Happy New Year everyone. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that this blog has been quiet for quite some time now, and I certainly do apologize, but exciting things have been in the works.
I’m going to be taking a bit of a sabbatical from… whatever it is that I do, and hitting the road. I’ll be […]

The nine-month battle to give Egyptian Baha’is the right to list their religion on their national ID cards ended today when Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled against the right of Baha’is to be properly identified on government documents:
The decision upholds current government policy, a policy which forces the Baha’is either to lie about their religious […]

Czech it out all (oh the bad puns), the Changing Times conference starts in two weeks and it seems that I have managed to sneak myself onto the bill (they’re under the impression that I’m some sort of “internet specialist”, the suckers). So, for anyone heading to the czech republic, I’ll see you there. I’ll […]

Why, oh why do I always find out about these things at the last minute? Seattle Baha’is and hip hop super-stars Common Market are in Albuquerque Tuesday night playing with Dan the Automator. So, if you’re luckier than I am and happen to be in the area, can you head down and check it out […]

A story today in Uganda’s New Vision is highlighting how the Baha’is in that country are urging their government not to forget the need for a spiritual componant in the fight against poverty:
The Baha’i community director, Daisy Bamuno, said, “There is need to have the spiritual ingredient in the fight against poverty if it is […]

The Baha’i World News Service put up a story a few days ago about a Baha’i who was named the Young Outstanding Malaysian for Moral or Religious Leadership:
“I used to be quite notorious,” said Jia Chin, who is now in his late teens. “I was involved in cheating and fighting.”

But Jia Chin decided to give […]

So surprise surprise, a lot happened while I was out. For example: this Reuters story onBaha’i Pilgrimage:
The hushed Baha’i pilgrimage to the Holy Land focuses on personal prayer and meditation, and is like no other in a region long torn between religions struggling — often noisily and sometimes violently — for hearts, minds and land.

“It […]

So let’s just pretend that I put up the following post up a few weeks ago:

I’m going to be dropping off-line for a few weeks owing to a change of job, change of house and change of continent. Then I’m goign to go on vacation, and then my computer is going to die and I’m […]

I’m heading on vacation for the next two weeks, so posting will be light. Or not at all.
I’ll be picking up “ry went on vacation and all I got was two weeks of no posts on Baha’i Blog” t-shirts for everyone. Please leave your size and colour preference in the comments.

A U.N. special investigator on Adequate Housing is warning that forcible evictions of ethnic minorities in Cambodia and Iran is a “human rights crisis”. In the case of Iran, the investigator specifically mentions the situation of the Baha’is:He says he continues to receive reports about Bahais who have had their land confiscated.

“In the last two […]

There are a couple of stories out this week about Baha’i Houses of Worship. The first, from the Chicago Tribune, talks about the ongoing restoration of the gardens around the House of Worship in the US. The other story, from the New Vision newspaper in Kampala (via the allAfrica news service) lists the House of […]

I caught a glimpse of this on Forbes earlier today, but now it seems to be all over the place. Mariam Fam of the Associated Press has just put up a great story about the situation of the Baha’is in Egypt:Tucked away in Labib Iskandar’s pocket is a neatly folded slip of paper with fraying […]

The latest out of Egypt is that the government appeal that was set for last monday has been postponed until September 16. And since the court has already suspended the earlier ruling, Baha’is in Egypt are still unable to obtain identification cards, birth certificates or death certificates that accurately identify their religion.

The Baha’i International Community has just launched the Baha’i Media Bank, the new place to go for your Baha’i image needs. So if you’re looking for just the right picture for your website, newsletter, school project or blog post head on over, set up your free account and start browing through their thousands of photos.

(via […]

BWNS has a story up with the latest news from Egypt. If you’ll recall, back in April a lower court in Egypt ruled that Baha’is should be able to have their religion listed as “Baha’i” on all government-issued ID. Almost immediately the government announced that they would be appealing the decision and since then the […]

There’s a story in today’s New York Times about the ongoing persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. The article covers UN Rapporteur Asma Jahangir’s report expressing concern for the Bahai’s in Iran, the arrest last week of 54 Baha’is who were taking part in a community service project, the ongoing campaign of misinformaiton in Iranian […]

An interesting article up right now on the Scripps Howard News Service examines the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, particularly the stories - full of lies and misinformation - that have been running in Kayhan (link to persian site), the state-run newspaper:Anyone who reads the newspaper Kayhan knows that Baha’i believers are part of […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]