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Many communities mark World Religion Day on the third Sunday of January. Have you heard of this day? It was originally created in the 1950s by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States and it is based on the principles of the oneness of religion and progressive revelation–which, coincidentally, is the subject of one of Aria’s latest Baha’i Basics video!
Baha’i Basics is a video series launched by our sister channel, Baha’i Inspired, that explores questions like, what is the Baha’i Faith? Who do Baha’is believe in? How do Baha’is pray? And what do Baha’is do? For its second video, Aria discusses the concept of progressive revelation with her hallmark humour and signature megawatt smile.
When it comes to progressive revelation, a couple of years ago we made a short animation to describe it and Iko also wrote an introductory article about the concept. We also have a whole collection dedicated to inter-faith resources. While many World Religion Day celebrations will likely already have occurred or will be well underway by the time you read this, I would like to highlight three pieces of relatively recent content that deal with the harmony between adherents of different faiths.
The first is an short film called Abu & Mo: Two Orphans. It’s an award-winning heartwarming animated film by 1844 Studios. Inspired by true events in 1889 Damascus, it tells the story of a blind Muslim man and a Jewish man with dwarfism who lived and worked together from childhood—thereby forging an enduring friendship that brings their communities together. The entire short film doesn’t use any recognizable dialogue but the meaning of the film is clear and poignant.
I’d also love to draw your attention to ABC Radio National’s program “God Forbid” where Sami Shah hosts a panel that asks what different minority religions believe; how they worship, their history, and their concerns, and comforts, in modern Australia.
In the episode we’ve featured on Baha’i Blog, the panelists include Farhad Malegam, a practising Zoroastrian in Sydney, Dellaram Vreeland, a journalist, writer and a Baha’i from Ballarat and Mahica Jain, a university student who’s been actively involved in the Sydney Jain community for a decade.
Among many other topics, Della talks about the #OurStoryIsOne media campaign, the House of Worship in Sydney, efforts by Baha’is and their friends to build vibrant communities, and Effie Baker–Australia’s first Baha’i woman. It’s a great listen!
Lastly, the Baha’i World News Service recently released another episode of its In Conversation podcast series and it’s about the Baha’i International Community’s contributions to discourses about social cohesion and societal harmony. While its panelists are addressing harmony of all kinds–not just religious–it’s inspiring to get a glimpse of how discourse is progressing at the global level. And if you haven’t already subscribed, I definitely recommend listening to all its episodes.
Thank you for joining me for this monthly newsletter. Happy month of Sovereignty!
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