Question of Faith

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Peh-UvZqPkE

Please watch this short video, then try to answer the simple questions

 https://www.youtube.com/embed/Peh-UvZqPkE

This is interesting!....must watch. 

Interfaith at Newtown School

Reading from Baha'i holy scriptures at Interfaith Service at Newtown...........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BWFQ03VKWYM

"...lament not, O Mother and Father, and be not grieved; I am not of the lost, nor have I been obliterated and destroyed. I have shaken off the mortal form and have raised my banner in this spiritual world. Following this separation is everlasting companionship. Thou shalt find me in the heaven of the Lord, immersed in an ocean of light.'" from Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha,

A BAHA’I LITMUS TEST FOR EGYPT

http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/CairoReview/Pages/articleDetails.aspx?aid=230

Dwight Bashir

August 22, 2012

Myth #1: Baha’is are a Zionist entity and, therefore, not entitled to any rights.  Last month, Mahmoud Ghozlan, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, said Baha’is are of “Zionist origin” and, thus, should not be protected under the constitution to practice their faith publicly.  What “origin” has to do with constitutional protections for any of Egypt’s citizens is anyone’s guess. Leaving this point aside, the particular accusation is baseless.  It is leveled solely because the Baha’i world headquarters is in Haifa, Israel.  This, however, was clearly not the preference of Baha’i leaders at the time.  The faith’s founder, Baha’u’llah, was imprisoned and exiled throughout the region during Ottoman rule in the 1800s: from Iran and Iraq to Turkey and Palestine. Baha’u’llah died while under house arrest in 1892 in Acre, Palestine.  It was his family and followers who established the administrative center of the faith there, more than a half century before 1948, the year the state of Israel was born.  Moreover, based on the logic of his position, Ghozlan would be forced to call every resident of Palestine or Israel a Zionist.  Clearly, that’s not what he meant, but this demonstrates the absurdity of his claim about the Baha’is.  Of the nearly six million Baha’is in the world today, fewer than 1,000 reside in what is now Israel.  They serve as temporary volunteers at the Baha’i World Center and eventually return to their home countries after a short period. 

Myth #2: Baha’is are a threat to national security.  Like Myth #1, this dubious claim hinges on the location of the Baha’i world headquarters in Israel.  This claim is made most frequently by conservative clerics such as Abdel Moneim al-Shahat, a prominent Salafi leader who reportedly once said that Islam forbids playing or watching soccer.  In February, he stated that Baha’is are a security threat, claimed that Baha’is deserve no rights in a new constitution, and asserted that Baha’is should be tried for treason. Such irresponsible statements promote the further demonization of Baha’is in society and pour fuel on the fire of extremist attacks on Baha’is. 

Myth #3: Baha’is are apostates from Islam and, therefore, should be eliminated by the state.  Al-Shahat, and others like him cite Al-Azhar’s fatwas declaring Baha’is as apostates.  This accusation is based on numerous fatwas issued by the Islamic Research Academy at Al-Azhar University over the years, most recently reiterated in 2003.  The gist of the argument is a theological one, that Baha’is claim divine revelation after the Prophet Muhammad, which makes them apostates from Islam because, in their view, Muhammad was the last of the Prophets from God.

However, religion experts explain that the Baha’i faith emerged out of Islam similar to the way Christianity sprang from Judaism and is separate and distinct.  In fact, in 1925, Egypt became the first predominantly Muslim state to recognize the Baha’i faith as an independent religion after an Egyptian court ruled that the faith indeed was separate from Islam, and consequently, Baha’is could not be deemed heretics or apostates.  This ruling led to greater emancipation for the Egyptian Baha’is in the decades thereafter, and they were legally recognized in the 1930s until the 1960 ban.  Since then, conservative clerics and political leaders alike have used Al-Azhar’sfatwas and Nasser’s ban to justify discrimination, vilification, and incitement.

Could Science and Religion be in Harmony? Yes

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=149948191
What a great achievement for our scientists....NASA's Curiosity rover successfully lands on Mars 

Among other principles of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings was the harmony of science and religion. Religion must stand the analysis of reason. It must agree with scientific fact and proof so that science will sanction religion and religion fortify science. Both are indissolubly welded and joined in reality. 

Please go to the link below for more Scientific discussions...

http://www.commongroundgroup.net/science-religion/science-and-religion-writings-by-william-hatcher/the-unity-of-science-and-religion/

Be Truthful

Nice story from Abdu'l-Baha:

“There was once a disciple of Muhammad who asked of another disciple, ‘What shall I do to please God?’ And the other disciple replied: ‘Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not covet,’ etc., etc., etc. A great many ‘do not's’” then “He asked still another, ‘What shall I do to become nearer to God?’ And this one said: ‘You must supplicate and pray. You must be generous. You must be courageous,’ etc., etc., etc. Then the disciple went to ‘Ali. ‘What do you say I should do in order to please God and to become nearer to Him?’ ‘One thing only: be truthful.’” Abdul-Baha said “if you are truthful, you cannot commit murder. You would have to confess it! Neither can you steal. You would have to confess it. So, if one is truthful, he possesses all the virtues.

Women and Men are equal

 إن تحرير المرأة هو مطلب مهمّ من مُتطلبات السلام، ولن يستقرّ المناخ الخلقيّ والنفسيّ الذي سوف يتسنى للسلام العالمي أن ينمو فيه، إلا عندما تدخل المرأة بكلّ ترحاب سائر ميادين النشاط الإنساني   شريكة كاملة للرجل   الجامعة البهائية العالمية

The Bahá’í writings state:

• Girls should be given preference over boys when educational opportunities and resources are limited.
• In Bahá’í marriage, neither the husband nor the wife has a dominant voice.
• Any apparent inequality between the capacities of women and men is due solely to the lack of educational opportunities so far open to women.

The foundation-principle of a school

What is the ideal school:

"These schools for academic studies must at the same time be training centers in behaviour and conduct, and they must favour character and conduct above the sciences and arts. Good behavior and high moral character must come first, for unless the character be trained, acquiring knowledge will only prove injurious. Knowledge is praiseworthy when it is coupled with ethical conduct and virtuous character; otherwise it is a deadly poison, a frightful danger. A physician of evil character, and who betrayeth his trust, can bring on death, and become the source of numerous infirmities and diseases.

Devote ye the utmost attention to this matter, for the basic, the foundation-principle of a school is first and foremost moral training, character and the rectification of conduct." Abd'l-Baha

Character of the Religious Person

For every thing, however, God has created a sign and symbol, and established standards and tests by which it may be known. The spiritually learned must be characterized by both inward and outward perfections; they    must possess a good character, an enlightened nature, a pure intent, as well as intellectual power, brilliance and discernment, intuition, discretion and foresight, temperance, reverence, and a heartfelt fear of God. For an unlit candle, however great in diameter and tall, is no better than a barren palm tree or a pile of dead wood.  (Abdu'l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 33)

From "Egyptian Baha'i Letter to all Egyptians"

Thus, if no existing model proves to be satisfactory, we might well consider charting a different course, and perhaps demonstrate to the community of nations that a new, truly progressive approach to the organization of society is possible.

Egypt’s stature in the international order—its intellectual tradition, its history, its location—means that an enlightened choice on its part could influence the course of human development in the entire region, and impact even the world.......

That is why it is vital that we endeavor to achieve broad consensus on the operating principles that are to shape a new model for our society. Once agreement is reached, the policies that follow are far more likely to attract the support of the populations whom they affect.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Abdu'l Baha explained to the people of Iran in early 1900 the secret of Divine Civilization:

"....O people of Persia! How long will you wander? How long must your confusion last? How long will it go on, this conflict of opinions, this useless antagonism, this ignorance, this refusal to think? Others are alert, and we sleep our dreamless sleep. Other nations are  making every effort to improve their condition; we are trapped in our desires and self-indulgences, and at every step we stumble into a new snare. 

God is Our witness that We have no ulterior motive in developing this theme. We seek neither to curry favor with any one nor to attract any one to Ourselves nor to derive any material benefit therefrom. We speak only as one earnestly desiring the good pleasure of God, for We have turned Our gaze away from the world and its peoples and have sought refuge in the sheltering care of the Lord. "No pay do I ask of you for this... My reward is of God alone."[1] 

[1 Qur'án 6:90; 11:31.]  

Abdu'l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 12)

A song Dedicated to the centenary of the Beloved Master's travels to the West

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAIMNRhM5Sw&feature=youtu.be

Abdu'l-Baha was His name........

"ربّ ربّ قد اشتدّ الظّلام و خرب الخيام علی رؤوس الأنام و حجبت الأبصار غشاوة الاستکبار عن مشاهدة الأنوار و طبع علی قلوبهم لا يکادون يفقهون الأسرار يخوضون فی غمار الانکار و ينهمکون فی الغفلة و النّفار و يظنّون إنّهم الأبرار......."

How Ruhi Study Circles are Transforming Communities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEP1GOpdSh4


“The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.”

“Beware, O people of Bahá, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ
from their deeds.”

“Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues.”


“Without truthfulness progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible for any soul.”

اليونسكو: حدائق البهائيين بحيفا تراث عالمي

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtzii-V1EXQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

تعتبر حدائق البهائيين المعلقة بمدينة حيفا تراثاً عالمياً وفق إعلان منظمة اليونسكو. إضافة إلى جمالها وتناسقها الهندسي الدقيق، تضم الحدائق المركز العالمي للبهائيين الذي تدار منه شؤونهم الروحية والتنظيمية