Bahá’í Electoral Unit Convention

Please join us at the annual Unit Convention to elect a delegate to the 2010 National Convention, to consult on activities in our respective communities, and to enjoy the company of the Friends in our Electoral Unit. Sunday, October 4, 2009 – 2 – 5 p.m.

Please bring your Bahá’í ID card with you for registration!

Should you not be able to attend, please send your ballot to the Spiritual Assembly of Arlington, PO Box 100936, Arlington, VA 22210-3936

For further information about Unit Convention, please visit http://unitconvention.usbnc.org/.

The location is:

Kay Spiritual Life Center
American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20016

For a map view, click here.

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Sep 29, 2009 | 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.

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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!

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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.”

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Jul 11, 2009 | 0 comments View Post

Martyrdom of The Báb

Commemorating the Martyrdom of the Bab On July 9 every year, Bahá’ís commemorate the day when the Báb was martyred. The Báb, which is Arabic for the “Gate,” was the title taken by Muhammad-’Alí, who announced in Shiraz in 1844 that He was the promised one whom the Holy Books of the past had foretold. The Báb had a twofold purpose. His primary mission was to prepare the world for the imminent arrival of  another Divine Messenger. (Bahá’u’lláh, announced in April 1863 that He was the Divine Messenger the Báb had promised.) Yet He also brought His own independent, distinctive religion, the Bábi Faith. In carrying out this mission He called for the spiritual and moral reformation of Persian society, as well as championed improved treatment of women and the poor.

The religious and political leaders of the day arose to oppose and to persecute the Báb and His followers. The Báb’s ministry lasted 6 years. Yet during that time, around than 20,000 of His followers were killed. Then, although guilty of no crime, on July 9, 1850 at 12:00 noon He was executed by firing squad. You can read more about the stunning events of this day here. It is tragic that more than 160 years later Bahá’ís are still being persecuted and threatened with death in Iran.

The Arlington Baha’i Community will commemorate the Martyrdom of The Báb on Thursday, July 9, at Bon Air Park located at 850 N. Lexington St., Arlington, VA 22205. 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 11:30am. 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.

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Jul 09, 2009 | 0 comments View Post
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