NEW YORK
16 November 2007 (BWNS)

Egypt should end discriminatory practices that prevent Baha’is and others from listing their true religious beliefs on government documents, said Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in a major report released this week.

The 98-page report, titled “Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom,” focused on the problems that have emerged because of Egypt’s practice of requiring citizens to state their religious identity on government documents but then restricting the choice to Islam, Christianity, or Judaism.

“These policies and practices violate the right of many Egyptians to religious freedom,” stated the report, which was released on 12 November 2007.

“Because having an ID card is essential in many areas of public life, the policies also effectively deny these citizens a wide range of civil and political as well as economic and social rights,” the report said.

The Baha’i International Community welcomed the report.

“We want to thank Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights for calling the world’s attention to the human rights situation in Egypt,” said Bani Dugal, the Baha’i International Community’s principal representative to the United Nations.

“The discriminatory practices identified by the report do indeed gravely affect Egypt’s Baha’i community, as well as others in Egypt who seek to enjoy the freedom to believe as they choose, a right that is guaranteed by international law.

“Our hope is that Egyptian authorities will now be encouraged to end their discriminatory practices, which could be dissolved with the stroke of a pen without harming the majority religious communities in the least,” said Ms. Dugal.

The joint HRW/EIPR report examined in detail how the limited choice offered to citizens in declaring their religion affects the daily life of Baha’is and converts from Islam, who also face problems under the policy.

“While the Egyptian government’s approach adversely affects anyone who is not Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, and anyone who would prefer to keep their convictions private, in Egypt today the greatest impact has been on adherents of the Baha’i faith and on persons who convert or wish to convert from Islam to Christianity,” said the report.

Further, the report said, this “limited choice is not based on any Egyptian law, but rather on the Ministry of Interior’s interpretation of Shari’a, or Islamic law. An Egyptian citizen has no option to request a religious identification different from one of these, or to identify him or herself as having no religion. If he or she insists on doing so, authorities refuse to issue a national ID or related document reflecting the requested religious identification.”

“People without national IDs forfeit, among other things, the ability to carry out even the simplest monetary transactions at banks and other financial institutions. Other basic daily activities - engaging in a property transaction, acquiring a driver’s license, obtaining a pension check - also require a national ID.

“Employers, both public and private, by law cannot hire someone without an ID, and academic institutions require IDs for admission. Obtaining a marriage license or a passport requires a birth certificate; inheritance, pensions, and death benefits are contingent on death certificates. The Ministry of Health has even refused to provide immunizations to some Baha’i children because the Interior Ministry,” the report continued.

“These policies and practices violate Egyptian as well as international law,” said the report. “Logically, it makes no sense for the government to say to citizens that they are free to believe what they like and then deem it unacceptable when citizens respond honestly when the government requires them to state what they believe.”

Human Rights Watch is the largest human rights organization based in the United States, according to its Web site. Human Rights Watch researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world. It is based in New York.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is an independent Egyptian human rights organization that was established in 2002 to promote and defend the personal rights and freedoms of individuals, according to its Web site. It is based in Cairo.

The report received considerable media attention after its release. The Associated Press, Agence France Presse, the BBC, Reuters, and the Voice of America all carried stories on the report.

To read HRW’s summary of the report, go to this link:

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/12/egypt17306.htm



Source - http://news.bahai.org/story/587

NEW YORK
21 September 2007 (BWNS)

The bulldozing of a Baha’i cemetery in Iran last week is the latest in a series of incidents in a government-led campaign of hatred against Baha’is.

The destruction of the cemetery by individuals using heavy equipment occurred between 9 September and 10 September near Najafabad, on the outskirts of Isfahan. What happened there is nearly identical to what happened in July in Yazd, where another Baha’i cemetery was extensively damaged by earth-moving equipment.

The list of anti-Baha’i incidents is growing, as are human rights violations against other groups in Iran.

In Najafabad, a few days before the destruction of more than 100 Baha’i graves, threatening letters were delivered to some 30 Baha’i families. In May, in Mazandaran province, the unoccupied homes of six Iranian Baha’is were set on fire. In June, in Abadeh, vandals wrote hateful graffiti on Baha’i houses and shops.

Since May, Baha’is in at least 17 towns have been detained for interrogation. Six new arrests have been reported. In Kermanshah, a 70-year-old man was sentenced to 70 lashes and a year in prison for “propagating and spreading Bahaism and the defamation of the pure Imams.” In Mazandaran, a court has once again ruled against three women and a man who are charged with “propagation on behalf of an organization which is anti-Islamic.”

The Baha’i cemetery in Yazd, Iran, was destroyed in July. The tracks left behind and the severity of the damage show that heavy equipment was used.

All these events are results of the Iranian government’s long campaign to incite hatred against Baha’is, a spokeswoman for the Baha’i International Community said today.

“This should be a cause for concern among human rights activists everywhere,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

She appealed to the world to hold the Iranian government accountable for its actions and to help prevent the situation from deteriorating into further violence. Baha’is in Iran number about 300,000 and represent the largest religious minority in the country.

“Put in a historical context, these kinds of attacks too often have been a prelude to campaigns of oppression and violence that are far worse.

“Hezbollah is awake and despises the Baha’is” reads this piece of graffiti on a building in the city of Abadeh. Dozens of hateful anti-Baha’i slogans have been painted on homes, offices and cemetery buildings in various locations in Iran.

“While some of these incidents may seem to be minor, the fact that such events are increasingly commonplace and reported as occurring in virtually every region of Iran shows that the persecution of Baha’is remains official government policy, and therefore is something for which Iran must be held accountable,” she said.

“The graffiti in Abadeh included slogans such as ‘Death to Baha’is, the mercenaries of America and England,’ ‘Hezbollah despises the Baha’is,’ ‘Baha’is - mercenaries of Israel’ and ‘Baha’is are unclean’ - phrases that relate directly to government propaganda that has been disseminated in Iranian news media in recent years,” Ms. Ala’i said.

She noted that other groups in Iran are also suffering human-rights violations.

“In recent months, the Iranian authorities have been carrying out a widespread crackdown on civil society, targeting academics, women’s rights activists, students, and journalists,” said Ms. Ala’i.

Story taken from Baha’i World News- original link below with downloadable documents showing Baha’i persecution: 

http://news.bahai.org/story/578 

LOS ANGELES
12 August 2007 (BWNS)

Be cool. Be religious. Yes, you can watch MTV and still have morals.

Some music professionals in Los Angeles - all of them Baha’is and all knee-deep or more in the entertainment industry - have come out with what one recording artist terms a “straight-up Baha’i album.”

The group calls itself the Dawnbreaker Collective, the album is named “Arise,” and the music is, well, cool.

Rap, rock, funk, R&B, spoken-word - all are represented.

“Come talk with Me, speak heavenly, remember Me, O son of Spirit,” sings Tara Ellis on one of the hip-hop tracks. She has recorded with rap star Eve and with Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame, and is unapologetic about her current contribution to a religious record.

“This was an incredible project to part of,” she says. “It’s different to the stuff that most of us do because this is a straight-up Baha’i album. It’s us being Baha’is and doing what we love. …

“It’s the sound of our times but in a good way.”

Benny Cassette - he’s a hip-hopper and producer who has worked with Mos Def, Willie Nelson, Eve, and Akon, and is slated to release a solo album on Universal Records - says the idea is to talk religion with young people in a language they understand.

He and the other artists - 17 of them altogether - wanted to “create something that Baha’i kids can listen to as easily as they listen to some of the other popular music out there.”

 

 (Benny Cassette, Jason Greene and Robert Sinclair perform “Army of Light” at a concert by the Dawnbreaker Collective in Los Angeles.)

“You know,” he says, “they look up to the people they see on MTV and things. So what we are trying to do with this album is show them that there are people who work with the MTVs of the world but still hold to our values - which they can do, too.”

Hundreds of Web messages from the U.S. and around the world suggest that Benny and company are on the right track.

“I just discovered your music,” writes a woman named Sandra from Cameroon. “Really, I didn’t imagine rap could be so inspiring.”

From Dorina in Germany: “I like this special new style of performing Baha’i themes. Do you know what important work you are doing?”

Part of the album’s new style is the way sacred scripture is used.

“This album has introduced the world to a different way of treating the (Baha’i) writings,” says Vahid Brooks, one the featured artists. “We are not being disrespectful or anything. All we are doing is using the writings in a language that makes sense to us and the people we live with.”

Benny Cassette says that although the album is inspired by the Baha’i Faith, “we are trying to make music for the world. … Ultimately we want to create a doorway for people to access the Faith.”

 he songs on “Arise” are not really scripture set to music, explains Jamie Lewis, manager of the Dawnbreaker Collective.

“It’s more a vibe or a feeling,” he says. “The album was created by the artists praying and deepening together and then going off and writing the songs.”

Love for their religion is what led the artists to make the album, adds Benny.

“I can remember thinking to myself that I will not be happy having any song on this album that I couldn’t see myself sitting down and listening to with ‘Abdu’l-Baha,” he says. ‘Abdu’l-Baha was the son of the founder of the Baha’i Faith, and Baha’is look to him as the best example of how to live.

“The arts are extremely powerful,” says Michael Mathenge, a member of the Dawnbreaker Collective who goes by the name Mathai. “They can inspire, and they can motivate anyone if they are used in the right way. This is what we are trying to do.”

According to the album cover, the Dawnbreaker Collective - in addition to Benny Cassette, Tara Ellis, Vahid Brooks, and Mathai - includes Jamey Heath, Jason Greene, Robert Sinclair, Jamal DeGruy, Ruth Foreman, Allison Anastasio, Rance, Dorothy Dixon, Devon Gundry, Andy Grammer, Rey Luna, Fondi Dixon and John Barnes the 3rd. Oscar DeGruy makes a guest appearance.

Useful Links: 

• The album can be purchased online by following this link
  
• Also you can visit/join their mini-site on Myspace

LOS ANGELES, United States, (BWNS) — Actor Rainn Wilson is used to talking to the media - he is part of the award-winning cast of the U.S. television series “The Office,” and his recent role in the movie “The Last Mimzy” brought a flurry of new interviews. Time magazine, TV talk-show hosts and others came calling.

A member of the Baha’i Faith, he seems just as comfortable discussing his spiritual beliefs as he does shooting the breeze about Dwight Schrute, the pompous assistant manager he plays on “The Office,” the American version of a popular British TV show of the same name.

His show, seen weekly by 8 million people in the U.S. alone, also airs in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, parts of continental Europe, Australia, Saudi Arabia, parts of Latin America, Singapore, and several other countries.

His other acting credits include the character of Arthur Martin in the series “Six Feet Under” and a one-episode stint in “Entourage,” both on the U.S. cable network HBO; guest hosting “Saturday Night Live” on U.S. television; and movie roles in “Almost Famous,” “America’s Sweethearts,” “Galaxy Quest,” “House of 1000 Corpses,” “Sahara,” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.”

In a recent interview with U.S. Baha’i News, he talked about Hollywood, his family, his life and his beliefs. Here is that interview, reprinted with permission:

Funnyman and Baha’i, Rainn Wilson.

Q: Rainn, what was it like to grow up in the Baha’i Faith?

A: When you grow up with a spiritual foundation that asks you to be conscious of the fact that all races are created equal, that men and women are equal and that all religions worship the same (God), it helps you see the world as one family and not get lost in the traps of political, social, and economic belief systems that can lead you astray. I always think of myself as a world citizen. It’s a powerful thing.

Q: You stepped away from the Baha’i Faith in your 20s and returned to it 10 years later. What happened in that decade?

A: I was in New York City, going to acting school, and I was going through a rebellious phase. I didn’t want anyone telling me what to do. I was disenchanted with things that were organized. It was a spiritual journey I was on. And this is reflected in and supported by one of the central tenets of the Baha’i Faith, which obliges every spiritual seeker to undertake an individual investigation of truth.

I started at ground zero. I decided I didn’t know if there was even a God. I read religious books of the world. I asked myself, “If there is a God, how do we know what He wants us to do and what He wants for us? Do we read books? Do we buy crystals? Do we follow certain gurus? Do we sit under a tree? Because surely this omniscient creator has some kind of plan in store for mankind.”

Rainn Wilson with wife, Holiday Reinhorn, and their son, Walter.

Q: And that line of thinking led you back to the Baha’i Faith?

A: Yes, it brought me back to the Baha’i way of viewing things. I came to realize I did believe in God. I couldn’t conceive of a universe without someone overseeing it in a compassionate way. It just made the most sense to me that God gradually is unfolding a plan for humankind. That there is progressive revelation — the Baha’i belief that God sends Messengers for each day and age. I re-read books about the Baha’i Faith. And I came back to believing that Baha’u’llah was the Promised One and Messenger for this day and age. My quest took me from age 21 to 31. I’m 41 now.

Q: Your wife (author Holiday Reinhorn) recently became a Baha’i. How did that come about?

A: She wasn’t a Baha’i when we got married in a Baha’i ceremony almost 12 years ago. I never pressured her to join the faith. But she started attending Ruhi (a curriculum based on the Baha’i Writings) classes in the L.A. area and became interested. And the birth of our son, Walter, now 2 1/2, was such a miracle that she found herself saying prayers and spiritually connecting to the faith. She became a Baha’i in 2004. We pray with Walter every night before he goes to bed.

Q: What is it like being a Baha’i in Hollywood?

A: There’s a predisposition to link corruption and Hollywood. … Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Baha’i Faith) wrote about this. The problem is that everything you hear in the news is about the superficiality, immorality, and degradation of Hollywood. But that is just not the case. Only a certain percent of the population is like that. It’s probably the same percentage as for doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, any profession. Some of the most morally conscious, kindest, most compassionate people are in the entertainment industry, people who want to affect the world and make it a better place through telling human, heartfelt stories.

Most people in Hollywood haven’t heard of the Baha’i Faith, so they ask questions. I’ve had the opportunity to mention it in several articles and TV interviews, such as on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.”

For years Holly and I hosted a belief night — a devotional gathering where we invited people of different religious beliefs to our home. We asked them to bring something to share about their spiritual path. Belief in God was not required. We had atheists, Christian Scientists, Buddhist monks. …

Recently I’ve been asked to speak a lot more about the Baha’i Faith. And I’ll be working as a spokesperson with the Mona Foundation, a Baha’i-inspired not-for-profit organization that tries to provide quality education to all children, raise the status of women and girls, and build community.

Q: How does the Baha’i Faith figure in your life now?

A: My feeling about the faith is that it provides a practical guideline for living one’s life. So much about religion has to do with rigid, sacrosanct preciousness. I don’t live my life that way, and I don’t feel that’s what Baha’u’llah teaches. He wants us to live rich, full, loving lives in service to God’s will and the human family.

I like being a Baha’i who has an out-there sense of humor. God gives us talents and faculties, and making people laugh is one of mine. I don’t have to be digging latrines in Honduras to serve humanity. ‘Abdu’l-Baha and Baha’u’llah talk a lot about using the arts to uplift people. When ‘Abdu’l-Baha was with the early believers, nine times out of 10 he would make a joke.

Q: Speaking of delicate sensibility: Have you had to turn down roles because they conflicted with what’s taught in the Baha’i Faith?

A: I’ve turned down many roles because they’re morally repugnant. I have chosen to play spiritually lost characters, but only because I feel doing so served the greater good. In “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” my character was so preposterous and ludicrous in his sexism that it was clear the message was not about degrading women. In fact, the women characters are the most together, courageous and strong people in the movie.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of the Baha’i Faith?

A: I love how democratic the faith is, that it has no clergy, no people telling us how to interpret the word of God. In this day and age we see how corrupt clergy can lead mankind down so many bad roads.

My favorite quote from the Baha’i Faith is from ‘Abdu’l-Baha: “If religion be the cause of disunity, then irreligion is surely to be preferred.” For the disenfranchised to know that ‘Abdu’l-Baha is a proponent of having no religion if there’s disunity. … And for those who say they don’t like “organized religion,” don’t worry: The Baha’i Faith is one of the most disorganized religions on the planet - NOT!

Original Article found on Baha’i World News Service

HAIFA, Israel, 23 April 2007 (BWNS) — Baha’is around the world are celebrating the Festival of Ridvan, which marks the anniversary of Baha’u’llah’s declaration in 1863 that He was a new messenger of God.

Ridvan — 21 April to 2 May each year — commemorates the 12 days that Baha’u’llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith, camped on the banks of the Tigris River near Baghdad and, while there, proclaimed his mission to a small group of followers.

Every year, on the first day of Ridvan, Baha’is in thousands of localities around the globe vote for their local governing councils. Also during the festival, national conventions are held in some 180 countries and territories, during which delegates vote for the national governing bodies of the Baha’i Faith.

In Budapest, Hungary, people break into small groups to study a message from the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Baha’i Faith, about the nature of Baha’i elections. Participants then elected their local council for the coming year. (Photograph by Edit Kalman)

Baha’u’llah called Ridvan the “King of Festivals” and the “Festival of God,” among other names.

In 1863, He was in Baghdad, already exiled from His native Iran for a decade, when authorities ordered Him to move to Constantinople (now called Istanbul). Before leaving, He spent 12 days by the Tigris in a garden which he called Ridvan (Arabic for “paradise”) while preparations were made for the journey and farewells said to people in Iraq.

“The thoroughfare to the riverside brimmed with people, men and women, young and old, from all walks of life, who had gathered to see Him go and bewail His departure,” wrote H.M. Balyuzi in a biography of Baha’u’llah.

Today, in addition to electing local and national governing bodies, followers of Baha’u’llah often celebrate Ridvan with devotional meetings, artistic and musical presentations, or other types of gatherings, depending on the country.