date |
event |
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2017 4 Nov 201- |
Three young Iranians who complained to state officials after being denied university entrance for being followers of the Bahá'í Faith have each been sentenced to five years in prison. Rouhieh Safajoo (21), Sarmad Shadabi (22), and Tara Houshmand (21) were convicted of the charges of "membership in the anti-state Bahá'í cult" and "publishing falsehoods." [IFMAT 14NOV17]
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Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Education; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
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2017 6 Nov - 22 Jan 201- |
An exhibition of Bahá'u'lláh's writings opened at the John Addis Gallery in the British Museum.
One of the central themes was the power of the Word, which refers to divine revelation, a concept fundamental to the origins of all the world's great faiths. The exhibition showed original handwriting of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as other archival items associated with His life such as His reed pens and examples of "revelation writing" by His scribe as he tried keep up with Bahá'u'lláh's dictation.
The exhibition, timed to commemorate the period of celebration of the 200th anniversary of His birth, was open to the public until the 22nd of January. [BWNS1220]
See the British Museum blog entitled Displaying the Bahá'í Faith: the pen is mightier than the sword. |
British Museum and British Library; Exhibitions of Bahá'í manuscripts and relics; Relics; * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; Exhibitions; Reed pens; Reed (general); - Calligraphy; Revelation writing; Kalimat-i-Maknunih (Hidden Words); Bahá'u'lláh, Pen portraits of; Pen portraits; E. G. Browne; Gifts; London, England; United Kingdom |
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2017 15 Nov 201- |
Progress report on the construction of the local Bahá'í House of Worship in Norte del Cauca.
[BWNS1222] -
See BWNS1047 for information on the reforestation project in the vicinity of the Temple.
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Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Norte del Cauca, Colombia; Environment; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); North Caucasus; Colombia |
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2017 17 Nov 201- |
A committee of the United Nations General Assembly condemned Iran by a vote of 83 to 30 with 68 abstentions for its continuing violations of human rights, the 30th such resolution since 1985.
The Third Committee of the General Assembly approved a five-page resolution expressing concern over illegal practices ranging from torture, poor prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and curbs on freedom of religion or belief, to state-endorsed discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities as well as women.
The resolution expressed specific concern over Iran's treatment of members of the Bahá'í Faith and highlighted the economic and educational discrimination against them and called on Iran to release the more than 90 Bahá'ís who were unjustly held in Iranian prisons.
The resolution followed a strongly worded document from the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Asma Jahangir. Her 23-page report, released earlier this session, she catalogued a broad range of rights violations by Iran.
[BWNS1221] |
United Nations; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Human rights; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); New York, USA; United States (USA) |
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2017 30 Nov 201- |
Bahá'ís celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh in a ceremony in Baghdad attended by representatives from the Iraqi parliament, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, civil society as well as media activists.
This was considered the most prominent ceremony where Bahá'ís officially announced themselves for the first time in 47 years, as the Baathist Revolutionary Command Council issued Decree No. 105 in 1970 to ban Bahá'í activities. As a consequence, Bahá'í administrative institutions in Iraq were dissolved and any activity where Bahá'ís declared their religious identity was punishable by imprisonment.
During the proceedings they asked for support to rescind the law on prohibiting Bahá'í activity, which was still in effect despite the fact that the law contradicted the 2005 constitution, which guaranteed freedom of belief to all citizens.
Millions of Bahá'ís around the world celebrated the honorary bicentennial of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh on Oct. 21-22. Bahá'ís in Baghdad celebrated after one month of postponements given the security difficulties and challenges surrounding the ceremony.
[Al-Monitor.com] |
Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of; Twin Holy days; Holy days; Centenaries; Websites; Persecution, Iraq; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Baghdad, Iraq; Iraq |
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