Qarase (fifth from right, with hat) and her entourage visiting the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi. Escorting the visitors was Shatrughun Jiwnani, the Temple's public relations general manager (right)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543469161-bwns7465-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The First Lady of Fiji, Leba Qarase (at front with hat) and her entourage visiting the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi. Escorting the visitors was Shatrughun Jiwnani, the Temple's public relations general manager (in white shirt and tie)."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":406,"evergreenUrl":"radio-program-attracts-wide-audience","title":"Radio program attracts wide audience","description":"A weekly Baha'i radio program is building bridges of understanding across the more than 100 islands of the Torres Strait in the far north of...","date":"2005-11-21","customDateline":null,"city":"THURSDAY ISLAND","country":"AUSTRALIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543433380-bwns7463-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543433380-bwns7463-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Janelle Gebadi (left) and Ina Aiputa presenting their weekly Baha'i-inspired radio program.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A weekly Baha'i radio program is building bridges of understanding across the more than 100 islands of the Torres Strait in the far north of Australia.\n\nAimed at providing a service to the Baha'i community scattered throughout the islands, the program is now also attracting participation by many of the majority Christian population.\n\nThe program uses a talkback format and functions as an on-air study circle, based on a self-directed approach to training adopted by Baha'i communities worldwide.\n\nIn a study circle, participants read through selected passages from the Baha'i writings together, and share their understandings with the guidance of a facilitator.\n\nThe program is broadcast on Thursday Island community radio station 4MW, which is listened to by some 85 percent of Torres Strait residents.\n\nTitled \"Baha-Bi-Buiya,\" which means \"Light-Light-Light\" in the two main dialects of the Torres Strait and in Arabic, the program has been broadcast now for more than a year.\n\nLocal Baha'is Janelle Gebadi and Margaret Gabey host the program, with the support of back-up presenter Ina Aiputa.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The presenters read the passages from the Baha'i writings and then the audience participates in what are often lively discussions.\n\nMs. Gebadi said that when the show started, people were slow to participate but that has completely changed.\n\n\"Now people are asking so many questions,\" she said, adding that she thinks it is good that people find the program so interesting.\n\n\"Each week we try and make people understand or (become) aware of the Baha'i Faith because sometimes people misunderstand the Faith,\" she said.\n\nJoanne Thompson, a local resident, said there have been many benefits from the program.\n\n\"It is helping to break down the barriers,\" she said.\n\n\"In the beginning there was open hostility to the program but now more and more people are starting to ask questions-- more people are turning up to our functions.\"\n\n\"I am staggered at the content, the nurturing and the courage that these magnificent ladies (present) over the airwaves,\" she said.\n\n(Story adapted from \"Australian Baha'i Report.\")"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543433380-bwns7464-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":405,"evergreenUrl":"panel-urges-talks-religious-intolerance","title":"Panel urges talks on religious intolerance","description":"Governments should tackle increased religious intolerance by promoting discussion both within and between religious groups and by ensuring that...","date":"2005-11-17","customDateline":null,"city":"UNITED NATIONS","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543433369-bwns7460-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543433369-bwns7460-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Bani Dugal (right), the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, chaired the symposium \"Freedom to Believe: Upholding the Standard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.\"","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Governments should tackle increased religious intolerance by promoting discussion both within and between religious groups and by ensuring that women and political leaders are involved in the talks.\n\nThese were among the recommendations made by a panel of experts in freedom of religion and belief at a symposium organized by the Baha'i International Community in New York on 25 October 2005.\n\nThe panel included Piet de Klerk, Netherlands' Ambassador at Large for Human Rights; Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; and Felice Gaer, Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights.\n\nBani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, chaired the symposium titled \"Freedom to Believe: Upholding the Standard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.\"\n\nMs. Dugal said the Baha'i International Community sponsored the event to stimulate discussion and thinking about the implementation and protection of the right to freedom of religion and belief.\n\n\"Perhaps now more than ever in our lifetimes, religious ideas and religious actors are asserting themselves at all levels of society,\"  Ms. Dugal said.\n\n\"Against the backdrop of accelerating processes of globalization, the search for meaning, rootedness, and community is manifesting itself in diverse expressions of worship and belief,\" she said.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"At the same time -- as repeatedly highlighted in the reports of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on this right -- we witness persistent intolerance and discrimination based on religion and belief, the proliferation of violence and hatred in the name of religion, and religious extremism.\"\n\nAll three panelists stressed the importance of upholding the right to freedom of religion and belief outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other UN treaties.\n\n\"Some say freedom of religion is the mother of all human rights,\" said Mr. De Klerk, adding that all human rights are universal and interconnected.\n\n\"The degree to which freedom of religion or belief is upheld reflects the general human rights situation in a particular country,\" he said.\n\nMr. De Klerk said that although concern about government repression of religious freedom has not lost its importance, recent trends have led to increased tensions between religious groups themselves and that has caused new worries over the right to religious freedom, he said.\n\n\"In our globalized world, certain religions or believers feel more and more threatened than before.\"\n\nThis trend seems to have led to a rise in fundamentalism and accompanying clashes between governmental law and religious law.\n\nMr. De Klerk said the first reason for heightened religious tension was that increased migration means religions are less confined to one particular region than before.\n\n\"The second reason is that after the fall of the iron curtain, it has become more difficult to rally people around political ideologies -- but religious ideology has not lost its influence.\"\n\nBeyond strictly upholding laws that provide for religious freedom, Mr. De Klerk said the best way for governments to deal with religious tension and intolerance is to promote dialogue, both within and between religious groups.\n\nThat would make it more difficult for extremists to encourage religious violence, he said. \"States should support these dialogues both morally and financially.\"\n\nMs. Jahangir said that in her visits as UN Special Rapporteur last year to three countries  -- Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and France -- she saw evidence of renewed competition among religions and the fear that one religion is going to overtake the other.\n\nReligious dialogue should not be held just among religious leaders, she said. \"Dialogue would remain meaningless unless politicians are involved -- more so, women, who remain on the fringes and are often the victims of religious intolerance.\"\n\nOne of the most contentious arenas between religious groups and others, including the state, is the area of family law, she said.\n\nSometimes interpretations of religious law conflicts with generally accepted principles of national and international law such as the equality of women and men, she said.\n\n\"I believe it is time now for politicians...to take a lead in the dialogue on how these tensions can be removed because some of it may be purely because of belief and some of it may be a jostling for power -- and it is the jostling for power that must be addressed.\"\n\nMs. Jahangir also said that she has observed a relationship between religious freedom and development. \"Where you have religious oppression...it makes poverty worse,\" she said.\n\nMs. Gaer spoke about her experience as a member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which was established in 1998 to monitor the freedom of religion or belief outside the United States with reference to US foreign policy.\n\nMs. Gaer said some governments misapply the limitations on religious freedom that are specified in international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).\n\nFor example, while the ICCPR upholds the right to \"freedom of thought, conscience and religion,\" including the right to \"manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching,\" it allows governments to curb the open expression of religious belief if \"necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.\"\n\nMs. Gaer said that many governments have unjustifiably taken this clause as a license to suppress minority religions.\n\nIn Saudi Arabia, she said, members of the USCIRF were told by government officials that the open expression of religion -- such as the existence of non-Muslim houses of worship and religious symbols -- must be restricted because \"the Saudi people would not tolerate it and they might violently oppose the public expression of religion by non-Muslims.\"\n\n\"If this is accurate then the remedy must not lie in the suppression of religious expression but in the teaching of tolerance,\" she said.\n\nMs. Gaer said that during a 2004 visit to Egypt in which the USCIRF investigated concerns over the oppression of Coptic Christians, Jews, Baha'is and certain \"unorthodox Muslims,\" members of the USCIRF were told  by government officials that any such restrictions were required to protect public order.\n\nHowever, when USCIRF pressed Egyptian officials for evidence that such groups posed a threat to public order, they provided no evidence.\n\n\"They said the Baha'is had engaged in political activity and that the community participated in immoral acts,\" said Ms. Gaer. \"But they had no facts to back up their denunciations in formal meetings. And when we pointed that out to them, it made absolutely no difference to those officials, who continued in other meetings where the very same arguments were made.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543433369-bwns7459-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The panel at the symposium on \"Freedom to Believe: Upholding the Standard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.\" (Left to right) Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; Piet de Klerk, Netherlands' Ambassador at Large for Human Rights; Felice Gaer, Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/65/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}