Bahá’í arrests in Iran - Wendi’s excellent article
A lot of the coverage in Bahá’í and other sources of the arrests of 6 prominent Bahá’ís in Iran has rightly focused on the facts.
Wendi’s Wanders, on the other hand, does something more in a post intriguingly titled Earth, Wind and Fire: The Road to Hell. For Wendi, the arrests are part of a picture of a growing global disaster. It may be small, set against the scale of disasters in Burma, China and Dafur, but it is no trivial matter:
An indicator that the persecution of the Bahá’ís is escalating towards devastation is when children are denied education, when senior Baha’is are detained. There may not be much to remark upon now but there will be - and soon - unless such persecution is stopped.
And, paradoxically, the very people arrested in Iran have the key to stopping the world going to hell in that proverbial handbasket.
The Baha’i Faith - that religion whose followers in Iran are locked up because of their beliefs - teaches that while it looks like we are on the road to hell, there is hope for humanity. The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh tell us how to live in justice in the 21st century. Using His teachings, applying the spiritual and social guidance He has provided, Baha’is are learning to work together, to eliminate prejudices, to combat hate, to fight poverty, to build communities of love where no one is marginalized and all individuals are important. Right now, the Baha’is are saying `Join us’. You can do so here.
Wendi’s post is thought-provoking and well worth reading.
Technorati Tags: Wendi’s Wanders, Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, world disaster, persecution, human rights, religious freedom
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5 comments
I haven’t read the article yet but I just came from a meeting where we studied the Ridvan message and this paragraph indicates quite explicitly what lies ahead of us:
Every follower of Baha’u’llah conscious of the forces of integration and disintegration operating in society today sees the relationship between the rise in receptivity to the Faith in all parts of the globe and the failings of the world’s systems. That such receptivity will increase as the agonies of humanity deepen is certain. Let there be no mistake: The capacity building that has been set in motion to respond to mounting receptivity is still in its earliest stages. The magnitude of the demands of a world in disarray will test this capacity to its limits in the years ahead. Humanity is battered by forces of oppression, whether generated from the depths of religious prejudice or the pinnacles of rampant materialism.
As for the Baha’is in Iran — as strange as it sounds, but through their sufferings the Faith is rising from the obscurity. May Baha’u'llah bless their steadfast souls!
t.
Tomaz, thanks for drawing our attention to that particular paragraph of the Ridván message. It’s very telling and not a bit scary (in some senses).
The sufferings of the Bahá’ís in Iran will, I have no doubt, have effects that those who persecute them cannot foresee.
Thank you so much for this link. As you say the article is excellent. And have you read the comment by B of New Orleans - moving and inspiring.
Tess, the comment by B of New Orleans is wonderful. I shall copy and keep that filed somewhere, just so as I can be reminded of the spirit of sacrifice and service that can be evoked by disasters. Now, how do we evoke that spirit without the aid of disasters? We need vision and faith…
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