doberman pizza. a baha'i (bahai, bahá'í) blog.

The Universal House of Justice recently sent a letter to the Baha’is of Egypt regarding the 16 December 2006 judgment of the Egyptian Supreme Court upon their citizenship rights. Read the news release on the Baha’i World News Service website. You can read the letter yourself in English or Arabic.

I’m off to Vancouver tomorrow (Christmas Day – merry christmas!) at 8AM to visit the Talebifards, previously of Ottawa. Then I’m off to Edmonton on the afternoon of the 27th for Misagh and Jamal’s wedding. On the morning of the 29th, after a night of revelry, I’ll be scooting off to Winnipeg, to visit France, Jessika and Patrick, formerly of Drummondville. Then, on New Year’s Day (cue Bono), I’ll be flying back to Ottawa, arriving in the afternoon, at around 1:30PM. Holla back and feel free to wish me bon voyage!

so the christmas holiday season is finally here, and many people around the world are either freaking out (due to the stress of last-minute shopping and mounting debt), bored out of their minds (because they don’t celebrate christmas, everyone’s away and nothing’s open) or boarding planes to get the heck out. I’ll be among the latter category this year; two good friends of mine, Misagh and Jamál, are getting married in Edmonton during the holidays, so I’ll be flying out to happily attend! Along the way, I’m also planning to visit friends in Vancouver and Winnipeg, returning on January 1. There’ll surely be lots of great photos coming out of the whole trip, so do keep your eyes peeled in the new (gregorian) year.

One of the questions most often asked of Baha’is around this time of the year is: Do Baha’is celebrate Christmas? The answer I usually give is no, we don’t—not as a religious observance, anyway. All the same, Baha’is are very sympathetic to the ideals of charity, generosity, all-embracing love and goodwill towards humanity that are often upheld as characteristic of the Christmas holidays. There are certain Baha’i holidays which celebrate these virtues—the curious should look up Ayyám-i-Há.

Another question often asked around Christmas is: How do Baha’is view Christ? I particularly like the answer given in a news brief published on Thursday by the Baha’is of the United States: that Jesus Christ “is revered in the Baha’i Faith as a Manifestation of God, and anyone who embraces the Baha’i Faith—regardless of their religious background—also confesses the universal redemptive significance of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection”. The article also quotes Bahá’u'lláh’s words regarding Christ, an excerpt of which I’ll quote here due to them being so beautiful and amazing:

Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. [ Read more ]

so merry christmas to all my christian friends, and while I’m at it, happy hanukkah to my jewish friends, too. may the spirit of friendliness, fellowship and unity pervade your celebrations, turn enemies into friends, and infuse fresh capacity and new life into your souls.

From the Baha’i World News Service (BWNS):

Egyptian court rules against Baha’is, upholding government policy of discrimination

CAIRO, 16 December 2006 (BWNS) — In a closely watched case that has become the focus of a national debate on religious freedom, Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court today ruled against the right of Baha’is to be properly identified on government documents.

The decision upholds current government policy, a policy which forces the Baha’is either to lie about their religious beliefs or give up their state identification cards. The policy effectively deprives Egyptian Baha’is of access to most rights of citizenship, including education, financial services, and even medical care.

“We deplore the Court’s ruling in this case, which violates an extensive body of international law on human rights and religious freedom to which Egypt has long been a party,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

“Since this was the last avenue of appeal in this particular case, the Court’s decision threatens to make non-citizens of an entire religious community, solely on the basis of religious belief,” said Ms. Dugal. “Our hope now is that the public debate over this issue will cause the Egyptian government to rectify its discriminatory policies.”

Read the Baha’i World News Service story.

Qatar-based news network Al-Jazeera (yes, that Al-Jazeera!) also covers the story.

Bahais lose Egypt recognition fight

An Egyptian court has denied Bahais the right to state their religion on official documents and described them as pro-Israeli apostates, in a landmark case condemned by human rights organisations.

The case, seen as a test of religious freedom in Egypt, left the country’s 2,000-strong Bahai community suspended in a constitutional vacuum.

Sayed Nofal, the judge in the case, said: “The constitution promotes freedom of belief for the three recognised heavenly religions and they are Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

“As for the Bahais, Islamic jurists have all agreed that the Bahai faith is not one of the three recognised religions.”

The supreme administrative court ruled against the right of Hossam Ezzat Mussa and his wife, Rania Enayat, to state their religion on official documents.

The couple had filed their case in 2004 and a lower court ruled in their favour in April this year. In May, however, the decision was suspended by the supreme administrative court pending an appeal by the interior ministry, and the couple’s identity cards were confiscated.

Enayat said: “Those who belong to this religion are apostates of Islam, because the faith’s principles contradict the Islamic religion and all other religions.”

Saturday’s verdict throws the status of Egypt’s Bahai community into limbo, in a country where carrying identity papers at all times is required by law and essential for access to employment, education, medical and financial services.

Without official identity cards, Bahais cannot apply for jobs, buy property, open bank accounts or register their children in schools.

Read the Al-Jazeera story.

You can also find this story blogged (along with many more great sources of information) at the legendary Baha’i Blog.

all you patient people. look at you out there, I could just kiss you! it’s taken a whole month, but your patience has been rewarded. my pilgrimage photos—all 545 of them—are now online on my flickr photostream. go see them, leave notes and comments (free flickr or yahoo account required), and, most of all, relive the nine-day pilgrimage to the Baha’i World Centre through my trusty camera. Oh yes, and tell your friends. kthx. bye.

Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast aided me to remember Thee and to praise Thee, and hast made known unto me Him Who is the Dayspring of Thy signs… (Bahá’u'lláh)

When I visited the Bahá’í Shrine in Montreal this past summer—I was on my way to Moncton by train and stopped over at the Shrine moments before it closed—I had a singular experience. Believe it or not, it was my first experience in any sort of Bahá’í holy place; I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know what to do. So I just sat by the window in the room of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, trying to close my one eye to “the world and all that is therein” and open the other eye to “the hallowed beauty of the Beloved”^[1], and wordlessly asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to help me pray. And oddly enough, as I opened one of the available prayer books and began to pray, I seemed to hear the voice of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá saying the words with me, helping me pray.

I admit that, as I first set foot into the Holy Shrines in Haifa and in Bahji, I expected the same sort of experience, and was quietly surprised (and disappointed) when it didn’t happen. If I had to try and describe what happened instead, I would say that it was as if I was gradually aided to understand just what the heck I was saying while praying. Through the loving guidance of, among others, Hand of the Cause Dr. Varqa and the members of the Universal House of Justice who spoke to us at the nightly talks in the Auditorium of the International Teaching Centre, I came to believe that one’s highest duty when visiting the Shrines is simply to offer praise and worship to those Blessed Figures who are the centres of our adoration. So I tried it. I entered the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and simply remembered and praised ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. I entered the Shrine of the Báb and remembered and praised Him. I entered the Shrine of Bahá’u'lláh and, powerless to do much else, I remembered His sacrifice and offered what little praise I could offer, asking for God’s grace in accepting it. And, well, I guess it worked.

Whenever I recite the long obligatory prayer now, I remember saying it in the Shrine of Bahá’u'lláh, two rooms over from the Qiblih—from the Point of Adoration towards which Bahá’ís offer their obligatory prayer every day.

[1]: Bahá’u'lláh, Persian Hidden Words, no. 12.

this is me :D

O My friends! Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? (Bahá’u'lláh)

The first big snow came a few days ago in Ottawa—though certain unlikely candidates had been snowed in far earlier. The first month of snow is always so beautiful to me; magical, wonderful. It evokes impressions from the earlier years of my life, bringing forth feelings of happiness and well-being, security, and anticipation of the month of celebration to come (my birthday is on the 7th, and well, there’s Christmas). For some reason, though, all those feelings seem to fall short compared to the feelings of serenity, happiness and well-being I felt strolling through the Ridván garden, visiting the houses once occupied by Bahá’u'lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and praying in the Holy Shrines. When I stop to reflect on my experiences over the past month or so, I am struck by the intensity of that experience, so much so that every other joy seems to be nothing but a trifle in comparison. Depending on how you look at it, that could be a source of dismay or—as I see it—a source of joy, certitude, and hope.

“Remember My days during thy days,” says Bahá’u'lláh, “and My distress and banishment in this remote prison.” These words are companions to me now, standing as reminders of Bahá’u'lláh’s life, filled with sorrow and tribulation, the evidences of which I saw with my very own eyes while walking through the streets of ‘Akká, while climbing the steps of that Most Great Prison, where Bahá’u'lláh lived for two years, and where His youngest son gave his own life. I focus on these thoughts now whenever I feel weak or confused, or when I feel I’m losing that vital connection to the Divine Spirit that keeps us all going deep down inside. Calling to mind Bahá’u'lláh’s life reminds me that He “consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage,” and that He “accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty.”

Remembering our spiritual life is hard sometimes, especially when we’re not used to it. The more we do, though, the more free we feel from the ups and downs of life. Some people go to church, or whatever spiritual gathering applies. Some people get out into nature or putter around in a garden. Some people burn incense or chant and sing. Some people pray and meditate. And some people do all of the above (at least once in a while). I’ve blogged before about the useful spiritual habits that Bahá’ís rely on for spiritual growth; Hand of the Cause Mr. H. Collis Featherstone describes prayers and similar spiritual habits as the only thing we can bring with us into the next world (hence the importance of memorizing prayers). Even so, I still continuously struggle, day by day, to remember these basic building blocks of spiritual life. I know that the more I struggle and the more effort I expend, the more I learn—and the closer I grow towards God.

This post is dedicated to Mees, in the hopes that he’ll remember to answer my email!