Archive for May, 2006
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
Now, I haven’t actually been able to view this yet, but it seems that Justin Baldoni of Everwood fame is up on Current TV talking about the Baha’i Faith accompanied by quite possibly the most unflattering photo ever.
I also don’t really get how Current TV works and any time I want to watch anything […]
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Friday, May 26th, 2006
BWNS has an update on the 54 Baha’i youth that were arrested in Shiraz. Fifty-one of them have been released and three remain in prison, even though none of them, neither those released nor the three who are still in prison, have been formally charged:On Wednesday 24 May, five days after their summary arrests, 14 […]
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Thursday, May 25th, 2006
54 Baha’i Youth have been arrested in Iran. From the BWNS story:The arrests occurred on Friday, 19 May, while the Baha’is, along with several other volunteers who were not Baha’is, were teaching classes to underprivileged children in a school as part of a UNICEF community service activity conducted by a local non-governmental organization. At the […]
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Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
While the recent story about coloured badges for religious minorities may not have been entirely true, a story that ran last week in Canada’s The Record reminds us that Iran’s religious minorites are still facing heavy persecution. The piece tells how Khosrow Farahbakhsh, a Baha’i now living in Canada, fled Iran in 1983 to escape […]
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Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
The Baha’i Era began 162 years ago today, on May 23, 1844, when The Báb declared his mission and began to prepare humanity for the coming of Baha’u'llah. From the BBC website:The young man wearing the green turban was called Siyyid Ali Muhammad [The Báb] and he was descended from the Prophet Muhammad through […]
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Monday, May 22nd, 2006
I’ve never actually seen the US version of The Office (though I am a fan of the UK version), but today’s Seattle Times has got a profile of Rainn Wilson, who happens to be both an actor on the show as well as a Baha’i:He grew up in Lake Forest Park and attended Shorecrest High […]
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Sunday, May 21st, 2006
On Friday, Canada’s National Post put up a story claiming that the government in Iran had just passed a law requiring all religious minorities to wear coloured badges to identify themselves. The story was picked up and swirled around by just about everyone including Yahoo, MSNBC, and others. Now, based on information from, well, just […]
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Friday, May 19th, 2006
No one seems to be able to confirm this one for sure (yet), but Canada and Australia are reporting that Iran has passed a law requiring all members of religious minorities to wear coloured badges:
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he had “only seen reports” about the law but commented he would not be surprised […]
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Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
It seemed inevitable that something like this was going to happen, but Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has just suspended last month’s ruling by a lower court that stated Baha’is would be able to identify their religion on official documents:The earlier ruling, made on 4 April, was passed after a case was filed by a Bahai […]
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Tuesday, May 16th, 2006
Here’s another article out of Egypt, this time from Cairo weekly Al-Ahram. You can read the whole thing here (including the part where the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar refers to the Baha’i Faith as “a sacrilegious dogma followed by a deviant sect of atheists”), but I’ve pulled out a couple of typical passages for your […]
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Tuesday, May 16th, 2006
A friend just told me about this small Baha’i publisher called Dawntide Inspired Publishing. Based in South Africa, they offer a small collection of beautifully designed books, music, games, e-cards, and more. And free shipping on orders over $25.
(thanks to Leila for the tip)
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Monday, May 15th, 2006
I have been somewhat remiss in my duties to keep you all updated on things going on in Egypt lately, so here’s a great big update for you.
Over a month ago there was a court decision to allow Baha’is in Egypt to identify themselves as Baha’is on their govenrment documents. It was a great victory […]
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Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno spoke out a few days ago against what he sees as a “destructive myth” that has developed in modern society that religion and science are competing ideologies:
“Knowledge is dangerous, but so is ignorance. That’s why science and religion need to talk to each other,” he said.
“Religion needs science to keep […]
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Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
An editorial today in the Hindustan Times calls on Indian officials to do what they can to help stop the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran:The Baha’is are a significant minority in India. The architectural marvel of the Lotus Temple in Delhi is testimony to their commitment to unity in diversity. The lotus has deep-rooted […]
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Thursday, May 4th, 2006
Just in case you find yourself wandering Europe this summer looking for something to do, the Czech youth website is offering a list of European Baha’i Summer Schools. There are 11 on the list so far and no doubt more will be added before summer arrives.
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Thursday, May 4th, 2006
An article published last week in the University of Maryland’s student paper talked about the denial of education to Baha’is in Iran:
When Sahar Kasiri applied to take entrance exams for state-recognized universities in Iran, she was faced with a difficult decision. There were four options to check for religion, and none of them were […]
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Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006
So after the ruling last month by the Egyptian Administrative court that stated that Baha’is in that country would be able to identify themselves as Baha’is on their official government documents, the government has stated that they’re going to appeal the decision:Religious Endowments Minister Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk told parliament the government would base its appeal […]
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Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006
I hope you all had a nice Ridvan. Here are a couple more Ridvan stories for the festive period, as well as this article on the BBC website about celebrating Baha’i Holy Days, including, natually, Ridvan. The BBC also has a nice piece explaining what the Ridvan festival is all about.
Now, I meant to get […]
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