Posts from — March 2007

As always, yesterday’s Commonwealth Day Observance in Westminster Abbey was a glorious occasion - a fusion of Christian worship with personal testimonies, reflections by representatives of the world faiths, and wonderful music from different parts of the Commonwealth. All of this, and Her Majesty The Queen (with, of course, Prince Philip). It beats working. No, wait, I was working. Attending these events is part of my service to the Baha’i community.

This year’s theme (approved by the Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth) was “Respecting difference, promoting understanding”.

The Observance manages to combine the stately processions and ceremonial that are so much part of worship in Anglican cathedrals with the informality of African and Asian musicians and dancers. However, the combination of formality and informality is not always a comfortable one. Yesterday, for example, a group from the Busoga region of Uganda, called Embaire International, which includes African and European musicians, played right between two facing rows of religious representatives and church people. The group’s main instrument is the giant 21-key xylophone, known as the embaire, which requires six people to play it. When I say “giant”, I mean it is about 15ft long and the height of a table. The players stand around it, each playing his or her own rhythm on his or her set of keys, all the rhythms interlocking in the most complex way, but with an underlying two-pulse that gives the whole piece its foundation. The group’s leader, Mugwisa Kalifani, is a leading traditional singer from the Busoga region and plays a mean drum, producing further complex rhythms that interlocked with the rhythms of the embaire.

The rhythms and Kalifani’s powerful singing made me want to get up and dance and shout. I could see several dignified heads nodding in time to the music. At the end, I wanted to applaud and cheer. But such behaviour is not wanted in the grave setting of Westminster Abbey, when the Queen is looking on. As I say, the relationship between formality and informality on these occasions is not always a comfortable one.

Actually, this particular performance was in itself an illustration of the nature of the Commonwealth. Embaire International, led by a traditional African singer and playing traditional African music, include male and female performers, Africans and Europeans, young and old. Yesterday, it accompanied a group of an Indian dance group, who danced in the classical Kathak style from North India. There were also some African dancers in the mix. The whole creative fusion was entitled A New Life.

There were some other excellent performers as well, and, of course, Christian hymns.

The faith representatives are invited to take part in a procession from the west end of the Abbey, through the nave and into the quire (Abbey speak for chancel). The processions are led by the Abbey’s honorary stewards and they proceed at a special, rather stately, processional pace that is quite difficult to keep to unless you are used to it. We then sit in the Lantern under the quire pulpit on one side and the lectern on the other, in facing rows. After us, the Lord Mayor of Westminster arrives with his mace-bearer in front of his. Everyone stands for the Lord Mayor in his mayoral robe. Then there’s some moments of expectant waiting before the organ bursts into a fanfare for the arrival of Her Majesty at the Great West Door. We stand and wait, while introductions are made at the other end of the Abbey (we can’t see this, it’s all too far away and screened for us). Then the organ swells and leads us into the National Anthem, followed by a hymn, during which the procession of clergy and the Queen move through the Abbey and take their seats.

I mentioned the testimonies given by various individuals, to which faith representatives are asked to respond. My friend Indarjit Singh and I were asked to respond to testimony by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, probably best known for having been verbally abuse in Channel 4 TV’s Celebrity Big Brother house. (This abuse became a cause celebre in Britain while it was happening and projected Ms Shetty into the celebrity stratosphere.) Shilpa’s testimony went something like this:

As a child growing up in Bombay, I was aware of the vastness of India, in population and size. The differences are multiple

I shall be taking part in the Commonwealth Day Observance in Westminster Abbey tomorrow, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip. The Observance is a long-standing part of the Westminster Abbey calendar and is a celebration of the Commonwealth and its 53 independent nation states.

Each year, representatives of the various faiths make some kind of public contribution during the Observance. Last year we offered reflections on personal testimonies by individuals who have interesting stories to tell, and we shall be doing the same this year.

I have been asked to reflect on personal testimony by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, notable for having been abused in Channel 4’s Celebrity Big Brother house.

YESTERDAY the Big Brother house, tomorrow the world

Emma the dog in a Winchester garden

Yesterday morning our 14 year old Border Collie Emma, who had been diagnosed with cancer in the urinary tract some nine months ago, was clearly in great discomfort and sinking fast. Erica phoned the vet and was advised to take her to the Woolmer Green surgery straight away. Erica, Hari and Jake walked her over the hill to Woolmer Green. Inevitably she perked up when she was out walking.

The vet examined her and laid out two options: surgery (which would prolong her life only by a couple of months) and a urine bag on her flank. Well, Erica and Hari thought the surgery would be painful and would not actually keep her going for much longer (in addition to being expensive); and, what’s more, Emma would be quite likely to worry at a bag - the vet confirmed that dogs generally don

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Surgeon Dr Basma Moussa is a Baha’i in Egypt. She was interviewed on Egyptian radio on the occasion of International Women’s day. Here is a translation from Arabic into English of the interview. The translator’s notes appear in square brackets [ ]. The interviewer’s words are in italics.

Dr. Basma Moussa in a dialogue for “Hiya wa Huququha” [Her and her rights]

Religions came for humanity and not to produce countries The world today needs the Baha’i religion

4 March 2007

Basint Moussa

“I am a woman and a Baha’i; nonetheless, I feel I am a first-class citizen” is a phrase I heard at one of the seminars. I gazed, astonished, at the lady who said it, telling myself: “How can this lady feel this way? Doesn’t she know that we are a male-dominated society that glorifies men? Doesn’t she know that we live in a country that has an official religion and only recognizes three religions, its official religion being of a higher status than the other two?” Because of my strong belief that every individual has his reasons for what he says, I requested to meet with her so that I could learn more about her and how she thinks. Of course, I did not forget to ask her about the secret of feeling like a full citizen. Here with us today is Dr. Basma Moussa, a professor in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Cairo.

* * Dr. Basma, your specialty is surgery. Some perhaps would consider that it is not easy for a woman to work in the field of surgery?

The surgeon should certainly be calm and collected and be able to deal with developments that suddenly arise in the operating room. These capabilities are found in some women and men, and not exclusively in men. Woman is capable of coping with difficulties better than man, and there are many examples that attest to this, but I will only mention one: pregnancy. For nine months (almost a year), woman bears many difficulties, whereas man may not be able to carry a bag, placed on his abdomen, for more than two hours, let alone nine months. Thus, the fact that woman has her own functional and psychological characteristics does not mean that she is less capable of withstanding [difficulties]; on the contrary, those characteristics give her great strength.

** Then, what are the reasons for the discrimination against woman if she possesses all this strength and these capabilities?

The cultural education that has been planted in people’s minds that woman was created to serve man is what has given rise to all that we have referred to, and this is totally false. Added to this is the erroneous understanding of the revealed verses and religious laws and convincing woman of her obligation to observe these laws; so woman becomes part of what causes the problem and not a means for resolving it, and this is a real catastrophe.

** The youth of tomorrow are the children of today. What is your assessment of the situation of the Egyptian child, health-wise, psychologically and culturally, in this day?

We cannot deny that, compared to the past, there has been great advancement in health, in terms of caring for the child, but this advancement in health, albeit needing more support, is not met with attention and obvious interest in educating the child and building psychological strength within him. The greatest proof of this is in education; [our education system] does not engage the child in any creativity; rather, he is treated as if he is merely a recipient of academic information. This pattern of education creates people who lack the value of participation and, hence, collaboration and love.

** But there are those who consider that the role of the school is education and not the development of values such as love, collaboration and participation, as those are the responsibility of the family.

Education does not rest on the family alone, but it rather rests on several pillars, including the school, of course. We need the school to plant in the children a love for the homeland and a desire to collaborate with all people irrespective of any differences of opinion and religious belief. The society we live in produces people who, although they work together, do not collaborate or love one another; they simply see it as a job to gain money. This is a detestable individualism that reflects great selfishness. So if we learned in school to work with love, we would give a lot more than we would gain from this work, and our society would succeed and develop because its people would work and deal with each other with much love. This is what we need now: love to build our homeland, Egypt.

** How would you see the teaching of religion in Egyptian schools?

When I was a child at school studying Islamic education, not because I was forced to but because my roots are Muslim, the Christian students would leave the classroom in the religion hour and play in the school courtyard or have another lesson. In my opinion, this is a type of discrimination that the child perceives in his [everyday] life. In addition, the religion teacher would, for the most part, explain and teach based on his own understanding and not according to the religious education that should be followed. Therefore, I am of the opinion that comparative religion should be taught, that is, the child should know about all the religions and study them throughout his schooling and then choose what he wants to believe in. This is what I learned as a Baha’i; we teach our children all the religions because the source of all these religions is one, as Baha’u'llah said: “ye are all the fruit of one tree and the leaves of one branch”. In England, for example, they are considering adding a subject called “ethics”, which would include the nine world religions- -[a definition of] a world religion is one in which at least half a million people believe.

** Comparative religion sounds good, but Dr. Muhammad Imarah once mentioned in a discussion that belief in a particular religion does not necessarily mean disbelieving in others. What would you comment on that?

I do not understand how an individual could charge others with heresy because even disbelief in a particular religion does not mean heresy. To be an infidel is to disbelieve in God, not in religions. A Muslim disbelieves in Christianity or vice versa, but both believe in God. The Baha’i Faith considers that all religions came for a particular period of time; therefore, the laws differed from time to time, but the spiritual teachings of all religions are the same. However, we focus on the laws, which are a source of disagreement, and forget about our common spiritual teachings. Science develops and changes with time, and the Word of God, which is [true] religion, changes according to the age in which we live and its needs. At one point it was Christianity and at another Islam. A Baha’i believes in all of that, and the Baha’i Faith is a continuation of natural development of religious laws; therefore, the world today needs it.

** So, is your difficulty as Baha’is in Egypt with Islam or with the laws taken from Article 2 of the Constitution?

We, as Baha’is, do not have any problem with the beliefs of any previous religion; we have a problem with the interpretations which some give to religious scriptures. I do not understand how a state can have a religion, for a country is not a person. Religion did not come to produce countries. Religion has been created for humanity so as to add a new dimension that people need in their lives. Moreover, Article 151 of the Egyptian Constitution considers that the treaties that Egypt signs are under the power and authority of the law [to enforce them]. Egypt has signed many treaties on human rights. Where is the efficacy of this signature and its implementation in reality? Is this whole matter merely a signature [ink on paper]?

** After the recent ruling regarding the Baha’i religion and the extent of the legality of embracing it in official identity papers, how is your life and that of your children going?

I have a passport which I need to renew, but I cannot do that because they will not enter my religion as Baha’i. This will create many difficulties for me, as I am invited to many medical conferences outside of Egypt. I apologize and am embarrassed to explain the reasons, which may surprise some or may lead some to ridicule the mentality that exists in my country, Egypt. My son, who will be graduating from university, also does not yet have an identification card, and this will cause many problems for him.

** This is an extremely difficult situation, your not being able to travel outside the country and your son not having an identification card; some may say, just write “Muslim” and then do whatever you want in the privacy of you prayer chamber?

First of all, I believe in my right as an Egyptian to embrace whichever religion I choose. I am not a Muslim, so why should I claim to be one? My religion teaches me not to lie, and I do what I believe in, whatever the cost. I am confident that my country will admit one day my right to write down my religion. Change is part of life, and I am confident that the difficult current condition, which is worsening, will one day change.

** Let us return to an important question. Why do you feel that you are a full citizen in a society that has denied you so much?

God created me free and rational in a country that suffers from erroneous understandings in many matters. My role is to feel inside that I am not less than anyone else and that I am a citizen, and this positive feeling inside me will no doubt enable me to defend, with all my strength and using all legitimate means, my right as a citizen through the ordinances and laws that order our relationships as individuals within the society.

I admire Dr Moussa’s forthright statement of her faith as a Baha’i and her unwillingness to compromise for the sake of an easy life. Even though she lives in a country in which Islam is the official religion and the Baha’i Faith and there is a distinct lack of genuine religious freedom, she asserts her right to embrace whichever religion she chooses and makes it clear that she is not going to lie about her religion.

The interview transcript is well worth reading. Dr Moussa is a courageous woman.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Egypt, Islam, Christianity, religious freedom, gender equality

Amazingly some 15 people turned up for my talk at the University of Hertfordshire’s chaplaincy yesterday afternoon. It was the first of a first series of activities at the university intended to stimulate inter-faith dialogue on campus.

The topic I choose to speak on was A world-devouring fire: religious extremism and what we might do about it. The phrase “a world-devouring fire” is one that Baha’u'llah uses to warn about the dangers of religious fanaticism. I thought it would be good to explore our understanding of religious extremism - and it turns out to be rather more complex that one might at first suppose.

For example, in some people’s eyes I am an extremist because I am fasting and because I don’t drink alcohol. The late and much missed Rabbi Hugo Gryn, a man who had been through the concentration camps and who had lost most (if not all) of his family in the Holocaust, thought that all religious believers should be fundamentalists - utterly committed to the fundamental teachings of their faiths. In those terms, I am an extremist, a fundamentalist. If I were faced with that most extreme of challenges - your faith or your life - I hope that I would take that most extreme of actions and give up my life. Baha’i friends of mine in the UK have family members who have made that extreme choice.

But the kind of world-devouring fire that Baha’u'llah warned about doesn’t come just from extreme religious devotion, I think. There have to be some other factors, such as:

Lal Fernando has drawn my attention to another useful website, Spiritual Education. The site gives access to lesson plans on spiritual education for a wide age range, from age 5 to adult. The lesson plans, which come in the form of a series of downloadable books, are designed for use by parents and educators of children with little or no formal training.

This site is dedicated to providing materials for the education of tomorrow’s peacemakers - our children. The lesson plans on this site are being used by parents and educators all over the world.

The lesson plans and supplementary materials on this site are a response to a need for all-inclusive non-sectarian spiritual and moral education programs. Bringing children and parents from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds together to learn about religion in a holistic manner fosters mutual trust, promotes community building, and helps replace fear and fanaticism with empathy and cooperation.

The lesson plans are still being developed and I’m sure the wonderful people who are working on this excellent project would welcome our input.

As one user from Australia has commented:

“The materials for children’s spiritual education are practical, easy to follow, and professionally presented …”

Technorati Tags: children, adults, spiritual education

Maya Leith

This young lady is four weeks old today. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. Call me a doting grandpa … yes, go on, please please call me a doting grandpa … but I just had to post a couple of pics that I’ve just received from Vicky (Maya’s mum and one of my two lovely daughters-in-law).

Maya asleep on Vicky’s shoulder

Technorati Tags: Leith, baby, grandchildren

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I’ve another site to recommend, and that’s the World Religion Day site. World Religion Day 2007 has passed (World Religion Day is the third Sunday of January each year), but the site provides wonderful resources for this important day:

The aim of World Religion Day is to foster the establishment of interfaith understanding and harmony by emphasizing the common denominators underlying all religions. The message of World Religion Day is that, mankind, which has stemmed from one origin, must now strive towards the reconciliation of that which has been split up. Human unity and true equality depend not on past origins, but on future goals, on what we are becoming and whither we are going. The prime cause of age-old conflict between man and man has been the absence of one ethical belief, a single spiritual standard

In an earlier post, I said I’d taken part in a podcast for the Methodist Church of Great Britain’s Month of Prayer for Inter Faith Relations (which was February).

Well, it is now on the Methodist website here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Methodist, podcast, prayer, interfaith

Bilo has posted this story about baby Leyli, born to Baha’i parents in Egypt, who has been given a birth certificate in which the religion of the parents is entered as 5 dashes.

But only because her mother is an American. Her father, an Egyptian, is without either ID card or passport.

Baby Leyli was born on 24 February 2007 to an Egyptian father and an American mother living in Egypt. Both parents are Baha’is. As expected these days, her parents were very concerned that they might not be able to acquire a birth certificate for Leyli since Baha’is living in Egypt have been denied such right unless they lie about their religion and enter one of the three recognized religions in Egypt.

When Leyli’s father went to the registration office which is under the direction of the Ministry of Health, he was informed that the office now has a directive from “higher authorities” (Ministry of Interior) that in case one of the parents is a foreign national and happens to belong to other than one of the three recognized religions, then they are authorized to issue a birth certificate in which the religion of the parents can be entered as “5 dashes.”

Bilo asks a very pointed questions:

If obtaining a birth certificate (devoid of religious classification) for a child born to Baha’i parents in Egypt–with one of the parents being an Egyptian national–is possible even with the current up-to-date computerized system, then why is it not also possible for all children born to Baha’i parents in Egypt? Furthermore, if this was possible to implement under the newly established computerized identification system, why not apply this as well to Identification Cards?

Good question! Do read the whole story on Bilo’s blog.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Egypt, ID cards