This should be a happy time of year for followers of the Baha’i
faith. From March 2-21, they observed an annual 19-day fast from
sunrise to sunset.
This should be a happy time of year for followers of the Baha’i faith.
From March 2-21, they observed an annual 19-day fast from sunrise to sunset.
This annual fast was a time for reflecting on one’s spiritual progress and focusing on becoming less materialistic. It has been described as a “period of moderation and prayer and of spiritual recuperation.”
After sundown on March 20, Baha’is celebrated Naw-Ruz, the start of the Baha’i New Year. This is a religious holiday observed through prayer, meditation, readings from Baha’i scripture and festive gatherings.
This year, however, their spirit is subdued. Thoughts and prayers are focused on Iran, where leaders of the faith are being held in prison, charged with offenses which are generally considered to be false.
Baha’i have long suffered persecution in Iran, the land where the religion was founded.
But when the present government was formed after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, things became dramatically worse.
In 1980, all nine elected leaders of the Baja’i national leadership suddenly disappeared. Again, in 1981, new elected leaders were executed. In fact, since 1979 more than 200 Iranian Baha’is have been killed, holy places desecrated, homes burned and civil rights taken away.
The major problem facing Iran’s 300,000 Baha’is is that they cannot obtain justice in the courts because members of the faith “have no legal status in law and therefore no crime can be committed against them.”
The persecution has been quite systematic:
n First the funds donated by individual Baha’i to provide for their meeting halls, cemeteries and charitable programs were confiscated by the government.
n Then all Baha’i members were expelled from government employment.
n Baha’i-owned businesses have been closed down.
In February, several members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced HR175, condemning the government of Iran for its “state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority.”
It calls on the government of Iran to immediately release the Bahai’s and all other prisoners held solely on account of their religion.
It strains credulity to accept the Iranian charges against the practitioners of Baha’i, the world’s youngest monotheistic religion, which teaches that God’s message for modern times is “global unity,” emphasizing racial unity, gender equality and dialogue among different religions.
Participation in partisan politics is considered inherently divisive and thus not a Baha’i practice; however, Baha’i do register and cast their votes as independents.
Founded in Persia (modern-day Iran) in 1844, Baha’i is the second most widely dispersed religion (after Christianity), practiced in more than 200 countries.
They have no clergy, but more than 11,000 elected local and 182 national spiritual assemblies are responsible for administration of affairs.
The total membership worldwide is estimated to be 5 million, with more than 150,000 residing in the United States.
To find out more about what the Bahai’i faith believes, visit www.bahai.us.
