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date | event | tags | firsts | |
2020 | The paintings of Maryam Safajoo depict the many forms of persecution faced by the Bahá'ís of Iran. She has exhibited her work at venues including Harvard University, the Massachusetts State House and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She has been interviewed by Voice of America, BBC, Radio Farda, Iran Wire, Iran Press Watch, the Centre for Human Rights in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre and Persian Bahá'í Media Services about this current persecution. Boston Herald wrote an article about her life. She currently lives in Champaign, Illnois.
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Persecution, Iran; * Arts and crafts; Champaign, IL; Illinois, USA; USA | ||
2020 25 Nov | The release of
Creating an Inclusive Narrative, a publication of the Australian Bahá'í community. Hundreds of discussion were held all across the country to consider the future of their country. The results of the meetings were reported in this document. The Bahá'ís of Australia embarked on the two year project to facilitate discussion on social cohesion and related questions with hundreds of participants—including officials, organizations of civil society, journalists, and numerous social actors—across all states and territories. The project began in 2017 and by 2018 the Office of External Affairs had become more engaged. With the encouragement of different social actors and government departments, the idea for Creating an Inclusive Narrative began to take shape. Australia is a country of over 80 ethnic and racial groups in more than 417 localities and the process had to involve diverse voices from different realities throughout the country—east and west, rural and urban, and from the grassroots to the national level. In order for this to scale, many people were involved as facilitators. It was important that facilitators were residents of the areas in which gatherings were taking place ensuring their familiarity with local issues and concerns. This approach meant that facilitators and participants could continue their discussions in between the monthly gatherings, resulting in growing enthusiasm and interest among participants to continue the process. The project eventually sustained monthly gatherings concurrently across several states, resulting in a total of 50 roundtables. [BWNS1504; BWNS1470; BWNS1498] |
Creating an Inclusive Narrative (publication); Australia | ||
2020 22 Nov | Over a hundred government agents raided the shops and homes of tens of Baha'is across Iran, on 22 November 2020, and demanded that they hand over their property deeds. The simultaneous raids were staged in at least seven cities around the country and came just hours into a 15-day national lockdown imposed to slow coronavirus infections in the country.
The raids took place in the capital Tehran, as well as Karaj, Isfahan, Mashhad, Kerman, Shahin-Shahr and Baharestan. Witnesses reported that the agents ignored all the government's own health protocols while at the homes of the Baha'is. [BIC News] |
Persecution, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Isfahan, Iran; Mashhad, Iran; Kerman, Iran; Shahin-Shahr, Iran; Baharestan, Iran; Iran | ||
2020 20 Nov | Hamed bin Haydara told Al-Sharea daily newspaper that "The Houthis are applying a policy of silent extermination of our cultural and social heritage. This is a type of systematic religious cleansing crime. The Houthis are applying the same radical ideologies that they learnt in Iran, which deems members of religious minorities heretics. There is no country in the world that has persecuted the Baha'is like Iran and the Houthis. There is a great similarity between persecution against us in Iran and Sana'a, as both use the same methods of persecution, rhetoric, rumors and lies against the Bahá'ís," he said.
Hamed bin Haydara and five others were expelled from Yemen in July. They were abruptly taken to a United Nations plane at Sana'a International Airport and forcibly sent into exile. They were not given an opportunity to settle their affairs in the country or to retrieve their belongings. They were taken to Luxembourg, where Haydara received medical treatment for injuries sustained during torture that have affected his hearing and mobility. [Iranwire 26 May 2-23]
Note: Al-Shari 'newspaper is an independent newspaper publishing since 2007 in Sana'a. In 2015 it was forced to stop publishing due to harassment and threats received by the Houthi militia and resumed its daily publication from Aden. [Arab News 20/11/2020; Iran Wire 22NOV20] |
Persecution, Yemen; Hamed bin Haydara; Yemen | ||
2020 20 Nov | The Bahá'í World News Service released a progress report on the construction of the Mashriqul-Adhkar in Port Moresby. After the laying of the foundations which was completed last December, work progressed on an intricate steel structure for the central edifice that traces the unique weaving pattern of the exterior. An innovative design for the steel dome, devised by Werkstudio, an engineering firm based in Germany and Poland, will provide the required strength with an economical use of material. The structural system will interfaces with the nine entrance canopies that provide lateral strength to the temple. This system, parts of which are nearing completion, will eventually support a steel dome mesh that will at its apex reach a height of approximately 16 meters above floor level. Designs were being finalized for wood panels that will adorn the entrances of the temple, using local timber. Planning is also under way for gardens that will surround the central edifice. |
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Port Moresby; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, National; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Design; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Architecture; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Papua New Guinea | ||
2020 18 Nov | The United Nations General Assembly had passed a resolution condemning human rights violations in Iran and calling on Iran to honour the human rights of all its citizens, including members of the Bahá'í faith. The resolution asks Iran to "eliminate, in law and practice… all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief, including economic restrictions… [and] the denial of and restrictions on access to education, including for members of the Bahá'í faith." It also urges an end to "other human rights violations against persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious minorities." This deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly. Just four days after the UN resolution was passed there were raids on Bahá'í homes in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan and its suburbs, Mashhad and Kerman. [Iran Press Watch 22 November 2020; Iran Press Watch 23 November 2020] |
United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Karaj, Iran; Isfahan, Iran; Mashhad, Iran; Kerman, Iran; Iran | ||
2020 16 Nov | Progress report for the construction of the Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was issued by the World Centre. Since the completion of the foundations for the Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the first vertical elements were being raised. The subterranean portion of the structure, which will lie beneath the circular geometry, was also beginning to take shape.
[BWNS1467]
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`Abdu'l-Bahá, Shrine of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre | ||
2020 2 - 6 Nov | The Geneva Office of the Bahá'í International Community joined with civil society actors, academics, and representatives of UN agencies and international organizations to contribute to discussions on peace-building initiatives around the world at Geneva Peace Week, an annual event that has been held since 2014. In a seminar held by the Office, three members of the Bahá'í community with expertise in the fields of governance, economics, and the environment explored some of the implications of the BIC statement, A Governance Befitting, and its call for a "global civic ethic." The BIC presenters were: Maja Groff, an international lawyer based in The Hague, Netherlands, Augusto Lopez-Claros, executive director of the Global Governance Forum, and Arthur Lyon Dahl, president of the International Environment Forum. [BWNS1465] |
Bahá'í International Community; Geneva, Switzerland; Switzerland | ||
2020 Nov | The release of the film The Mystery of God. It was written by Linda Marshall Youssefian and Nadia Ferrorini Cucè, and was directed and edited by Vargha Mazlum.
One of his previous productions was a film about Carole Lombard and another was called Liao Chongzhen: A Bright Candle of the World of Humanity. |
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Life of (chronology); - Documentaries; - Film; Mystery of God (film); Linda Marshall Youssefian; Nadia Ferrorini Cuce; Vargha Mazlum; Carole Lombard; Liao Chongzhen | ||
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