Meet the Dawn – Ali Youssefi

This music video was created by singer-songwriter Ali Youssefi. Moved by the many tragedies afflicting humanity, he came across this closing remark from the 1993 Ridvan message to the Baha’is of the world:

“These are the darkest hours before the break of day. Peace, as promised, will come at night’s end. Press on to meet the dawn.”

Ali writes that “Deep sorrow and pain prevail when we look at what so many are going through, yet it must serve to galvanize the efforts that must continue to emerge, with added strength and unyielding faith, which will eventually transform our world, our communities, our reality. We must ‘press on’.”

Ali Youssefi is a musician whose songs move the heart. You may be familiar with his global musical initiatives “Unite” or his song “Waves”.

In a video interview with Ali, we hear about the role an artist or musician can play in building community. And in a written interview with him about “Waves”, he shares what he has learned about the process of putting virtual choir music videos together.

Ali was also critical in helping us film Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions in Belgrade, Serbia (where he was living at the time), and from these sessions you can watch him sing “Jedinstvo (Unity)” in Serbian,  “Oh Mi Siervo (O My Servant)” in Spanish, and “Know Ye Not” in English. He also sings “Blessed Is the Spot” along with Katie and Deborah Eckert from our Studio Session recorded in Antigua and Barbuda.

If you’d like to know more, please visit Ali Youssefi’s website.

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.