"He that is exalted among you shall be abased"

"In like manner, when Muhammad, the Prophet of God -- may all men be a sacrifice unto Him -- appeared, the learned men of Mecca and Medina arose, in the early days of His Revelation, against Him and rejected His Message, while they who were destitute of all learning recognized and embraced His Faith. Ponder a while. Consider how Balal, the Ethiopian, unlettered though he was, ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude, whilst Abdu'llah Ubayy, a leader among the learned, maliciously strove to oppose Him. Behold, how a mere shepherd was so 84 carried away by the ecstasy of the words of God that he was able to gain admittance into the habitation of his Best-Beloved, and was united to Him Who is the Lord of Mankind, whilst they who prided themselves on their knowledge and wisdom strayed far from His path and remained deprived of His grace. For this reason He hath written: "He that is exalted among you shall be abased, and he that is abased shall be exalted." References to this theme are to be found in most of the heavenly Books, as well as in the sayings of the Prophets and Messengers of God." (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)

ID crisis - What is the problem?

The National Council of Human Rights will organize a workshop "Religion column on Egyptian ID card held in September 10th.

Gamal Elbana explains below what is the real problem... it is mainly prejudice, ignorance and not accepting other beliefs. He blame it on ordinary Muslims and Christian.......
ليست المشكلة هي خانة الديانة.. المشكلة هي الجهالة والتعصب بقلم جمال البنا ٥/٩/٢٠٠٧
يعتزم المجلس القومي لحقوق الإنسان عقد ورشة عمل عن «خانة الديانة ببطاقة الرقم القومي» تقام ١٠ سبتمبر سنة ٢٠٠٧، وكان المجلس قد عقد جلسات سابقة لهذه القضية تفاوتت فيها الآراء.
ونحن نقول إن المشكلة ليست في خانة الديانة، لأنه إذا كان الاطلاع عليها ومعرفة أن حاملها قبطي وليس مسلماً فإنه يؤدي لتحامل أو تحيز،فمن الواضح لذوي الألباب أن المشكلة الحقيقية هي في وجود تحامل يقوم علي الدين، وهي صفة إذا دلت علي شيء فهو التعصب والجهالة. عدونا هو التعصب والجهالة ولا يجوز أن نتجاهله أو نتجاوزه، لأن المناسبات التي ستؤدي لمعرفة أن فرداً ما مسلم أو مسيحي عديدة جداً في مجتمعنا، ولأننا لا نريد حماية بالتجاهل أو فراراً من المشكلة، ولكن مجابهتها.
المشكلة هي أنه إذا تنصر شاب مسلم، لأنه يريد الذهاب لكندا أو لضمان عمل، وإذا أسلمت فتاة مسيحية لأنها تحب شاباً مسلماً، عندئذ تقوم القيامة كأن الإسلام قد اعتدي عليه أو أن المسيحية انتهكت، ويعتصم أهله بالكنيسة إذا كان مسيحياً، ويستنجدون بالأزهر إذا كان مسلماً.
هل هناك جهالة وتخلف أكثر من هذا؟ماذا يفعل لهم الأزهر؟ماذا تفعل لهم الكنيسة؟ماذا تفعل أي قوة خارجية لهذا؟المثل يقول «إنك تستطيع أن تجر الحصان إلي النهر، ولكنك لا تستطيع أن تجعل الحصان يشرب من النهر».
الشاب المسلم الذي أراد باختياره، ولمأرب دنيوي، أن يتنصر، والفتاة المسيحية التي أرادت باختيارها أن تسلم لسبب عاطفي، لم يمسا المسيحية أو الإسلام وإنما تصرفا تصرفاً لا يمس إلا نفسيهما، وهما أدري به، وأدري بمصلحتهما.المسيحية لن تخسر بنقص واحدة، والإسلام لن يزيد بذلك، والعكس صحيح لأن المسلمين والمسيحيين بالمليارات. والأديان في حقيقتها قيم، والقيم لا تتأثر بتغيير بعض الناس أديانهم، فتظل مبادئ الحب والخير والمساواة والعدل والحرية علي ما هي عليه، مهما يفعل المسلمون والمسيحيون.
وسواء كان تغيير الدين من مسيحية إلي إسلام أو من إسلام إلي مسيحية، فإنه لا يغير من حقيقة أن هذين التغييرين كانا من الله إلي الله نفسه، لأن من الطبيعي أن الله تعالي لا يخص المسلمين وحدهم ولا المسيحيين وحدهم، ولا مصر أو أوروبا، ولكن الله هو إله الناس جميعاً، والكون بأسره، فلا مفر من الله، إلا إليه.
لو كان لدينا ذرة من الإيمان بالحرية، لآمنا بأن تصرف الإنسان البالغ في هذا الأمر إنما هو ممارسة لحقه في حرية الاعتقاد، وهو من أول حقوق الإنسان، وقد كفله القرآن والرسول قبل إعلان حقوق الإنسان بأكثر من ألف عام، حتي إن ذهب فقهاء السلطان إلي غير ذلك.. ونحن بعد هذا سبعون مليوناً، ولا تؤثر علينا حالات فردية حتي لو كانت حمقاء، أو طائشة، ففي هذا العدد الكبير لابد أن يوجد مثل هذه الآحاد، ولا يؤثر هذا علي السلام الاجتماعي في شيء. ***
الحقيقة التي لابد أن نعترف بها أن لدي عامة المسيحيين والمسلمين في مصر قدراً كبيراً من الجهالة والتعصب، وأنهم جميعاً لا يؤمنون بحرية الفكر ولا بحرية الاعتقاد، وعلينا أن نفهمهم أن هذا عار وتعصب وتخلف عما يؤمن به العالم كله.......

Baha'u'llah explains the purpose of God sending prophets to the people of the earth: "Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared. God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established. ( Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)

" أن المبدأ الهام والأساسي الذي شرحه لنا حضرة بهاء الله ويؤمن به أتباعه بشكل جازم هو أن الحقيقة الدينية ليست مطلقة وإنما نسبية وأن الرسالة السماوية هي عملية مستمرة وفي تقدم وأن جميع الأديان العظيمة في العالم سماوية في الأصل وأن مبادئها الأساسية متماثلة ومتطابقة تماما وأن أهدافها ومقاصدها متشابهة كما أن تعاليمها تعكس لنا حقيقة واحدة وأن وظائف هذه الأديان مكملة لبعضها البعض وأن اختلافها الوحيد يكمن في الأحكام والحدود الفرعية وأن مهامهم هي التكامل الروحي للمجتمع الإنساني خلال مراحل متعاقبة ومستمرة

Human family and global problems - 13yr talking

"The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity...No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have attained." (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)
BAHA'U'LLAH is the divine physician who diagnoses the world's malady; for the whole planet is ill and needs the power of a great specialist. (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy)

Baha'i view on Education

"In the Baha'i view, the purpose of life for individuals - both male and female - is to develop the powers and capacities latent within them, so that they may contribute their share to an ever advancing civilization. The purpose of education is to catalyze and guide this process. Thus, education should lead to the discovery and perfection of one's capabilities and instill a commitment to serve the best interests of the community and the world as a whole..." Baha'i Community

If each child is "a mine rich in gems of inestimable value" then parents and school teachers should be able to discover those gems in their students and actively help polish them. Ruhi3

Is this a new concept to you? comments?

Uplifting Words

O SON OF SPIRIT!
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

Hardships after 1960

"In 1960 when President Gamal Abdul Nasser signed a short, six paragraph Decree stating that “all Bahá’í Assemblies and Centres” are “hereby dissolved, and their activities suspended. Individuals, bodies and institutions are warned to refrain from any activity.” All Bahá’í properties — including the national headquarters building, the libraries and cemeteries — as well as all Bahá’í funds and assets were confiscated. The assets have not been returned to this day. In keeping with the Bahá’í principle of obedience to government, the Bahá’ís of Egypt duly disbanded their institutions immediately. The Faith’s members shifted to a footing that emphasized quiet worship by individuals and families, with limited social and educational activities focused on internal development. Unfortunately, they have nevertheless faced episodes of harsh persecution, along with continuous restrictions on their personal, religious and social activities.

• In May 1965, 39 Bahá'ís were arrested and accused of having re-established the Bahá'í administration, and of having held meetings in their homes to which Muslims were invited for the purpose of teaching them the Faith. The court trial continued until 10 November 1977, when the case was thrown out of court.

• In June 1967, immediately after the armed conflict between Egypt and Israel, a number of Bahá'ís were held in detention camps for about six months. They were detained without charges or explanation. During their incarceration, they were physically abused, inadequately fed, and prevented from sleeping. My dad was among the 27 Bahá'ís

. In April 1972, 92 Baha'is from all over Egypt were arrested and imprisoned for one and half month in Tanta prison under very harsh conditions and outrageous threats. Both parents were there while we were taken care of by our aunts. There pictures were published in local news paper under title "The Infidels".

• In February 1985, 41 Bahá'ís were arrested on the charge of running a group aimed at resisting the basic principles of the State. A subsequent trial generated an intense and widespread campaign in the Egyptian press, featuring more than 200 newspaper articles, that denounced the Bahá'í Faith as an apostasy whose members deserved the death penalty.

• In May 1987, the courts sentenced the Bahá'ís to three years imprisonment with labor. The verdict aroused protest in Western circles, and the decision was overturned on appeal, with all 41 Bahá'ís being ultimately acquitted.

• In January 2001, 16 Bahá'ís in Shawraniya near Sohag were arrested in January 2001, on the accusation of "immorality," according to the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram. The 16 were held for nearly nine months at a Cairo prison but all were ultimately released without charge or explanation.

Both the arbitrary restrictions and the incidents of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment have created a climate of fear that effectively suppresses the Bahá'í community. Moreover, Egyptian legal decisions upheld against the Bahá'ís over the years have reduced them to second-class citizens in matters of family, education, and employment.

Bahá'í marriages are not legally recognized in Egypt, a fact that affects a whole range of family issues. Individuals have no recourse on inheritance, pension, alimony, child maintenance, and divorce. Unrecognized marriage is regarded as cohabitation, equivalent with adultery in Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, and children are stigmatized as illegitimate.

Bahá'ís have also faced discrimination in education and employment. In 1983, for example, a young Bahá'í was expelled from the University of Alexandria because he insisted on listing his religious affiliation as Bahá'í.

"Reference site: http://www.bahai.org/persecution/egypt"

1925 Bahá’í Faith is indeed independent from Islam

It was till 1925 when an Islamic court stated the following:
"…God sent His Messenger and Prophet, Muhammad, as a blessing to the world. This blessing He put in the form of the religion of Islam, the last of the heavenly religions........At the same time, however, the Court also undertook a careful study of the Bahá’í Faith and concluded that: The Bahá’í Faith is a new religion, entirely independent, with beliefs, principles and laws of its own, which differ from, and are utterly in conflict with, the beliefs, principles and laws of Islam. No Bahá’í, therefore, can be regarded a Muslim or vice-verse, even as no Buddhist, Brahmin, or Christian can be regarded a Muslim or vice-versa."

"This opinion, that the Bahá’í Faith is indeed independent from Islam, ultimately contributed to the wider recognition of the Faith by government authorities. At one point in the 1930s, a member of the Egyptian Parliament made a public tribute to the Faith. And in 1934, the National Spiritual Assembly achieved legal incorporation. As well, authorities allocated four plots to serve as Bahá’í cemeteries in Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, and Isma’iliyyih, having decided it would not be lawful for Bahá’ís to be buried in Muslim cemeteries.In May 1944, the community celebrated the Centenary of the Faith’s founding in an impressive and newly completed national headquarters building in Cairo. More than 500 Bahá’ís from around the country attended, along with some 50 guests who were Christians, Muslims, and Jews."
For more info go to http://www.bahai.org/persecution/egypt/

History of the Baha'i Faith in Egypt

The Bahá’í community of Egypt was among the first to be established outside of Iran, birthplace of the Faith’s Founder, Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’í merchants settled in Alexandria and Cairo in the 1860s. In the mid-1890s, one of the most respected early Bahá’í scholars, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl Gulpaygani, arrived in Cairo. He subsequently lectured at Al-Azhar, where his scholarship attracted many adherents to the Faith.

By 1900, a number of Arabic language Bahá’í books were being published in Cairo, and Egypt had become a transit point for Western Bahá’ís coming to and from Acre (Akka) in what was then Palestine, where the son of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was imprisoned.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, himself, visited Egypt in September 1910, shortly after his release from prison, and there made the acquaintance of a number of intellectuals and other influential figures. He had already won the sympathy and interest of the most prominent of these liberal Islamic thinkers, Muhammad Abduh, who had spent time with him in Beirut during the 1880s. The two had subsequently maintained a correspondence on the subject of Islamic reform. On his return to Egypt, Abduh was appointed Grand Mufti and became a leading teacher at Al-Azhar University.He extended a particularly warm welcome to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, despite the opposition of some of the more insular elements in his own intellectual circle.

Significantly, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent a total of almost two years in Egypt, visiting on two other occasions. He became quite well known and influential — as evidenced by extensive press coverage in Egypt of his funeral in 1921. For Bahá’ís around the world, the extended visits of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá give Egypt a special significance.

The Bahá’í community of Egypt grew steadily among the general population during the period from the turn of the century to the mid-1920s, and included individuals from minority groups such as those of Kurdish, Coptic, and Armenian origin. A photograph from the early 1920s, for example, shows some 47 Bahá’ís in Port Said. And Bahá’í communities in Cairo, Port Said, and Alexandria were sufficiently prosperous to be able to send to the United States of America a donation to help fund the construction of a Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, the first Bahá’í House of Worship in the West.

In 1924, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Egypt was formed. This represents the highest administrative body on a national level in the Bahá’í Faith, a sign of a community’s maturity.

this article is Taken from Bahai.org http://www.bahai.org/persecution/egypt/2005bicreport/historyofcomm#2

Egyptian tourism ad video

The Ad is done by independent Muslim activists. See reference at http://www.bahairights.org/2007/08/31/al-masry-al-youm-covers-egyptian-tourism-ad-video/

Just a further comment to encourage support from our fellow Muslim readers:

"نحن طلاب عرب و مسلمين, بدأنا ألعمل في هاذا الموقع لأننا نؤمن بحقوق الإنسان الذي يستحقه جميع أفراد مجتمعنا. البهائيون دائما يدافعون عننا و يساعدوننا في الحفاظة على سمعة الإسلام في العالم فلماذا لا نساندهم و نهتم في امورهم هل لاننا لا نؤمن بنفس الديانة؟ هاذا لا يخالف فكلنا بشر من نفس التراب فيا اخواننا المسلمين يجب ان نتوحد لكي نظمن للبهائيون حقوقهم البشرية

يا جماعة الخير فعملنا في هاذا الموقع مهم جدأ فيجب ان نتعاون بشكل جميل من اجل مجتمع اقوى و اكبر و احسن و من اجل ديننا ايظا فالاسلام يشجع بلتعاون و المحبة ...بارك الله فيكم جميعا" . نقلا عن
The Muslim network for Baha'i Rights

Be Happy and full of joy

This morning, our son came very upset saying in a loud voice; "I have a bad day today". We calmed him down then asked him what went wrong and why he has a bad day? It turned out that he had a bad dream then hit himself against the door and finally stepped on his toy and could not walk! After some discussion with him, we explained that there is no such thing as bad day. He was not paying attention when hit the door and did not remove the toys from the way as promised. When we wake up we need to say to ourselves; God is with us all the time. I am happy, I will love evreybody, I will share happiness with evryone.

The french philosopher Voltaire wrote:
Who shares not the spirit of his age, Knows it in all its unhappiness.
According to Abdu'l Baha; Joy gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled... We should always be Happy and full of joy

Family life is an opportunity for Learning

Family meetings provide learning opportunities for both parents and children. Family consultation encourage parents to be open to the thoughts and opinion of their children and motivate children to express their opinion in family decisions. It is a strategy that strengthen the unity of the family and bring happiness and harmony. Good family relations, in turn, are productive of good citizens who are able to apply the lessons of family relations to relations with relatives, co-workers, and neighbors, in school, at work, and other community affairs.

Shoghi Effendi discusses the role of authority in the Faith, which can include parental authority;is not dictatorial authority but humble fellowship, not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation”(Baha’i Consultation). We should keep in mind that Parents need to maintain their authority on issues that are important and ensure that even when they practice consultation as a family that it is on topics which are truly all right to be decided either way." Kathy Flood.

Signs of Maturity

"All created things have their degree or stage of maturity. The period of maturity in the life of a tree is the time of its fruit-bearing. The maturity of a plant is the time of its blossoming and flower. The animal attains a stage of full growth and completeness, and in the human kingdom man reaches his maturity when the lights of intelligence have their greatest power and development."(Abdu'l-Baha)

Are we living in the century of maturity?? What are the signs of maturity for a family?

Is it Freedom, Human Rights or others?