“I am pleased to join a bipartisan group of my colleagues as a cosponsor of this important resolution, and I hope its passage will send a strong message to the Iranian government that the United States Congress will always stand in solidarity with the persecuted people of the world.”

His full statement can be accessed here.

It is so important that at a time when attacks against the Bahá’ís in Iran have increased, when the entire national leadership is being held incommunicado, homes, cars and individuals are being targeted in arson attacks, here in the US we are able to shed a light on the situation, to stand up for human rights and speak out for those who are unable to have their voices heard in their own homeland. To all those who voted in favor of this resolution~ Thank you!

To read more about the background of this resolution please click here.

The decision by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee means that the two most sacred sites for Bahá’ís – the resting places of the founders of their religion – join a list of internationally recognized sites like the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and Stonehenge.

Like Baha’is around the world, members of the Arlington Baha’i community are celebrating the news. Baha’is visit the shrines as part of pilgrimage to Haifa and Acre.

The World Heritage List also includes places of global religious significance like the Vatican, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the remains of the recently destroyed Bamiyan Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.

The Bahá’í shrines are the first sites connected with a religious tradition born in modern times to be added to the list, which is maintained by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The Arlington Baha’i Community will commemorate the Martyrdom of The Báb on Wednesday, July 9, at Bon Air Park located at 850 N. Lexington St., Arlington, VA 22205. Bon Air Park is located off Wilson Blvd. heading west towards Seven corners. Everyone is welcome to join us in commemorating this Holy day. We will meet in the rose garden or the covered pavilion in the event of rain. We will begin with prayers at 11:00am. Light refreshments will be served. You are welcome to just show up, but if you need a ride or have any questions please contact us.

He was 74 years old and was still a prisoner of the Turkish government. He was exiled and imprisoned for His teachings of love and unity towards all mankind. In His own words He stated:

“The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men.”

In Israel hundreds will gather at 3:00am on May 29th at His burial site to commemorate the Anniversary of His passing. Elsewhere in the world Bahá’ís will also gather in the early hours of the morning to say prayers. If you are interested in joining us in Arlington please email the administrator.

Bahá’u'lláh, one of the Báb’s leading advocates, announced in April 1863 that He was the Divine Messenger the Báb had promised. Today Bahá’ís all over the world celebrate the anniversary of the Báb declaration of His mission on the evening of May 22 and during the day of May 23. May 23 is one of the nine holy days Bahá’ís suspend work or school.

Here in Arlington, we will be commemorating this very important date with the Bahá’ís of Alexandria with a picnic potluck on Friday May 23rd at Fort Ward Park at 3:00pm. The park is located next to St. Stepehen’s & Agnes school which is located at 4401 W Braddock Road. You are invited to come and join us!

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has stated that it “is gravely concerned by the arrest of seven prominent leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran and appeals to the U.S. government and international community strongly to condemn this flagrant abuse of religious freedom” Click here to read the USCIRF press release

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has issued an alert about these arrests and is “calling upon members of the international community, the United Nations, and the European Union to protest these unjustified detentions” Click here to read the press release

NEW YORK — Six Baha’i leaders in Iran were arrested and taken to the notorious Evin prison yesterday in a sweep that is ominously similar to episodes in the 1980s when scores of Iranian Baha’i leaders were summarily rounded up and killed.

The six men and women, all members of the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of Baha’is in Iran, were in their homes Wednesday morning when government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking them away.

The seventh member of the national coordinating group was arrested in early March in Mashhad after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office there on an ostensibly trivial matter.

“We protest in the strongest terms the arrests of our fellow Baha’is in Iran,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “Their only crime is their practice of the Baha’i Faith.”

“Especially disturbing is how this latest sweep recalls the wholesale arrest or abduction of the members of two national Iranian Baha’i governing councils in the early 1980s — which led to the disappearance or execution of 17 individuals,” she said.

“The early morning raids on the homes of these prominent Baha’is were well coordinated, and it is clear they represent a high-level effort to strike again at the Baha’is and to intimidate the Iranian Baha’i community at large,” said Ms. Dugal.

Arrested yesterday were: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr.Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All live in Tehran. Mrs. Kamalabadi, Mr. Khanjani, and Mr. Tavakkoi have been previously arrested and then released after periods ranging from five days to four months.

Arrested in Mashhad on 5 March 2008 was Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, who also resides in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Baha’i cemetery in that city.

On 21 August 1980, all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran were abducted and disappeared without a trace. It is certain that they were killed.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iran was reconstituted soon after that but was again ravaged by the execution of eight of its members on 27 December 1981.

A number of members of local Baha’i governing councils, known as local Spiritual Assemblies, were also arrested and executed in the early 1980s, before an international outcry forced the government to slow its execution of Baha’is. Since 1979, more than 200 Baha’is have been killed or executed in Iran, although none have been executed since 1998.

In 1983, the government outlawed all formal Baha’i administrative institutions and the Iranian Baha’i community responded by disbanding its National Spiritual Assembly, which is an elected governing council, along with some 400 local level elected governing councils. Baha’is throughout Iran also suspended nearly all of their regular organizational activity.

The informal national-level coordinating group, known as the Friends, was established with the knowledge of the government to help cope with the diverse needs of Iran’s 300,000-member Baha’i community, which is the country’s largest religious minority.

For more, including photographs, go to: http://serv04.news.bahai.org/story/632

For more information, contact: news@bahai.org or call Bani Dugal in New York at (office) 212-803-2500 or (mobile) 914 329-3020 or Diane Ala’i in Geneva at (office) +41 (-22) -798-5400 or (mobile) +41 (-78) -60-40-100

Unfortunately, we do not have a photo credit to provide for this dramatic image.

“I am very happy to see you and thank God that this meeting is composed of people of both races and that both are gathered in perfect love and harmony. I hope this becomes the example of universal harmony and love until no title remains except that of humanity. Such a title demonstrates the perfection of the human world and is the cause of eternal glory and human happiness. I pray that you be with one another in utmost harmony and love and strive to enable each other to live in comfort.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Eldest Son of Bahá’u’lláh) in 1911 and 1912 traveled to Europe and the United States to share his father’s message of a word embracing faith dedicated to the unification of all mankind. It was during this time that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to Howard University. He spoke about the equality of women and men, the oneness of religion and the need to reject every form of prejudice. An important message that is no less timely now 96 years later.

Every year the Bahá’ís of DC and Howard University commemorate this historic visit and speech with a gathering that furthers the theme of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s original address. This year’s event was entitled “The Color of Worship” and it was a joyous occasion for people of all backgrounds to come together and celebrate their unity through their diversity. Below are some pictures of that day.

Reverend Joseph A.C. Smith and Dr. Zitta Rezvani facilitated the event. Zitta and Baher, two Bahá’ís from Arlington participated in the ceremony

There were performances by the Howard University Gospel Choir, the DC Black Men’s Devotional Group, DC Bahá’í Chorale.

Katharine Kripke sang a beautiful prayer and Alicia Cundall played the harp. Nicholas Gourdine had a very moving mime performance and Baher Seioshansian chanted a prayer in Arabic.

The new members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Arlington are: Kit Bigelow, Nancy Clifton, Trey Clifton, Barbara Craig, John Craig, Alissa Emmel, Art McMahon, Ciara Rhodes and Baher Seioshansian.

For more information about Bahá’í elections please see this post.