Baha'is around the World - UK

An octogenarian has received her MBE from the Queen for her services to charity.

Christina Kitchen, 83, was awarded the honour for collecting money over a period of 47 years and serving in Oxfam shops in Epsom and Leatherhead.

Recipients of the honour are usually allowed to take two guests to the ceremony, but Mrs Kitchen wrote and asked for permission to take her four sons, and her request was granted by the Queen. Mrs Kitchen went with her sons to Windsor Castle to collect the award earlier this month.

She said: "I was delighted that my four sons were able to attend the ceremony and witness their mother receive this honour from Her Majesty the Queen". The pensioner was a Biology teacher at Rosebery School and a member of the Bahá’í Faith in Epsom and Ewell, since 1978.

The Bahá’is believe in the importance of integrating with the local community through charitable work.

Canada's only Muslim senator speaks for the Baha'is of Iran

Very interesting speech by a senator in Canada, 14 December 2009

Senator Mobina Jaffer - Canada.

".....For many years, I have represented Iranian refugees, especially women, who have been tortured and imprisoned in Iran. The suffering of these women is unimaginable. Sadly, honourable senators, this suffering still continues...............Today, I will address the situation of one religions group, the Baha'i of Iran, whose rights have systematically been violated by the Iranian government since the inception of the Islamic revolution. As a young child in Uganda, my father often took me to a construction site where a Baha'i temple was being built. As the temple was being built, my father would describe the different aspects of the faith of the Baha'i. His description of the embracing by the Baha'i of all religions left me with a great love and respect for all faiths. I am also a great admirer of the Baha'i. As Ugandans, we are proud of the Baha'i temple in Uganda and we believe it is one of the best temples.

Honourable senators, let me take a few moments to provide some background of the Baha'i faith. It originated in Iran, then Persia, in the 1840s. Central to the spiritual teachings of the Baha'i faith is the concept that there is only one God and that the major world religions have been established by divine educators who brought teachings commensurate with humanity's stage of development.

The source and spiritual essence of all these religions is the same in the Baha'i view. Only the social teachings have changed in order to support the emergence of an ever-advancing civilization. Baha'is strive both individually and as communities, and with the guidance of their institutions, to understand and implement the spiritual and moral teachings in their own lives and communities, and to contribute to the common good.

The five million or so people comprising the Baha'i international community represent 2,112 ethnic and tribal groups who live in over 121,000 localities, 190 independent countries and 45 dependent territories and overseas departments.

Why then, honourable senators, do we have a slow genocide of the Baha'i community in Iran through such means as arbitrary arrests; incitement of hatred in government-controlled media and from the pulpit; harassment of schoolchildren; denial of access to post-secondary education or to employment in the public sector; severe restrictions on employment in the private sector; the destruction of graveyards; denial of government pensions; and the discrimination in courts?" Mobina Jaffer

THE BEST BELOVED OF ALL THINGS IN MY SIGHT IS JUSTICE

Near the end of 2009 ...... the world is still looking for JUSTICE:

The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh -

O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest 4 Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.

World Religions

Invitation to the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtYGtp1Hp_c&feature=player_embedded

If the house from Glass.....

An Article By Alaa Al-Aswany in response to the battle over minarets in Switzerland ...

Before We Damn Switzerland

"......................Fifthly, banning minarets in Switzerland is clearly a flagrant violation of freedom of belief, and Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims have a right to object to the ban and try to overturn the ban by all legal means. But the Egyptian government has no moral right to object to the ban on minarets in Switzerland because it has failed to ensure freedom of belief for Egyptians themselves. The Egyptian authorities regularly arrest Shi’ites and Quranists, put them on trial on charges of contempt for religion and throw them into prison. In fact, the official department headed by the Mufti, which is now calling for freedom of belief in Switzerland, has issued an official fatwa declaring Baha’is to be infidels, a declaration which puts them in danger of being murdered at any moment. These Baha’is are Egyptian citizens who have fought a bitter battle for recognition of their religion in official documents."

Another article discussing the same topic: http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/12/christians_in_the_muslim_world.asp

"Rather than hypocritically lashing out at Switzerland over the minaret ban, governments in Muslim countries around the world should tackle the real problem and defend the basic human rights and religious liberties of their non-Muslim minorities..."

The LIGHT of UNITY

"So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth." (Bahá'u'llah)

Here is an AMAZing United Way's Holiday Greeting

http://www.unitedwaytv.org/default__200_09_Holiday_Greeting.aspx

Photo Banned - Newspaper Closed

An interesting article from another blog; World in a mind

"....The Bahá’í Faith does NOT exist (despite it being the largest minority religion in Iran), therefore there can be no photo of a Bahá’í building in a newspaper in Iran!"

The Lotus Temple in Dec 10th 2009

Sky lanterns are seen floating in the night sky, near the Lotus Temple, right, released by activists expressing their hope in the ongoing climate conference being held in Copenhagen, during a demonstration in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009.

Son of Being Music Video

Youth Rap Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zohrzHO9YM4

من هو حضرة عبد البهاء

توفى حضرة عبد البهاء إبن حضرة بهاء الله يوم 29 نوفمبر سنة 1921 في مدينة حيفا بفلسطين.

الرابط التالى يتضمن باختصار نبذة عن حضرة عبدالبهاء

http://www.youtube.com/KolnaAhl

You have written that there is a difference among the believers concerning the 'Second Coming of Christ.' Gracious God! Time and again this question hath arisen, and its answer hath emanated in a clear and irrefutable statement from the pen of `Abdu'l-Bahá, that what is meant in the prophecies by the `Lord of Hosts' and the 'Promised Christ' is the Blessed Perfection (Bahá'u'lláh) ...

My name is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My qualification is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My reality is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My praise is `Abdu'l-Bahá. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and refulgent diadem, and servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion...

No name, no title, no mention, no commendation have I, nor will ever have, except `Abdu'l-Bahá. This is my longing. This is my greatest yearning. This is my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory. (World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, page 139

On November 28, members of the Baha'i Faith throughout the world commemorate the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha, the eldest son and successor of Baha'u'llah, 83 years ago.

'Abdu'l-Baha died in His house in Haifa in 1921, aged 77. More than 10,000 mourners, representing every one of the diverse religions and ethnic communities in the Holy Land, attended His funeral.

He was laid to rest in a vault adjoining that in which He had laid the remains of the Bab on Mount Carmel in 1909.

Baha'is observe the Holy Day of the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha at 1:00 a.m.

ماهو الهدف من الكوارث والنكبات التى ألمت بالبشرية؟

إلى الذين يشكون من قسوة عملية التطهير التي تتولاها "الخطة إلهية الكبرى"، يتفضل حضرة ولي الأمر فيبين أن عملة التطهير والإعداد أمر لازم للبشرية كي تتخلص ، من ناحية، من دنس الأصنام الجامدة من النظم و العقائد التي تقوم على عبادتها دون وعي أو إدراك. ومن الناحية الأخرى، تنضّج العالم روحيا وفكريا، وتجعله قادرا على القيام بعملية توحيد شعوبه وقبائله، وإحلال الأمن والسلام في العالم،.... فيقول :

" يبدو أنك تشكو من الكوارث والنكبات التي ألمت بالبشرية. إن مرحلة التطهير أمر لا مفر منه أثناء التطور الروحاني للإنسانية، لأنه خلال المرور بهذه المرحلة تظهر الاحتياجات المادية، المبالغ فيها، على حقيقتها. وما لم يتعلم المجتمع أن يولي أهمية أكبر للمسائل الروحانية، فإنه لن يكون لائقا للولوج إلى العصر الذهبي الذي بشر به حضرة بهاء الله. فالكوارث الحالية جزء من عملية التطهير هذه، وخلال هذه الكوارث وحدها يتعلم الإنسان درسه. فهي تعلم الأمم بأن عليهم أن ينظروا للأشياء نظرة عالمية. كما تجعل الفرد يولي أهمية أكبر لصحته الروحانية بدلا صحته الجسمانية. وفي خضم عملية التطهير هذه، وعندما تكون البشرية جمعاء في خضم معاناة شديدة قاسية، لا يظن البهائيون أنهم في منى عن مكروه ولن يصيبهم شيء. فإذا نظرنا إلى القشة الموجودة في أعيننا، فإننا سوف ندرك على الفور أننا نحن أيضا مقصودين بهذه المعاناة. نحن الذين ندعي بأننا وصلنا. فإن مثل هذه الأزمات العالمية ضرورية لتنبيهنا إلى أهمية واجبنا للقيام بالمهمة الموكولة إلينا. فالمعاناة سوف تزيد من طاقتنا لنهيئ للبشرية الطريق نحو الخلاص، وسوف توقظنا من رقدتنا، لأننا متخلفون عن القيام بما في وسعنا القيام به وإيصال الرسالة التي ائتمنا عليه......من كتاب من أحيا نفسا لشوقى روحانى

Equality between women and Men in Canada since 1929

An important event happened in Canada back in 1938.

This event, known in Canada as „The Persons Case, was precipitated when Emily Murphy was appointed as a judge in Canada in 1916. Her first day on the bench, she was challenged by lawyers who declared she could not rule as judge because women are not persons in Canada. They were correct.

The first battle was that women had to prove that they had souls. Many supported Mrs. Murphy, and of note are four other women activists from Alberta: Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards. The activists petitioned the Supreme Court of Canada, and were shocked when their appeal was denied. They then took their case to the British Privy Council (the highest ruling court at that time for Canada).

On October 18, 1929 they win their case and women become persons in Canada. Since 1992, the month of October has been dedicated to the history of women in Canada. This year marked the 80th Anniversary of this historic „women become persons event, which was a big step for the establishment of equality between women and men in Canada.