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ONE COUNTRY
Newsletter of the Baha’i
International Community July-September 1998 Volume 10, Issue 2
governments form a new coalition to promote religious tolerance.
1n Iran, the execution of a Baha’i raises questions about the new Government.
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In Guyana, a literacy project incorporates moral themes to win wide success.
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Review: Love, Power and justice — William S. Hatchet discusses the dynamics of authentic morality.
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens” — Bahé’u’lla’h
After months of preliminaries, work
begins on a “Millennium NGO Forum”
To be held in conjunction with the United Nations scheduled “Millen- nium Summit” in the year 2000, the proposed gathering would seek to lobby world leaders and highlight the importance of world civil society.
UNITED NATIONS — After many months of talk, non—governmental organizations (NGOs) are moving ahead with a bold plan to hold an “Millennium NGO Forum” in the year 2000 that would seek to highlight the importance of world Civil society in solving major global problems in the 21“ century.
If the plan wins the kind of support its organizers hope for, it could lead to a large and diverse gathering of thousands of NGOs from all over the world. The meeting will corre— late with the United Nations “Millennium Assembly” summit meeting scheduled for Sep— tember 2000 at UN headquarters and is likely also to be held in New York. Its overall goal would be to consolidate the work of various NGO forums at UN conferences in the 19905 and lay the groundwork for even greater NGO activity and partnership with the UN in the coming decades.
The plan, put forward in outline form at an NGO meeting held at the UN on 15 July 1998, emerged after many meetings and consultations involving a cross—section of NGOs interested in the idea. While many of these were ad hoc, with NGOs and NGO networks from many sectors contributing ideas, the formal planning process took place under the leadership of the Task Force on UN Reform of the Conference of Non—Governmental Orga- nizations in Consultative Status with ECOSOC (CONGO).
At the end of the 15 July meeting, which was attended by more than 100 NGO repre— sentatives, an interim steering committee was appointed by consensus. The committee
Millennium, continued on page 12
The NGO UN Reform Task Force has held a series of meetings on the possibility of holding (1 Millennium NGO Forum. Shown above is the Task Force on 15]uly 1998 at the UN.
[Page 2]
fl ONE COUNTRY
is published quarterly by the Office of Public Information of the Baha’i International Community, an international nongovernmental organiza- tion which encompasses and represents the worldwide membership of the Baha’i Faith.
For more information on the stories in this newsletter, or any aspect of the Baha’i International Community and its work, please contact:
ONE COUNTRY
Baha’i International Community - Suite 120 866 United Nations Plaza New York, New York 10017 USA.
E—mail: 1country@bic.org http://www onecountryorg
Executive Editor: Ann Boyles
Editor: Brad Pokorny
Associate Editors:
Nancy Ackerrnan (Moscow) Christine Samandari—Hakim (Paris)
Kong Siew Huat (Maeau) Guilda Walker (London)
Editorial Assistant: Veronica Shoffstall
Design: Mann & Mann
Subscription inquiries should be directed to the above address. All material is copyrighted by the Baha’i International Community and subject to all applicable international copyright laws. Stories from this newsletter may be republished by any organization provided that they are attributed as follows: “Reprinted from ONE COUNTRY, the newsletter of the Baha’i Intemational Community.”
© 1998 by The Baha’i International Community
ISSN 1018-9300
Printed on recycled paper ®
2
New Age, New Morals, New Leaders
To speak of “moral leadership” in today’s world seems a contradiction in terms. Al— most every day, headlines tell of the disgrace, downfall, imprisonment or forced resigna— tion of a political, corporate, religious, or community leader somewhere.
The corruption of leadership takes many forms. There are those who seek to use po— sitions of power to accumulate wealth, un— dermine rivals, or win sexual favors. There are those who use their authority to advance some particular cause at the expense ofjus- tice to other ideas. There are those who care more for partisan advantage than the dis— covery of truth. There are those who seek to dominate out of a base desire to manipu- late and control others. And there are those who abuse positions of advantage simply because they have not reflected on the true purpose of leadership.
Morality in leadership does matter. In some countries, the collapse of entire econo- mies can be traced to varying forms of gov— ernment and/or corporate corruption. Other leaders have made war to retain political power, satisfy ego, or uphold the privilege of a particular tribe or class. On the local level, immoral leaders have deprived com- munities of funds for development, forced the adoption of ill-advised policies, and stirred ethnic or religious hatreds.
It would be difficult, given the historic record of venal, malevolent and self-serving leaders in all parts of the world, to say that the corruption of leadership is on the rise. It seems reasonable to suggest, however, that bad leadership has become more Visible — an effect, perhaps, of advances in informa- tion technology, the rising influence of civil society, and the empowerment of people everywhere through better education.
This points to an important fact: we live in a new age, an age of transition from an old world order to a new one. Every day brings fresh evidence of the collapse of old ideas and institutions and the blossoming of new ones.
In response to the apparent rise of cor- rupt leadership worldwide, a number of groups and organizations have begun cam- paigns for greater transparency in decision—
making, for strengthening the rule of law, for judicial independence and other demo- cratic reforms.
Such efforts are much needed. Yet they are mainly palliative and fail to address the fundamental question: what is moral lead- ership in an age of global interdependence?
For an answer, we must probe the nature of morality itself. Baha’is understand that hu- man beings have a dual nature. One side is centered on the material world. It is, simply put, concerned with basic physical need: sur- vival, food, shelter, and creature comforts. The other aspect of human reality is its spiritual side. This aspect, which stems from our God- created rational human soul, engenders love, compassion, and altruism.
Without this fundamental understand- ing, many efforts to promote morality will fail as they become mired in contemporary ideas about the relativism of values, ratio- nalized by forces of materialistic self—inter— est, or picked apart by partisan wrangling. However, a proper understanding of the hu- man spiritual reality, which is increasingly confirmed by scientific discoveries, offers a well—illuminated path to leadership that is genuinely moral.
In ages past, our spiritual reality found expression in the call to love one’s neighbor or submit to God’s will. In today’s world, it finds its mature expression in the concept of the oneness of humanity, the defining principle for our age of global integration and interdependence.
In concrete terms, this expands the no- tion of love for one’s neighbor to the scale of the global Village. It calls for a new type of leader, one that can be defined as a “moral” leader.
Again, we must contrast the old with the new. For too long, leadership has been under- stood — by both leaders and followers — as power and control over others. Leaders in this mode have tended to debilitate those whom they are supposed to serve. In order to exer- cise control, such leaders too often sought to over—centralize the decision-making process or coerce others into agreement. While they may appear to listen carefully, they actually aim to advance preconceived ideas and to dominate
ONE COUNTRY /]uly-Septernber 1998
[Page 3]
others. Various modes ol‘leadership in this vein
include autoeraey, paternalism, and totalitari-
anism, as well as modes that employ the ma—
nipulation of mass media and various forms
of “know—it—all expertism.”
The new paradigm for leadership means that leaders today must be chiefly concerned with giving service to their community — rather than advancing their own ideas, ea— reers or sense of privilege. (To put it another way, the primary characteristic of a moral leader must be “one who serves the com— inunity most“ rather than “one who domi— nates the community most“) Their main obligation must be to the best interests of the whole, rather than to any particular party, ideology, tribe or corporation.
Other characteristics olmoral leadership include a commitment to seeking the truth of a situation (rather than working from preestahlished or partisan positions) before taking action, an emphasis on non— adversarial methods of deeision-making, the ability to inspire and encourage construe— tive action at the grassroots of society, and a faculty to see “the end in the beginning“ — in other words, the capacity for vision.
In general terms, moral leaders must em— brace the progressive social ideas that stem from the principle of the oneness of human— ity: they must express a commitment to hu- man rights, possess an understanding of the tools necessary for promoting social cohesion and well—being, embrace unequivocally the equality of women and men, and dismiss com- pletely any preferences based on race, ethnicity religious belief or national origin.
The concept of the oneness of humanity will lead inevitably to questions about the role of political parties. Although political parties have had an historic role in promot— ing the interests of long-ignored constitu- encies and fostering fresh currents of thought, the new realities of our age, as well as Changes in communications technology and organizational science, have made them increasingly redundant. Further, the nega- tive aspects of partisanship — such as the ten— dency to promote partieularistie interests over the good of the whole, the potential for influence buying, and the propensity to focus on winning the political light instead of searching for truth — are increasingly the main output of partisanship.
Ultimately, then, it will be realized that partisanship is today mainly a force for dis— unity. And in our era of global integration, ecological interdependence and the presence
of once unimaginable weapons of mass de— struction, our chief goal must be unity.
Perhaps the most important characteristic in defining moral leadership is truthfulness. “Truthfulness is the foundation of all the vir— tues of the world of humanity,” said ‘Abdu‘l— Baha’. “Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds of God are impos— sible for a soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also become realized."
The problem today of course, is to cle— terinine when leaders are sincere in their commitment to truth and when they are not — for all contemporary leaders pay homage to the ideal. In this regard, a proper under- standing of the spiritual nature of reality is again helpful. As ‘Abdu‘l—Baha indicates above, truthfulness stands at the root of other Virtues. Elsewhere in the Baha’i writ— ings, we read that .. one‘s righteous deeds testify to the truth of one‘s words.“ We can understand that we must look for a single standard of conduct in both public and pri— vate life, and [or actions in all endeavors that speak of moral sincerity.
We return, then‘ to the reality of the hu— man soul and the fundamental purpose of our existence, which is to acquire spiritual virtues. As individuals progress spiritually, they will develop the capacity to distinguish Virtuous deeds from lalse rhetoric. >‘.'(<
The new paradigm for leadership means that leaders today must be chiefly concerned with giving service to their community — rather than advancing their own ideas, careers or sense of privilege.
In Pakistan, President Rajiqut' Tatar (right) presented a Shield and Certificate of Mcritfor Social Work to a reprtwntutive ofthe Baha’i Local Spiritual Assembly of Rawalpindi on lu'lictl/eftlie Red Crescent Society on l7jttne 1998.
ONE COUNTRY /july—Septemher 1998
Some 200 representatives from various govemméhts, _ nonegbvertbmental organizations and religious communities call for greater Efforts to promote freedom of religion and beliefi urging specifically that the UN office charged with monitoring religious inthlerance be strengthened.
W
NGOs and governments form a new coalition to promote religious tolerance
OSLO, Norway ~ The right to freedom of religion is surely one of the thorniest issues in international relations, concerning as it does the deepest beliefs of peoples and cul- tures and, all too often, touching on nerves made raw by long—running regional or reli- gious conflicts.
So it is understandable, perhaps, that in- ternational efforts to monitor and prevent religious intolerance have sometimes been overlooked by governments and others, de- spite strong international declarations that clearly uphold the right of religious freedom or belief - and despite strong teachings by all of the religions that stress tolerance, peace and good will.
In August, however, a gathering of some 200 representatives from various govern- ments, non-governmental organizations and religious communities issued a call for greater attention to the issue, urging spe— Cifically that the United Nations office charged with monitoring religious intoler— ance be strengthened. As significantly, per— haps, they also moved to form a new coali- tion aimed at bolstering such efforts.
Cosponsored by the Council for Reli- gious and Lifestance Communities in Nor-
UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Mary Robinson at the podium.
4
way, of which the Baha’i community of Nor- way is a member, the Oslo Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief brought to- gether a highly diverse and prominent group of government delegates, human rights ex— perts, religious leaders, and NGO represen— tatives from 12-15 August 1998.
In its final declaration, the group urged the world community to give increased fi— nancial and personnel support to the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, the main UN officer Charged with monitoring human rights Violations and concerns in the area of freedom of reli- gion or belief. In this regard, the Govern- ment ofNorway announced a grant ofsome US$15 million to support the Special Rapporteur’s office The Government of Norway also gave complete financial sup— port to the Conference.
More dramatic in some respects was the Conference’s proposal to establish a coali— tion of “governments, religious or belief communities, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations” with the aim of giving ongoing support to the Spe- cial Rapporteur and other international in- stitutions and instruments which aim to protect the freedom of religion or belief.
“The intention is to form the coalition as wide as possible,” said Stig Utnem, chair of the Host Committee.
As such, the Conference marks yet an— other example of the increasing partnership between governments and NGOs in address— ing key international issues.
“Everyone, including the Special Rappor- teur, concedes that the NGOs have a new place in this whole order,” said David Little, a se— nior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, a US government—sponsored research and training center, who was the lead US rep- resentative to the Conference. “The govern- ments themselves can’t do the job, especially in human rights and particularly in religious issues. Because the interested parties are usu— ally NGO bodies, such as religious groups. So this is a very important development in deep- ening cooperation between governments and non-govemmental groups.”
ONE COUNTRY /july—September 1998
[Page 5]
Indeed, the Conference was also note-
worthy for the involvement of religious lead—
ers from diverse communities — communi-
ties that in some parts of the world are in
conflict or disharmony. Religious partici—
pants included representatives from the
Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish,
Moslem and Sikh communities. And many
of the speeches and panel discussions at the
Conference focused quite specifically on re-
gional/religious conflicts or issues as they
relate to human rights, an aspect that many
participants said helped to create a new dia-
logue among faith groups on this issue‘
“The particular difficulties surrounding freedom of religion and belief which, for so long, have inhibited interreligious conver— sation, no doubt have to do with the very profound issues and attitudes involved in religious belief or unbelief,” said Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who was a keynote speaker. “The call of believer and unbeliever alike is to resist the degeneration of fundamental beliefs from their liberating potential into fundamentalist and dominating caricatures.
Only in this way will authentic religious free— dom be upheld.”
A Strategic Plan
As outlined by the organizers, the Conference’s main aim was to establish a new international coalition and develop a strategic plan to achieve real progress and practical support for Article 18 in the Uni- versal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimi- nation, which are the two main international instruments that uphold the right to reli- gious freedom.
To that end, participants issued the Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Be- lief, a two-page call to action which reaf— firms that every person has the right to free- dom of religion or belief; recognizes that religions and beliefs teach peace and good will; and challenges “governments, religious bodies, interfaith associations, humanist communities, non—governmental organiza- tions and academic institutions to create educational programs using the 1981 Dec- laration as a universal standard to build a culture of tolerance and understanding and respect between people of diverse beliefs.”
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the promotion and defense of religious freedom is one of the most pressing items
on the international agenda,” said Hilde Frafjordjohnson, Norway’s minister of in- ternational development and human rights, who opened the Conference. “It also deserves higher priority. The work of promoting respect for human rights is rooted in a fundamental belief in human dignity. Thus, human rights are based on moral values. One of our overriding aims is to contribute to a world in which every human being is guaranteed the right to life, an opportunity to live in peace, free- dom and security, and the fulfillment of basic needs. Respect for human rights is the foundation of a life of dignity. These are grand words, but they are true, and they should challenge us to action.”
Ms. johnson and others said that among the factors which have pushed religious free- dom t0 the top of the international agenda are the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism, which have unleashed old eth- mic and religious rivalries in many regions, the increasing use of religious and ethnic rivalries by leaders for political gain, and a general revival of religious feeling in many countries and regions that has sometimes expressed itself in extreme terms.
In his address Abdelfattah Amor, the cur- rent UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, said that these new realities have created an urgent necessity for action.
“Numerous countries have problems assimilating the human rights instru- ments, and religious persecutions con- tinue, including everything from verbal intimidation to Violence and terrorism,” said Prof. Amor, a professor of interna— tional law at the University of Tunis Law School in Tunisia. “Lack of education fo- cused on tolerance, especially to the young generations, is a main problem.”
More resources are needed, Prof. Arnor said, to counteract extremism, adding that the problem of terrorists who kill in the name of God is a main challenge for society. ”Silence and indifference towards these ac- tions will only increase the phenomenon,” Prof. Amor said. “Tolerance towards extrem- ism is tolerance for the intolerable. Extrem- ism should be counteracted in every pos- sible way and find its definitive place where it belongs, in our history”
Throughout the Conference, speakers suggested that real hope for progress lies in an interdisciplinary, cross—sectorial approach that will bring together not only the vari- ous actors — from governments to religious
ONE COUNTRY /]uly—September 1998
”Everyone, including the- Special Rappofleun concedes that the NGOs have a new place in this whole order. The governments themselves can’t do the job, especially in human rights and paflicularly in religious issues.” — David Little, a senior fellow at the
United States Institute of Peace
”Cambatting religious intolerance and discrimination requires an interdisciplinary and long term approach including legislative measures, legal measures, but especially measures such as education and
dialogue.” — Bahiyyih G. Tahzib
organizations — but that also extends beyond simple support for legal instruments, en- compassing new efforts to educate young people about the importance of tolerance.
”The critical issue is how to ensure ef— fective international protection of freedom of religion or belief at the dawn of the let century," said Bahiyyih G. Tahzib, an expert on the rights of freedom of religion and be- lief from the Netherlands. “A host of rec— ommendations have been made, many of them need to be more known and others require elaboration and further debate. Clearly, combatting religious intolerance and discrimination requires an interdisciplinary and long—term approach including legisla— tive measures, legal measures, but especially measures such as education and dialogue.”
Conference participants also called for new research into the issue of freedom of religion and belief, urging development of specialized informational resources and methodologies for collecting information, monitoring compli- ance and initiating comparative country stud— ies. Conference organizers said they hope to establish, for example, a comprehensive site on the World Wide Web that would help pro— vide timely information to decision—makers about intolerance.
“There is a growing body of religious, philosophical and scientific research into the root causes of intolerance and dis- crimination based on religion or belief,“ said Michael Roan, head of The Tandem Project, a US~based NGO that specializes in the issue of freedom of religion and belief and which was a co—organizer of the
Professor Abdelfattah Amor, UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance.
Oslo Conference, along with the Diacona College Centre in Norway. “But very little of this research has been made available in simplified form for analysis by the United Nations."
An opportunity for dialogue
The Conference itself was especially in- teresting because of the opportunities for dialogue that emerged. Between some of the groups represented in Oslo there are now, or have been in the past, tensionsChina, for example, sent a delegation of experts; also present were representatives from exiled Tibetan groups who object to China’s pres— ence in Tibet. There were also many repre- sentatives from various countries and groups in the Middle East, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Iran.
The main Baha’i representative to the Conference, Techeste Ahderom, spoke about the situation of Baha’is in Iran, suggesting that there is no better example of genuine religious intolerance, inasmuch as the fun- damental teachings of Baha’i Faith call for noninvolvement in politics and the Baha'is of Iran accordingly eschew any political ide— ology. Mr. Ahderom said that Baha’is in Iran are nevertheless persecuted, noting that as recently asjuly a Baha’i was executed by the government. [See next page] Present dur- ing the speech were members of an aca- demie-oriented delegation from Iran. When asked about the situation of the Baha’is, one of the Iranian delegates said simply, “We cannot overproteet the minorities."
On the whole, the Conference provided a forum for the expression of tolerance and good will—another example of a growing pattern of constructive transeultural dis— course among the world’s peoples. Numer— ous times, religious leaders of all creeds emphasized that religions and beliefs should teach peaceful relations with others and that they as religious authorities in their com— munities should do their utmost to prevent religion from being misused to cause intol- erance, discrimination and prejudice.
“Where the Claim to universality of fun— damental human rights is denied, refuted or reduced,” said Gunnar Stalsett, the Bishop of Oslo (Lutheran) and a eo-president ofthe Conference, “we need to struggle as indi— viduals, faith or belief communities, and na— tions — not with weapons that kill but with words that heal — words ofspiritual wisdom, political acumen and moral conviction.” ‘é
— Reported by Lisbeth Mattsson johannensen
ONE COUNTRY /_]uly—September 1998
In Iran, one Baha’i is executed and two more are sentenced to death, raising sharp doubts about the new Government’s human rights policies
Early in the morning of 21 july 1998, Ruhu’llah Rawhani, a 52-year-old medical supplies salesman, father of four and mem— ber of Iran’s Baha’i community, was hanged in Mashhad, Iran. Later that morning, Mr. Rawhani’s family was summoned to collect his body and required, despite their protests, to complete the burial within one hour, un- der the supervision of Government intelli- gence agents.
The killing of Mr. Rawhani was the first government execution of a Baha’i in Iran in six years, and, coupled with the widespread arrest of some 32 Baha’i educators in four— teen different cities throughout Iran in late September and early October, it has many people concerned about the possibility of a renewed effort by the Government to sys- tematically persecute the Baha’i community of Iran.
International organizations and govern— ments around the world were quick to con— demn the Rawhani execution, which was carried out solely because of Mr. Rawhani’s religious belief.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, issued a press release stating it was “deeply dis— turbed” by the execution. “The Office of the High Commissioner is gravely concerned about the reported conditions that led to the execution, particularly the seeming absence of due process,” said the release.
The governments of the United States, Canada, and Australia also quickly issued statements of strong condemnation. Each noted that the execution blatantly contra- dicts recent signs of liberalization and talk of greater respect for human rights in Iran.
“This brutal action is a grave disappoint— ment,” said Canadian Foreign Affairs Min- ister Lloyd Axworthy. “We have seen the beginnings of positive cultural and social change in Iran and we hold hopes for con- tinuing progress.”
In the United States, the White House is— sued a statement saying that “[t]he world has been encouraged by the recent statements from Iranian leaders about the need for rule of law and the rights of individuals. Such words have
little meaning so long as the human rights of the Iranian people, including the right to wor— ship freely, are not upheld, and until the per- secution of and Violence against Iranians of the Baha’i Faith stops.”
More death sentences
The Baha’i International Community said at least two other Baha’is are being held under the sentence of death in Mashhad, in the province of Khurasan, raising fears that they may soon meet the same fate as Mr. Rawhani. Sentences of death were commu- nicated orally by prison authorities in Sep— tember to Sirus Zabihi—Moghaddam and Hedayat—Kashefi Najafabadi, two of the three Baha’i 5 who were imprisoned and tried along with Mr. Rawhani. A third Baha’i”, Ataollah Hamid Nasirizadeh, was con- demned to 10 years’ imprisonment and will be transferred to a prison in Kerman.
As well, during a four-day period from 29 September through 2 October 1998, a sweeping series of raids was con— ducted by Iranian Govern— ment officers in 14 Cities. Thirty-two Baha’i educa- tors were arrested. The educators were faculty members of the Baha’i In— stitute of Higher Educa- tion, a volunteer effort op- erated throughout Iran in private homes to provide education for Baha’i youth, who are prevented from completing their high school education and from attending universities in Iran as part of the Government’s ongoing persecution.
“These events suggest an intensification of efforts to terrorize members of the Faith and to suffocate the spiritual life of the Baha’i com- munity in the region by further curtailing activities aimed at providing education to Baha’i Children and youth,” said Techeste
ONE COUNTRY /]uly-September 1998
In another ominous sign, government officers in fourteen cities arrested 32 Bahé’i educators in late September-early October:
Ruhu’llah Rawhani
INSIGHT
News accounts sometimes mischaracterize the Faith’s independent nature
Within days of the execution of Ruhu’llah Rawhani in Iran, nearly all of the world’s major international news services carried stories about the event, a clear mark of the world's concern about the ongoing persecution of the Bahé'is of Iran.
In several news accounts, however, it was erroneously stated that the Baha'i Faith is an "offshoot" or "sect" of Islam. Such a reference to the Faith is inaccurate, akin to referring to Christianity as a ”sect” or ”offshoot" of Judaism or referring to Buddhism as a "denomination" of Hinduism.
Indeed, scholars have long recognized the independent nature of the Baha’i Faith. In 1959, for example, noted historian Arnold Toynbee wrote: ”Bahaism [sic] is an independent religion on a par with Islam, Christianity and the other recognized world religions. Bahaism is not a sect of some other religion; it is a separate religion, and it has the same status as the other recognized religions.”
The distinction is important in the face of ongoing persecutions, in that statements from Iranian leaders have sought to dismiss the Baha’i Faith as a heretical sect of Islam or a political movement, apparently to justify their persecution of Baha’is.
Ahderom, the Baha‘i International Community’s main representative to the United Nations.
“The Government of Iran has been indi- cating to the world that the situation regard- ing the Baha’is had changed,” said Mr. Ahderom. “However, the execution of Mr. Rawhani causes grave concern that, what- ever the official assertion of the Iranian Government, the Baha’i community of Iran remains unprotected, and officials in that country can persecute the Baha’is at will and with impunity.”
Born into a Baha’i family in the small settlement of Hellab near Isfahan, Mr. Rawhani was an active Baha’i during his entire life. As a young man he was a mem- ber of various youth groups and friends say that he had a very calm and spiritual nature and was much loved by almost everyone he encountered. After his marriage, he moved to Chahishk, a remote village near Mashhad, and it was there that persecutions at the hands of fanatic Muslims began.
In 1984, Mr. Rawhani was arrested and imprisoned for more than a year. According to an account given by Mr. Rawhani’s rela— tives in the Australian Baha’i News, Mr. Rawhani was tortured during his first im- prisonment; Mr. Rawhani was arrested a second time about four years ago. The charge was apparently related to his work in the conduct of purely religious activities, such as prayer meetings and children‘s Classes. He was released after 24 hours.
Charged with converting a woman
Mr. Rawhani was arrested for a third time in September 1997 and placed in solitary confinement in Mashhad. He had been ac— cused of “converting” a woman from Islam to the Baha’i Faith. The woman, however, denied that she had converted; she explained that her mother was a Baha’i and that she herself had been raised as a Baha’i. She was not arrested.
Mr. Rawhani was kept incommunicado for the duration of his imprisonment and no information is available regarding his treatment in prison. There is no evidence that Mr. Rawhani was accorded any legal process, and no sentence was announced. It appears certain that he was not allowed access to a lawyer.
The night before his execution, some- one from the Iranian Intelligence Depart- ment telephoned a Baha’i in Mashhad stat- ing that Mr. Rawhani was to be executed
the next day. Initially, this statement was not believed, as Baha’is in Iran have received similar calls previously in apparent attempts to frighten them.
Rope marks on his neck
The next morning, however, the family was called and told to come to the prison to collect Mr. Rawhani’s body, when they were given an hour to bury him. Rope marks on his neck indicated he had been hanged.
The killing of Mr. Rawhani was the first official execution since 18 March 1992, when 52-year—old Bahman Samandari was secretly executed in Teheran’s Evin prison. Mr. Samandari was also executed with no advance notice and in the absence of due process. A businessman from a distinguished Baha’i family, Mr. Samandari was buried se- cretly on 20 March 1992 and his family was not notified until 5 April 1992.
In 1997, two Iranian Baha’is were killed under suspicious circumstances On 4 july 1997, Masha’llah Enayati, a 63-year—old man, died in custody while in prison in Isfahan after being severely beaten. On 6ju1y 1997, Shahram Reza’i, a conscript in the army, was shot in the head by his superior officer at a military base near Rasht. The of- ficer, who said the bullets were fired in er- ror, was released a few days after a court excused him from paying the blood money normally required in such cases because the dead soldier was a Baha‘i.
Since 1979, more than 200 Baha’is in Iran have been executed by the Government, hundreds more have been imprisoned and thousands have lost jobs or access to edu— cation, all as part of a systematic campaign of religious persecution. Although most of the executions were carried out in the early to mid—19805, and the number of Baha’is in prison has dwindled, the Baha’i community remains without any form of official legal protection or rights.
Arbitrary detentions ofBaha’i's continue, with a marked increase in the number of short—term arrests in various areas of the country During the past three years more than 200 Baha‘is have been arrested and detained for periods ranging from 48 hours to six months in Cities such as Yazd, Isfahan, Simnan, Babul, Kirmanshah, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tankabun, Ahvaz, Kerman, Karaj, Qa’im Shahr and Teheran. Prior to the ar— rests of the 32 educators, at least 14 Baha’is
were being held in prison for their religious beliefs. fi'fi
ONE COUNTRY /july-September 1998
L l
TERACY
In Guyana, the use of moral “generative themes” propels a proj ect for youth
=
PLAISAN CE, Guyana — Although reading is not her main subject, teacher Audrie Campbell knew three years ago that some— thing was wrong with her students almost as soon as she returned to her home eco- nomics classroom at the community second- ary school here in this suburb of Georgetown, the nation’s capitol.
Ms. Campbell, who is now 45, had been away from teaching for about 14 years, op— erating a small grocery store and haberdash— ery shop. Economic times were tough here in the 19805 and running her own business seemed like a good way to make ends meet.
But upon stepping back into the class- room in 1995, Ms. Campbell immediately noticed that many of her students struggled much more than her students had in the 19705. “Theyjust weren’t performing in my subject area, so I wanted to know what the problem was," she said. “And 1 found the problem was that they could not read.”
Not one to shrug off a problem as some- one else’s responsibility, Ms. Campbell de— cided to start her own remedial reading class. She sought instruction from a local church group that had just started up a literacy teacher—training program in response to a new national literacy campaign. And then she invited her students, who ranged in age from 11 to 16 years old, to come in during the lunch break for extra reading help.
In the beginning, the results were not par-
ticularly good. The training she had received focused on the mechanical aspects of reading, with an emphasis on phonics. “But I thought the kids were too big for phonics,”
So when she saw a pamphlet about an— other program that offered free training in how to teach literacy, she enrolled immedi- ately. That program, known as “On the Wings of Words,” had just been started up by the Baha’i community of Guyana, also in response to the national campaign [or im— proved literacy.
The instructional methods she learned through “On the Wings of Words” were entirely different. The methods took a dynamic, par- ticipatory approach to teaching reading, and included the use of skits, songs and other ere- ative teaching aids. The methods also empha— sized the importance of teaching moral val— ues, along with basic literacy, as a means of motivating and empowering students.
These methods, Ms. Campbell said, were immediately successful. She moved her reading class to her garage and held it daily after school. She started with 12 students, but soon began holding two classes, so great was the demand. She provided these services to her pupils free of charge, obtaining her reward in the progress of her students.
“I felt happy because the Children not only finished my school, but some went on to institutions of higher learning,” said Ms. Campbell, who is not a Baha’i and who
The training offered by "On the Wings of Words” makes use of the arts, such as songs, skits and dance, to convey ideas. Shown above is a singing group preparing to demonstrate songs at a training session for facilitators.
”0n the Wings of Words ” combines efforts across several theme areas - literacy, moral education, and the use of mass media to recruit volunteers - to obtain a greater synergy for success.
ONE COUNTRY /]uly-September 1998
[Page 10]
’"On the Wings of
words“ is not
khan?" the best —
it definitely is the
best organized
response that
we've had in the
nation to the
literacy problem.”
— Dale ,Bisnauth, Guyana's minister of education.
Literacy facilitator Audrie Campbell , left, presents a graduation certificate to jonelle Sealey, one of her students.
10
has continued with the “On the Wings of Words” project since. “And this is very sig- nificant. Because most of the students at a community high school like ours — which is considered a lower level school — are not expected to go on.”
Ms. Campbell’s experience mirrors that of many educators and others in Guyana recently. Until the mid-1990s, people in this small tropical Caribbean country took comfort in the widely accepted statistic that, despite various economic hardships, theirs was one of the most literate nations in the region, with an “official” literacy rate of more than 98 percent. (Indeed, many international reference works con- tinue to accept this figure. The prestigious 1998 United Nations Development Re- port, for example, cites a 98.1 percent lit- eracy rate.)
But in 1994, concerned that young people were not performing as well as they should have, the Ministry of Education com— missioned a survey. Undertaken by Zellynne Jennings, then a professor of education at the University of Guyana, it was discovered that for out-of-school youth between the ages of 14 and 25, upwards of 89 percent were “functionally illiterate.”
“If you were just going by standard lit- eracy tests, on whether people could write their names, the percentages were quite high,” said Prof. Jennings, who is now a lit- eracy consultant working throughout the Caribbean. “But when we asked whether people can actually understand what they
read and do simple arithmetic computation, the story was different.” jennings believes the drop in literacy was caused by the diffi— cult economic times in the 19805 that left many schools without good teachers and forced many young people to drop out of school in search of work.
When the results of the study were re- leased in 1996, it led to some serious na- tional introspection and analysis. A govern- ment~sponsored national literacy task force was formed, for example, and a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched projects to promote literacy
By nearly all accounts, among the most successful of these efforts was the “On the Wings of Words” literacy program.
“Breaking new ground”
“The program originated by the Baha’i community — ‘On the Wings of Words’ — is not ‘about’ the best — it definitely is the best organized response that we’ve had in the nation to the literacy problem,” said Dale Bisnauth, Guyana’s minister of education. “In a real sense ‘On the Wings of Words’ is really breaking new ground. We have never had anything like it.”
Indeed, the project — which has trained more than 1,000 literacy facilitators and led to the holding of classes for more than 3,000 young people — has received similar praise from nearly every quarter. The national media have run positive stories and editori- als about the project, educational adminis- trators have called it a model effort, and the facilitators and students who have partici— pated tell of many rewards.
The project recruits unpaid volunteer lit- eracy facilitators through the mass media and other publicity methods. The volunteers are then given a week of free training in the summer and administrative support over the course of a year as they work to organize small—scale literacy Classes in their home communities. Like Baha’i literacy and edu- cational proj ects in many parts of the world, “On the Wings of Words” is an integrated project, combining efforts across several theme areas to obtain a greater synergy for success. Specifically, “On the Wings of Words” integrates the training of volunteer literacy facilitators with the promotion of spiritual and moral values.
“We make it clear, in introductory meet- ings held five weeks before the training, that it has a spiritual basis,” said Pamela O’Toole, a member of the Baha’i literacy task force
ONE COUNTRY /]uly—September 1998
[Page 11]
that oversees the project. “We talk about a
bird having two wings. One is the mechan-
ics of reading. But that alone is not going to
change the lives of children, because of the
many other problems in their lives. 50 we
explain that you have to look at the other
wing, which we believe is moral and spiri-
tual education.”
“Generative Themes”
According to Ms. O’Toole and others on the task force, both the course for the facilitators —— and the classes that they ul- timately conduct for the children and youth — stress three basic moral themes, which are drawn from the Baha’i writings. These themes are: “Man is a noble being,” “Our actions affect others,” and, “We are in control of our own actions.”
“These themes permeate everything in ‘Wings of Words,’ ” said Ms. O’Toole, a native of Scotland who moved to Guyana with her English husband, Brian, in 1978. “We use Paulo Freire’s technique of generative themes, where you discuss issues, using these three themes. And this is very empowering for the youth. It is not something they do in school. So a lesson begins with generative themes. ‘How do we know what is right and wrong?” ‘How can we have strength to choose the right thing to do?” Issues like that.”
Outsiders agree that the use of moral themes has paid off. “It is a good project be- cause it has attracted a number of children who have not been doing well at school and some who have actually dropped out,” said Samuel Small, director of the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education at the University of Guyana, which offers all fa- cilitators who graduate from the course — and follow through with a year’s worth of classes — a special literacy instructor’s cer- tificate. “And I can say that at the gradua— tion exercises we have held, the children have produced stories, poems, skits ...which indicated that they have developed a lot of self—confidence, apart from their improved literary levels.”
With a parallel focus on the mechan- ics of reading, the course uses books and workbooks developed by the Baha’i lit— eracy task force; The “Wings of Words” materials are designed to lead facilitators through a course with students, even if they have had very little previous training in education. Indeed, although most of the facilitators are educators, volunteers come from a wide variety of professions, includ-
ONE COUNTRY /]uly—September 1998
ing bank clerks, health care workers and even a veterinarian.
Eileen Grant, for example, is a 60-year- old clerical secretary who took a “Wings of Words” facilitator’s course in 1996 and has since offered free classes to about 80 chil— dren in her Georgetown neighborhood. “I was privileged to read at an early age and I thought it was frightening that so many young people of Guyana cannot read,” she said. “So I wanted to help.”
Ms. Grant, like Ms. Campbell, is not a Baha’i. But she also finds the use of spiri- tually oriented themes completely in ac— cord with her own beliefs as a Christian. “I entirely agree with them,” she said. “You need to know other things in life, so that reading can be beneficial And ifyou know right from wrong, and you can read as well, you’ve got a pretty good chance of going down the right road.”
Most of the rewards, of course, go to the young people who participate in the local Classes. Jonelle Sealey is a 10-year-old girl who has been one of Ms. Campbell’s stu— dents in Plaisancei Before the classes, she could not read well and did not enjoy read- ing. She said the Wings of Words classes given by Ms. Campbell were more helpful than traditional classes at school because “the teacher moves with you step by step, and if you don’t learn, she will go back with you and teach you other words.”
As a result, she has now grown to love reading. “I used to just play all the time, or sit and listen to music,” said Jonelle. “But now if I have spare time I read.” *3
Among those who took the training session for facilitators last summer were a group of US Peace Corps volunteers. For the last three years, “On the Wings of Words” training has become a standard element of the eight-weeh in-country training that US Peace Corps volunteers receive in Guyana.
Number of literacy facilitators (mined in 1996, 1997, and 1998 in 5-day sessions by “On the Wings of Words.” In all, more than LOOOfacilitators have received training
11
The plan seeks to combine and- consolidate a wide range of proposals for an end-af-the- millennium gathering of civil society and accompanying calls for the creation of an ongoing intemational ”people’s ' assembly” at the United Nations. 9
A World Wide Web site at http://www. ngoorg/ millenniumhtm has been established to provide information about the plans or a Millennium NGO Forum. The ONE COUNTRY website at http://www.onec0untfl.org will also carry
continuing reports.
w
Work begins on a “Millennium NGO Forum”
Millennium, continued from page one will seek further to define the plan and make a concrete recommendation for the formal election of an executive committee to carry it out. Then, in a meeting that has been ten— tatively scheduled for 1-2 December 1998 at the UN in New York, the recommenda- tions will be openly consulted on by a di- verse group of NGOs, gathered from as wide a base as possible, and the executive com- mittee will be elected.
The proposal for a Millennium NGO F0- rum comes partly in response to the call last year by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for the holding of a “people’s millennium assem- bly” as a companion event to his proposed “millennium assembly” for UN member states in September 2000. In a resolution last year, the UN General Assembly agreed to the con- cept of having a “millennium assembly” in conjunction with its regular meeting in Sep~ tember 2000, and to include a summit seg- ment, called the “millennium summit.” The idea of a parallel NGO assembly, however, has not yet been formally addressed by UN mem- ber states.
At the same time, the plan seeks to com- bine and consolidate a wide range of pro- posals for some sort of end-of—the—millen- nium gathering of civil society and accom- panying calls for the creation of an ongoing international “people’s assembly” at the United Nations.
Indeed, one of the key aspects of the work undertaken by the CONGO Task Force on UN Reform was the degree to which it was able to obtain support for a single cul- minating event from the various non-gov~ ernmental groups and interested individu- als who were putting forward various ideas and proposals of their own.
“We’re hoping now that this will be it, a basis for unity of all of our efforts,” said Harry Lerner, director of the Campaign for a More Democratic United Nations (CAMDUN), one of a number of NGOs that had already been working to organize some sort of millennium people’s assembly.
CAMDUN, said Dr. Lerner, had worked closely with others since the Earth Summit + Five meeting at the United Na— tions in New York injune 1997 to create
12
an “earth action coalition.” It won the support of some 1,600 NGOs in 130 coun- tries, he said, and this network evolved into something called the Millennium People’s Assembly Network, which has now given its support to the Millennium NGO Forum plan unveiled on 15 July.
Other groups around the world that are seeking similar goals have likewise given tacit support to the Millennium NGO Fo- rum proposal. A group of NGOs working in Geneva and Canada, for example, is plan- ning to hold a “World Civil Society Confer- ence” in Montreal in December 1999, while a coalition of Korean-based NGOs has scheduled a major conference on “The Role of NGOs in the 215‘ Century” in Seoul, K0- rea, in October 1999, said Angus Archer, head of a United Nations Association- Canada project entitled “Civil Society and the United Nations.”
Now, according to Mr. Archer, both of these gatherings are likely to become “pre- paratory” conferences for the culminating Millennium NGO Forum as proposed on 15 july. Given all of the various discussions worldwide about NGOS, civil society and the importance of their participation, coupled with the general interest in the millennium, a Millennium NGO Forum at the UN that ties all of these themes together “could be very big,” said Mr. Archer.
A departure from the past
The plan put forth by the CONGO Task Force in July suggests that NGOS should consider holding a major meeting two or three months in advance of the UN Millen— nium Summit in September in order to pre- pare a “consolidated report” of NGOs on the state of the world and the opinions of civil society for presentation to the governments at the Millennium Summit.
Such a procedure would be something ofa departure from past NGO forums at UN world conferences where NGOs have met simultaneously and in parallel with govern— ments. In such instances, final, unified NGO proposals for action emerged at the end of the process, often just as government rep- resentatives were going home.
Under this proposal, “issues can be
ONE COUNTRY /july-September 1998
[Page 13]
thrashed out in advance so that when the UN
Secretary General gives his consideration to a
report to the governments in mid-summer, he
will already have our input,” said Techeste
Ahderom, who chairs the CONGO Task Force
on UN Reform, at the July meeting. “When
the heads of state and government meet in
September 2000, we will lobby them” with a
representative statement of NGO concerns
from around the world.
Other aspects of thejuly proposal call for a series of regional meetings of NGOS before the year 2000. As noted, many NGO gather- ings with similar goals are already being orga- nized on an ad hoc basis, and the proposal would seek to bring together the results of these various consultations. The plan also urges local NGOs to hold other gatherings at the local level on millennium issues. The re- sults of such local consultations would be transmitted up through the national and re— gional level meetings and, finally, to the cul— minating Millennium NGO Forum.
A Slow Birth
In part because of the great diversity of interests of NGOs, disagreements about how global issues should be approached, and the lack of any formal mechanism for NGOs to collaborate and coordinate their efforts, it took considerable time for the Millennium NGO Forum proposal to solidify. While a number of groups and individuals had pro— posed a wide range of plans and proposals, none had managed until the 15 july meet- ing to achieve any sort of consensus among NGOs, and especially among the core group of active NGOs at the UN.
Into the breach stepped CONGO, one of the oldest and perhaps the best organized formal grouping of NGOs. Founded in 1948, CONGO is composed of roughly 300 inter- national NGOs and NGO confederations that have been recognized by the UN and granted the right to enter into consultations with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Through its Task Force on UN Reform, it began to reach out to other NGOS with a series of meetings in early 1998.
By many accounts, Mr. Ahderom, who is the main representative of the Baha’i ln- ternational Community to the UN, played a key role in drawing into the planning pro— cess other groups of NGOs, from those groups that have been accorded recognition by the UN’s Department of Public Informa— tion (DPI), known as DPl—NGOs, to the ad hoc coalitions, such as the Millennium
People’s Assembly Network, that have been interested in such a convocation.
“The way it is now evolving, where there are multiple goals and a number of groups that are going to try and integrate and interlink their common goals into a millen- nium NGO forum, is the right route,” said William Pace, director of the World Feder- alist Movement, who has been following the process Closely. “Techeste was able, 1 think, to help integrate a number of different ini- tiatives that normally would have competed and probably cancelled each other out.”
According to Mr. Pace and others, the next major hurdle in the process of organizing an all—encompass- ing Millennium NGO Forum will be to ensure the inclusion of a wide range of NGO representa- tives from well outside the usual circle of UN-oriented NGOs, es- _ pecially from Southern countries, as well as groups whose focus has been on specific issue areas, such as NGOs focusing on the issues of women or environment.
“In the past, some of the or— ganizing committees for NGO forums have not been effective,” 3‘ said Anita Nayar, the associate di- rector of the Women’s Environ— ment and Development Organi- zation (WEDO), which has been one of the most active and effec- tive NGOs at recent UN world conferences. “They haven’t really created a process that is flexible and open, particularly for Southern participation.”
The plan seeks to ensure inclusive par~ ticipation by having the interim steering committee create a “Planning Consultative Council” by “nominating” representatives from as wide a range of respected and ac tive NGO groups and networks as possible. This Council would “elect” a much smaller “Millennium NGO Forum Executive Com— mittee,” which would be charged with ac— tually organizing the Forum.
Members of the interim steering com-
mittee, as elected on 15 July, are: Mr.
Ahderom; CONGO President Afaf Mahfouz; DPI-NGO Executive Committee Chairperson Elaine Valdov; Robert Wheeler of the Millennium People’s As- sembly Network; and Esmeralda Brown and Felix Dodds, co-chairs of the Com- mission on Sustainable Development NGO
Steering Committee. ‘33
ONE COUNTRY /July-September 1998
The United Nations in
New York, site of the scheduled Millennium Assembly in September 2000, which would be a focus for the proposed Millennium NGO Forum.
13
[Page 14]
Authentic Morality
Review, continuedfrom back page.
nature, it is intrinsic and, since it is shared by all humans, it is universal.” This, of course, is all quite similar to what
ThefT'OSt has been taught by most of the world’s reli— sPecmf 9.0a! 0f gions. And such ideas have also been hotly moral'ty ’5 to disputed by materialistic philosophers who estabfish argue that there is no God (or no reliable proof authentic of God) or any evidence of the human soul, relationships With and so on. Yet it would be wrong to say that other human Dr. Hatcher, who is a Baha 1, looks to the past
, I, for his ideas, and that hls call for the accep— beings.
-William S. Hatchet
tance of absolute truths and universal values is a return to traditionalism.
Rather, Dr. Hatcher says he has drawn on and been inspired by the Baha’i writings for the insights that have led to his new formula- tion. Further, Love, Power and justice is distin— guished for its almost exclusive reliance on
on mathematical concepts discovered within the last 100 years, that, in subsequent sec- tions, are used to prove the existence of a universal, unique and uncreated Creator [see below] and, by logical inference from that, the existence of a supreme and universal sys- tem of values. Dr. Hatcher reasons, for ex- ample, that since God is the unique, uni- versal Cause, God must also be the most re- fined entity in existence and, accordingly, the most valued entity in existence.
With these conclusions established, Dr. Hatcher then fills out the rest of his book with an exposition of what such a reality must mean for human morality — deriving what he considers to be “authentic” moral- ity from this hierarchy of values.
Authentic morality begins with our rela- tionship with God, as the highest value in the universe, and our relationship with other hu- mans, as the highest created value. “Since the
pure logic for its conclusions.
Indeed, what makes the book so impor— tant is its use of new forms of logic, based
human being is the supreme value in creation, it is our interactions with other humans that have the greatest degree of moral implication,”
W
A new “proof” of God’s existence?
In Love, Power and Justice: the Dynamics ofAuthentic M0- rality, as well as in several earlier works, Dr. William S. Hatcher outlines a simple logical proof for the existence of God, an accomplishment made possible, he said, by reexamining a classic proof of God offered by the great Muslim philosopher Avicenna (ibn Sina, 980-1037) and applying to it some new logical tools derived from recent developments in mathematics.
“Up until the modern period, the logic that was used in philosophy was Aristotelean logic, which is the logic of attributes,” said Dr. Hatcher in a recent interview. “In the late 19th century, however, there was an explosion of logi- cal and mathematical ideas and discoveries.” Among these new ideas is the logic of relationships.
“The use of Aristotelean logic in the many previous proofs of God is a major limitation,” he said. “You can’t really prove God logically with just the logic of attributes. If you try, you end up with the ontological proof, which is not really convincing.”
“The logic of relations, I feel, is the single greatest in- tellectual advance in the history of humankind,” Dr. Hatcher added. “To give an example: the whole field of computers is based on the logic of relationships.”
By applying the logic of relations, Dr. Hatcher has been able to update Avicenna’s proof, which is in some ways itself based on Aristole’s “first cause” argument. The up- dated proof7 Dr. Hatcher says, is now something a mod— ern logician would find incontrovertibly true, given its
three assumptions, which are:
1) Everything in the universe is either preceded by a cause or else contains within itself a sufficient reason for its existence.
2) For every system or composite phenomenon, any cause for the system is also a cause for every part of the system. (Every material thing, except possibly the elemen- tary particles of quantum physics, is composite.)
3) The existence of a whole system cannot precede the existence of its components (or, he writes, “the con- stitution of a whole obviously supposes and depends upon the prior or simultaneous existence of its components”)
The proof applies modern rules of logic to these three assumptions, which Dr. Hatcher says are nothing more than obvious formulations of the scientific method. The reasoning can be summarized as follows: First, no composite phenomenon can be self-caused, because of the second and third assumptions. Second, since the entire universe is composite, it cannot be self- caused. It must be caused by something else, accord- ing to the first assumption.
Further reasoning proves that this something else “is a unique, non-composite, uncaused universal cause and thus the cause of everything that exists — and that is God,” Dr. Hatcher said. “Moreover, granted the three premises, the denial of which would lead in each case to a highly unreasonable proposition, the entire proof is as incontro— vertible as one plus one equals two.” 9!":
14
ONE COUNTRY /]uly—September 1998
he writes. “So much is this so, that we can say that the most specific goal of morality is to establish authentic relationships with other human beings.
“The mark of authenticity in interhuman relationships is the presence of self-sacrific— ing love or altruism. Non-authentic relation- ships are based on various forms of egotism and self—interest and are Characterized by conflict, disharmony, manipulation, cruelty, jealousy and the like.”
In examining further what such a con— cept of authentic relationships must mean in terms of moral actions in society, for ex— ample, Dr. Hatcher takes a look at other models of reality and finds them deficient. He is especially concerned with any ideol- ogy or system that holds ideas or things to be more important than human beings.
For example, he writes, although all re- ligions have taught of the necessity of au— thentic relationships (such as Christ’s com- mandment to “love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as they self”), he concludes that many religious groups have become more concerned with doctrine, rejecting authentic morality and instead defining morality as a set of rules or beliefs that must be accepted above all else, even if doing so means harming others.
“Indeed, militant and exclusivist funda- mentalist ideology seems to have become predominant within many of the world’s major religions in these closing years of the twentieth century,” he writes.
Dr. Hatcher likewise examines various humanistic ideologies. Communism and other collectivist ideologies were doomed to fail, he suggests, because they hold that the only possible source of individual value is what may be attributed by soci- ety, rather than the intrinsic value that stems from the God-created soul. “We must each conceive of ourselves as having value, for to consider oneself worthless is to perpetrate spiritual or psychological sui- cide,” Dr. Hatchet writes. Since the only source of self worth in a collectivist society is, by definition, the value attributed to the individual by society, the individual soon realizes, whatever the rhetoric, that his or her value is determined by his or her posi- tion in the status hierarchy.
In this situation, he writes, “ [p] ower and
Correction:
authority allow us to compel others to rec- ognize our worth.” Hence the tendency to seek dominance over others, which causes great unhappiness and inherent instability.
The ideology of individualism in the West is also flawed, Dr. Hatcher believes. “Recall that individualism gives value to per- sonal ability that is demonstrably above the perceived norm in society,” he writes. “In— dividualisrn is the supervaluation of the spe- cial. In a society where all accept the indi- vidualistic notion of value, we can avoid the self—perception of worthlessness only by demonstrating special ability in some way. This is done primarily through competition, i.e. by constantly striving to outperform oth- ers and thereby to demonstrate our supe- rior ability in a given area of endeavor.”
One problem is that sometimes the op- timal strategy for winning a competition is sabotage or corruption — and, without au- thentic morality, there is in the end no ethi- cal reason to abstain from such behavior.
A value system based on authentic rela— tionships — and in particular an authentic re~ lationship with God — gives rise instead to the pursuit of excellence, whereby one’s self-worth is measured not through competition with others but by the degree to which an individual improves his or her talents (or, rather, strives to develop one’s God—given qualities).
There is much more to this book than outlined here. Dr. Hatcher spends consid- erable time looking at how his theory of authentic morality applies to questions re- garding the pursuit of power and the cre- ation ofjustice. Power should be used only to promote justice, never for revenge or for purely selfish motives, for example.
In contemporary philosophy, then, the metaphysical theory outlined in Love, Power and Justice is in a category Virtually by it- self, diametrically opposed to the dominant schools of post-modernistic relativism, ma- terialism and deconstructionism.
The book adds up to a powerful exposi- tion on global ethics — even though it has none of the usual set of “dos and don’ts” that one usually associates With other attempts to for- mulate a universal prescription for living. Rather, Dr. Hatcher presents us with some- thing much more intriguing: a new framework for ethics that he believes can be logically proved to be universal and authentic. 9"?
In the April-june 1998 issue of ONE COUNTRY, the page one photograph caption should have stated that the Grameen Bank is in Bangladesh, not Pakistan. We regret the error.
ONE COUNTRY /]uly-September 1998
”Since the human being is the supreme value in creatioa, it is our intetactians with other humans
that have the . greatest degree of moral implication; ‘ So the most a specific goal of ‘1 1 morality is‘to ‘ establish authentic ‘ . relationshipsw otherrfiiittt _ bfliflgfl.” ‘ $1 " ~William s. Hague:
15
Love, Power and Justice: the Dynamics of Authentic Morality
ByWilliam S. Hatcher
Bahé'i Publishing Trust
Wilmette, Illinois
BOOK
REVIEW
Using logic in the search for supreme values
What is Justice? What is Truth? What is right and wrong? 15 there a God?
These questions have engrossed philoso- phers and thoughtful people everywhere since ancient times. The answers have come in great variety, from Plato’s theory of ideal forms to more recent concepts of cultural relativism and situational ethics.
The relevance of these questions today is highlighted by discussions about the need for a new paradigm of global ethics and the accompanying search for universal values. These discussions are perhaps most heated in areas like human rights, where there is continuing disagreement over the degree to which all possess the same rights or whether cultural and religious factors give rise to different rights for different groups of people. But the questions — and the answers they generate — also loom large in the back— ground of contemporary debates over the environment, educational methodology and media ethics — not to mention more straight— forward issues like military intervention and national sovereignty
For these reasons even the most hard- headed of policy makers, as well as thinking people in Virtually any culture, will find new and important ideas in the latest book from William S. Hatcher, an American-bom math- ematician, philosopher and educator at Laval University in Quebec, Canada.
Love, Power andjustice: The Dynamics of Authentic Morality offers a bold and creative philosophical framework for understanding these great questions and more. Quite spe— cifically, the book seeks to define the nature of “authentic morality” — a term that Dr. Hatcher uses to describe a moral system that conforms with “an accurate perception of the structure of reality.”
In the process, Dr. Hatcher outlines a series of philosophic constructs that assert with convincing logic the existence of an all—powerful Creator, the ultimate nobility of the human being, and the necessity for Viewing altruistic love as the guiding value in human relationships. Dr. Hatcher’s work also defines the legitimate use of power and the prerequisites for establishing justice.
The logic he employs goes far to prove
the universality of such values and, by ex- tension, to establish the universal nature of human rights, the downfall of cultural rela- tivism and the demise of situational ethics. Another by-product is a stunning critique of some of this century’s most Vibrant ide- ologies, including fundamentalist religion, collectivist economics and the currently reigning idea that individualistic competi- tion promotes society’s best development. The book begins in a straightforward and direct manner, with the simple assumption that the ultimate source of all intrinsic values is God, “for He is the Creator who has alone determined the inner structure and degree of refinement of each entity in existence.”
The Dynamics of Authentic Morality
by William S. Hawker
As the supreme value in existence, the Creator by definition becomes the ultimate end and goal of all human moral striving, Dr. Hatcher says. Further, he asserts, “[blecause the ‘reality of man” (the human soul) is capable ofreflecting all the attributes of God, the human being is the apex of cre- ation” and “the highest created value.” He continues that since “the God—given value of humankind is inherent in our essential
Review, continued on page 14
ONE COUNTRY /july—September 1998
