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Ayyám-i-Há

The Bahá’ís of Arlington will be soon be celebrating Ayyám-i-Há (also called Intercalary Days) between February 26 and March 1. During this time of the year, they enjoy fellowship with family and friends, perform acts of service and charity, exchange gifts, and attend social gatherings. Immediately after Ayyám-i-Há, Bahá’ís observe a Fast, when for 19 days, they will not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset.

This year Arlington Bahá’ís will gather on Friday, February 26, at 7:00 PM to celebrate. They welcome guests and friends to join them. To learn more about the gathering, please contact: info@arlingtonbahai.org.

The Bahá’í calendar follows a solar year and consists of 19 months of 19 days or 361 days. The 4 days or 5 days during a Leap Year are Ayyám-i-Há.

There are no traditional holiday decorations or rituals. Some Bahá’ís decorate their homes, some do not. Ayyám-i-Há is about sharing generosity, joy and love with others.

Bahá’u'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, said of Ayyám-i-Há: “It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name.”

You may join us on Friday February 26th to celebrate this joyful Bahá’í holiday. The theme will be Oneness. We will share prayers, delicious food, and have lots of time to talk. To learn more, email: info@arlingtonbahai.org.

To learn more about the Bahá’í calendar, click here: http://www.bahai.us/bahai-calendar

Feb 18, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

Iran Puts Baha’i Leaders on Trial

Leaders of Baha'i Faith in Iran

Members of the Baha’i communities in Arlington, Washington, DC, and across the country are watching developments in Iran with concern – Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i minority went on trial in Tehran Tuesday (January 12) accused of spying for Israel.

The seven — two women and five men — are also accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and committing religious offenses, charges that can carry the death penalty.

“We understand that no observers were allowed in the court,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. “We understand that even the lawyers had to argue their way inside the court — lawyers who, in any case, had virtually no access to the accused for nearly two years.”

The seven leaders of the Baha’i Faith in Iran have been held in prison for more than 18 months.

The world’s media is watching developments, including:

CNN

The New York Times

The Washington Post

BBC

Jan 12, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

Special Event Focuses on Human Rights in Iran

the-seven-friends-currently-arrested1On Saturday, September 12th the Arlington Bahá’í community will join with others in the DC metropolitan area for an evening dedicated to supporting religious freedom and human rights in Iran. The event will take place at 7:00pm at the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University. In May 2008, the entire national leadership of the Bahá’í Faith in Iran was arrested and imprisoned in Tehran under false charges. Although the charges against these individuals are baseless, the charges carry the punishment of death. While dedicated to supporting all human rights and religious freedom in Iran, the event will focus on the plight of these Iranian Bahá’í leaders.

Confirmed guests include Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo (Actress from House of Sand & Fog and The Stoning of Soraya M. ), Dr. Azar Nafisi (Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran) and Dr. Dwight Bashir (Associate Director for Policy at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom). The evening will be filled with multimedia and art presentations, as well as comments from local Washington DC Metro Area Bahá’ís who have been personally affected by the continued persecution in Iran.

The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For more information about the event on September 12th please contact us. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information about the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran please visit iran.bahai.us.

Aug 30, 2009 | 0 comments View Post

Meet Local Baha’is at the Arlington County Fair!

Arlington County in Virginia has had a Baha’i community since the early 1950’s and for over the past 25 years members of that community have actively participated in the annual Arlington County Fair. Come meet representatives of out community at the Baha’i booth at the Arlington County Fair and let us share our love and desire to serve the Arlington community:

“In every dispensation, there hath been the commandment of fellowship and love, but it was a commandment limited to the community of those in mutual agreement, not to the dissident foe. In this wondrous age, however, praised be God, the commandments of God are not delimited, not restricted to any one group of people, rather have all the friends been commanded to show forth fellowship and love, consideration and generosity and loving-kindness to every community on earth.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 20)

The Arlington County, Virginia, Fair runs August 20 – 23. The location is 3501 South Second Street in Arlington. Click here for more information.

See you there!

Aug 16, 2009 | 0 comments View Post

Support Baha’i Rights Day!

Today the seven Baha’i leaders who have been held for more than a year in Iran without access to their lawyers are scheduled to be tried before a revolutionary court. Their charges are baseless, but they are punishable by death.

You can help. Iran Press Watch and The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights have named today, July 11, Baha’i Right Day, and are calling on human rights supporters around the world to take a stand on behalf of basic rights for the Baha’is in Iran.

Here is what you can do:

  • Please inform your friends, family and colleagues that on July 11 they should Tweet, blog, Facebook or create any material in support of Baha’i human rights everywhere, specifically in Iran where Baha’is have been severely persecuted against for the past 30 years.
  • Please use your influence to try and get as many journalists as possible to formally recognize this day and write about Baha’is in Iran or the remaining struggles of Baha’is in Egypt and other countries.
  • Please contact other bloggers and request that they dedicate at least that single day (July 11) to write about Baha’is and their rights.
    Please Tweet about it consistently on July 11 and use the #BahaiRights hashtag in order for people to locate your comments. The idea is to make #BahaiRights a top trend on July 11.
  • If you are an artist, a website designer, a musician, or anyone with creative skills, please create material in honor of this day and in the name of all the Baha’i victims around the world who suffered persecution and violent discrimination for decades.
  • Visit the website http://www.bahairights.org/2009/07/04/july-9th-is-bahai-rights-day/.
  • Stay informed: visit iran.bahai.us for the most up to date information.
  • Finally, remember that you do not have to be a Baha’i to participate! The idea for this Baha’i Rights Day came primarily from non-Baha’is.

As Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf said on July 9 about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, “Human dignity and freedom must not be relegated to the sidelines.”

Jul 11, 2009 | 0 comments View Post
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