Irish President makes historic visit to Baha'i Centre

28 May 2010

DUBLIN, Ireland — The President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese, has praised the universality of the Baha'i teachings and the contribution its members make to the life of their nation.

"You are marked out as people with values that are worth observing, worth learning from, worth looking at, worth imitating and so never be in any doubt of the value you are every single day in this world," President McAleese told a gathering of some 60 Baha'is during her first ever visit to the national Baha'i Centre in the Irish capital.

"Something you probably do not know, and I am sure it is true of many of you, is that in and through your lives, you are extraordinary ambassadors for your Faith," she said in impromptu remarks.

President McAleese, first elected as Ireland's President in 1997, made her special visit to the Baha'i Centre on 30 April to mark the Festival of Ridvan, the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in 1863 that He is the most recent in a line of divine Messengers that includes Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed, Moses, Zoroaster, and others.

The President also expressed concern about the persecution of Baha'is in other countries. She said it was both sad and remarkable that a Faith with such principles would attract, in any shape or form, violence from others.

"And on this evening I think we just keep in our hearts those who are paying such a dear price for their fidelity to that simple human and divine charism that reaches right into the heart of humanity," said President McAleese.

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  During her visit, President McAleese, right, spoke with young Baha'is from the Dublin area

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"How fortunate all Irish people are to live in a State where followers of all religions or none are free to practice," she added, according to The Irish Times, which covered her visit.

During the reception, President McAleese was presented with a specially bound edition of the Baha'i book, The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah, in both English and the Irish language.

Brendan McNamara, the Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Republic of Ireland, described the President's visit as "a milestone - a very joyous occasion."

"She was very generous and spoke with everybody present," said Mr. McNamara, "particularly taking time to encourage the youth - in whatever they were doing - to make a contribution to the future of Ireland."

From the Baha'i World News Service archive

Human rights abuses in Iran focus of global campaigns

24 May 2010

GENEVA — A global day of action demanding an end to human rights abuses in Iran has been called for Saturday, 12 June.

The initiative – coordinated by human rights group United4Iran – is being cosponsored by numerous organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Nobel Women's Initiative, the Baha'i International Community, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, FIDH (Federation Internationale des ligues des Droits de l'Homme), and Pen International.

"In our support for this nonpartisan initiative, we are standing together with ordinary citizens throughout the world to draw attention to the continuing and widespread abuse of human rights in Iran," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

The prominent nongovernmental organizations are joining with a wide range of local, student and Internet-based groups to host simultaneous events in cities and on campuses across the globe. Online initiatives include sending messages to specific recipients in support of individual prisoners of conscience. The campaign website can be visited here.

An "overwhelming" response

Earlier this month, United4Iran marked the second anniversary – on 14 May – of the jailing of seven Baha'i leaders in Tehran's Evin prison, calling for individuals to show support by replicating the size of the small jail cells and taking a photograph.

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  Supporters of the United4Iran campaign on 14 May outlined the cramped dimensions of the cells of the seven Baha'i leaders in Tehran's Evin prison. This photograph… »

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"The response was overwhelming," reported the United4Iran website. "Notes, emails, video, old photographs of the leaders, former students, (and) community representatives from all the world participated."

As a gesture of solidarity, supporters were asked to mark off the size of the cells shared by the Baha'i prisoners then occupy the space, so as to better appreciate their suffering.

The cells of the Baha'is in Evin prison do not have beds, forcing the prisoners to sleep on the concrete floor.

A video was posted online to show some of the photos the organization received. View the video here.

United4Iran also published an old photograph of one of the jailed Baha'is, Fariba Kamalabadi, with one of her former students. The student sent the picture to United4Iran along with words from a letter she wrote to her teacher: "Now that you are in prison ... for making the world a better place, ... it brings tears to my eyes. And all I can do is pray. The things you taught me I will always know."

"We are grateful for this outpouring of sympathy being offered to the people of Iran who are subject to oppression," said Ms. Ala'i.

The website of United4Iran can be viewed here.

Other initiatives

Several other organizations have recently launched campaigns in support of Iran's oppressed Baha'i community.

The latest newsletter of the French branch of the organization Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) includes a call for action in support of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, as well as 12 other Baha'is who have been recently detained.

On 14 March, Amnesty International requested messages of goodwill be sent to prisoners of conscience in Iran in order to mark the traditional Persian new year holiday.

The detained leaders of Iran's Baha'i community were included among seven cases selected by Amnesty International.

To date, almost 600 messages have been received for the Baha'i prisoners – both individually and collectively – from as far afield as Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States. More details of Amnesty International's campaign can be found here.

The seven Baha'i leaders jailed in Tehran for the past two years are among about 36 Baha'i currently imprisoned in Iran because of their religion.

PERSIAN LETTERS

Books About Zen, Baha’i Faiths Banned At Tehran Book Fair

The Tehran International Book Fair: a large but limited selection.

May 10, 2010

We reported over the weekend about the banning of some books by Iranian authors at Tehran's Book Fair.

The popular Tabnak website has posted some of the titles of the Western books that have been banned.

One title is "Why Politics Can't Be Freed From Religion," a book that Tabnak describes as an analysis of last year's presidential election in Iran with an "emphasis on the ineffectiveness of religious democracy in Iran."

Other banned titles include "Power, Islam and the Political Elite in Iran," which Tabnak says makes unfair judgments about Iran, and a book titled "Zen, Mind, Beginner's Mind."

The conservative website says all books acknowledging the Holocaust, books about "meditation" and "Zen therapy," and books about the Baha'i faith, which is not recognized in the Iranian constitution, have been banned from the book fair.

Books that describe Iran as a supporter of terrorism and Hamas as a terrorist group were also banned from the fair. Tabnak notes that there was no shortage of those books.

Book censorship has reportedly increased in Iran since hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.

Prominent exiled journalist Faraj Sarkouhi wrote in 2007 that under Ahmadinejad, there has been an increase in the intensity and recklessness of censorship.

"The Culture Ministry's 'special examiners' have made decisions on the legitimacy of books based on the country's current political atmosphere and their own political, ideological, or personal interests. But their decisions have no basis in the law," Sarkouhi wrote.

Banned books in the Islamic Republic include Persian classical literature and also some of the best-known world literature.

Banned books often become bestsellers on the black market.

-- Golnaz Esfandiari