Posts from — April 2006

What better to do on a holiday than to spend the day with Alex & Charlie, Ethan & Emily, and to take them to Brixworth Country Park, where they could eat ice cream and have fun in the children’s play area.

Emily and Ethan ran around like mad things in the children’s play area. Even so, they still had lots of energy and we went off to this pond to look for frogs.

And then we walked past the lake and back to the car.

Technorati Tags: children, family, Northamptonshire, UK

The following letter, signed by a number of eminent professors in human rights and international law, appeared yesterday in The Independent, one of the UK’s major broadsheet newspapers. The letter draws attention to the concerns raised by Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief about the intensification of the persecution of the Bah?’?s in Iran.

This is an excellent letter and serves to raise the profile of this very worrying situation.

Letters: Baha’i persecution in Iran
Published: 14 April 2006
Ominous secret plan for a new wave of Baha’i persecution in Iran

Sir: Concern with Iran’s nuclear status is overshadowing its human rights situation (”Iran announces it has joined world’s nuclear nations”, 12 April). As persons committed to the dignity of all human beings and the protection and guaranteeing of human rights, we are greatly concerned at the news announced on 20 March by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ms Asma Jahangir.

The Special Rapporteur made public a confidential and official letter sent on 29 October 2005 by the chairman of the command headquarters of Iran’s armed forces to several Iranian government agencies stating that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has instructed the command headquarters to identify and monitor, in a highly confidential manner, members of the Baha’i faith in Iran.

We share the deep concern of the Special Rapporteur about this development which represents an ominous new stage in the ongoing persecution of members of the Baha’i faith in Iran.

The UN has issued more than 56 pronouncements condemning Iran’s execution and imprisonment of Baha’is, solely because of their membership of the Baha’i community, and criticising the overtly discriminatory treatment by Iran’s government of this religious community since 1980.

Such comments have never before included a warning to the international community that the government of Iran is now seeking to identify and monitor every single member of the Baha’i faith. History tells us that this type of measure is often the precursor to increasing persecution of such a group.

Given the existing level of discrimination and persecution experienced by the Baha’is in Iran, we can only have considerable fear about what the new measure will mean in practice.

PROFESSOR KEVIN BOYLE PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX

PROFESSOR GUY S GOODWIN-GILL, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, ALL SOULS COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

PROFESSOR FRANCOISE HAMPSON OBE, PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX

PROFESSOR MATTHEW KRAMER PROFESSOR OF LEGAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

PROFESSOR JAVAID REHMAN, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BRUNEL UNIVERSITY

PROFESSOR MALCOLM SHAW QC, SIR ROBERT JENNINGS PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER

PROFESSOR PATRICK THORNBERRY CMG, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, KEELE UNIVERSITY.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, human rights, Iran, religion, UN

Technorati Tags: international law, Asma Jahangir

How come other Bah?’?s get dreams of ‘Abdu’l-Bah? blessing them or giving them guidance, and I get confusing or odd dreams? I can only remember (and that vaguely) perhaps two dreams in my entire life as a Bah?’? when I’ve had what one might call ‘a Bah?’? blessing’. One I do recall from many years ago, involved meeting Shoghi Effendi in the gardens near the Shrine of the B?b; I knelt or prostrated myself before him, but he grasped my hands and lifted me up. As he did so, a cool and refreshing breeze blew - and I had the sensation in my dream of a cool breeze.

I’ve had lots of dreams that include the sea or rivers and some flying dreams. And even some lucid dreams, in which I could to some extent direct my flight in the dream. From time to time I dream that I am at a Bah?’? conference or summer school and there is a shortage of bathrooms!

Last night I dreamed I was in a hall with a whole group of Bah?’?s. We were waiting for an orchestral concert to start - the soloist was late or holding things up in some way. And when the soloist arrived, it was one of my dearly loved National Assembly colleagues, who was to play Mozart’s clarinet concerto. People fussed around him, took his jacket, handed him his clarinet - although one of those around the soloist had a flute in hand - perhaps my friend was going to play a flute piece afterwards?

I was amazed. I am pretty sure that this particular friend (whom I greatly respect for his many qualities and talents) does not play either the clarinet or flute. And yet, it seemed right that he should do so.

The feeling of the dream had something to do with learning to welcome other people’s triumphs, I think. Clearly I have a lesson to learn here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai

Technorati Tags: dreams, ‘Abdu’l-Bah?

Omid Djalili came into the UK Bah?’? Centre today for a chat. The Independent on Sunday have asked him to do an interview about his faith as a Bah?’?. It seems that the newspaper is doing a spread on the faiths of various celebs. Omid is really have tremendous success in his professional life - it’s well worth having a look at his website.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai

Technorati Tags: Omid Djalili

Charlie phoned this morning to ask if she could bring Ethan and Emily over for part of the day. Of course, the answer was, ‘Yes!’

They are lovely and lively. An hour of them after work, and I was exhausted. Erica had spent much of the day with them and was even more exhausted. Charlie is absolutely wonderful with them - I don’t know how she does it, but she is younger than Erica and me.

Technorati Tags: family

Stephen Fuqua’s April editorial on InterfaithNews.net airs a concern that the whole world faces, whether we like it or not. Threats to religious freedom and the growth of religious fanaticism.

Of course, there are many in the world who consider religion a thing of the past and are confirmed in their belief by current outbursts of religious fanaticism. But whatever they may think, religion is back in the public domain for good or for ill. And religious freedom is essential because it enables all of us to explore truth for ourselves, to adopt the beliefs that make sense to us - whether religious or not - to join the communities that we find sympathetic, and to share our beliefs with others. This is actually pretty fundamental to allowing the full development of human potential.

Freedom of religion or belief is under threat today in a multitude of ways and by a multitude of agents, including the religious fanatics, who would wish to force us to acknowledge, if not to accept, their vision of the world.

Another thing the religious fanatics threaten all of us with is a ‘world devouring fire’ - a phrase taken from the writings of Bah?’u'll?h - of religiously fuelled hatred, conflict and, ultimately, war. It’s as threatening to the world as climate change - and it betokens a kind of cultural climate change.

Bah?’u'll?h forbids Bah?’?s to be religious fanatics and bids us associate with people from all faiths in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship. The logic is that all the great faiths have a single Transcendent source, so religion should not become a source of conflict. Furthermore, we all have the right and obligation to investigate reality for ourselves through the world’s two great knowledge systems, science and religion. That reality is beyond the ability of any of us to fully comprehend, so none of us has the full picture. Ergo none of us can claim to have the full measure of truth, to be so right that we can force our ‘rightness’ on others.

Many years ago in a wonderful series on BBC television, called The Ascent of Man, the presenter, Jacob Bronowski quoted Oliver Cromwell, who, speaking to parliament, said, ‘I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be wrong.’ Since then I have always been conscious that I may be wrong, that I probably am wrong in much of what I believe and say; that it behoves me to remain humble and always seeking to understand reality more accurately and in greater depth.

This kind of humility - and I should emphasize here and now that I struggle to live according to my own understanding of the importance of humility in the face of the Transcendent - seems to me to align well with the great mystical traditions. But how to ensure that people embrace this spiritual virtue and do not go down the path of blind unreason?

Education, inter-faith encounter and dialogue, making opportunities to explore our own spiritual reality and our spiritual journey and inviting others to joint us in this exploration. Above all, opening ourselves to the raw power of what I, as a Bah?’?, think of as the Word of God - that is to say, what we encounter when we read the world’s sacred texts with an open heart and not with the intention of abusing the Word to ‘prove’ what we think we already ‘know’. The following statement is made In One Common Faith:

While the mind seeks intellectual certainty, what the soul longs for is the attainment of certitude. Such inner conviction is the ultimate goal of all spiritual seeking, regardless of how rapid or gradual the process may be.

Now, certitude might on the face of it seem to be another word for the kind of religious fanaticism that I am decrying, but I suggest that the opposite is the case. ‘Certitude’ - the way Bah?’u'll?h uses the term - is a spiritual state in which the individual has a faithful and whole relationship with God, trusts in God, knows God’s love by experience, but never never regards that love has his or her own exclusively, nor ever comes to believe that God’s love is his or her just dessert. That kind of relationship allows us to sail more safely on the ocean of the Word of God and to allow that our understanding of that mighty ocean, its winds and currents, is always limited by our own horizons.

If so, religious fanaticism is not countered by secular or liberal fundamentalism, nor by denial, nor indeed by returning hatred for hatred - although the state has an undeniable responsibility to protect its citizens from the outrages carried out by fanatics. I think something more fundamental is required - an invitation to walk alongside us on the path of spiritual self-discovery. Needless to say, this presupposes that we are ourselves already walking that path.

And there are no guarantees that the hardline fanatic doesn’t already believe him/herself to have attained to all knowledge.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, religious freedom, religion

Had a lovely family evening yesterday. Tom and Vicky, not long returned from a holiday in Australia, came over, as did Hari and Doug with Jake, and Doug’s brother, Rob. We had a simple dinner (Erica’s bean chili) and a lot of laughter. Poor little Jake developed an eczema attack during the evening and turned rather red and irritable.

(This picture of Jake is well out of date.)
Vicky and Tom stayed overnight, camping in the sitting room (we still haven’t got the guest room sorted out). Hari came over earlier this morning with Jake and so I haven’t done a great deal of work - although I am theoretically ‘working from home’

Technorati Tags: family

I was listening to an interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning about faith schools. One of the teacher unions is holding a debate about whether or not the government should fund faith schools or not. Canon John Hall, the Church of England’s chief education officer, very reasonably pointed out that the Church of England founded the educational system in England, long before the government was in any way interested in providing education for the masses. The question for discussion was whether faiths should be allowed to continue to provide education in the 21st century.

Now, that is an important question and one I may return to in a later blog (no promises, though). But what prompted this post was the use by Canon Hall of the phrase ‘other faiths’. It is now conventional to refer to Britain as a ‘multi-cultural, multi-faith society’, and there is some truth in this, although the reality and the aspiration are not without their problems.

OK, now to the nub of my irritation. If Britain is a multi-faith society, how come we still have ‘other’ faiths? I accept that Christianity has been the dominant religion in Britain for a very long time. The Church of England is still the ‘established’ church in England. (Now, that’s something else to write about - but later.) But if we live in a genuinely multi-faith society then the great faiths should, I hope, have parity of esteem. (As a Bah?’? I believe that all the great faiths come from one Divine Source.) So the locution should not be ‘Christianity and other faiths’, but something like ‘all faiths’ or ‘the faiths’.

I hasten to add two things:

1. I fully acknowledge that there are all sorts of conceptual and political problems packed into the phrase ‘multi-faith Britain’.

2. Some of my best friends are Anglicans. The Church of England plays an important role in fielding the ring for inter-faith dialogue and multi-faith collaboration.

Technorati Tags: Anglican, Baha’i, Bahai, Christianity, church, inter-faith, interfaith, religion

Erica and I have just returned from our cluster reflection meeting. We’re due to become an A cluster by Ridv?n 2007, although we can surely achieve this before then. We intend to be an early contribution to the Universal House of Justice’s goal of 1,500 established Intensive Programmes of Growth. The meeting was quite well attended, but there were too many talks and not enough opportunity to consult.

The group (soon to be a new Local Spiritual Assembly) I live in has volunteered to host the next cluster reflection meeting - the cluster doesn’t yet have an Area Teaching Committee. When we plan the programme in consultation with the Auxiliary Board member and the Area Training Coordinator, I hope we’ll find more efficient and visual ways of sharing information, so that we can spend more time in consultation, planning our teaching work.

Now the weather has turned foul and it is chucking down very wet snow outside. The forecast is that this will pass during the night and things will - I hope - warm up during the week. As we drove into Welwyn Garden City this afternoon for the cluster meeting, we passed a number of trees in blossom, but this weather doesn’t help us feel Spring-like.

The most significant thing today has been the day of prayer called by our National Spiritual Assembly for the support and safety of the Bah?’?s in Iran. We’ve been asked to recite the Fire Tablet - and we did so at our Nineteen Day Feast last night and at the cluster meeting this afternoon.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, religion

I’ve launched a new blog called The Metaphysician. . I’ve billed it as explorations of our humanness, inspired by this quotation from Shoghi Effendi:

What the Bah?’?s do believ is that we have three aspects to our humannes, so to speak, a body, a mind and in immortal identity - soul or spirit. We believ the mind forms a link between the soul and the body, and the two interact with each other.

This blog may well take time to grow, but I hope others may assist with this exploration.