Posts from — March 2006

A speech at a New Jersey inter-faith brunch by a member of the US National Spiritual Assembly about threats to freedom of religion sparked indignation amongst some of the Muslims present.

This report on NorthJersey.com gives the low-down:

Several Muslims said after the speech that they were offended by what they saw as Roberts’ singling out of Islam as a persecuting religion.

“I felt that he’s bashing Islam indirectly,” said Mehdi Eliefifi, president of the New Jersey Outreach Group, which works to bring different faiths together.

“It feeds into the stereotype, putting examples of bad behavior of individuals and governments as being the main theme of Islam,” he said.

Baha’is advocate and promote universal human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, believing that the human conscience is sacred and that nobody should fall victim to human rights abuses because of their religion or their ethnicity.

Besides religious persecution, Roberts asked members to speak out against genocide in Darfur. He spoke about freedom to worship as a “basic human right,” and used as another example of the abuse of this right the persecution of a native religious group in Brazil.

I haven’t had Mr Roberts’ experience, but I’m waiting for it.

Technorati Tags: New Jersey, inter-faith, freedom of religion, Muslims, Islam, human rights, freedom of religion or belief, genocide, Darfur

The last time I looked (a few moments ago) there were 118 comments on Ruth Gledhill’s excellent article on the worsening situation of the Baha’is in Iran and 6 trackbacks. This is way more than for other recent articles that Ruth has posted. It’s a bit scary and wonderful that the global Baha’i community, once aware of something, responds so quickly and generously.

Technorati Tags: Ruth Gledhill, Baha’is, Iran, Baha’i

Emran Qureshi has written a fascinating op-ed piece on the Harvard Law School website, under the title The Islam the Riots Drowned Out.

Qureshi’s central point is that is a strong humanistic tradition in Islam that is being destroyed by the extremists in the name of what they imagine Islam to be.

Sadly, the recent polarization obscures a rich humanistic tradition within Islam ? one in which cosmopolitanism, pluralism and a spirit of open-minded inquiry once constituted a dominant ethos.

He points out the irony that Islamic heritage is being destroyed by Muslims in the name of religious purity in Saudi Arabia while Muslims have been rioting across the world in protest at the cartoons that were orignally published in Denmark.

It’s a balanced, but sad, piece. Well worth a read.

Technorati Tags: Harvard Law School, humanistic, Islam, Saudi Arabia

Ruth Gledhill’s blog has an excellent article about a deeply worrying development in the long-standing persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. It is well worth reading - and following her links - if you want to find out about this serious, persistent, but not so well known, oppression of a community purely on the grounds of its faith.

Ruth is the religious affairs correspondent of The Times.

The latest development in Iran has been noted on a number of Baha’i blogs including Baha’i Blog, doberman pizza, and Baha’i Views.

Technorati Tags: Ruth Gledhill, Baha’is, Iran

The day the clocks went forward to British Summer Time and I lost an hour’s sleep, the BBC whisked me off at 6.45am (5.45am by my body clock) in a silver car to Broadcasting House to do an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme. You can pick up a link to listen to the programme from the programme’s website. Look for the segment entitled Baha’i persecution. The interview was about the latest and very worrying development in the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran.

The programme goes out from Manchester. I was in London sitting in a studio the size of a walk-in closet. There was a safety notice on the wall proclaiming that there must be no more than three people in the studio. Fat chance, I thought. More than three and there’d be a serious risk of asphyxiation.

Anyway, I sat in the studio, wearing headphones and supping coffee. Seven o’clock came and I heard nothing. Seven-fifteen came and I thought they’d forgotten me. Then my mobile rang. It was the studio in Manchester. Was I in the studio? Yes, I said, but I can’t hear anything. There’s a technical hitch, they said, and the engineers in Broadcasting House would sort it out. A few moments later I could hear the programme. They were in the middle of a package about whether God could be seen as feminine as well as masculine. Can one pray ‘Our Mother…’ just as one prays ‘Our Father…’?

The PA came on the line and said they’d be on to me after the package.

After I’d done the interview, the PA came back on and told me that they’d been able to hear me in Manchester, even though I hadn’t been able to hear them. They’d been shouting at me to see if was awake. So, even the mighty BBC can suffer its glitches!

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, BBC

Technorati Tags: BBC Radio 4, Iran

The following was posted on the UK National Assembly’s NEWS e-list earlier today:

Around 90 people attended the Naw-Ruz reception organized by the Office of External Affairs on the terrace of the House of Commons last night. Amongst them were several MPs, a Peer, and officials from a number of government departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, and No. 10 Downing Street. Members of all of the major faith communities also joined in the celebration.

Lembit Opik MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is, welcomed guests, praised the Baha’is for their solidarity and optimism and said that being with Baha’is reminded him of why he was in politics - to try to make the world a better place.

The National Spiritual Assembly’s Secretary for External Affairs welcomed the guests and introduced the festival of Naw-Ruz, commenting that the Bah?’? fast had just finished and that this is a time of celebration for the Baha’i community. He also mentioned that it was a festival that the Baha’is share with the Zoroastrians.

However, he felt it important to say that, while the Baha’is in the UK were free to celebrate, the Baha’is in Iran were suffering ever greater levels of persecution. He warmly thanked Her Majesty’s Government, and particularly the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for its steadfast support and excellent work in defending the human rights of the Baha’is in Iran. He also thanked the All Party Friends of the Baha’is for their continuing support. In the UK, parliament and government work together and add weight to what is done for the Baha’is in Iran.

But the Baha’is are not just victims of persecution. In the UK and around the world Baha’is are actively engaged in promoting unity in diversity, human rights and good inter-faith relations. The UK Baha’i community greatly appreciates the open dialogue between the government and the religions and looks forward to working in the coming year on freedom of religion and belief and on social cohesion in partnership with government and civil society.

After Peter Luff MP had read out the Naw-Ruz greetings message from David Cameron MP, Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition, Mr Opik read out greetings messages from Prime Minister Tony Blair and Sir Menzies Cambell MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party. This was the first occasion on which the UK Baha’i community had received Naw-Ruz greetings from the leaders of all three main political parties. It is to be hoped that it sets a precedent for the future.

Gye Nyami, a London-based Baha’i musical ensemble closed the formal programme by performing three pieces with texts taken from Baha’i, Hindu and Buddhist scriptures.

There can be no doubt that this was the best of the successive Naw-Ruz receptions held over many years in the House of Commons. There was a warm spirit of welcome for all who attended, Baha’i and non- Baha’i. The presence of so many MPs and government officials clearly confirms the respect in which the Faith is held at quite senior evels in government.

You can read the messages by clicking on the ‘Read the rest of this entry’ link below.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, government, inter-faith, interfaith, UK Baha’i Review

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Technorati Tags: Naw-Ruz, House of Commons, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, 10 Downing Street, faith communities, Lembit Opik, All Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is, Zoroastrians, Peter Luff, MP, David Cameron, Conservative, Tony Blair, Menzies Cambell, Liberal Democrat

Yesterday a group of ten sixth formers from Jersey College for Girls came to the UK National Baha’i Centre in London for a tour and to discuss certain aspects of the Faith.

I had spoken to the same group two or three years ago when I was in Jersey for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Bah??? community in the Channel Islands. Their RE teacher, Tom Fallon, contacted me to say that the group was coming to London as part of its Religious Education study to meet representatives of different faiths.

The students had been impressive when I had met them previously; they are even more so now. I gave them the tour of the building, but the main theme was the role of revelation and experience in the Faith. There were some perceptive questions from them. Some of them had even been on a study tour to India and had visited the Lotus Temple in Delhi.

As I say, these students were very impressive: they asked perceptive and well thought out questions, a number of which were of a philosophical kind. They have been studying religion and philosophy in depth for around four years and have an understanding of religion that goes beyond what is so often taught in schools: artefacts, festivals and rituals. In other words, these girls have gone well beyond the merely superficial study of religion and belief.

It was a great opportunity to speak in depth about the Revelation of Baha’u'llah and about my experience as a Baha’i. I shared with them my devotion to the long Obligatory Prayer, which has, on occasion, elicited feelings and consciousness of a - I was going to say ‘of a mystical nature’, but I think that would be to claim too much - of an exalted kind.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, education

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Technorati Tags: Jersey, Channel Islands, revelation, India, Lotus Temple, Delhi

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

Now I can wish every one a very happy Naw-Ruz and a wonderful year ahead. Erica and I have just returned from a wonderful Naw-Ruz celebration for Welwyn and Welwyn Garden City - about 50 Baha’is and friends, children, youth, adults. Lots of lovely Persian food, lots of laughter and a wonderfully loving spirit.

It’s that spirit that I would like to share with everyone, so that they can get an inkling of the spirit and joy of the Baha’i community.

As we embark on the year 163 of the Baha’i Era, I am sure we’ll have a challenging, but fruitful, year ahead.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai

Technorati Tags: Naw-Ruz

Marco has pointed out that my blog is one year old today. Happy birthday, blog!

To be honest, I’m amazed. I have a short attention span, so it’s quite an achievement for me to keep this going - if somewhat sporadically at times - for so long. Let’s hope I can keep it going. Actually, I had a blog on Blogger for a time before I started Barnabas Quotidianus, but BQ has been my main blogging effort. This all comes from a diary habit that I have had - again sporadically - for many years. I have books and books with diaries and journals of varying quality, but they were really intended as private reflections. Blogging is much more exciting - someone might even read it!

Anyway, let me wish everyone a joyous Naw-Ruz in advance (we’re still about 4.5 hours away from sunset here).

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, blogging

Technorati Tags: Barnabas Quotidianus

I’ve just had one of my nightmare things happen to me. I arrived at work at the National Baha’i Centre in London’s leafy Knightsbridge (actually, truth to tell, it’s not at all leafy at the moment, what with the late Spring and the unspringlike weather) at about 9.30am. I came in through the basement door and stepped into the lift.

Pressed the button for the second floor.

The lift started up and after ascending for less than 2ft shuddered to a halt.

Nightmare! I have distinct claustrophobic tendencies and the lift is not a big one. Mastering my rising panic, I forced the inner doors open and tried to push the outer door open. It was, of course, locked shut. Next, breathing deeply, I pressed the alarm bell and was connected to the emergency monitoring centre. They said they would get help to me.

OK, relax, breathe deeply, say a prayer. It’s getting warmer in the lift.

Voices. Thankfully there are members of staff in the building and they take charge. The phone rings in the office. Someone takes the call. It’s the lift people. Their nearest engineer is an hour away! I get something to read out of my brief case. Anything to take my mind off being shut in a small, rapidly warming up, box for an hour.

I shout out to see if someone can open the lift’s engine room and get the lift down. Someone fetches John, the boss of a gang of workers who are doing some repair and maintenance work on the Centre. I suggest that they could unlock the outer door with the special key and let me out that way. I hear noises in the engine room (which is in the basement next to the lift shaft). John finds the key and opens the outer door and then pushes the leaves of the inner door apart.

I escape my prison with huge relief.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, London

Technorati Tags: Baha’i Centre, Knightsbridge, claustrophobic