Posts from — February 2008

The recent media storm that swirled around Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, following his 7th February lecture on Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective, prompted our Office of External Affairs to ask Dr Moojan Momen, author of An Introduction to Shi’i Islam and Islam of the Baha’i Faith to give us a short seminar on the subject of shari’a. Shari’a is a hot topic in the UK right now and we thought it would be helpful to try and get a better understanding of the shari’a, its history and application in the world today.

The Nasirol Molk mosque in Shiraz, Iran © travfotos under a Creative Commons licence.

I found this diagram, drawn by Dr Momen, showing the sources of the shari’a particularly helpful. Please note that most of it refers to Sunni Islam. The words and arrows in red refer to Shi’i Islam, which takes a different approach to shari’a in some respects, although the use of extreme punishments in Iran, the main Shi’i Islamic state, is just as marked as it is in Sunni regimes such as Saudi Arabia.

I asked Dr Tarek Heggy, who visited the UK Baha’i Centre on 28th February, what he thought about the move by the Turkish government to reinterpret some of the hadith, particularly those that have regressive effects on the rights of, for example, women. I got the impression that he thought this was an excellent idea. In fact, he seemed to want to go further and to delete the hadith altogether as unreliable and to rely only on the Qur’an. He was utterly dismissive of the narrow focus of much of the shari’a and of the way Muslim jurists use it to try to control every aspect of the lives of individuals and whole societies. This, he thought, was utterly destructive of individual initiative. Surely, he said, God is not concerned about trivialities such as whether men can wear gold or not - he himself wears a gold wedding ring, an act for which he has been admonished by fellow Muslims on more than one occasion. God is much more likely to be concerned about the love we show for our fellow human beings.

It’s worth reading this essay (and others) by Tarek Heggy, a Muslim who is actively seeking ways of reforming Islam and saving it from the destruction that faces it if Muslims continue in the militant model into which many have stepped.

Dr Heggy would, if I understand him correctly, like to see a much more flexible approach to personal life, law and government in Islam. Can this be done? Or is the Baha’i Faith already the reformed Islam that he would like to help bring into existence?

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Islam, sharia, reform

Egyptian thinker and commentator, Dr Tarek Heggy, visited the UK’s National Baha’i Centre in London, this afternoon, at the suggestion of some Egyptian Baha’is who are based in the UK.

Dr Heggy, a Muslim, is absolutely delightful, and a number of us enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation with him. He is very taken with the Baha’i Faith and with the Baha’is he has met. He has read widely about the history of the Baha’i Faith and is fascinated by the characteristics of peacefulness, openness and trustworthiness that he finds in the Baha’is. These characteristics, he says, should be found in all faiths. However, Islam in particular has been twisted and made an expression of anger towards others rather than of love.

He is critical of the ignorance that many have about their own faiths and advocates education as an essential part of bringing an end to religious conflict.

He asked many questions about the Faith. He was particularly interested in the similarities and links between the Baha’i Faith and Sufism - he himself is particularly sympathetic to the Sufi understanding of Islam and is very critical of the narrow Wahhabi ideology that has become dominant in Islam.

It was a great privilege to meet Dr Heggy and he has expressed a determination to pay a return visit to our Baha’i Centre the next time he is in London. He went away with a bag full of Baha’i books.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Islam, Muslim, Sufi, Wahhabi, Heggy, Egypt, religion

I’ve just learned about a brand new UK local Baha’i website.

The Baha’is of Northampton have just launched their site. It’s well worth a look. There’s information about the Baha’i Faith itself and about the Northampton Baha’is’ activities. And there are “My Favourite Quotes” sidebars, in which local Baha’is share their favourite quotation from the Baha’i writings and reflect on it. It’s a really nice feature.

Check it out, why don’t you?

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Northampton

I spent the yesterday here at Coombe Abbey Hotel, near Coventry, taking part in an informal meeting between the commissioners of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Commission’s “stakeholders” (who thought of this awful term for people who have an interest in the work of a particular organization?). There were 64 of us all told at the conference. I was there with my “Chair of the Religion and Belief Consultative Group on Equality, Diversity and Human Rights” hat on.

The meat of the conference was most interesting. We, the stakeholders, had been invited to share our thoughts and ideas for the future development of the EHRC, which was 150 days old yesterday. The mandate of the EHRC is defined by the Equality Act 2006 and explained on the EHRC’s website:

The Equality and Human Rights Commission acts not only for the disadvantaged, but for everyone in society, and can use its new enforcement powers where necessary to guarantee people’s equality. It also has a mandate to promote understanding of the Human Rights Act.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) established under the Equality Act 2006 – accountable for its public funds, but independent of government.

Setting the scene

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission, set the scene for the day’s discussions by reviewing the big picture in which the Commission finds itself - we’re in an economic downturn and the next general election is beginning to occupy the minds of politicians; both of these factors are making decision-makers less willing to take risks, even though risks need to be taken, if UK society is to become more equal and diversity is to be welcomed as a permanent fact of UK life. He also reviewed the bigger picture: the UK population of 60 million is experiencing unprecedented levels and rates of change; globalization is forcing us to re-examine our competitive advantage in the world; the population is aging; both of these factors will make us look again at who needs to develop skills, what skills they need to develop, and how they will develop them. Many of the newly skilled will have to come from currently marginalized or excluded groups, such as the disabled and minorities.

Patrick Diamond, the EHRC’s Group Director, Strategy gave an excellent presentation on how the EHRC’s change model is shifting from the traditional anti-discrimination approach of much of the older UK anti-discrimination legislation and of the work of the three commissions that existed before the EHRC came into being to a culture-change approach. A culture change model has a vision of the direction in which society should move to become more equal, less discriminatory, to become a setting in which everyone can flourish, and then it uses “soft power” (influence, education, media messages, citizen power) to enhance people’s autonomy and thus their life satisfaction, their well-being and their happiness) as well as the “hard power” of enforcement provided by legislation. It can be argued that an effective culture-change organization needs both “hard” and “soft” (which should not be read as “easy”) power to do its work. Patrick’s vision was that the UK can become a world leader in positive ways of handling diversity and promoting greater equality.

Four questions

After lunch the conference participants were put to work to answer four questions:

1. What are the three most important challenges for the Commission and Stakeholders to address?
2. What makes an effective partnership?
3. How would we know if we are having the impact we seek?
4. What are the Equality and Human Rights outcomes we really want public duties to deliver for the 60 million people in Britain?

We were grouped in eights around tables. The eights paired off for discussion about the questions and to write responses on pieces of paper that were then posted on boards, discussed and clustered by theme. After the round-table discussions, we were reassigned to four “super groups” and each super group compiled all the answers given by the tables of eight to one of the questions. I was pleased to be on the same table as Zia Sardar, writer, broadcaster and EHRC Commissioner (he describes himself as a “critical polymath”), whose excellent book, Desperately Seeking Paradise, I’ve previously reviewed here.

In the end we all came back into plenary to share our findings on each of the questions.

Vision for a more just society

So what did we think? Were our discussions helpful? (The people invited to this informal meeting were all senior people in a wide range of equality and human rights organizations, religion and belief groups, senior staff of the EHRC, and Commissioners - so one would expect them to be able to handle a wide range of issues at both strategic and practical levels.)

Zia Sardar’s view was that we’d come up with a vision for the future society we want, not just for the future of the EHRC - and certainly not just about the particularities of the way the EHRC works.

And it was clear to me and others at the informal that our shared vision was one of commitment to a society in which prejudices of all kinds are no longer allowed to be a driver of public policy and action, in which everyone has greater personal autonomy and the opportunity to flourish (although we cannot force people to take the opportunities that are on offer, since to do so would undermine their autonomy), and in which everyone’s human rights are fully accepted and fully supported.

What next?

The findings from the conference represent the latest stage in the strategic conversation between the EHRC and some (if not all) of its stakeholders (there are questions, as always, about who arethe stakeholders, who is included, who is excluded?), a conversation that will continue through a range of consultations and a further stakeholder informal in 6 months time. The findings will go to the Commissioners and the senior officers of the EHRC for their consideration and may (or may not) become part of the EHRC’s policy and strategy for its future work.

Photos © John Barnabas Leith under a Creative Commons licence.

Technorati Tags: EHRC, religion and belief, Zia Sardar, Trevor Phillips, human rights, equality, diversity, Britain

The offices of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, where I attended a meeting this afternoon, are to be found at the extraordinary address of 3 More London. How much more London do we want?

More London

More London is a new street that connects Tooley Street with Queen’s Walk (between London Bridge and City Hall and near Tower Bridge).

Tower Bridge and City Hall

City Hall and 3 More London

HMS Belfast

View across the river to the “Gherkin”

All photos © John Barnabas Leith under a Creative Commons licence.

Technorati Tags: London, riverside, Thames, More London, City Hall, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, gherkin

Did you know that one third of all women is likely to experience some form of violence or abuse in her lifetime? This was the stark figure revealed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today as he launched a multi-year global campaign to try to end violence against women. “It’s an issue that cannot wait,” he said, as he opened the latest session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Said Mr Ban:

At least one out of every three women is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Through the practice of prenatal sex selection, countless others are denied the right even to exist

He continued:

This is a campaign for them. It is a campaign for the women and girls who have the right to live free of violence, today and in the future. It is a campaign to stop the untold cost that violence against women inflicts on all humankind.

He called on youth, women’s groups, men, the private sector and UN member states to put their weight behind the campaign. He acknowledged that there can be no blanket approach to ending violence against women. Every country will have to formulate its own measures.

But there is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable

The Baha’i International Community’s Office for the Advancement of Women will be fully engaged in CSW and in the campaign, with the cooperation of national and local Baha’i communities across the world. You can read the BIC’s statement to the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women here.

Photo © Sherwin!!! under a Creative Commons licence.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Baha’i International Community, BIC, violence against women, UN, CSW, Ban Ki-moon

Slovenia, as the EU Presidency, has issued the following statement on behalf of the EU and a number of other countries, expressing grave concern at the draft penal code that the Iranian parliament is currently considering.

25.02.2008

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the EU concerning the consideration of a draft Penal code in Iran

The European Union is deeply concerned by the on-going deterioration in the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The EU expresses its acute concern about the news that the Iranian Parliament is reviewing a draft Penal code. The EU is concerned, in particular, about Section Five on Apostasy, Heresy and Witchcraft.

It is important to note that, if the law is adopted, it will be for the first time that the Islamic Republic of Iran had in its criminal code, as a legal stipulation, the death penalty for apostasy. In the past, the death penalty has been handed down and carried out in apostasy cases, but it has never before been set down in law. Furthermore, grave concern is also expressed over the articles concerning heresy and witchcraft, which determine death penalty as the punishment for acts that are contrary to the obligations and necessities of Islam.

These articles clearly violate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s commitments under the international human rights conventions, to which Iran is party.
The EU calls upon the Iranian authorities, both in Government and Parliament, to modify the draft Penal code in order to respect the obligations under the international human rights conventions to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party. In its current state, the draft Penal code is not consistent with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s obligations and therefore should not enter into force as currently drafted.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

This draft penal code could have a devastating effect on the Baha’is of Iran, since many of them could be condemned under the new law’s apostasy provisions:

Apostasy provisions

Article 225-1: Any Muslim who clearly announces that he/she has left Islam and declares blasphemy is an Apostate.

Article 225-2: Serious and earnest intention is the condition for certainty in apostasy. Therefore, if the accused claims that his/her statement had been made with reluctance or ignorance, or in error, or while drunk, or through a slip of the tongue or without understanding the meaning of the words, or repeating words of others; or his/her real intentions had been something else, he/she is not considered an apostate and his/her claim could be heard and justified.

Article 225-3: There are two kinds of apostates: innate (Fetri) and parental (Melli).

Article 225-4: Innate Apostate is someone whose parent (at least one) was a Muslim at the time of conception, and who declares him/herself a Muslim after the age of maturity, and leaves Islam afterwards.

Article 225-5: Parental Apostate is one whose parents (both) had been non-Muslims at the time of conception, and who has become a Muslim after the age of maturity, and later leaves Islam and returns to blasphemy.

Article 225-6: If someone has at least one Muslim parent at the time of conception but after the age of maturity, without pretending to be a Muslim, chooses blasphemy is considered a Parental Apostate.

Article 225-7: Punishment for an Innate Apostate is death.

Article 225-8: Punishment for a Parental Apostate is death, but after the final sentencing for three days he/she would be guided to the right path and encouraged to recant his/her belief and if he/she refused, the death penalty would be carried out.

Article 225-9: In the case of a Parental Apostate, whenever there appears to be a possibility of recanting, sufficient time would be provided.

Article 225-10: Punishment for women, whether Innate or Parental, is life imprisonment and during the sentence, under the guidance of the court, hardship will be exercised on her, and she will be guided to the right path and encouraged to recant, and if she recants she will be freed immediately.

Note: The condition of hardship will be determined according to the religious laws.

Article 225-11: Whoever claims to be a Prophet is sentenced to death, and any Muslim who invents a heresy in the religion and creates a sect based on that which is contrary to the obligations and necessities of Islam, is considered an apostate.

Article 225-12: Any Muslim who deals with witchcraft and promotes it as a profession or sect in the community is sentenced to death.

Article 225-13: Assistance to the crimes in this chapter, in case there is no other punishment assigned to it by law, is punishable by up to 74 lashes in proportion with the crime and the criminal.

Photo © squarcina under a Creative Commons licence.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Islam, Iran, majlis, apostasy, blasphemy, penal code, death penalty, EU

Yes, it’s that time of the year with a very strange name in the Baha’i calendar, the Ayyám-i-Há or literally the “Days of H”, sometimes referred to as “the Intercalary Days” since they are the four (five in this Leap Year) days between the penultimate and the final month of the Baha’i year.

It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name. [Baha’u'llah]

It’s also the time when Baha’is anticipate the beginning of our period of fasting - sunrise to sunset from 2 March to sunset on 20 March.

You can read more about the Ayyám-i-Há and what the Baha’i children of Solano, north of Manila, in the Philippines are doing to mark these days here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, ayyam-i-ha, calendar, celebration, fasting

I was very pleased to receive an email notification this morning of this reply by the excellent Dr Kim Howells MP, the UK Foreign Office’s Middle East minister, to a Parliamentary Question by the equally excellent Norman Baker MP about the situation of the Baha’is in Iran. Norman asked his question following a briefing by Baha’i representatives in his office.

Norman Baker:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage the Iranian authorities to protect the freedom of belief of the Baha’i community in Iran.

Kim Howells:

The Government remain very concerned by the situation of the Baha’i community in Iran. The Baha’i faith is not recognised as an official minority religion under the Iranian Constitution and Iranian Baha’is face systematic discrimination and persecution. We regularly raise our concerns about the treatment of Baha’is with the Iranian authorities, bilaterally and through the EU. On 22 January, the EU presidency, with strong UK support, raised specific concerns about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran during a meeting with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this meeting the EU expressed opposition to all forms of discrimination, in particular regarding freedom of religion. Most recently, on 7 February, the EU presidency issued a public statement expressing concern about the deteriorating situation of the Baha’i minority. We have also taken action at the UN; in December 2007 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution about the human rights situation in Iran. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by the UK and all other EU member states, expressed very serious concern about increasing discrimination against religious minorities in Iran and the situation of the Baha’is in particular. We will continue to urge the Iranian authorities to uphold the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party.

Kim Howells photo © Foreign & Commonwealth Office under a Creative Commons licence.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, human rights, UK, Kim Howells, Norman Baker, FCO, EU

The Dean’s Yard, Westminster Abbey © Mirsasha under a Creative Commons licence.

I should start by saying I’d intended to post this some days ago, but found myself overtaken by pressure of work.

On 14th February the Faith Communities Forum (which is part of the Inter Faith Network for the UK) met in Church House at the invitation of the Bishop of Bradford and the General Synod of the Church of England.

© Greycap under a Creative Commons licence.

After learning about the complex arrangements for the governance of the Church of England, those present at the FCCC meeting (a Baha’i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, a Jain, a Jew, Muslims, a Sikh, and a Zoroastrian) trooped up into the gallery of the Assembly Hall in Church House to attend a session of the General Synod of the Church of England.

(Synod = an assembly of the clergy and sometimes also the laity in a diocese or other division of a particular church. ORIGIN late Middle English : via late Latin from Greek sunodos “meeting”, from sun- “together” + hodos “way”.)

Simply put, the Synod is the Church of England’s deliberative body, made up of three “houses”, the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity. Some of its debates are about internal Church affairs, but some are about public issues, and today - after the Archbishop of Canterbury had made speeches bidding farewell to two retiring bishops - we were able to listen to a debate about detention without trial and our government’s proposal to extend the current 28-day limit for detention without trial in cases of people suspected of committing or preparing to commit acts of terrorism to 42 days.

The Church’s style of decision-making is a considerable contrast to what Baha’is are used to. “Baha’i consultation” is a much more informal process. There are no formal speeches for and against the motion, no proposition and opposition. There may be a paper setting out such facts as are known and the issues that need decision; or the setting out of facts and issues could be done by one or more individuals. Everyone is free to speak to the matter under consultation, adding further facts and information and voicing their opinions. Members of the consultative body are free to speak without having to give advance notice; all they need to do is to indicate to the chair of the meeting that they wish to speak and take their turns when given permission.

When it works well, Baha’i consultation is a creative and exciting process. There comes a time when it feels as if a decision has emerged from the exchange of views. A good chair will be able to articulate what she/he thinks the decision is and members of the consultative body can help fine-tune the decision. Consensus is the ideal, but failing consensus a show of hands will identify the majority position. Once the decision has been made, all those who took part in the consultation are committed to it, whether they voted for or against.

Unlike an adversarial decision-making process (such as a debate), there’s no stacking up of votes, no attempt to persuade people to take one position or another. Those consulting set out the truth as they understand it. Others listen carefully; they may or may not be persuaded by what is said, but the decision (whether by consensus or by vote) is a matter of conscience, not of loyalty to a party or a position.

Of course, Baha’i consultation works well only when those involved are not trying to push through some agenda. Their interest has to be the good of humanity. However, done with self-seeking motives or in bad faith, Baha’i consultation can be a painfully negative, even destructive, experience. It absolutely depends on the personal virtues of those who consult.

The Church of England’s General Synod is a quasi-parliamentary body with 467 members and clearly cannot use an informal process such as the Baha’i community (whose elected consultative bodies generally have nine members) uses. However, it is clearly not a nimble body. It can take years before a decision may be finally confirmed - and if the decision is a “Measure”, it will have to go to a parliamentary committee for approval and submission to the Queen for Royal Assent.

I am fascinated by the way organizations govern themselves. The structure of the Church of England’s governance is complex - even those involved can find it difficult to understand. The structure of the Baha’i community’s governance is relatively simple and has a clear logic and is bound together by Covenant. Of course, as the Baha’i community grows, its system of governance is becoming more elaborate, but the principles that underpin it are those given in the Baha’i Sacred Texts.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Church of England, Christianity, government, governance, synod, Church House, Inter Faith Network, faith communities