Transcript:US Bahá’í Newsreel/Volume 16/No 2 (Winter 2007)
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Hey leon look at this one, it's from a girl in new york who wants you to come to her birthday party, leon gets a lot of letters like this and he's always sad because he can't travel to things because he's so busy with his work here. One of Lyon's jobs is reading your letters and helping you understand how you can help the Kingdom project build its projects. Leon wants to congratulate all the Children for the work they have already done to help the Kingdom project. Hey, leon, let's look at some of the letters you've been receiving. Here's one from Nina in florida who drew a picture of her giving a dollar to leon and says it's one of the things she can do during the five year plan to give to the fund at every feast. Young says we can help by praying, studying and giving it the fund anytime we want Children's classes and practicing virtues are a big part of growing up. Everyone loves the leon, the lion stories we get in the mail and so do I in naperville Illinois, the Children do something every week about giving to the Baha'i funds. In fact, each class has its own child treasurer. This one is from Wuhan in California who says I raise money for the Kingdom project and I want to know other ways to search. Please join leon and I in our study circle. The bill from texas says I love your stories. I get so happy when the mail gets to my house. When you send me a book, can I have more about the real mobile, the one Baha'i history because I don't know much about him, jasmine from California, not only contributes to the fund, but give what she can to people who are needy and the Children from riverside to high center in California, not only prayed but raised money all summer for those affected by hurricane Katrina disaster. Yang says we've got a lot of work to do if we're gonna build our world based on justice and equality. You have continued to try and share the Baha'i faith with others. Here's a drawing from Sierra in new york who gave her second grade teacher in Aubrey's card by the way, leon she couldn't fit her head on the page so she squished it a little bit. Sorry, you have also helped motivate your parents and other Children to give to the Baha'i fund. Here's a letter from Benjamin's mother in New Jersey who says after Benjamin made a contribution to the fund that she was so moved and she saw how proud he was that she emptied her whole purse to add to his contribution. So why is our participation so important, we all get to help meet the goals of the community like in naperville the kids know why it's important that we all give to the fund, it doesn't matter how much you give to the fund, like it doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, it's basically from your heart as much as you can give and that's basically what matters the most. Everyone in the community gets to participate. Your grandparents have helped build the temple here in Wilmette. Your parents have contributed to the restoration of the temple and our newest goal is the chile temple and we get to build it. Alfred sent this picture and said I am six. Please use this to build the temple Alfred. Your drawing is building the temple already. Thank you and keep up the good work. Oh and now we would like to introduce a friend of ours who's gonna help us build that temple in chile. Some of you may already know her. Her name is Avi Yonah. So from chile, here's a Viana Hola Amigos. My name is Avi Yonah the penguin. I'm the Children's correspondent for chile. You can read all about me in my home country in Lyons Adventures and on my new website, thank you for your awesome support of the chili temple. Please remember Rod Little by little One by one. We can do it. We can build a temple of light. That's great. A Viana. Our house of worship is gonna look so fantastic. For more information on the chile temple, please visit www dot Chilean temple dot org. For more information about Leong's adventures Or to contact leon. Please write to leong at U S B N C dot org or leong's adventures. 1233 Central Street, Evanston's Illinois 60 to 01. The behinds of Metropolitan Atlanta have been creating a vibrant spiritual community life for years. Many of their activities have been held at the Unity Center, located just north of the city. The Unity Center is home to Children's classes, junior youth activities, devotions and study groups for adults. But these days there are a number of vibrant points of light showing up throughout the Atlanta metro area, bringing this energy to the neighborhood level takes teamwork and confidence. Something behind throughout the area are gradually building. Just south of Atlanta is College Park Georgia on the corner of Lyle Avenue and College Street in College Park is an apartment complex called the embassy. The Children who live here come from working class families who have recently immigrated to America. Life for them is not always easy. People have to work, The parents have to work and with the economy, both parents have to work in order to make ends meet Children need somebody an adult figure that thinks that they're important. Some of these Children were scared of their own shadows when they first came here, it was like literally if you just look at them, they would burst into tears around here. I've seen enough gang activity and it's hard for them to be able to stand up and say no, I don't want to do that. But something happens here on sunday evenings that's gradually making the embassy another point of light Sunday, evening 18 Children run out of their apartments and into the courtyard awaiting them are behind children's classes, stories, games, songs and art projects, lessons on themes like respect, kindness and assertiveness when you say something mean is that being loving parents are invited to join in but often stand on the sidelines and listen to what their Children are learning. A recent study from the Commission on Children at risk, the Y. M. C. A. And Dartmouth medical school found that neurologically and biologically Children are hardwired to connect. Remember we learned about being loving, they are born wanting to connect with people and with strong moral and spiritual concepts. A sense of community is essential to lowering the risk of behavioral issues in Children classes like these might just be one way to counteract the pressures they face. But starting these programs is not the easiest adventures but the Baha'is themselves lacked was confidence, you know, I wasn't feeling comfortable to do a Children's class. You see it's such a weighty responsibility, it's not just playing with the Children or babysitting really. We're imparting spiritual knowledge and growth and I hadn't seen it done in a way that I could emulate it was carol porter who connected the Baha'is with the opportunity to start classes at the embassy carol lives there and she works for the landlord maintaining the apartments, carol is also a behi usually with my griping about that. The kids were unruly and a lot of vandalism and stuff going on. It was pretty clear that they needed something to do in the natural course of conversation. Local, Baha'i eyes became interested in the needs of the Children in her building. I saw my gosh, this is what we have to do. There's such a demand and this is only one apartment, we could probably go to every apartment. Meanwhile, the Baha'is of College park had been engaged in a training program to help them make service a lifestyle. The course material is called Ruhi and includes a book on teaching Children. Carlos. Serrano was the group's tutor and had a wealth of experience teaching Children's classes. He began to notice that if the behinds were going to be of service, they needed to do more than just read the books, that's my duty. Whatever of course I'm tutoring is for them to really feel comfortable, you know, take them step by step to what it is that they need to do to feel confident. Claude Reese had been attending one of Carlos ruby classes, so Claude and have always been friends ever since I met him a year and a half ago and it's nice now that as he's gone through these courses, it's evolved into a more like a relationship of service. The guy that I never did think I was gonna start teaching Children class, he never really said to me, Carlos, I want to do Children's classes. Carlos asked me, I was like, no, I don't think I'll be doing nothing like that because I have a hard time with my own brothers, but just being in the study circle in the environment that it creates and it's focused being Children's classes and it's very natural progression to just grow into it. I drove up with Joanna, the kids ran into the car. They were so happy I got, this is my first time seeing the kids. They hugged me like they knew me. I was like, man, this is, this is really cool. This is your infection for their teachers. And they was like, they was like, I love you. I was like, oh man. After they said all that, I had to keep coming. Like I love you too. Are you sick? I'm very sick. Oh no, you need some help. Yes, I need medical attention. Okay, come on, come on. Oh no, that come to the hospital. First day went out there, I had to tell a story. These kids around to, to maybe six years old. I told the story and I didn't think I'd do that. Good. Carlos said you did good, extremely good. I see a lot of confidence in Claude to do Children's class. Really to do any, any other service. You know, he's willing to do anything. As long as he can do it with someone. It takes friends. It takes family to help you get that confidence up. I didn't have a lot of confidence. but my behind family, they shined on me, they told me to never give up confidence feels it feels great, it feels like this big spirit that you have inside of you and it's been, it's about to explode with one teacher for every three kids, the student teacher ratio might seem a bit high, but as the behinds in College park say, the more confidence each member of the group gains today, the more Children they'll be able to serve tomorrow. I don't feel I'm doing very much yet. I guess for me it's really wonderful to have three or four teachers and I know that we're all working on the same thing and I mean it's enabling, it takes me and empowers me to actually be of service Carol says the classes are slowly changing her apartment complex. In fact, the kids wish class happened more than once a week, kids are saying, when are we gonna have class? I said we just had class, we want to have it again tomorrow. No, I said next week. So then it was like the next day I walked by and here I see like four or five kids upstairs having their own class and I thought this is great, you know, it really is making a difference. These kids actually remember this past snack time and when they go in the house again, it's great to see the parents and the Children relax and more seeing them become more active and get out and start doing more stuff and being more assertive and saying it's okay to just be a kid and it's okay for me to stand up for myself, you just take all these virtues and everything they're learning and you take these adult figures and the mentors, I mean they love that, so they have somebody to look up to. This is only one apartment, we could probably go to every apartment to be trained as a Children's class teacher contact your regional training institute coordinators to review the national spiritual assemblies policies for protecting Children and youth. Please visit the education department's website at www dot u S B N C dot org. These guidelines provide important information for local assemblies and Children's class teachers alike, Behinds continued to focus their efforts on reaching out and sharing the transforming power of the Baha'i teachings centered on the principle of unity. Not only is the aim to share these teachings, Behinds are also striving to engage their friends, family coworkers and neighbors in the ongoing life of the community, Baha'i Community life is characterized by love, nurturing and support for spiritual exploration in order to meet the variety of needs and concerns of those seeking spiritual truth. Local communities and individuals are finding creative ways to share the message of the Behind faith. One of these ways is using books from the publishing trade initiative, The Baha'i publishing trust is supporting outreach activities across the country in spring of 2006. The imprint known as Baha'i publishing was launched. Now books with a high content are available in retail bookstores. We know there's a community of interest out there that is hungry for spiritual nourishment and making these books available to that community um uh and and and letting people know that these books are available are extremely important developments in proclaiming the name of Baha'i moloch and in creating possibilities for interactions between both highs and the community at large for the behind community these trade books mark one more step of entering into the mainstream and the development is heartwarming too many long time behind. When I first uh saw the book by Hatcher, you know and martin, you see the global religion, you see the Baha'i faith and emerging global religion, you know, I was so proud and you know, many of us went there just to see it, I don't know, we just, we just looked at it on the shelf. These books are being used in personal teaching and communities are organizing book events and local bookstores to heighten awareness of the Baha'i faith in their areas in a handful of clusters that have reached an advanced level of development by high author events and discussions are being utilized as opportunities to invite friends and contacts to learn about the Baha'i perspective on social and spiritual topics. The Atlanta metro area cluster recently enhanced one of its teaching phases by hosting an author event at a large chain bookstore in the Raleigh Durham cluster. A bookstore was used as a venue for presenting the topic of prayer. The author Pamela brody is a Baha'i living in the local community. She along with the teaching team, invited those in the audience to sign up for an ongoing study circle focused on the life of the spirit. Barbara sorensen in Chicago has been a Baha'i for just over one year. Her journey to the Baha'i, faith took some interesting turns. She and Maureen Hagi met while working in downtown Chicago at a hub of international business called the merchandise mart. Their stores are located down the hall from each other and then one day Maureen and I are talking about the world situation, this goes over a year ago and I said when you look at the world and you see how people don't know where they're going. Our world is a mess, people have to get back to basics and I always did believe that religion was a great moral background and I respect Maureen so much so I would thought without intruding marine, I asked what faith are you and she said I'm up high and I said oh I know nothing about the high, we were on a wavelength together, we had a relationship knowing how she felt about so many things. It was easy for me to work with her through some of you know the questions and some of the material that she, we were sharing together after a few such conversations the next stop on Barbara's journey was transitions. Book place transitions is a popular independent bookstore in Chicago that attracts those interested in subjects of a spiritual nature. It is host to monthly Baha'i author events and discussions. This was a perfect environment for Barbara to learn even more about the teachings of the Baha'i, faith when you're in a public place, it makes it ever so much easier. You go in on your own free will, you commander around, you can sit, you're not locked in, let's say So, it's a very wonderful way to just be a participant. Just go and hear what someone is saying another stop along Barbara's way, was studying in a group, Maureen invited Barbara to join her in a study circle so she could begin a regular exploration of the Baha'i sacred writings by attending author events and study circles and eventually joining the Baha'i, faith. Barbara has embarked on a lifestyle of service. She has also inspired to share the faith that is now close to her heart with others. For me. Um, it's still a journey, it's because you're always learning, you're always trying to make yourself better, you're always trying to improve. So it's, it's just an ongoing process for me, it's exhilarating because at my age, I'm always learning, I'm still still studying and I get out my book and I get my little pad and pencil and I'm taking my notes. I don't have to do that. It seems rather silly or I'm underscoring the books, but I want that handy reference so that I'm more informed whenever I have the opportunity to talk to people. I love this journey I do. Meanwhile, on the south side of Chicago, ken and jerry more are using books from the Baha'i trade initiative to support their personal teaching plan. Since becoming behind eight years ago, the moors have been sharing the Baha'I faith with everyone they meet whether at work or on a train ride. They both find that religion is a topic that naturally comes up with those who cross their path. You know, they just want to really talk about some facts of life or things they're going to through or maybe they're searching for God. I just listen, you know, an opportunity, then I share what I think what I feel about it, but I always tell everybody well, you know, trust in God and sometimes it takes me to present by faith to them or to invite them to certain things just just rejuvenates me every day. Every opportunity I get, I'm just, I'm constantly rejuvenated. The Moores have lived in Chicago's south side for just under a year one morning, jerry was walking, exploring her neighborhood and contemplating how she could be of service in her new community. She came upon a bookstore and a woman who was outside washing the windows. The woman greeted jerry with a pleasant good morning jerry learned that the woman mrs Constance Abbas was in fact the owner of the bookstore books inc she says you're up early as as you are too. So she actually invited me into her store, she said, come on in, I said thank you. So that allowed me to to look around the store and just to see what she, what kind of books she has and what kind of uh products she's selling. She was so friendly to me, we talked about society, we talked about the war, we talked about Iran we talked about Iraq and we also talked about our faith. There was a kindred spirit there that I felt with jerry that though we are from different religious backgrounds, we were both making an attempt and an easy attempt if you will to to share the commonalities of our beliefs. During the course of their conversation, an idea was presented, it moved jerry and mrs Abbas to explore a new possibility together. And and as as a matter of fact, she asked me to the Baha'is have a book club and I said yes, we do, but not in this area, I said, but we would love to have one. We have always hosted book clubs, book discussions, community forum, type things here. So this was just part of what we already do anyway, even though this might be a small venue, it's still an opportunity for people to express themselves and freely. And that doesn't mean that everybody who walks through the door thinks the same way, but we believe that we need to all have the opportunity to, to exchange ideas. A book club or author event in this neighborhood bookstore presents many possibilities for the moors in their teaching plan. They already host a weekly devotional and monthly fireside with a regular attendance of individuals who are studying the Baha'I. Faith, a bookstore venue will be one more tool to use for inviting their friends and neighbors to a comfortable public space where they can learn more about the Baha'I. Faith the moors hope to meet new individuals who may be hearing about their faith for the first time, ken and jerry continue to discover the questions and needs for each person's spiritual search and they have the activities in place to support them along the way I believe and teaching wherever the opportunity lies, keep it on me. I've been in prison for seven years and eight or nine months, 3.5 years. I served in a labor camp, my sentence was completed four months ago. Yes, but they're still holding me and won't release me because I'm a behind several times they told me sign this paper and you can go home. You won't need the formalities of release from prison. You just walk out and go straight home the paper said that I'm a muslim At the end of the 19th century. Baha'i Allah the prophet and founder of the Baha'i faith. While a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire stated that religious fanaticism and hatred or a world devouring fire whose violence none can quench. Some. 150 years later, one United Nations Special Reporter stated that the world is witnessing persistent intolerance and discrimination based on religion and belief. Although the persecution of the Baha'i community has existed since the Baha'i Faith's birth in Iran threats to this, the largest minority religion in that country have in recent months become more urgent and the situation even more serious Events of this past year, year and a half have taken on an even more ominous tone. A galvanized Baha'i community through its institutions and agencies have for the first time since 1988, been invited to testify before a United States Congressional Committee on the situation of the Baha'is in Iran and for the first time in Egypt the Baha'i Communities in Egypt and Iran are threatened by deliberate government strategies dedicated to their eventual destruction. In both cases, the situations have recently worsened The Office of External Affairs, an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States was born out of an escalation of persecution against the Baha'is during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, one of the primary efforts of external affairs is the defense of the Baha'i faith as in the case of the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran. The mission is to make the world aware of the condition of the Iranian Baha'is because we believe that international public public opinion, that resolutions passed by parliaments and Congresses in various countries make it much more difficult to persecute the Baha'i community. We have always argued that it is easier to kill and to molest in the dark, so when you throw daylight on what's happening, the government in Iran or elsewhere is bound to take notice. During this most recent congressional hearing, Kit Bigelow, director of the Office of External Affairs, appealed to the committee for passage of a resolution to halt the systematic destruction of the Baha'i community in Iran During the past two years there has been an increase in arbitrary arrests, the destruction of historic religious sites and other pressures of the type not experienced since the years immediately following the Islamic revolution. More than 120 behinds await trial after having been imprisoned. A Baha'i died after 10 years in prison on charges of apostasy. The government sponsored newspaper Kayhan has been running a campaign of vilification on the Baha'i faith. One of the most ominous signs of the government's intentions was exposed on March 20 this year and has been referred to by previous speakers. The U. N. Special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief made public a confidential letter from Iran's armed forces calling for Baha'is to be identified and monitored the anti defamation league called these actions reminiscent of the steps taken against jews in europe. It is a deliberate conscious strategy of the Islamic republic to eliminate the Baha'i faith in Iran to eliminate the Baha'i community. These documents which the Baha'i community has been able to get hold of. They're all part of a broad, deliberate, coherent plan on the part of the Iranian government to eradicate the Baha'i faith from the land of its birth. The Iranian government does not wish the world to know the details of its persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, several members of Congress made statements on the floor of the House of Representatives on the latest resolution concerning the Baha'is in Iran including its two original cosponsors representatives, Mark Kirk and Tom Lantos, a holocaust survivor. We cannot stand by quietly as another program against the Baha'i is quietly being prepared by the bigoted regime of Iran We and the international community must put Iran on notice that such action is utterly intolerable congressman Kirk noted that the north american Baha'I House of Worship is located within his district and stated that while Iran demonstrates hatred, discrimination and tyranny. The United States is standing for liberty and toleration human rights and freedom especially for Baha'is in Iran, we have never worked and never will work against the government of Iran. That's not what we are about. We are asking the government of Iran to live up to its own obligations are resolution calls on the government of Iran simply to grant behi the rights guaranteed by international law. Iran Madam Speaker is a signatory to the international covenant on civil and political rights and several other human rights treaties. The international community must not be mocked. It must hold Iran to those standards to which it has voluntarily committed itself. Miss Bigelow also addressed the situation of the Baha'is in Egypt. The crisis immediately before the Baha'i is concerns identification cards that must be obtained by each Egyptian citizen by the end of 2006. The cards must be used for any type of government service and are needed to pass through police checkpoints. The government of Egypt has indicated that its deadline for all citizens to have this identification card is december 31st 2006. Now, what's important about this identification card, everything one gets one's driver's license, one has a bank account, one does grocery shopping, all aspects of life depend upon this card. After the deadline for the identification card passes must have this card or will be put in jail and the difficulty that ensues one will not be released from jail until one gets one's identification card, which is impossible because the government will not permit the Baha'is to state their religion. In April 2006, an Egyptian court case involving a Baha'i couple found that the Baha'is had had their human rights violated the positive result of the case has challenged the new law. The case for the Baha'is that is being represented by muslim lawyers, is waiting for a decision from a higher court to uphold these findings through the efforts of the Office of External Affairs, the institutions of the Baha'i community and innumerable individual efforts. Many partnerships have been formed. These partners share common objectives towards human rights, religious tolerance and freedom. The Heights have actually hoped and wished that their muslim neighbors and friends would come to their defense in a public manner, begun to happen in the last year or two. Outside of Iran The Association of Friends of Persian Culture is a Baha'i inspired organization under the auspices of the United States National Spiritual Assembly. During their 16th annual conference in september 2006, Dr Abbas Milani, the Director of Iranian affairs of Stanford University and an internationally respected advocate for human rights, spoke out against the oppressive treatment of the Baha'is in his native country of Iran today, I feel that as an Iranian, I should apologize to the Baha'i community, especially to the Behinds of Iran because I think what befell this community in the last century is a disgrace to contemporary Iranian history. I hope amends can be made in the next 100 years so that we can witness an Iran in which all the citizens despite their varying religious affiliation despite their beliefs, will enjoy complete equality in august 2006. The Office of US congressman Mark Kirk, co author of the congressional resolution called the Behind National Center requesting to bring a special delegation from the Afghanistan government for a visit to the Baha'i house of Worship. His stated intent was to demonstrate how religious tolerance can be practiced. Um religious tolerance and diversity are cornerstones of our society and some others uh but still are lacking in other places. Uh we cannot force people uh to show tolerance and diversity. It's only through teaching, reaching out to Children, showing an uh an example through life uh that really can do it all. It's a long road. But when you look at how small the high faith was just 100 years ago and where it is today, it shows that that example can be extremely successful. One of the neat things about how laws teachings is how he helped us draw together uh the unity of teachings from across the ages which builds respect, which builds tolerance, which at a very practical level, builds peace. While the Afghan delegation initially approached their visit with trepidation. By the end of their visit, one of the members of the delegation referred to the founder of the Baha'i faith as his holiness. Baha'i wala tolerance is a minimum and you don't progress unless you start with them anymore. Now that is not the Baha'i idea, We are not proponents of tolerance accept as a minimal condition. Uh ultimately of course, as Baha'is, we look toward a fusion of humanity Abdu'l-Baha said that this temple, the mother temple of the West would be built on the blood of the martyrs. On december 8th 2006, a memorial gathering was held at the Baha'I house of Worship in Wilmette Illinois. This gathering was held to honor those behind who gave their lives in the service of promoting the principles of their faith and the proposition of building a world based on justice and equality. A martyr is a greek word, which is the equivalent of the english word, witness or the Arabic word shahid, which means exactly the same thing, a witness. Now if it is a witness, then a witness to what suicide bombers are witnessing to, to hatred, to conflict, to murder. This is not what the Baha'is were witnessing to, they were witnessing to truth, to love. The gathering was held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of the second of two successive national spiritual assemblies to lose their lives during the years following Iran's Cultural Revolution. The spirit of the day was expressed through prayer stories from family and friends of the martyrs through music and video. Congressman Mark Kirk was invited and due to his congressional schedule, was unable to attend, but sent a statement to be read tonight, we renew our resolve to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. The Baha'I faith stands for tolerance and diversity as americans, we are duty bound to defend these values around the world In honor of those who have given their lives since 1978, a list of names was displayed on the walls of the temple. The sacrifices of these souls have had and will continue to have a direct link to the victories of the growth of the worldwide Baha'i community and to the establishment of the vision of justice on Earth.
